Week 68 - No 4 Star Answer To The Petrol Crisis

[Andy]

One of the more successful aspects of writing this column is that there are times when it is possible to put before the trials riding fans prospects of the sport that affect them all.

Such was the case last week when I was able to reveal to a wide audience that the continuation of the Scottish was under severe threat following the formal letter from the Army to the Edinburgh and District Club that they would not be providing a refuelling service in the future.

Whilst most enthusiasts in Scotland became aware of the problem at some time through the week, to those who were unable to attend, I guess it must have come as a shock. One tends to think that the Scottish is sacrosanct

[4ourtea]

I haven't read all the correspondence from last week's letter/article, so forgive me if the below has already been suggested...

Whilst the regular Army/Forces personnel may be being prevented through "in theatre" activities ("wars" - in everyday speak) from providing the refuelling service, is there not the chance that the Territorial Army (part-time - in the nicest possible sense) might not be able to fill the breach. I know a chap that used to be in the Artillery in the TA and he occasionally went off on exercise for a week and had all the equipment made available to him and his colleagues, from the regular Army. Obviously the use of Land Rovers and trailers to get to far flung stops like those out on the Bradileg loop on Monday and Saturday demand the use of such vehicles and without them those filling points would fail to function. It may well be that the TA's Logistics division would welcome the opportunity to manage such a vital task. As all the riders and spectators know, the logistic and management of the whole service runs from dawn til dusk, and is a severe test of any organisation.

Worth a try don't you think? How do they organise the refuelling on the Dakar Rally? That must be a similarly taxing exercise.

Were this not to be possible, I think that the prospect of an extra

[gizza5]

I haven't read all the correspondence from last week's letter/article, so forgive me if the below has already been suggested...

Whilst the regular Army/Forces personnel may be being prevented through "in theatre" activities ("wars" - in everyday speak) from providing the refuelling service, is there not the chance that the Territorial Army (part-time - in the nicest possible sense) might not be able to fill the breach. I know a chap that used to be in the Artillery in the TA and he occasionally went off on exercise for a week and had all the equipment made available to him and his colleagues, from the regular Army. Obviously the use of Land Rovers and trailers to get to far flung stops like those out on the Bradileg loop on Monday and Saturday demand the use of such vehicles and without them those filling points would fail to function. It may well be that the TA's Logistics division would welcome the opportunity to manage such a vital task. As all the riders and spectators know, the logistic and management of the whole service runs from dawn til dusk, and is a severe test of any organisation.

Worth a try don't you think? How do they organise the refuelling on the Dakar Rally? That must be a similarly taxing exercise.

Were this not to be possible, I think that the prospect of an extra

Edited May 18, 2008 by GIZZA5

[andy m]

Re the two wars going on , the irony is that the one war is happening because of what that country is sat on= Oil. There is no other reason to be there. Crazy.... Sorry rant over.

Edited May 18, 2008 by bo drinker

[atomant]

Re the two wars going on , the irony is that the one war is happening because of what that country is sat on= Oil. There is no other reason to be there. Crazy.... Sorry rant over.

Yeah, although its a long way to get it back here, refine it and put it in the bikes

[bilc0]

Is there anybody left in the TA anyway's,i thought they was all getting out incase they got called up.

Anything connected with Mr Brown you have to forget.

[copemech]

I checked with Bush, he said we can only send one KC-135 for a refueling operation, but the bikes will have to get up to speed!

[totalshell]

entry fee for the Paris Dakar last time i looked was

Edited May 19, 2008 by totalshell

[slapshot 3]

Fortunately, there

Edited May 19, 2008 by Slapshot 3

[baldilocks]

Getting an outside company to provide the service certainly has plus points, ie agree contract, pay areed fee , receive service.

However I think that it has two potential drawbacks

If it doesnt work out for the company involved the club could be back to square one the following year.

and

The company realise that the event cannot function without them and the price starts going up to where its not affordable.

SO

just an idea but...

could the trials community collectively come up with enough volunteers to run the service for the week ?

