Ojibwe Forests Rally part one. The pre-race show.

Minnesota's premier rally event is here! The Ojibwe Forests Rally (hereafter referred to as O.F.R.). Round six of the Rally America national championship arrived in Detroit Lakes with all the attendant stars of the US rally scene in tow. Five times national champion, David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew, Travis Pastrana, Ryan Millen, and others were here for their championship. Supporting the big guys were us, the regional competitors. While the national guys were running one two day event, the regionals had two one day events over the very same roads. "Paul Bunyan's Ride" would be the Friday rally for us and on Saturday we were to run the "10,000 Lakes Rally".

I was up there to co-drive for Adam Van Damme, from the UP of Michigan in his 1991 VW Rabbit as a part of the Tower City race team. It was Adams third rally as driver and also my third in the "silly seat" so you'd think we were well matched in abilities. No. The Van Damme family have been rallying a long time, in fact Mark Larson, O.F.R. rallymaster, competed against Adams father, brothers and cousins when he rallied. Even competing against the car that Adam and I were running in! It is, as they say, a small world.

I mentioned in a previous post that Adam wasn't able to make it for recce, so we were to run the stages without being able to check the conditions. We did have experience of two of Fridays stages as we had run them at the Headwaters rally a few months ago but one stage we knew nothing of. 

We met up at tech inspection on Thursday afternoon and after initial introductions and meeting the car for the first time, we took the car in to be inspected to make sure it was safe and legal. 

Seeing the car for the first time.

Name and flag in place.

Our car was pulled into the inspection building the same time as David Higgins and Travis Pastrana's race machines. What a contrast that was! I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of dollars those 2016 Subaru WRX's cost but to see our little beat up old thing against those pristine rally machines was quite the sight. 

"Take a picture, you might never see a sight like this again" said one of the inspectors. So I did.

Subaru WRX and VW Rabbit. Grassroots and Professional

Tech was a busy place. Lots of people swarmed over the car, checking the engine, roll cages, lights and other safety equipment. We were through there in 10 minutes. The Rabbit got a lot of attention from everyone in there. It seemed like many people had actually owned one, or had memories of one. This was to occur all the way though the weekend.

With that done we registered, which is as unremarkable as it sounds, just signing papers. but did allow us to run into a few friends there before going our separate ways for the evening and agreeing to meet up the next morning.
Next morning I strolled out to the car and we checked it over, and made sure I could fit in the co-drivers seat and fasten the safety belts before heading over to the novice driver briefing with Adam. When I got there I received a nice surprise in the form of finding out I didn't have to be there.
"You're not on the list" said safety steward Steve Gingras. But I stayed to keep Adam company anyway. 
I am officially no longer a novice. So a quick word of appreciation for Steve and his briefings. The safety aspect is so very important for all entrants and it's vital for novices to know what to do if things ever go awry on stage.
With that done it was sit around and wait for Parc Expose to start. Lorrie and I grabbed some lunch. Adam took a nap. 
For a couple of blocks of the main street in Detroit Lakes the O.F.R. took over. All 43 entrants parked on both sides of the street so people could meet the drivers and see the cars close up. It was a great sight! The big stars like David Higgins and Travis Pastrana commanded most of the attention but quite a few people stopped by to chat with us. The Rabbit was, as I hinted at before, commanding quite a bit of attention. We would let little kids sit in the drivers and co-drivers seats, and their faces would light up. Parents would take pictures. It was great fun. I overheard one kid say to his father as he walked past the car and saw the tinted windows.
"Look Dad. That car has Purple windows!" Perhaps Purple was his favorite colour. 

Plenty of people on the streets

Car 210 nestles at the back of these cars at Parc Expose

Cars and people as far as the eye can see

The ninety minutes of Parc expose flew by and pretty soon we were at the drivers meeting. It was Rallymaster Mark Larson's final Ojibwe as Rallymaster after 13 years. Before that he was a volunteer, and before that a competitor. He even made a point of mentioning that he had competed against Adams father back in the day. So a big round of applause for Mark and huge thanks for everything he's put into the sport in Minnesota. With that done, we strolled back down to the trusty Rabbit and headed out. I picked up our time card from my wife working MTC and we drove away to the forests. But the tales of the two days exploits are going to have to wait for another couple of posts.

