Despite the fact that cars have occupied my mind for as long as I can remember, there were a few years when my days were filled with basketball. In these years as a team, I understood that, behind the stars, there are players who rebound, who defend, who pass the ball, and who together, as a team, only in this way, can they achieve victory. Something similar happens in a rally. A complete team must leave their skin months before so that the safety of those who compete, those who you see from the side or at full speed, run as safely as possible. What is behind a rally? Lighthouse of Extremadura team invites us to be part of the Security Caravan of the IV RallySprint Culebrín-Pallares. An invitation that we wanted to share with all of you. Engine running, siren on and… on to the stage!
It all started a little over a month before the appointment, when we had the first contact with the organization. From that moment and until the previous start, scheduled for Saturday, October 20 at 7.30:XNUMX am, the organization had little rest. My mobile needed a couple of daily charges, messages kept coming. With the administrative documentation in order, the signaling and assembly of the sections it was a starting point. Two would be covered by the pilots, Section A-1 located in the region of Tentudía; and Section B-1 “Javier Domínguez”, which corresponds to the mythical “El Culebrín” road, officially called EX318. Two winding roads drawn in the south of Extremadura that would be traveled three times each to complete a total of six passes.
To give this report a more emotional tint, and move away for a moment from the simple lyrics, this test pays homage to Javier Dominguez, a person very involved in this sport who unfortunately lost his life years ago. In addition, with just three editions and the fourth featuring these lines, this event has become very popular among fans for being decisive year after year for the asphalt regional event and for bringing together the best drivers in the championship.
Heating up motors
And social networks gave a good account of it. With them, in addition to encouraging the public, it was used to make viewers aware, both of the place they should occupy and of respect for the environment. The pilots were adding, as much or more than the nerves. The closing of the inscriptions culminated with almost 60 attendees three days before the opening ceremony, an official document that would also be published 24 hours before the event and that gave way to the organization of all communications and material for the Security Caravan. Literature was finally disappearing and action was gaining weight.
On Friday everything was ready to give the welcome to the participants. Right there, where every year, in the Plaza de España in Pallares, a town with less than 400 inhabitants whose population multiplies exponentially with the arrival of this special day. Administrative checks, technical checks and assembly and, finally, a security meeting, one hour before the starting podium ceremony. A well-defined plan in the regulations and carefully followed like a master baker. There was a smell, yes, but not of sourdough, but of burnt gasoline.
It is not easy at all to explain the framework that revolves around the security organization of a rally. Perhaps more complicated than responding to the screams of the alarm clock that kept pounding my head on Saturday at 6 o'clock in the morning. An hour later I had an appointment with the Section B-1 Security Chief, Jose Julio Navarro, who just after shaking my hand gave the order to Civil Protection to move to the previously indicated points. The General Directorate of Traffic has updated this year the traffic regulation of sporting events to indicate that this type of test does not require the accompaniment of agents of the Traffic Association of the Civil Guard. A change that answered one of my first questions, and the Civil Guard?
For its part, each section was occupied at its beginning and exit by a ambulance, which would provide assistance in an emergency. Beside her was a crane, responsible for towing damaged or damaged vehicles. All this information is collected in the Road book presented before the competition, a text of great importance for the pilots in which the coverage of the different companies at each point is even indicated. The last verifications were being completed, now the roar of the engines embraced the spectators and gave oxygen to those of us who were behind the lights.
"Car Zero for Race Direction, do you read me?"
The departure of the first participant, quoted at 7.55:5.550 a.m., corresponded to kilometer point 109 of the BA-XNUMX. Before he released the brake and I will run, Car 0000 and 000 had tested that the section met the appropriate safety conditions. Later, after the Regularity cars, car 00 and 0 would start, the ones in charge of giving the start to the Speed cars. The zero car and their counterparts play a determining role. Its mission is, in addition to analyzing the conditions of the section, to show the public the speed and line that the participants in the rally will make.
