[daphne]

Where we "provide events which consitute an attractive, easy entry into the sport..."

http://www.wallingfordhills.org/s4/welcometoclubrally.jpg

http://www.wallingfordhills.org/s4/sawmillstart.jpg

http://www.wallingfordhills.org/s4/sawmillstart2.jpg

I think there were more Evos at Sawmill (a coeff-2 Club event) then at Rim!

 

[RallyVolvo]

Evo's and ReX's.... Where can I get my hands on that kind of fundage? Well, I know of at least one Mirage that was merely posing as an Evo... Sorry I couldn't make it up this weekend. :-(



Nick Polimeni
'71 Volvo 142E (daily driver/RallyCross)
'71 Volvo 145S G2/historic car, when I find time and money to actually build it, or failing that, someone elses money
Editor, Blue Mountain Region, SCCA
[email protected]
www.bmr-scca.org

 

[randyzimmer]

Even tho my car is just a home-built 2.5RS, I did my part and stayed home to let the new guys get an event in (and recover from the trip out west).
I don't know what the remedy for EVO feaver is except for what I always tell people (which I keep repeating until I believe it), "money just helps you hit the trees harder".
rz

________
the volcano vaporizer

 

[daphne]

Jon and I decided not to run for the same reasons. It's nice to go work a rally every so often...reminds me of how much work goes into getting them off the ground.

 

[JohnLane]

Kudos to the organizers and the workers who make it happen. If we really want to make it more affordable, then we should make a formula of 'two wheel drive, two liters and a minimum of 2800 lbs. Then lets see who the drivers are. (my money would be on Carl Yardevall) One could still spend cubic dollars, but it would ultimitely come down to the driver, rather then any oaf with a lot of dough sprinting between turns in their big dollars 4X4 turbo toy. Flame on!! Regards, JohnLane.

 

[John Vanlandingham]

>If we really want to make it more affordable, then we should
>make a formula of 'two wheel drive, two liters and a
>minimum of 2800 lbs.

SHIRLEY you jest! 2800lebz.! That can't be the car weieght, No?

2000 lbs, 2000cc, 2wd, 2 man crew.




Then lets see who the drivers are.
>(my money would be on Carl Yardevall) One could still spend
>cubic dollars, but it would ultimitely come down to the
>driver, rather then any oaf with a lot of dough sprinting
>!!
> Regards, JohnLane.

Sorry about calling you Shirley, Juanita Nina.
















John Vanlandingham

 

[mgpsmith]

What happened to talk of a Perf Rally spec series? How about basing it on a Focus SVT, Neon ACR, the new Toyota thing, or even the Mini? built to a standard prep level, somewhere between P class and G2 rules. Spec race is first on the road so they have decent road conditions. Then a 10 minute gap and along comes the road-eaters, since the small displacement 2wd guys aren't likely to chew it up too badly.

Doing my best to encourage an MGB class.....

 

[daphne]

Good idea!

I for one would love to see a series that rewarded driver skill, not the size of your bank account. A spec series would be a great way to do this.

I think NeDiv already has a spec series now, though....it's called the Evo series! ;-)

 

[JohnLane]

RE: Good idea!

We have the Geo cup here. 3 cyl engine, BONE STOCK!! Slow, but cheap, and all the same. They are a bitch on the hills though!
JohnLane

 

[nialld]

hi all

just a little confused...
i took a look at the entry list....it breaks down something like this(sorry if it is not totally accurate...as we still count with our fingers...you know how it is....)

