Rally assistance

The rally day

When the rally day comes, we must be perfectly ready. The rally often starts at about 8:00 ; we must be on our posts at least one hour and a half before, so we usually wake up at 5:30 or 6:00. For the 1997 St Marcellin, we woke up at 4:30 because we had one hundred and twenty kilometers to drive before we could reach our posts.

One hour before the rally starts, every cibist and every intendent is on place. Cops and firemen are also on their posts, everybody is ready. A first car comes, with a French flag on the doors : it means that the road is closed, forbidden to any non-rally car. This car takes the same way as the rally cars, so we use it to check everybody : it is announced and marked exactly like a race car.

Half an hour later comes the car 000 - when there is one. It is considered as a rally car. It is followed ten minutes later by the 00, then the 0 which is a rally car - often a Group A - in race conditions : ten minutes behind it, the first racer comes, so the 0 mustn't loose a second.

Then, until the special event is finished, the car go, about every minute. When the last car has gone, a special car, with patterns, follows it slowly. When it has gone, the special event is finished ; if there is only one "lap" on this way, the road is free for any car that would want to travel.

But it isn't always as simple. We're there because this normal happening is almost never done.

Sometimes a car doesn't come. Let's take an example : the fourth post is waiting for three cars : 57, 45, 85. The 57 passes, then, two minutes later, the 85. The 45 is missing.

Immediately, the fourth post calls the fifth one to ask if the car is passed there. If yes, it means that the fourth post had made a mistake : the car was gone and he didn't see it. But, more often, the fifth post also sees 57, then 85...

In that case, the fourth post calls the third to ask him if he has seen the missing car. If not, the third post has made a mistake : he hasn't noticed that the car was missing. He calls the second post, etc. until the missing car has been seen.

But, more often, the third post has seen the car. The obvious conclusion is that the car is between posts 3 and 4.

There are always two cibists in a post. So, while the first one stays there and continue to check cars running, the second runs. The second cibist of both posts 3 and 4 run to each other. If they have, they also take portable CB sets to maximise the speed of the information ; but it isn't always possible, because of the cost of this material.

Running to meet each other, the two cibists can't miss the car. They find it, and they report. There are two different cases.

First, the car has stopped or travels at very low speed. If the other cars can go normally, there's nothing to do ; just call everybody to explain what's happening. If the car is on the road and prevent other cars from running, the cibists calls the start line and tell them to stop cars starts until the road is free.

Second, the car has slided off the road. The first decision is to stop or not the race, if other cars may be blocked ; then come the important things.

We must know, in as little time as possible, as many things as possible. First, are the pilots well ? If yes, there is no problem ; just let the race go on. Fortunately this happens generally, thanks to the roll-cages and four-points belts. If not, we must know if they are injured or not, and if their injuries are minor or major. If they are in bad conditions, we must ask the race director to stop the race and to call medical staff.

That also happens that a door is blocked, and pilot can't go out the car. Then, the first thing to say is if the car burns. If a car burns with somebody in, the person is almost already dead and it is sure he'll be severely injured : we ask immediately the race to be stopped and call firemen and doctors and nurses without waiting to see injuries.

What happens too often is that a spectators is injured. Because actually a spectator doesn't obey when we give some advice. They put in ways out, in external sides of curves, and a car comes, the car has a problem, and it runs over the spectator. In 1998 Ardèche rally, two spectators were killed...

When the car is out of the road and everybody safe or with doctors, the race director decides if the race must go on. Generally it is decided to finish the race. A really bad event is needed to stop the race. In the Ardèche rally the race was stopped ; but this is absolutly uncommon. And it depends on the race director's nature.

If the race goes on, we wait the road to be free, and then, the car that had been stopped starts normally, and we note its start, and its passage.

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