The Raven Toys with TeamD at Totem 2007

28
Jul
2007

Totem LogoIn Pacific Northwest Native American myth, the Raven figures prominently as a powerful and mischievous spirit. In light of TeamD’s performance at the 2007 Totem Rally in British Columbia (and the event logo, left, presumably a raven) it’s fairly clear that he enjoyed a weekend of trickery at our expense. To wit:

Before the rally, the Raven infected Jeff and Marvin with who-knows-what, leaving them to fight off early-winter illness: they and the mighty WRX stayed home to mend. (Clearly, Bilstein Heavy Duty shocks got nothin’ on a mythical bird with magical powers.)

In the end, though, TeamD prevailed, or, at least, endured and enjoyed the event: Bill and Greg earned a respectable 10th finish, Steve and Eric undoubtedly enjoyed themselves while shaking down the “new” 325iX for Alcan (at least, they seemed to enjoy the drinking), and Hans seemed to have finally put enough Timewise pieces together to help Dan and the Saab to a 5th place finish, the top spot for two-wheel-drive vehicles.

Oregon 1000 recap

26
Jul
2007

Pics are on my Flickr page The Oregon 1000 rally was loads of fun. I have to add a caveat to what I used to say about paved rallies. This one was far from boring. Incredible roads with very brisk speeds, and a complete lack of the event “lawyering” observed on previous SCCA events. While we didn’t bring home any hardware, the memories from the trip are worth more. Yes that sounds trite, but this event was well worth the effort invested — more so than many other rallies I’ve experienced. and nabbed second overall and second in Equipped class. Steve Perret and Kathryn Hansen were the remaining WA entries. Hans and I were the remaining Equipped entry and got third overall. Our own timing error had us get max points on a leg and put us out of the running for first place. However on the third day we managed to repeat day one’s score, except with twice as many checkpoints, so we experienced excellent progress. Congrats to the winners: Stock (Paper/SOP) Class: Paul Eklund, Kala Rounds, R.

Pro Rally Pace Car Ride-Along

25
Jul
2007

Last weekend was the Olympus International Rally. Based in Shelton Washington and run on the gravel roads of the Olympic Peninsula, it’s the closest thing the Northwest has to a WRC event (in fact, the Olympus Rally was a WRC event from 1986-1988). Two years ago I (and others in RASC) worked one stage of the rally, lending our bodies to start control, finish control, flying finish timing (my spot) and course marshal. This year, on Sunday, I rode alongside Ron Sorem in car 00, the first of the pace cars. Before the race cars take the road, three different cars come first to clear the stage and make sure all is well. The first car, the course clearing car, drives through the stage slowly, checking to make sure the banner tape (like police caution tape, blocking the possible roads that are not part of the course) is in place, that all course markers are visible, that the course is clear of spectators, and that the crews are ready for cars. Car 00, slow pace, follows approx. 30 before the competitors, and checks the same things but runs closer to the start time. Car 0 runs the course 10 minutes before the competitors and at approx. 80% speed. Volunteering for local Pro Rallys is a great way to get closer to the sport. You can do everything from monitoring spectators to working timing positions and you get an up close view of the proceedings and the appreciation of the competitors. I heartily recommend contacting the organizers.

Oregon 1000 Day One

22
Jul
2007

Hans and I are doing the Oregon 1000 SCCA rally. We’re sitting in second overall, four points behind April Smith and Marcus Song in the Mitsubishi Outlander that we’ll be seeing on Alcan. Should be getting a few good whoops and hollers on the jet boat today.

BMW 325iX Odometer Sensor Mount

18
Jul
2007

Let’s talk tech for a minute. Some people are surprised about the use of JB Weld since it is a metal-based product and it tends to rearrange itself in weird ways when smeared on a very strong magnet.