Maine Winter Rally 2005 is definitely on this year! We’re not yet sure if the Trunkmonkey Pink Impreza will be running but the good news is the entry fee includes licenses for the 2006 Rally America season! We’ll have to see if we have the budget and can borrow a trailer for the event.
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Subaru contingency cash for all Impreza drivers at all Rally America National events!
Subaru and Rally America have tentatively announced $500 contingency sponsorship for all new-gen Impreza National drivers and $200 contingency sponsorship for all Impreza Regional drivers driving at National events! Looks like Maine Forest Rally will cost us $200 less next year!
Rally America announces 2006 season
The premiere national rally series in the United States has grown to nine events, with two new additions. The 2006 Rally America calendar will include Missouri’s 100 Acre Wood early in the year and Nevada’s Reno Rally will close the series, extending the season into December.
The 100 Acre Wood rally now stands as the second event of the year, taking place in February as early spring ripples through the Ozark foothills of Missouri. “The roads at this event are fantastic,” says Rally America spokesman J.B. Niday.
Series organizers says they were looking to add a race to close a long gap between races at the beginning of the season and this flagship regional rally was an obvious choice. Previously, there were nearly four months between the winter season opener in Michigan, Sno*Drift, and the next event, Oregon Trail.
The other welcome addition to the series is the Reno Rally, which takes place on the high desert roads of Nevada in early December. “Reno is one of those events that has been just sitting there waiting to happen for several years,” Niday says.
The championship will also bid farewell to Pikes Peak, an event that hasn’t been a good fit with the rally series. Organizers working with the famed hill climb have tried to expand the event into rally with the addition of traditional stage miles, but it has not been a success. “Pikes Peak just isn’t a rally. Period,” says Niday. “The truth of the matter is all any of us really want to do is drive up the mountain.”
Although the hill climb won’t count for points in the series, Niday says he expects some rally competitors will continue to take on the challenge.
2006 Rally America Championship:
- Sno*Drift: January 27-28
- 100 Acre Wood: February 24-25
- Oregon Trail: April 21-23
- Susquehannock Trail Rally: June 3
- Maine Forest Rally: July 28-29
- Ojibwe Forests Rally: August 25-26
- Colorado Cog: September 23-24
- Lake Superior Rally: October 20-21
- Reno Rally: December 1-2
Axles are consumable items
I blew up an axle at Union Rallycross this past weekend. Chalk one up for a learning experience—axles are consumable items. I did a conservative ~3000 RPM launch, heard a nasty pop followed by grinding, and limped the Trunkmonkey Pink Impreza halfway through the course and back to service. After initially thinking the problem was with the clutch or rear diff we quickly found a twisted CV boot on the driver rear that made it obvious that the CV joint had shredded.
After a few hours of fighting with frozen bolts and removing the DMS 50 and lateral links we got the axle out, counted the splines, and raided Dave Getchell’s service truck for a spare. About an hour later the car was reassembled and back out on course for afternoon runs and came back to compete on the second day. I’m just glad the axle blew up at a $50 Rallycross and not on SS2 at an $800 ProRally.
Many thanks to the dozen or so guys who stepped up to the plate to help get the car back up and running!
Trunkmonkey Racing at Union Rallycross
This weekend Trunkmonkey Racing will be running at Union Rallycross, a two-day event at Union Fairgrounds in Maine. We’ll be heading up Friday evening to help with logistics and to set up the course, running for championship points on Saturday, and then running shakedown on Sunday. Hopefully the gorgeous weather will hold its course and we’ll get a few crisp sunny days before Hurricane Wilma moves in.
WRC rally news
Next year is looking pretty interesting. The short of what is going on with the WRC:
Some logistic issues for the event in two weeks. Cars may be let into Corsica but not back out again. Guess there is a problem with the ferry workers. This is a serious enough problem that the event could be canceled as the next event is in Spain the following weekend. A delay getting off the island could cause major problems as Corsica & Spain are tied together via the “engines must be used for two events” rule.
FIA is trying *really* hard to screw up rally as we know it. The 5 minute rule now applies to the last day so you don’t have to actually finish a rally receive points. There is also talk of changing the 5 minute rule to the 10 minute rule as its mathematically possible (and leverage once by Citroen with Duval) to gain better points by leaving the rally. Not a lot of support for changing it to 10 minutes at this time.
