British Rally Championship manager Iain Campbell has praised the forward-thinking approach of the organizers of last week’s M-Sport Return to Rally Stages and urged rallying to learn from a new way of running an event.
Coronavirus restrictions forced the West Cumbria and Eden Valley Motor Clubs to rethink the way they worked ahead and during the Greystoke event.
Campbell said the innovations introduced for British rallying’s first forest rally in five months had to be embraced.
“The organizers worked really hard,” said Campbell.
“As well as putting together a rally, there was a whole lot of new ground to cover with COVID-19. Everybody had their road book and timecards emailed to be printed at home.
“There was no physical contact with the marshals, the guys then showed them through the window and if there was a problem then they had a QR code which, when scanned by the mobile phone would take a picture of the card and send it straight to the organizers with a query.
“This has really forced a re-think about the way we run rallies. Going back to the old ways is something I would fight against. We have to embrace these changes and use them as a springboard to take the sport forward again.
“There’s not a lot of good that has come out of coronavirus, but this change of thinking is something which could have an impact on all areas of our sport.”
