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A Scottish homecoming

Organizing the 2009 Rally of Scotland for the IRC

 

 

2009 sees the first running of the international RACMSA Rally of Scotland, the final round of the increasingly high-profile Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), to be held from November 19-21. The event was first unveiled to the media back in October last year by Scotland\'s First Minister, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond. Since then, event organizers International Motor Sports (IMS), in partnership with Stirling and Perth and Kinross Councils, have been working flat out to bring the prestige and international media spotlight of the IRC to the forests of Scotland.

Here, Rally of Scotland clerk of the course Iain Campbell tells Professional Motorsport World about the challenges, issues, and hurdles of developing a new rally from a completely clean sheet of paper.

“It all started in October last year with a phone call from IMS chief executive Andrew Coe, informing us that months of negotiations had reached fruition – and a contract was in place for Scotland with IRC and Eurosport, the rights holder. A media launch was then needed five days after that!

 

“The clean sheet of paper we were given meant that we could focus on our key objectives – including embracing the sheer beauty of Scotland, which we’ve been able to do by utilizing the venues of Scone Palace, Blair Castle and Stirling Castle. Indeed, 2009 is the year of the homecoming in Scotland and we were aware of the desire to exploit the natural backdrop that Scotland offers. The equipment that modern teams bring to a contemporary rally invariably means that given the space needs, service parks are often to be found in anonymous, out of town venues. We wanted to buck that trend and give everyone a flavor of Scotland – not just the drivers but also the whole rallying fraternity and the spectators.

 

“We’ve got people coming from all over Europe, including busloads from Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, France and Spain. These are rallying heartlands and spectators are well-versed in the spectacle of top drawer rallying – but they may be new to Scotland and this is our chance to advertise our country to what, in many cases, may be the first time that some have visited us.

“With the help of Robert Reid, 2001 co-driver world champion, we explored the countryside of Perthshire and Stirling, sketching out our ideal route. From there, we started negotiations with landowners, including Forestry Commission Scotland. Perthshire is very experienced in working alongside the rally community, with the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally having taken place there for the last seven years. Stirling however has not held a rally for 20 years and in that time, much of the area has become a National Park.

“Therefore, the role we have played has been a slightly closer one, though the Stirling team has been extremely positive, which has made that educational process in terms of what a rally is about – and its ambitions – so much easier.

“Given the nature of running a motorsport event within a National Park, it has been critical that we have worked hard to minimize any environmental impact from the event. For example, every car carries with it an environmental spill kit should any fluids be lost from a vehicle in the aftermath of an incident.

“In addition, the Queen Elizabeth Park is within 40 miles of Glasgow, so there are a lot of residents en route – and we will be inconveniencing them for a day. So, communication has been critical and is ongoing. We’re letting them know what is planned, what will be happening, as well as talking to them about the event and the benefits of it from an economic perspective. And with the event set to bring millions of pounds into the regional economy, it’s not just added publicity that is coming to the region.

“We’ve pulled together a team from scratch – and there’s hundreds of years of experience across the personnel involved. By January we had a core team of 18, which we’ve endeavored to keep as Scottish as possible, complemented by the expertise of IMS’s Rally GB guys. For the event itself, we will be utilizing up to 700 marshals, 180 radio marshals, 22 doctors and ambulances, a medivac helicopter, 10 recovery units and eight teams of car park operators.

“Added to those numbers, over 70 people from Eurosport will be on hand for the filming process. We’ve enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Eurosport, starting when seven engineers came over in March to survey the stages and locations. Scotland was resplendent and the Eurosport people from Paris were simply blown away by the natural backdrops. Gilbert Roy, Eurosport Events editorial director, and Xavier Gavory, IRC general coordinator, led five engineers checking satellite signals on an extremely successful trip.

“For the live filming of Rally of Scotland, some mighty logistics challenges have to be overcome. For stage three, which is then repeated later in the event, 4km of cable is required in order to get a live signal out of the stage. And for the Loch Ard test, the challenge is one of sheer distance, at almost 34km. With the length of the stage, all top-10 cars will be on stage at the same time, necessitating a helicopter camera, six fixed cameras and 10 in-car units, and a performing live timing system to convey the action as it happens.

“So, the rally takes place over more than 210km of competitive driving distance, made up of 13 special stages over the two days, linked by almost 600km of road mileage. The spectator areas are carefully selected along each route to ensure optimum safety, and the feedback on the route and spectator areas has been very positive. Indeed, across the region, there’s so much enthusiasm for the event. We’ve even got overflow car park contingency plans, just in case.

“As we approach the final preparations, we’re looking forward to the event. Our ambitions for the event lie as a co-efficient two European championship round and to then progress that through to the top rung of the European Rally Championship alongside events of the caliber of the Belgium Ypres Rally.

“However, our number one priority is to deliver an event that is a positive experience for spectators, entrants – and, more importantly, for local residents. When we knock on their door again in January, we want them to welcome us back for the second year.”

Click here to download a route itinerary

 

All images are Historic Scotland Crown copyright