On the loose

We've all had a laugh at the Finns' drinking habits. Last year, Autosport's Anthony Peacock wrote a column in the magazine based on the lucid antics of a reveller in host town Jyvaskyla's main street. When we went back last week, I was astounded at how many of the locals remembered it. They even produced statistics to suggest that Finland is far from the worst in Europe when it comes to alcohol abuse.

But that misses the point. There might well only be several thousand intoxicated people in Finland at any one time. The trouble is that during the rally, they're all standing - or lying - beside the action. Almost anyone who went watching commented on how many drunks were lining the stages. Even during shakedown, we encountered a band of fans who thought nothing of necking half a bottle of vodka between cars.

The chap in the television clip decided to move. But if he'd had two more swigs inside him, who's to say what could have happened? He would plainly have struggled to dodge a Sinclair C5 badly in need of a battery charge, let alone a broadside Carisma GT hitting three figures. Spectator control in Finland is generally among the best in the entire World Championship, but you can't allow for fans unaware of what country they're in, let alone where they should be standing.

In such an environmentally sensitive nation, we should be grateful that rallying is still allowed onto such spectacular roads (although some elements distributed leaflets promoting the opposite during the event). With admission controlled by a pass system (spectators have to pay in Finland), the capacity is there to monitor alcohol intake and refuse entry if necessary. Perhaps the time has come for organisers to seriously re-assess how they deal with booze-laden fans. After all, it would take only one needless tragedy to leave the sport with a colossal hangover.


Rally Finland highlights will be shown on Grandstand (Saturday September 1, BBC1, 1500-1530) and then repeated on BBC2 between 1130 and 1200 on Monday September 3.