666fast
08-27-2003, 12:19 AM
Well, I went to it over the past weekend. It was the first rally I had ever been to so I was expecting it to be a great time. The exact opposite happened though.
The drive was farther than expected which was a downer, but not too big of a deal. On the way, we did get pulled over, 69mph in a 55mph zone. :roll:
Not a single other car on the road, except the State Patrol officer. It'll only be about $70, but still, I think it's bullshit.
Finally we get to the rally. We were told the first stage would start at noon. We arrived at about 11:30, only to find out the first stage wasn't untill 5:45pm! So getting up at 5AM was a waste. I could have used the extra sleep.
Finally, the race is about to start. Well, the first stage was about 50 miles away from the headquarters! After another hour of driving, we get there. This is where everyone, I mean every single spectator there, got pissed.
At the last event in New York I believe, two spectators were killed. A tragedy yes, but the Insurance the covers the SCCA had a fit. So you can't get right up to the road. They had spectator areas, which were obscene. Imagine a T intersection. The road where to cars passed was the top of the T. We had to stand in a two lane road and watch the cars roar by in about 5 seconds. They also made us standabout30 feet away from the road. So all in all, you got to see about 5 seconds of each car as they went by. From 30 feet away.
What kind of bullshit is that? :x One of the best things about rally racing, is being able to get so close to the action. All they would have to dois put up a sign that says enter at your own risk, or have everyone sign a waiver. But no, they ruined the stage.
Onto the second stage. We left thinking it would be just as bad. We looked at the map that the SCCA gave out, and guess what? The second stage was another 50 miles away and started at 7PM. Needless to say, we had no chance in hell of making it. Basically, you had to choose what to see. the first or second stage. Yet another strike against them.
After that stage, they had their tech session stuff. The teams get a little while to fix cars and such. We decided to go and eat instead.
Finally, at 10PM we check into the hotel. Then we head off to the last stage, which starts at 11:30PM. Cool, a night stage. Well, the map they gave us was so horrible, most people never found the spectator area. Now everyone is really pissed!
After two hours of driving around in the middle of nowhere, we give up. We ran across many people trying to find it, of course we were no help.
But get this, one of the many people we came across was the Team Hyundai truck. Even they had no idea where the hell to go.
We went back to the hotel, which was full of people that were there to see the rally. Everyone was out in the parking lot drinking, so we figured we would join in.
I didn't talk to a single person that managed to find the last stage and none of them were happy about the spectator areas.
So all in all, I spent about 12 hours driving, $80 in gas, $80 for the hotel room, a $70 speeding ticket, $30 going out to eat and it was all for nothing!
In total, I must have seen about 10 minutes of action. I didn't even turn on the video camera and my friend didn't use his or his digital camera. What a waste.
If I ever go to a rally again, it won't be in this country unless they drastically change some rules. The SCCA seriously botched this one up.
My friend said we should save up and go to the Acropolis rally and see some real action. It just might happen.
The drive was farther than expected which was a downer, but not too big of a deal. On the way, we did get pulled over, 69mph in a 55mph zone. :roll:
Not a single other car on the road, except the State Patrol officer. It'll only be about $70, but still, I think it's bullshit.
Finally we get to the rally. We were told the first stage would start at noon. We arrived at about 11:30, only to find out the first stage wasn't untill 5:45pm! So getting up at 5AM was a waste. I could have used the extra sleep.
Finally, the race is about to start. Well, the first stage was about 50 miles away from the headquarters! After another hour of driving, we get there. This is where everyone, I mean every single spectator there, got pissed.
At the last event in New York I believe, two spectators were killed. A tragedy yes, but the Insurance the covers the SCCA had a fit. So you can't get right up to the road. They had spectator areas, which were obscene. Imagine a T intersection. The road where to cars passed was the top of the T. We had to stand in a two lane road and watch the cars roar by in about 5 seconds. They also made us standabout30 feet away from the road. So all in all, you got to see about 5 seconds of each car as they went by. From 30 feet away.
What kind of bullshit is that? :x One of the best things about rally racing, is being able to get so close to the action. All they would have to dois put up a sign that says enter at your own risk, or have everyone sign a waiver. But no, they ruined the stage.
Onto the second stage. We left thinking it would be just as bad. We looked at the map that the SCCA gave out, and guess what? The second stage was another 50 miles away and started at 7PM. Needless to say, we had no chance in hell of making it. Basically, you had to choose what to see. the first or second stage. Yet another strike against them.
After that stage, they had their tech session stuff. The teams get a little while to fix cars and such. We decided to go and eat instead.
Finally, at 10PM we check into the hotel. Then we head off to the last stage, which starts at 11:30PM. Cool, a night stage. Well, the map they gave us was so horrible, most people never found the spectator area. Now everyone is really pissed!
After two hours of driving around in the middle of nowhere, we give up. We ran across many people trying to find it, of course we were no help.
But get this, one of the many people we came across was the Team Hyundai truck. Even they had no idea where the hell to go.
We went back to the hotel, which was full of people that were there to see the rally. Everyone was out in the parking lot drinking, so we figured we would join in.
I didn't talk to a single person that managed to find the last stage and none of them were happy about the spectator areas.
So all in all, I spent about 12 hours driving, $80 in gas, $80 for the hotel room, a $70 speeding ticket, $30 going out to eat and it was all for nothing!
In total, I must have seen about 10 minutes of action. I didn't even turn on the video camera and my friend didn't use his or his digital camera. What a waste.
If I ever go to a rally again, it won't be in this country unless they drastically change some rules. The SCCA seriously botched this one up.
My friend said we should save up and go to the Acropolis rally and see some real action. It just might happen.