Mayo stages rally - SS maps?

CiniO

For the first time in I don't know how long, I have a Sunday off, and I was thinking about going to spectate on Mayo stages rally.
However nowhere on the internet I could find maps where actual special stages will be located. Looks like they sell a rally programme for fiver in some local places around Ballina, but that's not good for me as I don't live near Ballina and I'm unable to purchase them.
I would like to go early in the morning and position myself somewhere in nice place at some special stage, but looks like I can't.

Anyone could help by pointing out where special stages will be located, possibly on google maps?

I must say it's bit crazy that they don't publish this info online.


Thanks.

Kevin McCloud

They should sell an online version that one can download and print off alright. Out of curiosity how far are you from Ballina op?

CiniO

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

They should sell an online version that one can download and print off alright. Out of curiosity how far are you from Ballina op?

About 80km from Ballina.

Indeed they should, but looks like they aren't.

Kevin McCloud

Well you are not going to do a 180km round trip for a programme, i guess if your local town is not selling them you will be travelling distances to see stages anyway but I do agree with you that one cannot get it online.

afatbollix

Its the only way the rally can get back some costs.

Were they say they are selling the programs is where the stages are. Just go to the town and buy one from the filling station and then make your way out the stages shouldn't take too long.

CiniO

afatbollix wrote: »

Its the only way the rally can get back some costs.

No it isn't the only way.
It's very silly.

And they didn't get any cash from me as I didn't go eventually, mostly due to fact that I didn't know where to go.

If they are so stock for the cash, why don't they charge people for entry into more insteresing parts of OSes?

Also if they actually advertised where people can go, there'd be probably plenty more spectators, and therefore more advertising for crews so they could rise the cost of entrance fee.
In the end I thought that's what rallies are all about and thats where funding is from - advertising.
If there's no people spectating, there's no income - simples.

wobbles

Stages were based around the Killala area, 90% of the country would have to pass through Ballina anyway to get to the stages.

Charging into stages presents its own problems from an insurance point of view, clubs are stuck for marshals as it is, they cant spare people to take money on corners, when people will just walk across fields (raises its own problems) and avoid paying.

afatbollix

Cant charge to stand by the side of the road.

If you say advertising is the way to charge why didn't you convince your place of work to sponsor the event?

These guys and girls are all volunteers and are not full time rally organisers to run around getting loads and loads of advertisers.

CiniO

afatbollix wrote: »

Cant charge to stand by the side of the road.

If you say advertising is the way to charge why didn't you convince your place of work to sponsor the event?

These guys and girls are all volunteers and are not full time rally organisers to run around getting loads and loads of advertisers.

Well I don't really know what behind rallying in Ireland.
All I can say is what I can see as potential spectator - and it doesn't look great that I couldn't plan ahead where to go as information was not available.

I was involved in organising rallies and also participating in rallies abroad, and I have some background to understand that this can be done better.

Dravokivich

CiniO wrote: »

I was involved in organising rallies and also participating in rallies abroad, and I have some background to understand that this can be done better.

Sure it doesn't take all that much to put together a simple website with locations pinned on google maps these days. That's all you needed. I'm surprised it either isn't done, or isn't accessible if it is.

CiniO

Dravokivich wrote: »

Sure it doesn't take all that much to put together a simple website with locations pinned on google maps these days. That's all you needed. I'm surprised it either isn't done, or isn't accessible if it is.

The reasons it's not done, is that they want to make cash on selling programmes which includes this info, hoping every person spectating on the rally would buy one.

Problem with that is that those programmes were available only in Ballina in few places so someone like me who wanted to plan ahead the day before or so and find a nice locations for specatiting, maybe with little help of street view, had no chance to do it.

If they really have to make cash on spectators like that, they at least they should bother to sell it online. But no, why bother.

I can bet that if SS map info was available on their website, there'd be at least twice as much spectators on the rally comparing to what there was.

Unless they just don't do those rallies for spectators and they don't really want them - as that's what it looks like.

wobbles

One of the hardest parts of running a rally is finding a demanding route for the competitors while at the same time keeping the residents happy along those stages. The rally is quite intrusive, residents are blocked in all day and keeping them happy is fundamental to getting the stages running in that area again. These roads are often single lane roads in the middle of nowhere that dont see much traffic all year round. Only releasing the maps through the rally program means traffic on the stages only happens the weekend of the rally. You would also have boy racers destroying the stages before a rally car even came near it.

There are a huge reasons why maps are only produced through the program, this is just one of them. If you wanted to get a good spot, most programs these days pick one or two locations per stage and highlight these as specatator safe spots.

Since you have experience of running rallys abroad, why dont you join the mayo and district motor club and raise your concerns directly. You will quickly understand all the extra work involved with releasing maps online, not just technically, but the extra workload needed from knock on effects.

liam7831

The programmes are always sold within a few miles of the stages so would be on your way to the stage anyway just head to the rally 30 mins early.

It just sounds to me like you didn't want to pay for the programme. If they sold it online one person you buy it and then share it to everyone else for free

ianobrien

OP, in two minutes I got the details of the roads that were closed from the Mayo County Council website. Also, if you want to know the stage locations the event website had the marshal meeting points. The stages are probably close to them.

As for publishing info online, if its done early it can have problems for residents through boy racers thinking they are better than Loeb and competitors conducting illegal reccie. Also, the advertisers have paid to advertise in the program and the club wants to promote their sales. Its a soirse of income for a very expensive event to run.