16 seed 8
10 seed 7
5 seed 6
15 seed 5

again using my fingers...thats 46 out of 59 entries made up of teams with zero to little rally expierience....

and no one left on a waiting list..

all for an entry of 275 dollars..

if that does not constitute an attractive easy entry into the sport...then i dont know how much easier it could be...

as far as the sour grapes over all the EVOS...

what is it that bothers you more
the evos or the irish....


either way i think its only going to get worse as there are more of both on the way..

regards
niall donnelly

 

[mgpsmith]

Neither bothers me personally; I rather like seeing incredible cars. What does bother me is that unless a rallyist is willing to take a second mortgage on the house (or was born into easy money), you aren't going to be driving a car that gives you any kind of road position until you've got enough of a success record to be attractive to major sponsors. So the low budget folks will always be consigned to torn up stages. Perhaps not bad in PA...unless it rains. Certainly a problem in the northern rallies (and Sandblast). I have it on good advice from at least one highly experienced Seed 1 rallyist that road position is critical to success; that just confirms what seems to be common sense. Watch the videos, there is no question that money trumps skill in many cases. I think the long term effect on the sport is predictable.

If there were a spec series that ran an equalized affordable car (for those without major sponsors/income/inheritance), was run across the Club- and Pro- Rally boundries (i.e. would consist of all divisional C2 and higher events), and put the spec cars on the stages first, we'd start to see who can really drive. Running first on the road (and televising spec!) puts top-drawer drivers in potential sponsors' eyes (really think anybody other than hard-core enthusiasts and team friends watches the backpackers?), and hopefully puts some excellent drivers in "real" rally cars. Then we'd start to see the "professional" in ProRally develop.

 

[daphne]

Niall -

I'm offended that you would even imply my post was in any way a derogatory comment about the Irish participation in Club Rally. Frankly, without the large Irish contingency in rally, events like Sawmill would be undersubscribed. From a regional profitability perspective, the Irish crowd is keeping ClubRally afloat. This is a good thing.

The point of my post was to show the irony that a coefficient 2 ClubRally had more Evos than Rim, a big ProRally. I was also pointing out that the influx of Evos in Club Rally does raise the competition bar quite a bit. I'm undecided as to whether or not this is a good thing mostly because I'm not sure if we should be creating an environment where a new competitor feels that he or she needs to purchase a very fast and expensive car in order to be competitive at the Club level. The combination of high horsepower and low levels of experience (and, perhaps, talent) is a dangerous combination which may result in an unacceptable level of accidents or injuries.

Note - I am not implying that any of the people who were driving Evos at Sawmill (whether Irish or some other nationality) were poor drivers. On the contrary, as the results show, they were quite good drivers.

I hope you and others can see past the "ethnic smokescreen" you are putting up and get to the real issues facing ClubRally. Only then can we have a productive discourse as to the future direction of the sport.

 

[Flyboy]

I really wish some people (note the word "some") would quit picking on Evo and WRX drivers. Do you know how I got my Evo. First I spent a year researching it. Then I spent 3 months importing it. AFter that I took out a big friggin loan at my bank. Finally I spent 2 months working my ass off building the thing. I made almost Daily calls to places like TAD Motorsports bumming free advice (do you think they are in this for the money?, hah!), and solicited favors throughout the rally community. Point is, were not all rich boyz with big toys. I am a club level rallyist who just wanted something better. I've always dreamed of owning an Evo, and through great sacrifice, now I do (or at least half of one, the bank owns the other half). I think you'll find this is true about some of the other "rich guys driving heavy iron".

AS far as seed goes, I earned my seed in a stock HP Eclipse. Guys like Pat Richard moved up in PGT Sube. A fast car helps, but if you are any good at all, you'll move up.

Sorry if I ticked some people off, but it does irk me a bit.

Dennis Martin
[email protected]
920-432-4845

 

[nialld]

hi again

lets back up a little...
your post heading was
Welcome To Club Rally....
then you quote easy entry etc etc..
so obviously you dont think that Sawmill offered that easy entry

just looking at the breakdown of entries i would respectfully diasagree..

the remark that i think caused the problem...was your reply to the
query from randy on results from Sawmill..

you said some Irishguy in an EVO won it

perhaps you meant something in jest..however i think that it certainly could be misinterpreted by the winner if not the entire community.

as you pointed out to me before...internet postings can easily be misinterpreted...
but you have to think a little when you are refering to particular ehtnic groups..

i think Club Rally is in great shape... in the Northeast
and i hope it continues to grow...

no hard feelings i hope Daphne...
it is an open forum and everyone in this great country is entitled to their opinion....

respectfully

niall d

 

[daphne]

so obviously you dont think that Sawmill offered that easy entry

just looking at the breakdown of entries i would respectfully diasagree..


