Timekeepers training day for Rally Ireland 2009 held in Derry
Press Release
23rd November 2008
Timekeepers are put through their paces for Rally Ireland 2009
The timekeeper training for Rally Ireland 2009, the first round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in January, took place today in Derry with over 40 people being trained in how to run Ireland’s biggest sports event in 2009.
The timekeeping is one of the most important elements of Rally Ireland and as such the training was given by Mark Henderson from International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC), the global promoters of the WRC.
Henderson guided all the timekeepers through use of the ISC equipment for car tracking and timing during the event and also how to deal with any timing problems over the course of the three days of the Championship.
The first section of the day dealt with the arrival and start controls for the timing of the cars, while the second half of the day looked at the stop controls and flying finishes where the world’s top rally drivers will be battling for every tenth of a second to be cut off their timing.
With some of the winning margins being a case of seconds and even less a lot of pressure rests on the decisions and training of the timekeepers.
Assistant Clerk of the Course for Timings and Communications for Rally Ireland is Robert McDaid and he knows how integral a part the timekeeping team will play.
Robert McDaid said:
These guys have a lot of experience from timekeeping in the Rally Ireland pilot events and in 2007 so they know what they are doing. There is a huge amount of pressure on them because when the winning and losing margins are so small, even a tenth of a second in some cases, then this might not just cost a team points but a lot of money too! We have a great team here and once the World Rally Championship hits these shores we will be setting a high standard for the 2009 season.”
Rally Ireland 2009 takes place from the 29th January to the 1st February travelling through seven counties in the north and south of Ireland. It is expected that in excess of 250,000 people will attend the event which is replacing Monte Carlo as the first round of the World Rally Championship in 2009.
Rally Ireland is run by Motorsport Ireland in conjunction with the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs (ANICC) with sponsorship from Failte Ireland and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). The 2009 World Rally Championship will be run in 12 rounds across the world and will reach a global TV audience of over 800million. For more information on Rally Ireland 2009 log on to rallyireland.org
Ends
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