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Thousands of enthusiastic spectators, happy drivers and teams and also international observers who nodded approvingly: it is not surprising Rally Norway Managing Director Even Wiger was smiling more than usual.

Rally Norway lived up to expectations.

Even Wiger, Managing Director of Rally Norway, said that he wanted to convey a big thanks to the public, to the more than 4,000 volunteers and to the drivers for a thriller of an event.
The camera crew and reporters from TV company ISC (International Sportsworld Communicators) were full of praise for the TV images that they had be able to broadcast worldwide from Rally Norway. As far as they were concerned, foul weather, snow and foggy conditions were an added bonus that made the event even more exotic to viewers. ISC hold the TV rights to World Rally Championship events.

Spectator target reached

The final spectator statistics are not ready yet, but if the media’s estimates for the various arenas are anything to go by, Rally Norway exceeded its target of more than 100,000 spectators.
A crowd of between 10,000 and 15,000 cheering spectators filled the centre of Hamar for the opening and the closing ceremony. Saturday’s stage 13 Ringersaker 1 attracted the biggest crowd with around 20,000 people along the route. Stage 8 Kirkenær was a good runner up, with well over 15,000 people gathered on the fantastic 4 km long stand at ”flomvollen”.
The town stages in Kongsvinger and Hamar also made their spectator targets. The unofficial estimate is 5,000 – 6,000 in Kongsvinger and almost 10,000 in Hamar.

A successful event

Traffic flow went better than expected. 3,500 cars and 100 buses entered and left the parking area at Terningmoen without blocking the Saturday traffic in Elverum. The police have not received any complaints about the traffic and no accidents were reported. The people of Lillehammer supported the event in true Olympic style with around 20,000 spectators.
There were crowds of cheering spectators both out in the forests and for the town stages and the Service Park in the Viking Ship Olympic Hall provided the right atmosphere and buzz of activity to help pump up rally excitement.