Check out the video

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/26/j...c_n_403957.html

Rally racing, truly a spectator sport.

Who is the bigger idiot, the driver or the folks standing next to the course?
Tough call.
Do you suppose the driver offered proof of insurance before leaving?

it looked like they were inside the safety fence that was there to protect spectators. and that to me makes those spectators responsible for what ever happens to themselves. and that makes them part of the race environment.....

the driver is not responsible for their safety, he is racing and should not have to concern his self with who's stupid enough to bring their 10 year old daughter on to the rack track mere feet from a bunch of cars that routinely go off course.

and don't we love the media that can't help but sensationalize things to "make" news.

You think?

Pretty unbelievable really. There were people on both sides of the road, with a fence keeping them from moving out of the way. A new defination for Blind Faith.

....Survival of the fittest, Darwins theory at work again, just another example of an elemination from the gene pool of those people with real STUPIDITY. so life goes on. murray

The driver's error was leaving. He's lucky he wasn't stoned. Even hero race car drivers need to show a bit of empathy for those he injured (even it he feels none)or risk the consequences.

The twits on the wrong side of the fence aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.
It's stupidy like this that will probably one day eliminate public road rallying.
The ones to make out here will be the lawyers.

This. I sense stupidity on both sides and lawyers profit from that always.

That's why the Group B cars were banned.

Stupid spectators ! Rally cars are going to reck !!

Finally, something we can agree on ...
Andy

Hard to believe the political police haven't shut these down.

Geez. Its completely like running with the bulls. You ought to know that a potential outcome is death and plan accordingly.. or not.

they took their life and limb, and put it in harms way for the sake of what? a better picture?

as far as the driver, I'd probably have done the same thing... he was out there doing a JOB, a job in which his paycheck is completely hinged on performance. stopping and waiting would mean a huge delay. and while it might have gained him some popularity, it wouldn't put more food on his family's table. the only racer that seems to get paid more despite losing is in F1....

I also don't see cameramen getting paid by television to stop filming and run over and help, either... they are doing THEIR job at at that time too...

this guy is probably not an EMT, and would not be able to render any aid. wtf is he supposed to do, according to the racing rules?

If you have to ask, any reason would be lost on you. You must be of the "it's all about me" generation rather than the "do unto others......" generation.
It is possible for you to rationalize your way out of anything.

Audi Group B. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vky1uh_kCf0

Perhaps why they were banned.

he is in the middle of doing his job, a job in which others depend on him to do his part. if the rules say "do not stop" or say explicitly "you must stop and obey the rules of the road as you would if it weren't a race... " 2 completely different scenarios.

I'm not trying to be heartless, but he, as a driver, did not tell those people to stand in front of the fence, and he did not intentionally run into them,I'm sure he would have much rather made the turn like the other drivers, but it was an accident. he had to make a choice, stop and wait for EMS, or finish the job that was set before him to do. I'm just saying I would have probably had to make the same call under the circumstances.

Fuck the supposed "race rules", again, that is a rationalzation. I was raised to "man up" for things I had some responsibility for. As I see it, he had the duty as a man to, at the very least, insure that everything possible was being done to help every one of those idiots......they were uninjured till he came along. He showed less compasion than I would should a dog run under my car.

As for you, there's a saying in the Corps: I'm glad we found out about you before we hit the beach.

think what you want, but I really do not know what good it would have done for him to wait for authorities. I would have surely checked on them, but I'd have been helpless staying. I'm not saying he shouldn't own up to his accident, either. it was an accident, and should have been avoided by people staying behind the fence that was there to protect them, it would have given them more time to respond and move out of the way, too.

what it really comes down to is this, is this the same as it would be if he was just a normal guy driving down the street, or is a race different? I say that in a race it's different. and certainly completely different than "hitting the beach"

my reasoning is the people that depend on him the most were not the ones on the side of the road.

In 90% of the rally footage you see people with no regard for their own safety.

In the video Howard posted you can see people in the middle of the road anticipating the oncoming car, and they part like the red sea only moments before the car gets there.

All of this aside, sure the race car driver can't help the people he hit, and yes those people are boneheads for standing in what amounts to a run off area, but not stopping to check the condition of people you smack with your car is IMHO not acceptable regardless of the venue.

maybe I'm flat wrong.. it's happened before

also, maybe it's easy for us to say, either way what we think we would do. if it really happened we might do something different, based on what we see at that moment in time. I might see someone hurt and have to stop, or I might think they weren't hurt and drive off. I'll say this... I hope none of us have to make the choice.

lets put the blessed Michael shumaucker (prolly spelled wrong )or blessed Jimmy Johnson in the Audi and see what they can do ....like i said before WRC are the best drivers in the world......as far as crashing into folks IMO both partys are at fault

agreed. a rally car is not easy to get in and out of. I probably would have glanced, seen that there were many many unhurt people around, known that I would have little to offer AND would have taken me minutes longer to offer it than anyone else there.

