Cambrian Rally/Rally GB

[Bri Roberts]

Thanks for putting me right, Fester. 

My apologies, Madam Nemesis. 

[Bri Roberts]

Much has been stated over the past few days about the Wales Rally GB being shown in around 80 countries across the World which it is hoped will help boost tourism for Llandudno and the county of Conwy.

Well, here is the TV schedule.

http://www.walesrallygb.com/spectators/index.php

TV coverage of the 2011 Wales Rally GB will include the following:

ESPN

Fri 11 November
23:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain, Day 1

Sat 12 November
06:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain, Day 1
15:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain, Day 1
22:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain, Day 2

Sun 13 November
12:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (LIVE) Great Britain, Power Stage
22:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain, Final Day

Mon 14 November
09:00 - FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain, Power Stage

In addition, the ESPN team will be at the rally doing some social media features (facebook.com/espntvuk) of behind the scenes. Fans can post questions and ESPN will try and get the answers.

RALIO

Ralllying fans can enjoy free-to-air coverage of the final stage of the World Rally Championship 2011 on S4C when the 2011 champion will be crowned.

Ralio+ will have coverage of the Wales Rally GB from 10-13 November and one of the high points will be the live free-to-air coverage of the final Powerstage at the Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd on Sunday, 13 November.

Presenters Emyr Penlan and Lowri Morgan and the Ralïo+ team from P.OP.-1 production company will present the last rally of the Championship, the Wales Rally GB, as it weaves its way through North and Mid Wales.

Throughout the rally, we will get the opinions of former British champions Howard Davies and Gwyndaf Evans. Wyn Gruffudd will keep an eye on all the developments and we will have exclusive footage from the Ralio+ helicopter, along with the expert analysis of former UK champion Phil Pugh.
There will be a special edition of Ralio+ the following Thursday 17 November providing highlights of the Wales Rally GB and the 2011 season.

Ralïo+ English subtitles Website: s4c.co.uk/ralio

Ralio+ transmission times:

Thursday 10 November - 21:30 (repeated 23:40)
Friday 11 November - 21:50 (repeated 23:55)
Saturday 12 November - 17:55 (repeated 00:30)
Sunday 13 November - 11:50 Power Stage Live (repeated at 23:35)
Friday 18 November - 12:30 (review show)

S4C can be viewed in Wales on:
Freeview - 4
Virgin TV - 167
Freesat - 104
Sky - 104
Sky (without subscribing) - 134

S4C can be viewed outside Wales on
Freesat - 120
Sky - 134

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two Wales will have extensive highlights from the 2011 Wales Rally GB in an hour long special programme at 11.20pm on Monday 14 November.

Coverage is presented by writer and commentator Mark James, who covered the WRC between 1995 and 2002 on both TV and radio - marking his 100th World Rally broadcast.

BBC Two Wales is available on digital satellite (Sky) EPG no 991 outside Wales.

[DaveR]

Ken Block with one of the biggest jumps at Wales Rally GB:
Ken Block Big Jump 2011 WRC Wales Rally GB Power Stage

[DaveR]

Sebastien Loeb crashes into a spectators car coming the other way. Those of us watching in Llandudno will have seen tourists risking a similar situation, as they ignored 'road closed' signs to try and drive around Marine Drive. Several vehicles were turned back by the Pier side gate as rally cars came speeding up behind them.

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs1dYjE24K0

[DaveR]

Coverage of the Llandudno launch, courtesy of Glyn Hughes at Bottlemedia:
Llandudno start of the 2011 World Rally Championship GB

[Nemesis]

Thanks for putting me right, Fester. 

My apologies, Madam Nemesis. 

No probs.-- After all Nemesis is the goddess of revenge!!
Thanks Fester--I'm still chuckling over your comment

[DVT]

The more I read this thread, the more I am convinced that this 'sport' is a very dangerous, wasteful and unnecessary endeavour.   

It's the only sport that I like!

Its not in the Olympics, and it doesn't feature on any UK Sports Channels, so I can only conclude that its not a sport.
Similarly, when local lads drive noisy cars around Mostyn Champneys or Marine Drive, at about half the speed these guys do, they get arrested..  But perhaps they are training for this 'sport'?

Mr Fester ...

... I wonder which sport you do support, so that I can come on here and criticise it!!!

Anyway ...

"Motor Sport is dangerous" ... yet it is not even in the top 10 dangerous sports or pastimes in the UK!  Top of the list is angling - consider how many fishermen have drowned in this area alone - they didn't all die of boredom!  Horse-riding activities also feature high on the list and even sports such as Rugby are higher than motor sport in terms of deaths or serious injuries.  We (motor sport organisers) do everything we can to ensure the safety of everyone involved and yes, sometimes things do go wrong, as in any sport.

"Motor Sport is wasteful" ... presumably you're referring to the use of the dwindling supplies of fuel.  Consider this ... ONE weekend's premier football matches use more fuel than all motor sport in the UK.  I know that footballers are not powered by petrol (only by money) but consider how all the fans got the ground, how the footballers got to the away match.  Cycling even uses a lot of fuel each week - very few cyclists will cycle their way to the areas they go mountain-biking in - they use cars - and with the cycles mounted on top that is a way to waste fuel.