What a difference a year makes.

Isn't strange the way things turn out?

This time last year I was getting ready to head up to volunteer at the Ojibwe Forests Rally. As a course marshall I was there to keep a wary eye out for people who might get on the course. But mostly I took lots of cool pictures and hung out with great people. This year, I'm on the other side of the fence. In a car, racing on some of the same roads that I worked last year.

Some of the people whom I watched compete last year are now my friends. Good enough friends to help me find a co-drivers seat for Ojibwe when I thought I might not have one. Other friends and fellow competitors have approached me about co-driving in other rallies too. I could be set up for the rest of the year.

From volunteer to competitor in less than a year. It's not strange it's crazy.  

Off into the forests again.

It was back in June that I posted here concerning my availability as a co-driver for the upcoming Ojibwe Forests Rally. Things were very quiet for a long time though. The event was almost three months away, and drivers probably had other things, and other events on their minds, so I wasn't bothered about the silence.

It wasn't really until a month to go that requests started to dribble in. I even got a request to co-drive in the Summer Sno Drift rally, but I couldn't make the logistics work for an event that was an 11 hour drive away. Requests for Ojibwe co-drivers came from 20 event veterans in SP or OL class, they'd be looking for someone with more experience than I have (2 events in G2). So I wasn't bothered about being passed over in that case.

But requests from G2 (or even G5 drivers) were very rare. I was resigned to volunteering again, which would have been fine, volunteers are very important. I even registered to volunteer just in case. Then on Tuesday, Al Dantes of Tower City Racing, he of the three wheel finish at Headwaters, messaged me. His former crew chief was coming off a successful performance at Summer Sno Drift and wanted to compete at Ojibwe, but didn't have a co-driver. Was I interested?

Silly question. 

I texted the guy straight away and he called me back immediately. We got on well.

The upshot of this is I'm co-driving for Adam VanDamme in his 1991 Volkswagen Rabbit car #201 in class G2. It's his third rally. It will be my third too. We should be well matched. 

The Car, seen at Summer Sno Drift.

This is going to be an interesting experience, working with someone I won't even meet until the afternoon before the event. We've talked on the phone a couple of times though. 

Will I fit in the co-drivers seat? 

"How tall are you?" Asked Adam over the phone just now. 

"Just under six feet" I replied. That quickly established I should fit into the co-drivers seat.

The biggest difference will be in the field of communication as the car doesn't have a comms system. "We'll rely on shouting and hand signals." Adam laughed.

Don't you go laughing though, because that system garnered him a 4th place in class at Summer Sno Drift and a fastest stage time in class on stage 5 at Headwaters. Clearly Adam knows how to handle a rally car. I think I'm in good hands. 

Another difference as Adam is unable to get into town until Thursday afternoon, we won't have time for recce. No comms and no reconnaissance we really will be flying blind. 

"I'll drive to what I can see." He said. I feel the need for some serious video recce coming on.

However, our individual goals are the same. To have fun and get to the end. We both want to be there racing, in front of thousands of people at the Subaru Street stage on the lake front in Detroit Lakes on Saturday night. 

I'm very happy to be getting to compete in the event as I hoped, so a big thank you goes out to Al Dantes for helping to get us together. We may be rivals out on the gravel, but once the car engines are switched off, and we climb out of the cars we are mates. All of us. All looking out for each other. That's one of the things that makes rally so special.

If you see a Grey VW Rabbit on the stages, give us a cheer!

Passing on...

Nemadji. My first event in the Mazda

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post, for I recently received some sad news.