Ford has signed Gronholm as a driver for 06 & 07. Sure the new RS is suppose to be a killer car, but its still an untested ride. Doesn’t Gronholm remember what he went through with Peugeot last year??? Wondering if the guy enjoys the abuse. 😉
Speaking for Ford, they have requested a rule change to have all events end in a super special where the outcome will have a greater impact on the final finish order. In other words, a driver that wins the event could end up in second if someone beats them in the final super special. Huhhh??? they claim its to get better TV coverage of events, but I’m guessing it has more to do with the fact that Ford is sucking wind in the last half of this season and they know the super specials are Loeb’s only real weak spot.
Speaking of Loeb, he is still not signed for 06. He is hoping to get a private ride through Citroen, and that the manufacturer will officially return in 07. This could be a problem as the FIA is banning certain drivers (like Loeb) from driving old style rally cars in 06 as the old cars will be faster than the new spec models. From what I hear Citroen still does not have parent company approval to return in 07, so who knows what will happen at this point. Would be kind of interesting if a privateer grabbed the driver’s title.
Martin is out of the WRC for the rest of the season. Rumor mill is that he is no longer trying to find a ride for 06, so he may be out of rally completely. Can’t say I blame him in the least.
Trunkmonkey Run For The Border 2005
The weather was warm and clear, the views were breathtaking, but in the end the “Trunkmonkey Run For The Border” road rally was all about the driving. The event took place over 160 miles of Vermont’s best driving roads. Approximately 80% of the course was dirt, but there were some twisty tarmac sections thrown in just to keep participants on their toes. CAS was a little higher than the average NER event, challenging each driver’s ability to stay on time.
While the rally took place by the New Hampshire/Vermont border, the rally got its name from the fact that contestants followed a portion of the route used by some of the booze runners in the 1930’s. Prohibition spawned a new job opportunity, namely transporting alcohol down from Canada to major cities such as Boston and New York. It was not uncommon for booze runners to stick to the back roads in order to avoid detection by law enforcement. The rally passed through one of the major hubs where alcohol would be transferred from one transport vehicle to another.
Competition on the rally was extremely fierce. The teams of Alan and Kathy Moody, as well as Cara and Alan Dennis both made strong showing in novice class. Their Rallycross skills obviously got a workout on this extended course. In the end however, John Parsons and Andrej Gaspari would edge out the team of Don Grant and George Harding to take the top podium spot by a slim 16 point margin. All the novice teams did an excellent job following the course and none of them maxed out a single checkpoint score. Each team could easily be competitive in stock class.
Speaking of stock class, the competition here was even closer. The team of Ramon Gonzalez and Greg Viscomi edged out the team of Lisa and Howie Lyhte by a mere eight points. That’s less than five seconds over the entire length of the course using a watch and stock odo gear!
Both teams running in class C were formed just days before the event. While each participant was seasoned at road rally, it was their first time out with their respective driver or co-driver. The team of Brett Rudolf and Hal Denham made a strong showing, especially when you calculate in the need to fix a flat tire on course. In the end however it was the team of Tim Chevalier and Steve McKelvie that took the top podium spot in lucky car number 13. Chevalier and McKelvie had an amazing run, pulling single digit scores at 70% of the checkpoints.
There was only a single team competing in class B. This was the team of Mike White and Andrew Steere. Despite the lack of competition they still hit it hard and pulled a respectable score.
Finally, the biggest competition was in class A. The team of Daren Jones and David Schickedarz make the trip all the way down from Ontario and made a strong showing. The team of Scott and Jamie Beliveau also did well, especially when you take into consideration that this is Jamie’s first year out. Just edging them out was the team of Pego Mack and Mark Ziburis. Not only did Mack and Ziburis take the third podium position, but they also won the drawing at the end of the event for the two lamp auxiliary light bar donated by Rally Ho! Racing. This will certainly come in handy on their next night rally.
The top two spots in class A could not have been closer. Mike Friedman and Marc Goldfarb took second with a mere 19 points. Top spot went to none other than Stephanie Gosselin and Fred Mapplebeck with 18 points. That’s just over .5 seconds worth of error separating these two teams. Talk about tight competition!
Other highlights of the rally included a swimming hole at the break area, numerous covered bridges, and free food at the end of the event. By the end of the event, everyone seemed to be grinning from ear to ear, which is what really matters in road rally.
Team Trunkmonkey would like to thank our two generous sponsors for helping to make this event such a success. Thanks to Rally Ho! Racing for raffling off the beautifully made auxiliary light bar. Rally Ho! makes an awesome two or four lamp light-bar for the Subaru Impreza that requires no drilling that can easily be installed or removed as needed. For more info, drop a note to [email protected].
Finally, we would like to thank Finer Touch Auto Body of Manchester, NH. They have been big supporters of both the Trunkmonkey team, as well as multiple SCCA events within the region. Without generous financial supporters like Finer Touch, our sport would be far more cost prohibitive. More information can be found at www.finertouchautobody.com.
