By Paul Evans

The organisers of the Get Connected Rali Bae Ceredigion, which will be Wales’ first closed road stage rally, have issued a warning to any competitor found driving the route on an illegal reconnaissance.

The roads that will make up the four stages on the Aberystwyth University-based event, which takes place on Sunday 8 September, are widely known – and whilst they are open to the public to drive down at any time, by entering the event competitors are forbidden to drive down these roads.

Any competitor who has cause to drive along a stage for whatever reason, be it their commute to work or to visit family or friends, must inform the rally organisers in advance – otherwise it will be deemed unauthorised practice, the penalty for which is exclusion from the event.

However, the urge to repeatedly drive the route – and thus memorise every bump and turn and gain a huge advantage – appears too tempting for some, with the event organisers receiving reports that cars have been seen driving the roads that will be used for the stages, in rally direction, multiple times.

“Residents have reported vehicles driving through areas of the route repeatedly. If the occupants are proved to be competitors who have entered the event, we will have no hesitation in excluding them from the rally,” says Clerk of the Course Wayne Jones.

“The organising team have spent many months building good relationships with householders and business owners in the area and do not want to see a few individuals who feel the need to ‘cheat’ spoil the sustainability of this event.”

To help catch any offenders, local resident liaison teams will now monitor the activity of vehicles and static cameras have been positioned around the route. As well as being subject to exclusion, offenders will be reported to Motorsport UK, the governing body of motor sport in the UK, and be named and shamed on social media.

Of course the vast majority of competitors would never dream of cheating – and such has been the huge demand for places that the Rali Bae Ceredigion organisers are looking into the possibility of extending the maximum number of entries from 120 to 140.