Dan has sold his rally car. The Mazda has moved on to pastures new.
I felt a twinge of sadness. For this Mazda MX-3,  car number 958 was my introduction into motor sport. (I know road rally is also motor sport but not at the same level of recognition.) I went from knowing all about rally to knowing something about rally as a result of competing in it.
I know I've only run two rallies in the Mazda but the outcomes were pretty successful. But there's more to remember about the car than the podium finishes.
I vividly recall applying my name and the flag of Lincolnshire on the side of the car. Especially on the co-drivers side of the car, for on that side of the car my name is on top. That really was the moment that a long held dream started to become real.

A great memory

As I was proof reading this article ready to hit "Publish" I remembered something else. The first time we cut a corner. It was out on the shakedown run before Nemadji. Uphill into a long right hander. Dans side of the car was on the gravel road, my side was on the grass. It was quite exhilarating. We've cut many a corner since, with tree and hedge branches clattering on my door as we speed by. But that first time was, something different.
Then there was the very first time I was strapped into the co-drivers seat at the Nemadji Trail winter rally. At that time it wasn't anything I could do by myself, Dan and Ben did the task. I was well and truly strapped in. I tried to reach my stage notes resting on the shelf in front of me. Not a chance.
Not.
A.
Flipping.
Chance.
"Pass me my stage notes will you?"
I was one with the seat. To my surprise there was more movement around my head and neck even though I was wearing a HANS device. If I didn't have what I needed in my hands already then I couldn't reach it. Woe betide me if I actually dropped something.
Finally of course, there's Headwaters. Finishing first in class despite the car not being set up correctly, and getting to spray champagne everywhere, even over the car. Something I will never, ever, forget.
Four great memories that the Mazda gave me.
But Cars are just lumps of metal aren't they?
I shall miss the old 958, but as the number stays with Dan there will be a new 958. What is it going to be? I don't know. Hopefully it will be as successful and be responsible for as many good times and memories as the Mazda was.

Rally Personals

After two successful podium finishes in the 958 Mazda MX-3 rally car. I find myself in the position of being able to offer my services as co-driver for the upcoming Ojibwe Forests Rally, out of Detroit Lakes, MN on August 26th and 27th.
How did this come about?
Have Dan and I had an acrimonious split over spraying too much champagne at each other during our victory celebrations for coming first in class at Headwaters Rally?
No, far from it.
Dan finds himself in the honoured position of being a speaker at a major GIS conference in Germany speaking on GIS in racing, (GIS = Geographic Information Systems) whilst the rally is going on. Clearly taking part in the OFR is not on the cards.
"If you're not going to be in the country during Ojibwe, then I'll have to find myself a driver." I teased as we were running recce for Headwaters.
"Sure." He said. "By all means do. If you can get a co-drive that'll be great."
It would certainly be good experience for me. To work with someone else, see how they work as a driver and to adapt what I do to them. I do have several co-driving friends who have been, or still are "co-drivers for hire". Despite being recently laid off from my job of 14 years, it's certainly not going to be a career move. I'd just like to co-drive at OFR, and I'll contribute to entry fees as well.
If I'm going to do a really hard sell on me. The stats speak for themselves. Though I've only completed two rallies as co-driver, both times we've podiumed. A third in class at Nemadji in December and first in class at Headwaters a few weeks ago, so I must be doing something right. As of now I'm more successful as a rally co-driver than the Minnesota Twins are as a baseball team...
If you need a co-driver and would like to use my services, you should also expect to have our rallying endeavours reported here. If none of this puts you off, then leave me a message in the comments or if you know me through Facebook, you can message me there.


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Reading Material

Last week an advert appeared on my FaceBook feed, there was a special offer on this book. Ten dollars off the recommended price. I thought it was too good a deal to pass up.

A good read.

Mark A. Williams was one of the most sought after co-drivers in North American rallying up to his retirement, with countless rally wins and national championships under his belt. Interesting factoid, he co-drove for three different drivers in their efforts to qualify for X Games 13 in 2007. All three drivers qualified with him alongside them. He could only-drive for one in the X Games itself though. 