It's quite obvious he didn't continue without a second thought, he stayed for many seconds longer than necessary. Plenty of time to see that there were rally officials (possibly EMTs, hard to tell from the video) already there.


nobody ever said he denied the incident. there's no question who did it, and how it happened. From what I know of Rally here in the US (I'm on the service crew for a team based here in MN), those driver's have to have insurance, and anybody allowed within about 100 ft of the track has to sign a waiver that injury/death are possible. Of course, it's not in the US.....so I don't know for sure, but Rally is a much bigger sport in the rest of the world than it is here, so I'm sure there are precautions.

I think they try`d to add some weight to the Audi before they were banned and they still kicked ass ....that AWD is the chit

I've been involved in rallying for as long as I can remember and am presently peddling a 914 in the British Historic Championship. Here's a short clip of me in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SeD-J6JqYY

Firstly, rallying is a huge spectator sports in many countries. Quite often these countries are places where safety comes a distance second over enthusiasm for the sport and the need for the spectators to get as close to the action as possible. This is one of the very few motor sports where the spectators can get so close the the action. Spectator deaths and the fact that the Group B cars were getting too fast for the drivers to cope with was the reason why they got banned in '85/6.

This incident has been discussed in depth on rally forums. It happened right at the finish line where there was a radio car and medical assistance. The officials waved the guy to continue the 50m to the finish line. As he was doing so the officials were already on there way to the scene. It certainly wasn't as cold hearted an incident as the press made it out to be. PLEASE don't believe the press in these situations, as you all should know they are prone to over-sensationalism and one-sidedness in the aim of a good story.

On another note - It's certainly strange that rallying is not big in the US. All that space and great dirt track roads. There's a big resurgence of Historic rallying in Europe at the moment 60' and 70's car mainly. Do some searches on youtube for 'Historic Rally' or check out rally's like:

Mid Wales Stages Historics
Severn Valley Stages Historics
Manx Rally Historics
Omloop Van Vlanderen

and many more

I think moggy hit it on the head with regard to this incident. With all due respect to JP, I think a little more insight to what occurs in rally stages around the world with spectators might change your view a little. Offroad racing like the Baja 1000 also have their own issues, like spectator sabotage of the course in remote areas for thier own enjoyment. That may change your mind about the "innocent" race fans.

That being said, news clips and short anecdotal video clips never tell the whole story and unless you were there you may never know what really happened.

just my .02.

I have been "into" all types of motorsports for 50 years. No matter how you slice it, that was a "no class" move.

I agree, simply unconscionable behavior.

You're watching "TruTV" and siding with the video. It's like reading the Enquirer and marveling over the alien baby pics.

Nobody noticed the splice in the footage as he goes back out on the track? He could have been there for two hours administering mouth to mouth (or last rights) to each and every one of those idiots for all we know...

Love the closing line from the "Wrestlemania" announcer; "This rally racing menace had a one track mind..." LOL Looks like the cops were roughing him up a bit too... damn rally racing menace.

About as bogus as a story can get.

..And the fact this happened over a year and a half ago in South America makes one wonder why this is "hot" news on The Huffington Post? Little more huffing and not much post.

....and check out the over dubbing of boos over the last few scenes. More bogus than the moon landings . Sensationalist TV, gotta laugh at it, it's the people that believe it as fact I worry about (like my Mum...) she watches programs like this and takes them as gospel

...And to think this is rare occasion. LOL! Just search under rally car into crowd. Rally cars into crowds are pretty common event. In some countries people have completely differnt social and maybe religious context on these things.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer..._type=&aq=f

Is rally spectating really much different than Abrian drifting? Not in my mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzwp7Mf0stc...laynext_from=PL

Does she know you're a "Rally Racing Menace!"?? Don't tell her, you'll scar her for life!

in the USA there is a mass errosion of personal accountability fueled by successful litigation. everybody looking to blame someone else for their stupidity....and get paid for it. then enter teh bleeding hearts that simpathize with this behavior. if you pass enough laws we can protect all the idiots from their owwn choices, right?

the officials waved this guy on...but that info does not help command a premium for advertising time

in some countries some people might think they are responsable for the consequenses of their own actions...what a concept.

(are you sure you live in Kaliphornia?)

mini Mogadishu CA

We have a saying in EMS. "it isn't an accident when they are stupid" It is the logical conclusion to their actions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswBDl17AGY



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz3Z9ZMLze4



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGTvdsNpkUc



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqf_OwPaF3k

Moggy,
You are my new idol! Did you build the car to rally spec on your own? I'm dying to get into rally driving here on the Gulf coast of the States. But like you said, people just aren't that into it around here. There are tons of twisty hard packred clay roads around here to slide around on. I'm going to have to pry some info out of you once I get my hands on a car. If I can't source a 914 I may go with an old BMW 3 series or 2002, but a 914 would be tops!