I'm thinking you need enough people so that on the longer days people can catch an early or late group of sections to spectate and man a fuel check at some other point in the day or have a rota system so that people get 3 days off and 3 days on the fuel service. In return the club has to organise training as required by the HSE (whatever that might be) and subsidise accomodation. These costs are added to the entry fee along with the hire of vehicles and the fuel itself. This may not at first glance have so much appeal for the spectator but please bear in mind there will be NOTHING to watch without a fuel service.

A number of people have mentioned contacts in the oil industry and I have a friend who works for Shell although not in the uk. I'll ask who actually trains the staff that work for the oil company's like the petrol tanker drivers, perhaps Shell or somebody else would provide discounted fuel and training if they wont provide the full service ?

As said periously my view is that we need to lose the middle of nowhere fuel checks by increasing the range of the bikes so that providing the service doesnt require specialist vehicles like land rovers.

As I say this just another idea for the melting pot

[madcr500]

just an idea but...

could the trials community collectively come up with enough volunteers to run the service for the week ?

I'm thinking you need enough people so that on the longer days people can catch an early or late group of sections to spectate and man a fuel check at some other point in the day or have a rota system so that people get 3 days off and 3 days on the fuel service. In return the club has to organise training as required by the HSE (whatever that might be) and subsidise accomodation. These costs are added to the entry fee along with the hire of vehicles and the fuel itself. This may not at first glance have so much appeal for the spectator but please bear in mind there will be NOTHING to watch without a fuel service.

A number of people have mentioned contacts in the oil industry and I have a friend who works for Shell although not in the uk. I'll ask who actually trains the staff that work for the oil company's like the petrol tanker drivers, perhaps Shell or somebody else would provide discounted fuel and training if they wont provide the full service ?

I don't know anything about anything whatsoever but that seems to make a lot of sense to me.

[thespikeyone]

Getting an outside company to provide the service certainly has plus points, ie agree contract, pay areed fee , receive service.

However I think that it has two potential drawbacks

If it doesnt work out for the company involved the club could be back to square one the following year.

and

The company realise that the event cannot function without them and the price starts going up to where its not affordable.

SO

just an idea but...

could the trials community collectively come up with enough volunteers to run the service for the week ?

I'm thinking you need enough people so that on the longer days people can catch an early or late group of sections to spectate and man a fuel check at some other point in the day or have a rota system so that people get 3 days off and 3 days on the fuel service. In return the club has to organise training as required by the HSE (whatever that might be) and subsidise accomodation. These costs are added to the entry fee along with the hire of vehicles and the fuel itself. This may not at first glance have so much appeal for the spectator but please bear in mind there will be NOTHING to watch without a fuel service.

A number of people have mentioned contacts in the oil industry and I have a friend who works for Shell although not in the uk. I'll ask who actually trains the staff that work for the oil company's like the petrol tanker drivers, perhaps Shell or somebody else would provide discounted fuel and training if they wont provide the full service ?

As said periously my view is that we need to lose the middle of nowhere fuel checks by increasing the range of the bikes so that providing the service doesnt require specialist vehicles like land rovers.

As I say this just another idea for the melting pot

not bad idea, possibly have it so the volunteers are guaranteed an entry for the following years event, no extra cost, and a good way to get people through the door.

As long as the amount of fuel carried per wagon is less than 333 litres you don't an ADR ticket

so it says here

thats how i read it anyway!!!!

How much do they need for each fuel stop???

[baldilocks]

If we work on 4 litres per machine x 275 riders then we will need 1100 litres

[pa.]

The biggest tank on any of the bikes is 3 liters so 3x275 riders 825 liters so 3 vehicles with 333 liters each is enough.

If the fuel was dropped off at the refueling posts prior to the day then all that is required on the day is to have a couple of people at the refueling posts to distribute the fuel to the competitors.

So you would need a fuel transport team that can drop the required fuel at each refueling post the day prior and a team to distribute the fuel on the day.

I am sure any number of the 120 riders who missed the ballot would be only too happy to perform this task to ensure the have a confirmed free start the following year.

[atomant]

That seems a very workable solution. A van shuttle service to provide the fuel to the fueling points ( keeping withing the private carriage limits) - and a team to distribute the fuel. HSE considerations would be workable and easily prepared. The insurance requirements need looking at but besides that, On the face of it, it looks quite straightforward.

So what would be the likely hurdles to overcome or is this the solution?