The book promised to be "up to date" and not based around "techniques from thirty years ago". It's current. There are many iPhone/iPad Apps listed in the book. References are made to the big names of today, Travis Pastrana, Ken Block et al. As well as US Rally legend John Buffum. 

It's a very good read. My copy arrived in the mail today, and I started reading it straight away. A little over four hours later after a break for lunch, I had finished it. 

The most important part of co-driving, that is reading the paces notes and communicating with the driver, is covered in great detail right up to writing your own notes, complete with plenty of useful advice about pacing how you read them back to the driver, and developing shorthand for when it comes to making your own notes.

I don't expect I'll ever need to know the difference between FIA, Canadian, and Rally America time cards. But if I ever do, I know where to find out. 

There's interesting discussions on tactics and your position on the road. How turning up late to a control so the stage conditions in front of you can improve, enabling you to drive faster, so that your speed more than recoups the penalty incurred for checking in late. Or the merits of making a lengthy repair in service depending on how much faster you'll be with the repair made over not making the repair. The book also advises to not stop to repair a flat tyre if you're inside 7 miles from the stage finish because the time you'd loose wouldn't be enough to warrant the time spent on the change. He then outlines a drill of duties between driver and co-driver to enable an efficient wheel change. 

The book takes the reader through four levels of being a co-driver. Capable, Competent, Contributing, and Comfortable, along with the duties associated with each. A capable co-driver should know the basics to get the car around the rally on time, and little more. Competent co-drivers need to be able to do more preparatory work and team organization. Contributing and Comfortable co-drivers should be able to make the serious decisions about timing and repairs. 

I learnt a lot. I also discovered that I've been incorporating some of what is in the book into my style already. If I was to rate myself according to the book, I think I could call myself almost competent. 

I'm glad I got the book. There aren't many instructional books I've read cover to cover. I don't even read instruction manuals all the way through. I shall now read it a second time and highlight important parts with a marker. Hopefully all this will help to make me a better co-driver.

I'd certainly recommend that beginners should buy this book.

I don't want to be kept in the dark.

Reading pace notes, that is...

Both times I've been out in the 958 on a rally I've needed to use a light to read the notes. The light we use in the 958 is on a flexible neck and has a small conventional lightbulb in it that, in theory, you adjust to where you want it, to shine on your notes to read them. 

Fine and dandy in theory. But the battering a rally car takes means that the light bounces all over the place due to the flexible neck and I end up holding the thing to keep it (relatively) still. Then it starts to get in the way of my reading the notes. Devoting your full concentration to reading is difficult when you're also trying to keep a clear view of the page of notes. Then you have to let go of the light to turn a page in said notes, it springs away from you and you have to reach for it again. 

"What a faff!" As we say back in my home county of Lincolnshire. (What a fuss.) My attention should be on holding the notes and reading them. 

There are ways around this. Like lights mounted to the roll cage for instance. There's a very nice one here, made by Don Barrow in the UK. LED's mounted in some roll cage padding. I think it's a great idea. But at over $100. That's a not inconsiderable amount of money that could go towards an entry fee or a really important car part. It seems to me a much more sensible idea to have your lighting and notes together in close proximity. To that end I came up with my own idea. An illuminated clipboard.

 Now you're all going to say.

"But I can buy an illuminated clipboard from Amazon, you've not invented anything."

But that one on Amazon is a conventional clipboard with a clip at the top. Try turning pages of pace notes on that one in a hurry. 

My concept has a rod at the side that you slide your spiral, or comb bound notes onto so that you can turn the pages freely.

Conventional clipboards are also made of rigid materials so that you can write on the papers clipped thereon. This isn't needed when you're reading notes. So I'd replace that with some kind of more flexible, lower density foam. Because if you have an incident and end up rolling down an embankment it's better to have some foam flying around the cabin rather than wood or a hard plastic.

To me it seems like a blindingly obvious idea and if someone knows of something like this that exists already, I'd be interested to know about it. But so far I haven't found anything.