Monte Carlo or bust

The Monte Carlo Rallye is in the news currently with the official and Historic versions of the event having recently take, or are taking place as I publish this.
As is my wont, I often Google subjects when they are in the news to see what I can find out about them. Historical tidbits and what have you, something that I might be able to drop into a conversation to either impress or bore someone (there are times when one or the other can be desirable). My Google search for the Monte revealed this nice set of stamps, commemorating the 27th running of the Rallye in 1958. The stamps had been sold but they are still rather nice to look at and I decided to investigate the 1958 running of the Monte Carlo Rallye. As it happens, my research revealed some interesting facts and stories.

The race had not been run the previous year due to the Suez Canal crisis in Egypt. Fuel shortages meant that fuel coupons could not be issued to the competitors. This meant the 1958 running was eagerly anticipated in the Rallye world, and a large field entered. This year also featured an important change in the running of the event. Prior to 1957 a feature of the last day of the rally was a range of automotive tests (a gymkhana) run on the waterfront in Monaco. This year that feature was dropped so that speed and timing alone would decide the victor.

The winners were Guy Monraisse and Jacques Feret in their Renault Alpine, from A. Gacon and L. Borsa in their Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Monraisse and Feret were privateers with no works backing, so their win was a remarkable achievement, even more so when you consider there was an exceptional snowfall on the first night of the rallye which meant that many drivers crashed out or abandoned. 

How bad was this snow? Only one car made it from Paris through to Monte Carlo on the concentration run. English Rally driving great Pat Moss' brush with the 1958 Monte was described in her biography "Harnessing Horsepower." This years Rallye was the first in which studded tyres were allowed to be used. Clearly this didn't help many of the entrants.

The two victors, being residents of the area of the rally, used their local knowledge of the roads to good effect in their victory. In one final twist the pairing didn't run as a conventional driver/navigator pairing but shared the duties equally. To prove the win wasn't a fluke, later in the year they also went on to win the Tour de Corse (Corsica Rally) in the same car which was later presented to Prince Ranier and now resides in the Monte Carlo "Top Cars" museum. 

There you go, a little Monte Carlo Rally history lesson just from a set of stamps.

In print again

A familiar looking article has appeared in the latest issue of Road Rally eNews.

Trans America Rallye Update

Back in the early part of last year, April as a matter of fact, I gave a mention to the Trans America Rally coming through the Midwest in June of this year.
I have an update. The latest info on the website says that the cars will overnight in Duluth, MN on June 16th, having approached the city by running along the south shore of Lake Superior. In the morning the entrants will set off for Grand Forks passing through Park Rapids and the Itasca state forest. The Itasca state forest has some wonderful rally roads that I'm sure the participants will enjoy.
I'm hoping that my work schedule will allow me the time to nip up there and see the cars.
No exact route is available as yet but the latest details on the route and the schedule can be found on the event web page.

Alcan 5000

Moss Motoring magazine is a handy publication from the sellers of parts for you little British Sports car. This current issue, numbered 1 for 2015 is of interest to the Road Rallye enthusiast. It is dominated by a warts and all write up on participation in the 2014 Alcan 5000 in a Triumph TR4.

The Alcan 5000 is a road Rallye that starts in the Seattle area driving through Canada finishing in Alaska. A Rallye of long transits between timed to the second TSD stages. The road conditions vary from fast straight Tarmac, through speedy gravel roads to pothole strewn switchbacks. Much local wildlife like Bears and Caribou and suchlike can be encountered.

As I stated this is a "warts and all" article. You read about when the head gasket blows. When the navigator is scared by encounters with cows, you know about it. Plus you do feel their relief and joy when they finish.

I was fascinated reading about the event. It might be fun to take part. Now to persuade my navigator.

You can read all about the event and enter it at http://www.alcan5000.com.

Christmas Lights

A very Merry Christmas to the readers of this blog wherever you are in the world. I wish you everything that you wish for yourselves at this festive time of year.

Things have been a tad quiet hereabouts due to the pressures of work and preparations for the holiday season. Plus, the writing muse has deserted me of late so I had trouble putting together pieces for the blog. There are at least two blog posts hanging in limbo right now.

But last night, Saturday December 20th, we got out on a rallye. The Holiday Lights tour in the suburbs of Saint Paul, Minnesota. 

The Holiday lights tour is a hybrid. Part road Rallye, part festive fun. Put on by Mark Larson, who also puts on the highly successful Tombstone Trails tour Rally in the region around Halloween. This  event consists of driving around the local holiday lights displays and answering a series of questions about them. This tour is very popular and the thirty places available were quickly over subscribed.

Lorrie and I made some seasonal effort. She dressed up in one of her many Christmas sweaters and I, lacking a suitably festive garment, sported a Santa Hat. We reversed our usual driver/navigator roles. I like to think I'm a better than average map reader and Lorrie isn't comfortable map reading. Swapping roles is all part of the fun.

The event appeals to a wide spectrum of people. The local Road Rallye community, retired rallyists and the general public. All pay their three dollars for a map, instructions and questions sheet and set out at one minute intervals to navigate the 25 mile course in about two and a half hours.

You'll be thinking that 25 miles in a 150 minutes would pose no problem. 

