Dave532
15+ Year Contributor
- 98
- 0
- Jun 5, 2006
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Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Lake Superior Pro Rally
OCt 19-20, 2001
Houghton, MI
Before this event I had a small "to-do" list of things that were evident from the last Rally in Bemidji. In an attempt to keep the turbo from loosening and fracturing the oil return line, I safety-wired the four bolts that holds the turbo to the manifold. The external lighting bar was reinforced in an attempt to minimize vibration on stage. Various nuts and bolts were torqued down and Threadlock was applied whenever possible. I have never seen a car want to come apart like a rally car does.
Thursday night: An 11 hour tow brought us to Houghton. MI around 08:00 at night. We registered ourselves with the organizers and Bob got to work on the Stage Notes for the event while I found some old and new friends in "The Library", the local bench racing establishment.
Friday: The car again passed tech inspection (for me the most nervous part of the weekend) and we settled into Parc Expose and talked to some fellow DSMers before the start of the rally...they seem to be everywhere.
Stage 1: LSPR has the reputation of being the "oldest, toughest and meanest rally" on the circuit. The longest transits, roughest stages and latest nights make up a true "iron-man" event. This stage was relatively easy on the car but there was plenty of splashes to test the car's ability to NOT suck in water when traveling 40 mph through these small lakes. Once I made it through the first water splash without hydro-locking the motor, I had no reservations the rest of the day.
Stage 2: This was an eye-opener. I never imagined a car could withstand so much abuse. I never want to run this stage again. I was expecting flats, broken struts, loose ball joints, etc. After the car completed this stage in one piece, I had tremendous new-found respect for the DSM engineers. Because of this car's tremendous durability I also felt more comfortable going faster over the rougher sections.
Stage 3: A good mixture of rough and fast sections. Some cars couldn't make it though...I believe we passed about 4 cars on this stage. Their triangles were out and they were okay but it appears LSPR was taking its toll.
Service: Grabbed some dinner at the local bar and mounted the lights. Looking at the times we are not breaking any records but at least we weren't last and we are not part of the slew of DNF's. A thorough check of the car and we are off.
Stage 4: Passmore. Eventually I will form an intense love/hate relationship with this stage through the years. This stage has it all: very fast, long, technical and potentially slippy. I was warned at Service to look out for the ball bearing type gravel which can found in some of the corners. My first mile or two is tentative, heeding the warnings. Having not run into these "ice-like pebbles" I start to get cocky...and promptly go off on a 90 degree left hander and up a small embankment. No apparent damage and AWD gets my butt out of the brush. They were right...those round little pebbles are like driving on ice. As I continue driving and Bob is telling me what is up ahead, I let my mind linger on the mistake I just made...which causes me to make an even bigger mistake. I'm flying down the road at 90+ mph when I finally see a sharp 90 degree right hander and spectators. I also realize Bob has been screaming at me that this corner is coming up but I wasn't paying attention. I pitch the car sideways to the right (cars slow down quicker sideways than straight) and slide sideways into the corner bouncing off the embankment and smacking a very small sign. According to Bob, I had dumped the clutch and was in 1st gear before the car came back down. To the cheers of the spectators, I race off with a very red face
Stage 5: Apparently no harm done from the last stage but I decide to drive more at 8/10 so as not to press my luck. A fair amount of carnage and car parts on this stage as well. We finish (which I consider a win at this rally) late into the night and prepare for a long transit back to the hotel.
Saturday: Starts out early on a cold morning with Parc Expose at an abandoned copper mine. A pre-race inspection yielded no issues with the car so we were ready to go.
Stage 1: Gratiot Lake: A famous stage with some fast and tight sections...the infamous 'trees chicane' while flying past cabins at 70+ mph. Very memorable.
Stage 2: Burma: Another fast but rough stage with a small paved section. Bob and I are not pushing too hard as this rally has already swallowed too many cars whole.
Stage 3: Delaware: the fastest stage we run all year. I believe I averaged over 88 mph on this stage while gradually climbing a hill. Mostly long sweeping 4th and 5th gear corners with the infamous "Delta"; a 1st gear chicane at the end of the longest straight. Always abound with spectators.
Service: Service was relatively relaxed. Teams that could afford to mounted tarmac tires for the upcoming paved Brockway stage. I stayed on my Michelins (as that was all I had).
Stage 4: Brockway: Arguably the most famous stage in American Rallying. This stage is relatively short but it is a paved road that goes up Brockway "Mountain". A mixture of tantalizing 'yumps', shear drop-offs and beautiful scenery. Tremendous fun. More similar to a roller coaster than a road.
Stage 5: Brockway 2: Unfortunately this stage was cancelled as one of the organizer's cars' lost his transmission while inspecting the stage.
Service: Mounted the lights and off we go.
Stage 6: Delaware 2: Now we are going down the hill...incredible speeds.
Stage 7: Burma 2: The roads are really getting rutted now so I don't have as much choice in my driving line.
Stage 8: Gratiot Lake 2: A muddy soupy mess with a big water splash at the end for the spectators.
Saturday night: We finish both days!
Long days, long nights, long transits...truly the toughest rally of the year. Finishing LSPR is an accomplishment in and of itself.
