>Well I was out at Baie Des Chalure and there was a huge
>spectator area, maybe 3000 people, but I think they were
>there for the party more than to actually see the cars.
>
>It reminded me of my Grateful Dead days, there was so much
>pot smoke in the air I was having flashbacks and there was
>beer vending going on too
Morgan:
A few observations.
Yes, in Canada, the spectators do tend to have more fun out in the woods, but based on my spectating over the past three years, I have not seen anything that was out of hand.
While spectating in one of the "specator enclosures" at Maine, I found myself standing beside one of the organizers of the Defi. We had some interesting discussions about how the spectator facilities were laid out at Maine versus Defi. At Maine, far too many of us were stacked on top of each other in a very small area (in fact, you walked past us at this location and got to take photos about 200 yards down the road, where we all could have spectated safely and in more comfort). However, we all stayed where we should have, as we understood the reasons for the restrictions. The same restrictions exist at Defi, but the organizers are all rallyists, and they understand that if you choose and prepare your spectator locations properly, the spectators will be happy. In additions to selecting great locations, they send out teams of people before the rally to cut the undergrowth and to remove bush that will interfere with sight lines.
At Defi, the Friday night short stages are all run twice, in reverse order. So, no reason for the spectators to leave early, as the fast cars are at the end. Also, the build-up in excitment as the top ten cars run the stage is incredible (might also be assisted by those substances which you talked about).
I also had the opportunity to marshal a corner on Concord Pond stage at Maine. This stage was not a spectator location, so in theory, there should not have been any spectators allowed on it. But based on my observations driving through the stage after it was over, there were probably more spectators on this stage than on all of the other stages in the rally combined. Most of them were locals. No spectator pens, no specator tape, etc. at my corner (which was a great corner). About 50 local spectators who were very well behaved and were very co-operative in listening to my requests and positioning themselves correctly. Were these people excited? You bet, especially after Pat Richard went through as first car on the road!
In summary, from what I have seen and heard, we do a better job of catering for spectators in Canada. I know that the spectators respond positively to this. If anyone wants to see for themselves, come to Defi or Tall Pines this year.
Doug Woods