This was my fourth time at the Pines, and I do find the spectator areas a bit restrictive... but we live in a world where law suits are common... and common sense is not.

This year they did add an extra barrier at the iron bridge area that was supposed to be reserved for media (although it wasnt really mentioned anywhere).  I stood behind the green tape when I got there an hour early, but as more people arrived they went ahead of it, and since no officials pushed them back, I crossed also.  Ended up near one of the big trees where it was always.

One thing I'd always feel would be nice would be access to a map which shows all the stages so that we can better pick a spectator spot.

Still, I had a blast last weekend and I've already booked next year in my calendar!

The guys setting this up did a great job!

My thoughts....get involved. These guys need all the help they can get.  Ross, Dave, Doug, and Jenn were the people that I worked with, and they did a fine job with the resources they had available.  If memory serves me, they had 170ish volunteers.  I believe Ross said that was barely enough.

I had awesome access as well. I could go places that spectators could not. An added benefit.

Shout out to all the organizers that showed Lex and I the ropes, and to the people that made my breakfast for me at the lodge...it was awesome!  Thanks to the sponsors as well...especially Yokohama!!  I needed new tires!! ,

See you all next year!

Jarred

A cross-over would be awesome!  But the field would have to be pretty much twice the size.  I thought the rally was very well done. The only thing I would've liked was to have the Golton stage completely lite up.

For sure spectating at the Tall Pines is not what it used to be in the 'good old days'. But the changes are mostly not the Organizers' choice; they are the result of changing safety regulations, which in turn are mostly due to  changes in insurance requirements, which in turn are mostly in response to a more litigious society. However it has not affected only the spectators; have a look at the safety equipment required for competitors. In the 'good old days' they only needed a roll bar and just about any old helmet. In fact in the 'really good old days', they didn't even need that.

Finding a good spectator area is extremely difficult. It must not only be a location where the cars put on a good show, but it must be able to safely accommodate several thousand people, park 1000 cars and have outside access. We have spent a lot of hours looking for a good location to replace Castledine's Corner, but have not been able to find it. As Dave said, we are open to  any reasonable, seriously checked out suggestions.

As for running Golton in daylight, we do not have that option, as the owners of the Iron Bridge spectator area (all parking and viewing is on private property), will not grant permission for us to be there at night. However we can light Golton up better. Can you help  us find more generator lights and can you bring them to Bancroft for us?

In the meantime, as suggested, the best answer is to volunteer as a marshal That will get you to some great spectating points.

Ross Wood, Clerk of the Course      

Having only run the "new setup" but having spectated on the "old setup" I can honestly say that as a competitor even the regional event is long combined with a full day of recce followed immediately by shakedown (I'm not sure how people without crews manage to do it all!). The national is only longer. I'm not whining by any means because I do love this sport and wouldn't have it any other way but remember the old setup ran until around midnight or later before the podiums were done so I can understand comments about timing and distances etc. The cold also sucks the energy out of you.  

The Golton stage has consistently been a sore spot for many. I think the idea of more lighting is a good one but could run into cost issues as we would probably need 10 of those generator lights. I can't see the Goltons putting permanent lighting in on that course period.

Personally more bleachers and or an infield spectating point for more people would be ideal so they can get closer to the cars. Also I know this can start to run into money but some raised wooden platforms for spectating in the infield would be ideal. I know due to the land and condition etc this might prove difficult but I would be more than willing to spend a weekend or a bit more in the summer helping to erect these sorts of structures. Of course we would run into building code, weight concerns etc which brings us to the insurance issue again. So could we do large dirt platforms/berms in the infield? I know it would make it a little harder for teams to see but spectators would definitely get a better view while making it much harder for a car to come close to them assuming an error is made. Could do something simple like an electric fence to keep spectators back; I kid I kid  . But that snow fencing with the wires running through it mounted to T-rails might just fit the bill?  

Just throwing some ideas out there.

AK

I have to say Golton this year was an improvement over last year.  There was a generator light which illuminated the jump area, which was nice.

A few suggestions though:

1) There's a lot of wasted space between the fence line and the Tim Hortons bleachers.  Moving the bleachers forward until just 2-3 meters from the fence would be nice I think.  I was on the bleachers at first and the view is fine, but even with a high powered flash it was tasking.  I moved up to the fence for the second pass (as I've been in previous years) and the image quality was better, but the angle from the bleachers was more desirable.

2) in previous years, the jump at Golton was marked with two giant tires on either side which had a bit of fluorescent tape on them.  This year there were 6 (or 8?) bright red fluorescent pylons which only annoyed me because they're so overpowering in pictures (but although I contemplated getting a media pass this year and didnt, next year I will for sure)

3) maybe this is something that is provided when someone requests and is granted media access, but an overall map of all the stages would be nice.  This could better allow media and/or die-hard spectators to find their own places, with the caveat that you do so at your own risk (since it isnt an official spectating area)

4) Iron Bridge, this year was better than previous years overall.  Despite the new green/yellow tape system on the hill (which by the way was not enforced at all, to my delight), the race had cars driving towards the spectators twice, and away from the spectators once (the third time) and this was a very welcome change from the previous two years.  I cant think of any improvements to be made here.

5) I hear Tait farm was open again this year... was it?  If so, it wasnt mentioned at all in the spectator guide.

6) Signage was a bit weak this year (there was no sign at Bronson and Highway), but you know what, Im glad about that.  I dont know if its the lack of signage, or something else, but there werent a lot of people at the bridge when I got there, so I got a premium spot (I showed up around 10:30, after shooting all the cars at the start)

Wedge mentioned some cars were slowing down a fair bit for the jump.. while some did, I cant say it was more than usual.  I guess some drives are either not confident enough, or simply just dont want to risk (further) damage to their car.  Although I think Antoine even got some air on three wheels!

At Golton, an infield spectator area would be awesome, I know the VIPs get an area right next to the jump.. but what is available now is fine.  I'd like some more but Im just going to get the media pass next year.

Two family members volunteer (my dad, 8 years, my brother, 5 I think).  I've often considered volunteering... and maybe I will at some point.  But I dont want to not be able to continuously take pictures.

Is it possible to post a map of most/all the stages with their respective spectator areas (in a fashion similar to how Perce Neige are doing it this year) and then simply have that statement that says you are spectating at your own risk (isnt that true in actual spectator areas anyways?)  Would this stand up to legal requirements or whatever?  Im sure people are doing this right now anyways.

My thoughts.

Wearing my moderator hat for a moment.. just wanted to say thanks to everyone in this thread for being constructive and helpful with your comments/criticisms.

Carry on.