I worked here for about three hours. This point was only 100 meters away from the Dome, but I couldn't watch the Super Special Stage conducted in the Dome. It was really a shame, but this point had its merits.
All rally cars gathered here and co-drivers got out of the car and dropped in at this tent to get the time control sheet that certificates the time of their pass-through. I could have the chance to talk with some world class co-drivers. On the other hand, when I did the arrangements of the cars outside of the tent, I could also approach the cars and drivers. My co-workers were not so good at English, so when something urgent happened, I had to inform the drivers of the information. At that time, I could talk to the drivers. It was a great and exciting experience to me.
I'm writing two episodes that happened today. A famous Japanese movie star, Sho Aikawa (http://teamshow.net/blog/) was joining in the rally as a driver. I knew that when I saw his service team in the service park. He is about 40 and a nice looking guy. Guess what, I MET HIM here by chance. He got out of his car and rushed into the tent and said, "Where's the lavatory?" His face was expressing the urgent situation that he was confronted with.
One more thing happened that I have to tell you about. I MET Mikko Hirvonen by chance near the toilet. I showed him the toilet. His face was light-skinned and looked younger than his age. I thought he was shy and modest. Some rally drivers including Japanese are supposed to be pushy, or have rude manners, but he wasn't like that. He was a gentleman. I'd like to talk about something with him, but I was a rally official and it was amidst the competition. I refrained from speaking to him. He asked me the location of the wash room and I answered. That was it.
(KW: 哀川翔 フィンランド ヒルボネン ラリードライバー)
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