In most cases the Zero Car is a competition vehicle, although it is not necessary that it be so. Those that are not racing or semi-racing are the cars that run from the start of the Security Chief to Car 00. As for the crews of the so-called Zero Cars, referring to both driver and co-driver, it is ideal that they have experience in rallies in order to be able to report in detail to the Race Direction. It is also recommended to have a valid officer's license, at least one of the occupants.
As if the Three Wise Men were waiting for us, we set off at full speed at the exit of Section B-1 “Javier Domínguez”, our place of work. Just before Car 0000 left on this second stage, we, the broom car and car tapes we had to do our job. The Cintas Car is one of the most important in the Security Caravan. You must ensure road closures as well as alert spectators to potential hazards at their locations. As important as the Broom Car, which will travel the section after the last participant.
Everyone in their place
Pedal to the floor at the exit. The sound of the gauge announces to the spectators that the Safety Car is approaching, and that the adrenaline will not be long in shooting. Our objective, in addition to confirming the closure of the section and warning spectators who were left behind, was to ensure the radius points, another of the keys to organizing a rally. This team deserves not a paragraph, but an entire report. And it is that they are volunteers who, in addition to suffering from inclement weather, sometimes risk their lives to inform the pilots of possible dangers.
At the foot of the section, the radio points and flags are in charge of controlling the passage of the participants and, if necessary, informing the pilots with the different typology of flags. Three colors are usually available: yellow, blue and red. The first of them informs the pilot of the presence of a hazard on the edge of the runway or in a part of it. With it, the participant knows that he must slow down and not overtake, preparing to change the line. The blue one, in disuse, warns of the approach of another faster vehicle. And the red one, the most prohibitive, stops the race completely.
Green light
We crossed the point of arrival and first mission accomplished. Car 0000 receives the exit order. The second section, that of "El Culebrín", the most anticipated by the fans, trembles with the passage of the participants. A brief period of time to delight ourselves with the beauties that dance across our retinas. The retractable headlights of Jesús Luque's Honda Prelude dazzle us, the roar of Santiago Barragán's BMW M3 E46 gives us goosebumps and the flicks of David Navarro's BMW 325i E30, with its restless rear end, end up making us smile amid so much concentration. There are things that cannot be explained. They feel, they enjoy, without more.
accident on the bridge
As we head to the service park, located halfway between stage and stage in the town of Monesterio, we are informed of a tremendous accident. Again flat fifth on the link road. One of the fastest riders, the participant with number 5, suffers a hard accident on one of the bridges of Section B-1. His Peugeot 106 Rallye breaks the parapet of the bridge and is about to fall into the void. I couldn't feel anything but chills when I looked at the height of it, more than twelve meters separated us from the ground. The concern ended with an "I'm fine" from the pilot, two words that sowed calm in the Security Caravan.
Unfortunately, the section was neutralized. This happens when, after an accident, the track does not meet the safety conditions to be able to continue running. If the duration of a regrouping exceeds 15 minutes, that is, if the track is not ready to continue within that period of time, the section will be neutralized or cancelled. The rest of the pilots will have to divert and continue towards the next section. Likewise, in the event of an accident, the injured participant will show a sign identified in the Road Book with the word OK in green to indicate that he is okay. Otherwise, it will be signaled with a red SOS.
Up those glasses
After this incident, which the Cintas Car corrected without problems, the party continued. The rest of the passes, both of Section A-1 and B-1, were completed cleanly and without serious accidents. The winner of the IV RallySprint Culebrin-Pallares completed the 54 km. timed in a time of 30:01:695 minutes. Antonio Luis Casimiro signed the second fastest time, bordering on victory with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, just 03,919 seconds behind the German model. The third place was for José Antonio Caballero, a participant who finished 37,824 seconds from the head with also a spectacular Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
La awards put the finishing touch to an impeccable collective work. Thanks to Jose Julio Navarro, who left us behind the wheel with the utmost confidence and from the co-pilot's position explained to us the entrails of the Security Caravan. To all the human team of the IV RallySprint Culebrin-Pallares and especially to the Escudería Faro de Extremadura, which has made me feel like a member from the first contact I had with them.
Photography - Alvaro Pilot, Dayla Photography
