Rallye On!: Keeweenaw Winter Rally report.

My thanks go out to Jay Nemeth-Johannes, Navigator of the winning car at the Keeweenaw Winter Rallye for providing this write up on the day. There is no doubt that everyone had a good time.

On Friday afternoon, Jim Jurgenson and I packed up his WRX and headed out on the 5 hour drive north from Milwaukee up to Houghton, Michigan. We were off to run the 19th Annual Keweenaw Winter Rally on March 15. This was the second attempt because the original date of Feb 22 had been cancelled due to –cough-cough- too much winter. Seven foot snowdrifts had blocked most of the course and rallymaster Scott Carlborn was forced to postpone the event.

The drive up was uneventful, except that there was a freezing rain when we reached the Upper Peninsula that made it difficult to keep the windshield clear. Got a good night’s sleep and then met Clarence and Kate Westberg at Suomi’s for some Swedish pancakes. Suomi’s is as much of a Houghton rally tradition as Cornish pasties and is highly recommended. We all decided we were both running in unfamiliar territory, so we would enter the same class and compete against each other. Clarence was experimenting with GPS measurements and the program he is developing. We had the Timewise 798, but Jim was driving for the first time in 20 years and I am usually the driver.

Nine cars registered with 2 in equipped, 1 limited, 3 in stock and 3 novices. Scott had a short rally school and explained the road conditions out there before we all headed off into the Michigan wilderness. The odo check went smoothly and 9 cars gathered at the end point. Clarence and Kate were up front doing lead car duty, and Jim and I were at the end, doubling as sweep. Fortunately, Scott’s course was bulletproof and we were never called on to round up lost souls or pull anyone out of a ditch.

The roads were utterly fantastic. 2-4 inches of fresh snow lay on top of a packed base. We seldom saw bare pavement, even on the county highways. The skies were clear all day and the countryside sparkled with reflected sunlight. The course took us through a lot of forested areas, where the trees came right up to the road. There were a lot of curves and elevation changes, just what we were hoping for. The CASTS were all around 40-50 MPH, and that led to some tail out drifts and a few near yumps.

One issue we ran into was that the fresh snow would pack into our wheel wells and turn into ice. After a few hours, we had no suspension travel left and the ride became very rough. The weather also had caused a lot of frost heaves to develop, making this a definite e ticket ride.

The control workers were well trained and friendly. Scott used stickers with out times and everything ran smoothly. Locations were good, usually on straight sections where you could see the control ahead and adjust speed. We stopped for a meal break in Kenton at a bar called Hoppys. The entry fee included a chili lunch, and whomever was responsible really knew how to make a good chili. It had a nice level of spice and a good mix of meat and beans. We spent 45 minutes visiting with the other teams, and then back out feeling refreshed.

We picked up a few points here and there, trying to adjust our correction factor to the changing conditions, but mostly Jim and I were just learning how to work together. As the event went into evening, a full moon rose. Everyone was marveling at it while waiting out times. The moon was bright enough that we didn’t bother to mount the driving lights, and usually didn’t even turn on the high beams. We sailed through the evening section and even finished off the second last leg with a 0.

We arrived back at the hotel a bit after 9 and were told to order quickly, because the kitchen was going to close soon. They had a nice shepherd’s pie on the menu, and the burger was also tasty. Scott had scored off the logs, so results were ready very quickly. Scott had arranged for several sponsors to provide door prizes and people got to select in inverse finish order. There were some very nice prizes. In addition, anyone wanting one could have an LSPR t-shirt.

When all was said and done, we managed to finish first overall, but it was a matter of chance that we beat Clarence and Kate. Both of us were experimenting with teams and equipment and left lots of room for the other team to win. More important was that everyone was all smiles at the end and talking about the wonderful roads and the quality event that Scott put together. I look forward to running it again.

Results
 Class A: 1st Jurgenson/Nemeth-Johannes 35  

2nd Westberg/Westberg 40

Class B: 1st Mroz/Bialas 587

Class C :1st Ayers/A. Johnston 198

 2nd G. Johnston/Frydrych 454 

3rd Yarroch/Paulowich 657

Novice: 1st Shapton/Shapton 586 

2nd Wood/Wood 835 

3rd Vickery/Daughery 1143

Below: Some scenes on the Rally courtesy of the winning team of Jim Jurgenson and Jay Nemeth-Johannes.