[Topi]

- I was looking for old results on Ed Brennan's www.rallyracingnews.com and came up to funny list of DNFs:
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COOPER TIRE 300 "WEST"
SCCA PRO Rally Championship
May 21-22, 1977
Final Results

THE FOLLOWING CARS DID NOT FINISH

15 Archie Akinens - Co-Driver ran over Drivers hand Stage 4

102 Wes Gaede - Resigned Honerably

l6 Reed Smith - Failed to awake for restart.

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[RuralPilot]

Ah Yes!

"Failed to awake at restart"

Seen that happen many times in the old days. Just let 'em keep on sleeping. I know I rested my eyes a few times while co-driving.

 

[Doug Woods]

The best DNF that I ever saw was at the Nova Scotia Highlands Rally in the early 1970s. The rally started in the Citadel (an old fortress in the middle of Halifax). The cars were all parked inside the Citadel in a sort of parc expose. You had to exit the Citadel over a draw bridge which crossed a moat to officially start the rally at mileage 0.00, on the far side of the moat. One car drove off the drawbridge and down into the moat. Not sure if that was really a DNF or a DNS.

Doug Woods

 

[joeg]

Early 80's Tall Pines, I think. One competitor got lost on the ODO check because of a missing or misnumbered page in the Route Book and got time barred.

It seemed the out of order instructions "fit" for quite a number of miles.

 

[ProRallyPix]

In the early 90's an anonymous co-driver opened a Doo *** route book turned to day two and provided perfect instructions to the start of stage one. Unfortunately it was day one of the rally.

Jim Culp

 

[Seth S]

>Early 80's Tall Pines, I think. One competitor got lost on
>the ODO check because of a missing or misnumbered page in the
>Route Book and got time barred.
>
>It seemed the out of order instructions "fit" for quite a
>number of miles.
>


I seem to remember doing that during either Maine summer, or a TSd rally one year when two stages were identical. Either way we stayed on course and I was only confused as all hell for a little while before i realised i had turned more then one page in the route book.

Seth S

 

[w1jim]

STPR one year a car got stuck at the water crossing. Driver (it's always the drivers) got out and tossed his helmet into the car and it bounced out and floated down the river. Got the car going but couldn't continue - no helmet.
Jim Blumenfeld

 

[Gorgo]

I thought I heard that many years ago Frank and Dan Sprongl stopped at a liquor store to pick up a bottle of champagne for the victory that they let slip away when they couldn't get to the FTC because their car wouldn't restart...

Gorgo

 

[jgp1843]

At one Gold Rush Divisional out of Victor, Colorado in the early '80s the official reason for DNF was given as "wore out roof". Anybody out there remember the time Hendrik Blok's rotary powered GLC's exhaust system caught the codriver's seat on fire? Actually, you could have a lengthy topic full of Hendrik Blok stories (the 510 with no heater; the 240Z in the river; the Fire Arrow without a hood...ad infinitum). Incidentally, I read some time ago that Hendrik had returned to Europe, ran a 911 in historic stage rallies over there for a time, and recently passed away. Does anyone know whether this is true? Hendrik was always controversial, but he was fast and one of the big four around 1980 (Buffum, Millen, Blok and Heinonen).

Jim Pettengill