"Motor Sport is unnecessary" ... I don't know if you are a car owner, but if you are you can drive around in relative safety due to the developments of the motor vehicle over the years.  Developments that have come about through a lot of motor sport - safety belts, laminated screens, air bags, strenghtened body shells, better tyres, etc.  Or perhaps you are still driving a Model T Ford and fail to realise the benefits!

"Motor Sport is not in the Olympics" ... no, but couldn't it be?  It is something where a winner can be determined by a precise method (timing) and not by the opinion of a few judges (such as diving, gymnastics, ice skating).  What constitutes a "sport"?  To my mind, an activity than can be precisely measured - so that rules out quite a few Olympic "sports".  I've yet to see Darts and Snooker in the Olympics but they are considered to be sport, and the winner can be measured without resport to a judge's opinion.

As for young lads driving around Mostyn Chapneys then there will get arrested for driving in an inappropriate manner, quite correctly.  There are motor sport activities which they could quite legally have a go at, under supervision and instruction - they need to be encouraged to join their local club and take part in activities.

To answer some of the other points ... I was the guy in the radio car at Spectator Point 2 (the tank tracks) and was surprised how many spectators thought it was spectator point 1.  I was not aware of the buses failing to stop beforehand.  However, the viewing from the zig-zags would have been, in my opinion, very restricted.  I am amazed at the places some of the spectators got to and glad that no-one came to harm by falling off!

The delay in getting people away at the end was due to (a) a Spanish crew parking their car on it's roof on the first bend of the stage, necessitating a 30-minute hold up while the stage was made safe again and (b) the number of people - I was staggered how many queued up.

I have to say that there were no problems with spectators at my location and thanks to all who did attend.

The Slowly Sideways (lack of) display was a farce - I'll make no further comment.

All I can say is that a lot was learnt on this first visit to the town for 30 years and I'm sure will all be addressed for next year.  I am not on the organising committee of the event but know a few people who are, and comments have been shared.

[DaveR]

Mr Fester ...
... I wonder which sport you do support, so that I can come on here and criticise it!!!

Mr. Fester is an excellent darts player. He keeps asking me if I'd like to play but I'm unfortunately about 5 stone too light.   

[Fester]

Ha! Mr Deep Vein Thrombosis...

How nice to hear from you.
Is Rally Driving crap?  Well, it seems that opinion is equally divided on the subject... I think it is, and everyone else thinks it isn't.
So thats fair enough.

What sport did I play?  I played football, over 3000 games, to a terrible standard for several mediocre teams.
I don't recall ever touching the ball in at least 2900 of those games to be honest.
My career, such as it was, was entirely ''unnecessary'' and certainly ''dangerous'', hence the state of my knees these days, which is what hastened my retirement.
So I turned to darts as Dave R says.
There is a thread on this Forum about Darts, you are welcome to join in, criticise.. even to the point of sticking the boot in.
I'm a big boy I can take it...  in fact its what this forum has been missing recently.

It still won't change my opinion that Rally driving is ridiculous, and I have a bone to pick with the organisers actually....

[Merddin Emrys]

Mr Fester ...
... I wonder which sport you do support, so that I can come on here and criticise it!!!

Mr. Fester is an excellent darts player. He keeps asking me if I'd like to play but I'm unfortunately about 5 stone too light.   

 L0L L0L

[Merddin Emrys]

Welcome DVT. Me and erindoors loved seeing the rally here, it was great to see it 'home' again after all these years, what a great sport it is too, to drive at those speeds through the forests takes remakable skill and courage. But why does it no longer have the proper tv coverage that it deserves like it had years ago? (BBC2 Wales Mon night 11.20pm)  I must confess an interest here as many years ago I was a member of the Historic Rally Car Register with a blue 64 Triumph Spitfire and was a regular at the old Lombard RAC Rallys, happy days  ^*^0

As I said earlier it's the only sport I like  D)

[Fester]

Ahhh... but, do you like it enough to pay £20 to watch it, Merddin?

[Merddin Emrys]

Ahhh... but, do you like it enough to pay £20 to watch it, Merddin?

I'm far too tight for that these days (I did years ago though!) but don't forget, 2 of us, plus parking, plus booking fee and it would have been near £50

[Fester]

You can afford it mate,  D) ... but more importantly isn't that something that DVT as an organiser should be addressing?
i.e, an avid Rally fan thinks that the prices are so high that they won't pay to see it, even when it comes to their hown town?

Thats got to be an issue.

[Merddin Emrys]

You can afford it mate,  D) ... but more importantly isn't that something that DVT as an organiser should be addressing?
i.e, an avid Rally fan thinks that the prices are so high that they won't pay to see it, even when it comes to their hown town?

Thats got to be an issue.

It seems that the £20 was a deterrant to keep people of the Orme, in our case and I expect many others it worked!     We enjoyed seeing the cars coming past the Grand hotel (dodging ordinary cars that somehow got on to the 'closed' road!) warming up tyres, brakes etc before the first stage.