WhetherRallye Sunseeker continues to thrive due to a range of successful partnerships. There are many commercial partners without whom the event would never run and the 25 year partnership with the Forestry Commission and Somerley Estates ensures that the event has unique access to southern England’s best rally stages. Less obvious, but equally important, are the partnerships with the local emergency services such as the South West Ambulance Service Trust and Dorset Police.

Nowhere else in the UK does a rally work so closely with the local police to ensure a safe event and promote road safety.  Certainly, it is the only rally in the country where a police car is used as one of the official safety cars.

The Dorset Police Land Rover Discovery travelling ahead of the rally cars will be crewed by Inspector Shaun Cronin of Dorset Police and Rallye Sunseeker Safety Manager, Neil Roden. As a highly trained police driver as well as a rally competitor, Shaun is the ideal person to undertake this role.

“Rallye Sunseeker brings tens of thousands of spectators out onto Dorset’s roads”, says Cronin. “The rally organisers have always worked closely with my Police colleagues to ensure the minimum of traffic disruption and that people arrive safely, watch safely, and get home safely.  With the Safety Manager for the event sat alongside me both the organisers and Dorset Police are better able to monitor people’s safety and react more effectively should there be an incident of any kind”.

Although he has to endure quips that he’s “helping the police with their enquiries”, Rallye Sunseeker Safety Manager Neil Roden is equally enthusiastic about this unique partnership, “We have an enviable level of co-operation with Dorset Police” says Roden,

“And this is mirrored in the support we also get from the South West Ambulance Service Trust. While incidents are rare and Rallye Sunseeker has a dedicated teams of doctors, paramedics, rescue crews and recovery vehicles ready to respond, the county ambulance and air ambulance are already briefed and on stand-by should they be needed.”

Despite all this, none of us should forget the wording on the back of the car park ticket and the signs as you approach special stages, “Warning – Motor sport can be dangerous”.  So if you want to see rally cars behind the Dorset Police Land Rover make sure that you’re behaving sensibly and not standing in a dangerous place. If you are, the stage won’t run. It’s that simple because we will not compromise Rallye Sunseeker’s excellent safety record.

Help us to keep it that way through your actions on the special stages and your driving to and from those stages. We want you to enjoy your day, arrive home safely, and come back next year.