I forgot the name of the reality show – if I remember correctly most of it was made in Spain – where people actually died or were badly injured in cases got away with whatever they did. This was a show about rally accidents, bull fights going north, people doing very silly things and so on.
What was disturbing in a way was that whenever things went really wrong you could hear people shout “morté” or something to that effect.
Funny when it happens – especially when it happened in the past, but not so funny when seven people die – under whom two pregnant woman – which takes the tally up to nine.
Rallying is one of the most exciting spectator sport events you will ever find. Every two minutes or so – the crown would be entertained by someone behind a steering wheel trying to do better than all else over a jump or through a corner.
Excitement is what it is all about and when a driver loses control it is an added bonus to the entertainment.
People love watching a massive roll where parts fly all over the show, marshals running away, cameramen ducking and diving – magic – adrenaline filled excitement.
What is not funny and the last thing they come to rallies for is to be killed or for that matter to be hurt.
In my line of business I see it every day. People want to feel what it is like to drive a rally car, feel what it is like to go with someone who knows his story – but they do not want to get hurt in the process.
Obviously the risk in motorsport is always there – the warning boards are placed where spectators are supposed to be able to see them – bunting (which of course is contrary to belief will not stop a rally car, as it is a thin flat strip of plastic that can be ripped in half by a child of around four) is placed across all entrances and that my friend is the type of protection to keep other traffic out you are offered when you drive as hard as your car can go around blind corners.
In a land where it is difficult to control matters – I often shuddered while doing the so-called “Route Notes” when I saw places where I knew anyone could simply drive onto a stage.
I often warned organisers (I saw it as part of my job – just as I was supposed to try and keep competitors cars in the event by preventing accidents and excessive rough stages) about these points and in most cases they paid attention. Nothing happened so no one appreciated it in any case.
During my career in which I drove a rally or two there are two instances that stand out.
The most prominent in my mind happened in Knysna.
We brought the rally to the people!
The stage went down a main street through town and if I remember correctly we had about 600m straight before we had to turn 90 right. I suffered the normal problem of not having a gearbox that worked properly. The bloody thing started giving trouble when I tried to select a gear. This of course was always the first signs that we would have to replace the box at the next service. A task my team could do in less than what it takes the normal guy to wash his car. Seventeen gearbox changes in one season taught them well. Certain people knew that if that Class B 16v Golf was fitted with a gearbox that worked – they would not have been able to keep it of the top of the podium for long – so I had to make do with the unreliable stuff.
Anyway we were coming down the main street – the Golf engine changed into soprano – that familiar sound that made many Class A drivers cringe.
Usually I would enjoy every meter of that – this time however was different.
I went down into fourth and then I could not select third – that familiar grinding sound was all that I heard, I braked but knew if I braked too hard and locked wheels I may just lose control and go into the crowd.
What I needed was power to pull me through the corner.
Right ahead of me stood a solid crowd right across the street blocking every possible escape route. They stood well protected behind a piece of shitty plastic bunting. A beautiful blonde little girl stood right in front of her father against his legs.
There was simply no way I was going to make this. My only option was to drive into a furniture store before the corner – and the time to do that was coming up faster than I wanted.
Then suddenly at the very last moment I managed to select third gear and magically it went into second as well – I made the corner – completely shaken – the image of that little blonde girl permanently burned into my mind.
The second time was again on the Volkswagen Rally where we did a stage where people lined both sides of the street.
I drove a stock standard Subaru with a standard computer that did not compensate for the restrictor we had to fit to the turbo intake. My sponsor simply did not have the money to buy the proper computer and Subaru SA put everything into the two popular drivers liked by their ex-CEO a Ms van Gaalen rather than in the person who won the championship. Nothing new is there?
The Mickey Mouse stage twisted between people standing on the edge of the sidewalks.
The car’s performance was completely erratic. When the turbo came in I received short uncontrolled squirts of power.
Then suddenly at the worst moment I received every horse under that bonnet when I could not afford it and the car went straight for the spectators. Trying to steer away was not an option, I would not have made it, so my only choice was to hit a palm or whatever tree and stop short of wiping some people out.
I don’t think I would have killed any, but a number would have been injured.
That was one of a few scary moments I had in a rally car.
Now that I am thinking about it, we once went straight over a highway right between traffic unable to stop after I slid past a ninety right. Then on another occasion we jumped over two people standing on the outside of a bend after a serious jump which Francois and I thought was followed by a bit of a straight, instead of a ninety degree corner.
Thinking about it – the moments pop up one after the other as I write here. There were many more, but in short we are very lucky to have a fairly clear record on rallies in South Africa.
One incident that was played down even by the controlling body was what happened on the Sasol Rally this year, instead of realising that it is simply a miracle that we had no casualties so far on the so-called town stages.
I am not going to go into that incident again and I am not sure if there is an appeal hanging against the finding we received a while back – but what needs to be said is the following:
If we have an incident as tragic as the one in Spain this weekend, I doubt if rallying will be taken “to the people” again in South Africa.
The problem is that locally attitudes like “we have been doing this for years” and stupid personal agendas like moving rallies from specially designed places that was very well supported with identified danger spots and control points, get replaced with rallies where not much is under control.
I have often wondered what would happen if a manufacturer entry landed in such a spot where people are killed? Will they continue their activity, rather enter under private team names or what would they do?
On rallies we do not charge entry fee for spectators in most cases and therefore we do not hand out programs and tickets with indemnities printed on them, to everyone. That was one of the reasons why we did our best to control entry at Rallystar – to make sure that every person who paid at least knew what the dangers were and saw a warning board.
That is then also why many if not all countries overseas – charge spectators to watch the spectacle. They are controlled in controlled areas – with the exception of a few countries such as especially Spain where people still can almost touch rally cars as they go by and shout “Morte!!”
So I suppose in South Africa we will wait until a few people die one day and then stand there with our hands cringing and heads bowed trying to show how sorry we were because of our own stupidity?
One thing is certain – we may not be able to afford proper care – but goodness knows the real cost will only show when something goes very wrong.
I have not got the answer – but I just have a feeling that we need to take extra care instead of trying to skimp as far as we go.