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You are in: Special Events: World Rally 2001 |
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Thursday, 29 November, 2001, 18:07 GMT
McRae backs rally safety
McRae crashed out of the Rally of Great Britain
Colin McRae has said rallying is safe despite a spate of recent accidents in the World Rally Championship.
The Scot, who finished second in the world championship, was lucky to survive a crash on the Rally of Corsica last year. His Ford team-mate Carlos Sainz injured 13 fans after leaving the road and hitting the crowd during the Network Q Rally of Great Britain. McRae himself crashed out of the rally and co-drivers of top stars Tommi Makinen and Francois Delecour have also been casualties. But McRae insists governing body the FIA are doing all they can to prevent further accidents.
"A lot is being done on the safety front," the 33-year-old said
at Thursday's launch of his biography The Real McRae.
"The issue has been kicked up a gear after what happened last weekend and it's something that should never be stopped working on. "It's very difficult to control an event which takes place over 350-400 kilometres of road and a huge task to make it secure for everyone, including the spectators. "The incident with Carlos last weekend proves that. "But I know that safety is something the FIA and individual rally organisers are working very seriously on." Strict safety guidelines The introduction of new events to the series, involving Germany staging a round of the World Championship for the first time next year, can only help to improve security. "I support the new events, providing they are organised well," said McRae. "But that tends to always be the case because they are so well scrutinised. "There are some very strict guidelines which they must adhere to. "They start from scratch, which I think is a better situation than the older rallies trying to alter things in order to fit in."
While McRae admits that safety concerns mean modern rallies "have to be quite sanitised", he enjoys an event like the Safari in Kenya. "On the Safari, the speeds are so fast that it can be dangerous," said McRae of the longest World Championship event which is notoriously gruelling and an ultimate test of endurance. "I'd love the championship to have an event like the old Safari where nobody has any pace notes and it comes down to pure survival rather than who has the most speed."
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