No, that's not what I'm saying. Anyone that didn't snooze got into Sawmill. My comments about easy entry into the sport relate to the competition bar. ClubRally is supposed to be a low cost entry into the sport yet the abundance of high powered and expensive cars certainly make success at that level difficult. I am suggesting that this may be in conflict with the stated goals of ClubRally. As I said in my previous post, I'm undecided on this issue and want to throw it out for discussion.


the remark that i think caused the problem...was your reply to the
query from randy on results from Sawmill..

you said some Irishguy in an EVO won it perhaps you meant something in jest..however i think that it certainly could be misinterpreted by the winner if not the entire community.


To be clear, the result of the rally had not been posted yet and I did not want to post them before the organizers had that opportunity. My response was actually to someone else who suggested that an unknown driver named O'Donnelley had won. I was making fun of Jake. I apologize...I should have used more winky faces.

And for the record, the winner of the rally, John Drislane, is a class act. He tried to refuse the prize money offered. Classy move and one heck of a good driver.


no hard feelings i hope Daphne...
it is an open forum and everyone in this great country is entitled to their opinion....


I couldn't agree more!

Daphne

 

[JohnLane]

>
>you said some Irishguy in an EVO won it

Come on now....Take a chill pill already. If we are unable to poke a little fun at ourselves, then we are being way to serious. 'Some irish guy in an Evo' should be about as offensive as 'some American guy in an (fill in the blank)' or 'some Finn in a (fill in the blank)' or are youse guys just looking for a rumble? Huh? Come on!! I do agree with the bloke who stated that a REALLY STINKIN' FAST CAR has no business in the hands of one who has not a clue as to what they are doing. It is a sure recipe for a car going off of the road at a MUCH higher speed. I believe that it is much better to learn car control in a two wheel drive car, then move up. It is not sour grapes for me. If I wanted, it would be an EVO or WRX, but I have to darned much fun in my Volvo to give it up. Regards, JohnLane.

 

[Morgan]

I think the "Tweety Bird" Nissan Sentra SER may have had a few Evo's shaking in there boots! We were not far behind and I think we may have been faster than some of the open class cars on a stage or two. All with 150hp and front wheel drive! Luis Teixiera ROCKED!!! And I thought to myself before the event "he has kids,grand kids, responsible guy; how fast could he go?" Holy s#@t we were moving! Nice drive Lou and thanks, I can't wait to do it again
Morgan

 

[rallytaff]

Pete Morris (building "Son of CoROLLa") John, Do you want to retract the following statement, "I do agree with the bloke who stated that a REALLY STINKIN' FAST CAR has no business in the hands of one who has not a clue as to what they are doing. It is a sure recipe for a car going off the road at a MUCH higher speed". JUST KIDDING!!!!!! Get that beast back up and running again. I still have to see it in action. PS. Any chance of a ride?

 

[rallytaff]

Pete Morris (building "Son of CoROLLa). Thank you once again Daphne for sticking up for the Club rally guys.

 

[DaveHintz]

John,
I'm probably taking your previous post way too seriously, but I couldn't let the reference (about limiting to 2WD cars to just 2 liters of engine) go by without comment.
Far too many reasonably priced cars that would make good rally cars would be eliminated by such a rule. In this country, any 2wd class should allow a bare minumum of 2.5 liters and probably at least to 3 liters.
You're just messing with our minds by making comments like that aren't you?
Dave
Car # 207

p.s. Jay Streets gave us the Volvo driver's pose at RIM, and it wasn't pretty. Are you guys twins that were separated at birth or what? The anatomy suggests a genetic linkage!