scandinavian link
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-this is a post i made on celica.net, figured we could get the ball rolling in here with a rally related post...as it should be
ok, well, i made it to my first rallycross on july 24.
i had to get up at about 5:20am, after getting to sleep at around 1:40am (had to close at work) so it was a little earlier than i would have prefered. left my house around 5:45 and got to the place around 9:15. registered and sat around for awhile. around 11:30 or so we finally started making some runs. the first course i didn't enjoy much, it was pretty tight and didn't really suit the car very well as the weight was detrimental and the 4wd wasn't really that much of a help. my times improved each run i believe, but i was never really pleased. there was one corner that was just huge ruts all the way through, and as my alltrac isn't a beater and my struts aren't in great shape anyway, i found it difficult to want to destroy them. (believe me, my gravel roads here have plenty of potholes, so it's not like i'm not used to it) anyway, i didn't really give 100% on this course...however i could have done better and should have, but being my first 4 runs ever, it took some getting used to.
after that there was a break for lunch. some hotdogs chips and such. i also heard lots of talk about the first course being a very 2wd biased course unless you have a really high hp 4wd. i am inclined to agree...but no excuses.
back to the runs, and a new course, starting at the old finish, and the course redesigned. this course i liked. i hit a cone on my first run and was dissappointed but overall i felt alot better about my runs. it was a fun course though, with the ability to take the corners a little more sideways finally. i had one run i felt pretty good about, and then on my final run i pushed too hard, and took too much speed (why did i go to 3rd gear???) into the slalom(which you can see in the pics) and took out a cone.
well anyway, overall it was a fun time. sorry the pics don't show much good action, the only place for my girlfriend(who took them) to stand was by the finish, she couldn't get back to where the good action took place, so there wasn't much for her to get.
well, in the end i came up in 10th overall out of 20. not exactly stellar, and i was a bit disappointed in myself. i know i was too slow on the first course. the consolation i have is that in front of me was a pro-rally wrx running alot of boost and with a great setup with a driver with alot of experience and who is one of the people who sets up the event. the mazda 323 gtx that was gutted, had snow tires, rally suspension and probably had the turbo boosted pretty well. and experience. i had full interior including my spare, stock boost, and regular tires. i am dissappointed about being beaten by 2 neons...one with (apparently) a very good driver (though he said his first rallycross), and the other driven by the chair (who obviously has tons of experience), a monte carlo rental car (i take it he really didn't care about the car and a civic with a quite good driver.
next time i hope to do a bit better. the next one is aug 21, but i don't think i'm going to be able to get off work for it, so i'm prolly going to have to wait till sept for the next one. i don't think i'll be beating the wrx anytime soon tho. and the 323 boys also have an sti.
i haven't seen the actual results yet. hopefully they aren't too embarrassing.
well i have more pics but for some reason they aren't working right on cardomain...so i'll have to get them later.
ok, well, i made it to my first rallycross on july 24.
i had to get up at about 5:20am, after getting to sleep at around 1:40am (had to close at work) so it was a little earlier than i would have prefered. left my house around 5:45 and got to the place around 9:15. registered and sat around for awhile. around 11:30 or so we finally started making some runs. the first course i didn't enjoy much, it was pretty tight and didn't really suit the car very well as the weight was detrimental and the 4wd wasn't really that much of a help. my times improved each run i believe, but i was never really pleased. there was one corner that was just huge ruts all the way through, and as my alltrac isn't a beater and my struts aren't in great shape anyway, i found it difficult to want to destroy them. (believe me, my gravel roads here have plenty of potholes, so it's not like i'm not used to it) anyway, i didn't really give 100% on this course...however i could have done better and should have, but being my first 4 runs ever, it took some getting used to.
after that there was a break for lunch. some hotdogs chips and such. i also heard lots of talk about the first course being a very 2wd biased course unless you have a really high hp 4wd. i am inclined to agree...but no excuses.
back to the runs, and a new course, starting at the old finish, and the course redesigned. this course i liked. i hit a cone on my first run and was dissappointed but overall i felt alot better about my runs. it was a fun course though, with the ability to take the corners a little more sideways finally. i had one run i felt pretty good about, and then on my final run i pushed too hard, and took too much speed (why did i go to 3rd gear???) into the slalom(which you can see in the pics) and took out a cone.
well anyway, overall it was a fun time. sorry the pics don't show much good action, the only place for my girlfriend(who took them) to stand was by the finish, she couldn't get back to where the good action took place, so there wasn't much for her to get.
well, in the end i came up in 10th overall out of 20. not exactly stellar, and i was a bit disappointed in myself. i know i was too slow on the first course. the consolation i have is that in front of me was a pro-rally wrx running alot of boost and with a great setup with a driver with alot of experience and who is one of the people who sets up the event. the mazda 323 gtx that was gutted, had snow tires, rally suspension and probably had the turbo boosted pretty well. and experience. i had full interior including my spare, stock boost, and regular tires. i am dissappointed about being beaten by 2 neons...one with (apparently) a very good driver (though he said his first rallycross), and the other driven by the chair (who obviously has tons of experience), a monte carlo rental car (i take it he really didn't care about the car and a civic with a quite good driver.
next time i hope to do a bit better. the next one is aug 21, but i don't think i'm going to be able to get off work for it, so i'm prolly going to have to wait till sept for the next one. i don't think i'll be beating the wrx anytime soon tho. and the 323 boys also have an sti.
i haven't seen the actual results yet. hopefully they aren't too embarrassing.
well i have more pics but for some reason they aren't working right on cardomain...so i'll have to get them later.
