Birr Motor Club Rally - Camross, Laois

Cass

Anyone at it today?

It passed straight by my front door (literally) so when the weather eased off i took stints out watching.

The drivers are nuts. The bend at the end of the road in the video below is risky at 30 mph on a good day. The braking markers were in place but some underestimated the braking capabilities of their cars or overestimated the condition of the road. A couple hit the wall, but nothing too serious, bar one.

It went by me like a scalded cat. Faster than anything else today. There is a hump in the road at the 200 yard marker, but i seen no break lights. As he passed the 100 yard marker the sign nearly came off, but no brake lights. Then they came on.

The front of the car seemed to veer right, into the ditch, then immediately swerved left and went sideways into the wall/ditch at the bend. Now at this stage it's on the limit of my vision. I seen lads in high vis jackets running around and the lad with the yellow flag was waving like feck.

My Father was beside me and said we should wave down the oncoming cars. I told him they won't A) See us B)Pay attention to us even if they do see us. He tried anyway. The first car could be heard screeching to a halt, no bang, and seconds later took off again. The next one (Mark 2 escort) stopped just shy of hitting the crashed car. Then a Subaru, which ended up "parked" behind the Escort. Then an Evo, and again had to stop. At this point there were stewards at the 200 yard marker with yellow flags waving down the cars.

The "parked" cars were on their way within 10 seconds, and the crashed one was pulled into the nearest field. I believe it is still parked down there, so thinking of going down in the morning to see if it is. I'll get a picture if i can.


The event itself was very well run. The stewards spent weeks before today marking the roads, informing locals, making arrangements for farmers in case of veterinary emergencies. There were ample safety cars, and numerous others doing various jobs. They cleaned up everything before leaving, and thanked each local for their patience.

I used to travel around with some mates about 15 years ago following the various stages, but work got in the way. Today kind of rekindled the enjoyment of it, and made me realise that no matter how good a driver you think you are, you're really not. (i know they are performance cars, but still it takes some balls to drive like that on roads i think 30 mph is fast).


Anyone attend? Where were ye, and what did you think? I only got a few clips, and made a butchers attempt at a video to merge the few good ones. Missed the accident, but i'm not a gore freak so no loss.

Watch for the second car (Evo), and the fourth (Escort). Two of the fastest with the Evo lifting a little as it passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXJHG4LcJuQ

PS - Mods if this is the wrong place please move. Could not find a "Rally/Racing" thread/forum.