Stupid spectators, Monte edition

Not a rally goes by without at least one reckless spectator being reckless, refusing to accept the harsh thing called common sense and/or just trying to destroy as many lives as he/she possibly can, including his/her own. This year’s Rallye Monte Carlo was no exception, of course, and as much as we all feel sorry for the genuine fans of the sport, who get SOL when stages get cancelled, there is simply no other way for organizers. As some videos from Monte reveal, the organizers and the FIA could have easily cancelled at least few more stages. In which case I would be totally fine with the idea of public punishment for those responsible for the screw-up. Take this video, for example.

This, my dear overly enthusiastic fans, is how you get killed, or worse, this is how stages get cancelled. I really, truly, honestly cannot find the tiniest bit of understanding for this behaviour, simply because there is no excuse. No, you don’t express your emotions and love for the sport by standing on the outside of a gravel covered fast corner. Or on the outside of any corner, for that matter. I also don’t give a flying f if you don’t really care what happens to you because guess what, neither do I. But I do care what happens to this sport if you get hurt and I also do care what happens to the crew of a car that hits your sorry ass.

But perhaps you’re just not educated and nobody told you where to stand, which, I admit, is a real possibility. In that case, you are still stupid for not using your head, but also organizers should have dealt with you before the stage got underway. Sure, maybe you got to this spot after the stage went live and maybe marshals did not spot you because they cannot cover every inch of the stage, you know. Do you see a trend here? In every imaginable scenario, you end up stupid.

Please, please, use your heads, enjoy the sport, provide the support for the crews, but do it in a safe manner. Yes we all declare our dedication to the glorious 80s and to the infamous tunnels of spectators, but I for one firmly believe that a few dead people now and then is a huge price to pay. Sport will lose nothing of its charm even if you move to the safe areas, do give it a try next time.

Note: Yes I am aware that this corner does not look overly dangerous or difficult to handle, but let’s put it this way. Would you put your kids or your dog or something you hold dear in that spot and let entire field of cars race by?

More videos will probably follow, such as this horrific one:

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