[TheList] Rally (official vehicles)

Sun Jun 14 08:51:32 AEST 2009

Rally Wairarapa Mid-point Comms:

Driving to stage 1 Pongaroa (from Masterton) in the we hours of the morning
was not much fun but some of these places are a little out of the way so an
early start is necessary just to find them :-).

Leaving the stage behind the tail/sweeper car at speed was pretty good but
necessary to get out and get to the next rally stage on time.  Rally closed
roads caused the trusty Garmin GPS to get a little upset and forces a few of
long-way-around trips.

I have found it is best to do the early stages each day because the last
stages are always short of manpower so those people left get to remove the
safety tape and "unlock" all the farm gates.  It is all a luck of the draw
thing where you get placed and what the assigned task will be.

I have to agree that the ones putting out the warning tape are not well
recognised but they sure seem to be having fun.  The rally staff at the
Copthorne radio base also have a full on weekend with information overload
and they see nothing of the local countryside or any of the rally in action.
Lots of unsung heroes in all of these events. 

-----Original Message-----
From: thelist-bounces at radiowiki.org.nz
[mailto:thelist-bounces at radiowiki.org.nz] On Behalf Of ZLScanner
Sent: Sunday, 14 June 2009 00:33
To: thelist at radiowiki.org.nz
Subject: Re: [TheList] Rally (official vehicles)

The "official cars" in a car rally are usually known by the following....
(call signs)  Yes I have been involved with running car rallies in the past.

"Arrows/stage setup" - travels way ahead of safety car 1 where they set up
the coloured arrows and stakes thru the route advising drivers of hazards
and approaching corners and which direction to turn, they also set out
danger tape where the road needs to be blocked off, where there are farm
gates they tape the gate shut and tie warning stickers to the gate.  Then
they go back to the start of stage 1 and take it all down again - you never
get recognition for doing this job.

"Safety car 1" - way out in front of the event, checking rally arrows,
taping closed any gates with plastic danger tape, making sure the start,
finish and block marshals crews are in place along the stage.

"Safety car 2" - double checking rally instructions and directional arrows
and mainly ensuring that nothing is going to move on the road behind them.

"Double Zero Car" - usually one of the assistant clerks of course - travels
the stage at close to rally speed - ensures everyone in place and that a
final comms check is done from each point as they pass thru the stage. Only
when that car has exited the stage will the person in charge of that vehicle
advise rally control when they are happy to do so, that the stage may be
allowed to start.

"Zero Car" - is a proper rally car with full roll cage and 5 point seatbelt
- travels about 2 minutes ahead of car 1 with siren blaring and flashing
lights to warn cars coming shortly - this is also a test for the start and
finish crews of their timing systems.

And of course following the last rally car - about 30 minutes later allowing
for stage lateness is the "sweeper car" what used to be called tail car.
Followed by the "recovery vehicle(s)" and any first aid vehicle if it needs
to travel thru a stage to reach another point on the rally route. After the
sweeper car has passed then the road is open to the public once again.

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