Think again.

You're not the only 30 cars on this adventure. There's Stretch Limos, mini buses and large coaches on the route as well as well as other members of the general public checking out the same lights as you. Getting to the displays can be quite the adventure. Once, we even parked our car 100 yards away from a particularly large display and walked there because that was as close as we could get. 

But no matter, the whole thing was a great deal of fun. The map was easy to follow and the questions were a good mix of simple and testing. 

The displays ranged from the simple to the complex, sometimes the simplest of displays providing the most testing questions to answer.

A race car themed display in one yard.

How many candles can you count?

We made it all around the course without too many problems, we took a wrong turn once, but that was because the street sign had been twisted around and because I was following the map I could quickly see what had happened. We also missed a turn in South St. Paul but thanks to the map and the layout of city blocks it was easy to get back on course. 

Because of all the other people out and about I don't think anyone made it around the course in the allotted time, so it's a good job there were no time penalties assessed. Everyone had a great time and after enjoying some tasty pizza at the finish point there was an informal answer giving session where it was discovered that The Westberg sisters, Gwen and Liz were the winners with only two of the 70 questions answered incorrectly.

The post race question answering session.

If, like the Twin City Rally Club, you don't have an official "Holiday Party" you should perhaps consider an event like this. No prizes, just some friends having a good time doing what we usually do. 

Quote of the night comes from Liz Westberg during a discussion on counting candy canes. 

"A shepherds crook is not a candy cane. It says so in the generals". We burst out laughing. This gives you an idea of the good humor that the event was conducted in.

So a big thanks goes out to Mark, our organizer and his crew of helpers. We had a great time and plan to do the event next year.

I, my friends will see you next year. Wether it be on these pages or out on the roads at a rallye. I hope that your roads will be clear and your motor runs smoothly.

Iced Rum Runner 2015

Due to work commitments and a jam-packed Land O' Lakes region winter rallye schedule. Sadly, there will be no Iced Rum Runner in 2015.

Larking about.

Ever since I bought FG the MGB, my 1976 MGB roadster (the most beautiful rubber bumpered MGB in Minnesota) I've been after a collector car from 1963, the year I was born. It's been a long search. For British sports cars, the early sixties are prime years. The E-type Jag was introduced in 1962, the MG Midget in 1961 and the MGB itself in 1963. Add to that British Classics like the Bug Eye Sprite the Austin Healey and great Triumphs like the TR3 and TR4. It doesn't take a genius to realize that prices on these cars are at a premium and as a consequence out of my budget.

So I looked around for anything from 1963. Saab, Citroen, Renault, Volvo. Nothing. Well nothing that fit the budgetary requirements. After a while, a few 1963 American cars started to appear. Fords, Chevys, Caddys. All huge dreadnoughts of a car that would struggle to fit in our garage. So they were  out. Then a few vehicles I wasn't really aware of. An AMC Rambler caught my eye for a while until I took a closer look. It wasn't as good as the pictures made out. Then I saw this...

A 1963 Studebaker Cruiser. I knew the name Studebaker of course. Some of the most exciting and striking automotive designs of the 50's and 60's came out of South Bend, Indiana. The 1950 Champion Starlight Coupe being the most obvious example. I didn't know what a Cruiser was though. It was the top of the range of the Lark models. So much so that it didn't even carry the Lark name. It was just the "Cruiser". It was marketed as a more compact rival to the bigger limousines of the "big three" makers. Studebaker even coined the term "Limousette" to describe it.
I was captivated by the design, that Mercedes-esque grille and all those curves around the grille, headlights and chrome bumpers. So, my wife Lorrie and I decided to go and take a look at it. It didn't disappoint. The car is a stalled restoration project that hadn't run in some 20 years. But that body is sound, very sound. The paintwork is a joy to behold.
One word. Patina. The colour is known in Studebaker circles as Rosemist. It's officially a Purple. A Brownish Purple. But research seems to suggest that back in the day finishing a cars paint job with a clear lacquer was not done, so the shiny grayish purple has faded to a satin lavender grey. It's a brilliant looking finish that I love. It has to be kept like this. 

Needless to say we both fell in love with the car. So the price was agreed on and a few days later a friend and I made the trip from Princeton to Le Sueur, MN with a trailer to collect it.

The car hadn't been run in some 20 years and the fuel tank smelled like paint thinners so it was a good idea not to drive it. Right now, the car resides in a workshop, being cleaned up to get the motor running after 20 years of neglect.

Now research has begun to reveal the rallye history of Studebaker. The makers achieved great success in the Mobil Economy Run of the 50's and 60's. The successes of Studebaker and AMC cars in this event caused their vehicles to be put in a new, separate class because the big three automakers couldn't even come close to the figures (up to 25 mpg) recorded by these cars. 

Greater success was accorded to the Studebaker Lark winning the Shell 4000 rally outright in 1961 and 1962. 

So there you go, quite by accident I've ended up buying a car with a Rallye heritage. Quite the bonus. So perhaps once it's running we'll end up turning up to a road rallye in the car. Perhaps having been inspired by the whole experience of the Goodwood revival we will turn up to road rallies in a 1963 car wearing 1960's clothing, using 1960's navigation equipment. Who knows?