Scots stages are 'phenomenal'posted in RSCOT15 | 10 | 2010
JUST HOURS before the start of RallyScotland, we caught up with clerk of the course Iain Campbell to find out how the last-minute plans were coming together; what the competitors feedback has been about the stage after the recce; and how the TV coverage is coming together.
Jim McGill: The drivers have been through the stages on the recce; what's the feedback been?
Iain Campbell: Recce from Day 1 was phenomenal; they really, really like the, which is great. At the end of the day, that's what we're here for. At times my head gets full of other things, like making sure there's wifi for the service parks, but I have to remember there's a sporting occasion going on as well. So for all of them to come back and be so pleased with everything is great.
That said, in some ways it wasn't complimentary because they were saying how these weren't traditional Scottish stages because they are so smooth, dry and fast. Some guys were joking that the end of Craigvinean was almost like a tarmac stage, it was so smooth.
Kris Meeke said he thinks we're in for a hell of a competition and that it's going to be seriously fast.
I'm running about like a madman at the moment, but the deadline we can't move is 8.11pm when the first car enters the first stage tonight. My team are just cracking on at the moment getting everything done.
JM: Last year's Eurosport TV coverage, which broadcast Scotland to millions of viewers in 70 countries around the world, received huge praise. Can the TV viewers expect more of the same this year?
IC: Definitely. The outside broadcasting trucks are already in place at Errochty for the live coverage tomorrow; that's three 19-tonne trucks, six Transit-type vehicles and then there's seven cars goes out.
It's a logistical headache, but one we've enjoyed solving, in many ways thanks to the forestry commission. The TV guys will finish tomorrow night around 8 o'clock, then they'll pack up and move off to set up again at Loch Ard for the live coverage on Sunday morning. It is a busy weekend for them.
JM: I guess it's a major logistical headache getting all the cameras in places?
IC: Yes, it is. There are five cameras on each stage, all at the end, there are no fixed cameras in the stage and no coverage at the start of the stage. Coverage in the stage is all done in-car, and from the helicopter.
What Eurosport identified from its coverage last year is that switching from the start of the stage to the end of the stage, and back to the cars going through the stage, just broke up the action and the story. The pictures from the helicopter and the in-car gave the viewers everything they wanted. I don't think anyone will be disappointed, believe me.
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Jim McGill