Brooklyn, New York, Auto Dealership Pulls Chimpanzee Commercial
Plaza Auto Mall pulled its “Trunk Monkey” commercial, featuring a live chimpanzee, after hearing from PETA and local residents about the cruelty inherent in training young great apes to perform for ads. The dealership stated, “Once we first heard of the possibility of the cruelty happening, we immediately discontinued all advertising.”
Source: PETA
Plaza Auto Mall Changes Tune After Learning Great Apes Are Beaten Into Performing
For Immediate Release: August 18, 2005
Contact: Amy Rhodes 757-622-7382
Brooklyn, N.Y. — After Plaza Auto Mall’s controversial “Trunk Monkey” commercial featuring a chimpanzee who is portrayed as rescuing a beleaguered driver caused public outcry and a response from PETA, the car dealership pulled the ad off the air. PETA will be awarding the dealership its “Compassionate Advertiser Award.”
PETA contacted auto dealer John Rossati after receiving complaints about his commercial from local viewers. Informing him about the cruel methods used in training great apes, PETA also reported that Honda, PUMA, and Keds recently pulled their commercials featuring great apes and that Men’s Wearhouse had pledged to never use great apes in ads. Furniture chain HomeUSA Warehouse and New Jersey auto dealership Malouf Ford pulled their entire ad campaigns featuring a chimpanzee and an orangutan, respectively, after corresponding with PETA.
A primatologist working undercover for a California facility that trains great apes for the TV and film industries witnessed trainers kicking, punching, and beating chimpanzees into submission. The orangutans and chimpanzees seen on TV are traumatically taken from their mothers. By the time they reach young adulthood, they are too powerful to be used and are often discarded at substandard roadside zoos or warehoused. The Jane Goodall Institute and the American Zoo & Aquarium Association recognize the unavoidable problems of using great apes for entertainment.
Plaza Auto Mall thanked PETA, saying, “Once we first heard of the possibility of the cruelty happening, we immediately discontinued all advertising.” Says PETA Director Debbie Leahy, “Plaza Auto Mall is sending a positive message that will resonate well beyond the Brooklyn community. These intelligent, social, and sensitive animals don’t deserve to be treated like punching bags by trainers.”
For more information, visit NoMoreMonkeyBusiness.com. A copy of PETA’s letter to John Rossati is available upon request.
Things I learned at Maine Forest Rally 2005
Trunkmonkey Racing completed Maine Forest Rally the last weekend in July and as my first stage rally I learned quite a few new and interesting tidbits of information. The following is a brief overview:
- The navigator is always right (stupid driver).
- When in doubt, refer to Rule #1.
- When the navigator yells “What the **** are you doing?!?! I said DON’T enter the control!”, shrug it off and refer to Rule #1.
- Rally school and past Rallycross experience promotes reflex. When you’re all of a sudden pointed at the woods at 75 MPH you don’t feel any adrenaline…you just countersteer and continue driving like nothing happened.
- Mini sledgehammers are a toolkit requirement to fix bent wheels on stage.
- Carry LOTS of water in the car for hydration at stage start and stage finish between service stops.
- Driving suits have a bottom zipper to assist in Driver and Co-Driver relief. It took us until SS5 to figure that out.
- Falken gravel tires have really soft sidewalls compared to Michelins. Start at 30 to 31 PSI and adjust from there (per Nick from Team O’Neil).
- Running with your lights on is good for safety but bad for photographs; it looks like your brakes are on in all the photos.
- Dust sucks. A lot. Carry rags in the car to stuff and duct tape into all the little crevices that dust will blow in through (cage passthroughs in the firewall).
- Figure out where you’re going to store helmets during transit before you get out on stage (we didn’t have time to install our helmet hooks).
- Conserve brakes; driving blind at Maine with tulips caused me to do a lot of early and heavy left foot braking and trail braking because I didn’t know the corners. After 15.5 stage miles there was a lot of brake fade even with synthetic DOT5 and Porterfield R-4s.
- Park your service vehicles in front of your trailer overnight so no one blocks it in.
- The first night stage you do you won’t even notice the photographer’s flashes going off; it wasn’t until I looked at the in-car that I even realized how many flashes there were.
- Doing 90 MPH through the giant blowup Red Bull display makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
- It’s your navigator’s job to watch the mirrors for traffic that wants to pass. The first time you look in the mirror at 80 MPH and unexpectedly see nothing but hood it’ll scare the **** out of you.
- Make sure your navigator has a place for spare pens; dust destroys Sharpies.
- Gaffer tape is your friend.
- Toilet paper in the toolkit. Just in case.