The car was relatively unscathed (tiny dent, pummeled floorboards, etc) and Bob and I were hooked. We decide to do a full season in 2002 starting next january. We all close the "Library" bar while offering congratulations to some and sympathy to others.
Friday: 4th in Class, 16th Overall
Saturday: 3rd in Class, 16th Overall
Disclaimer: The exact order and/or number of stages may not be entirely accurate as I am generating this recap entirely from memory. I am conferring my strongest memories from each event. Everything recorded is true...just not necessarily in the correct order
OCt 19-20, 2001
Houghton, MI
Before this event I had a small "to-do" list of things that were evident from the last Rally in Bemidji. In an attempt to keep the turbo from loosening and fracturing the oil return line, I safety-wired the four bolts that holds the turbo to the manifold. The external lighting bar was reinforced in an attempt to minimize vibration on stage. Various nuts and bolts were torqued down and Threadlock was applied whenever possible. I have never seen a car want to come apart like a rally car does.
Thursday night: An 11 hour tow brought us to Houghton. MI around 08:00 at night. We registered ourselves with the organizers and Bob got to work on the Stage Notes for the event while I found some old and new friends in "The Library", the local bench racing establishment.
Friday: The car again passed tech inspection (for me the most nervous part of the weekend) and we settled into Parc Expose and talked to some fellow DSMers before the start of the rally...they seem to be everywhere.
Stage 1: LSPR has the reputation of being the "oldest, toughest and meanest rally" on the circuit. The longest transits, roughest stages and latest nights make up a true "iron-man" event. This stage was relatively easy on the car but there was plenty of splashes to test the car's ability to NOT suck in water when traveling 40 mph through these small lakes. Once I made it through the first water splash without hydro-locking the motor, I had no reservations the rest of the day.
Stage 2: This was an eye-opener. I never imagined a car could withstand so much abuse. I never want to run this stage again. I was expecting flats, broken struts, loose ball joints, etc. After the car completed this stage in one piece, I had tremendous new-found respect for the DSM engineers. Because of this car's tremendous durability I also felt more comfortable going faster over the rougher sections.
Stage 3: A good mixture of rough and fast sections. Some cars couldn't make it though...I believe we passed about 4 cars on this stage. Their triangles were out and they were okay but it appears LSPR was taking its toll.
Service: Grabbed some dinner at the local bar and mounted the lights. Looking at the times we are not breaking any records but at least we weren't last and we are not part of the slew of DNF's. A thorough check of the car and we are off.
Stage 4: Passmore. Eventually I will form an intense love/hate relationship with this stage through the years. This stage has it all: very fast, long, technical and potentially slippy. I was warned at Service to look out for the ball bearing type gravel which can found in some of the corners. My first mile or two is tentative, heeding the warnings. Having not run into these "ice-like pebbles" I start to get cocky...and promptly go off on a 90 degree left hander and up a small embankment. No apparent damage and AWD gets my butt out of the brush. They were right...those round little pebbles are like driving on ice. As I continue driving and Bob is telling me what is up ahead, I let my mind linger on the mistake I just made...which causes me to make an even bigger mistake. I'm flying down the road at 90+ mph when I finally see a sharp 90 degree right hander and spectators. I also realize Bob has been screaming at me that this corner is coming up but I wasn't paying attention. I pitch the car sideways to the right (cars slow down quicker sideways than straight) and slide sideways into the corner bouncing off the embankment and smacking a very small sign. According to Bob, I had dumped the clutch and was in 1st gear before the car came back down. To the cheers of the spectators, I race off with a very red face
Stage 5: Apparently no harm done from the last stage but I decide to drive more at 8/10 so as not to press my luck. A fair amount of carnage and car parts on this stage as well. We finish (which I consider a win at this rally) late into the night and prepare for a long transit back to the hotel.
Saturday: Starts out early on a cold morning with Parc Expose at an abandoned copper mine. A pre-race inspection yielded no issues with the car so we were ready to go.
Stage 1: Gratiot Lake: A famous stage with some fast and tight sections...the infamous 'trees chicane' while flying past cabins at 70+ mph. Very memorable.
Stage 2: Burma: Another fast but rough stage with a small paved section. Bob and I are not pushing too hard as this rally has already swallowed too many cars whole.
Stage 3: Delaware: the fastest stage we run all year. I believe I averaged over 88 mph on this stage while gradually climbing a hill. Mostly long sweeping 4th and 5th gear corners with the infamous "Delta"; a 1st gear chicane at the end of the longest straight. Always abound with spectators.
Service: Service was relatively relaxed. Teams that could afford to mounted tarmac tires for the upcoming paved Brockway stage. I stayed on my Michelins (as that was all I had).
Stage 4: Brockway: Arguably the most famous stage in American Rallying. This stage is relatively short but it is a paved road that goes up Brockway "Mountain". A mixture of tantalizing 'yumps', shear drop-offs and beautiful scenery. Tremendous fun. More similar to a roller coaster than a road.
Stage 5: Brockway 2: Unfortunately this stage was cancelled as one of the organizer's cars' lost his transmission while inspecting the stage.
Service: Mounted the lights and off we go.
Stage 6: Delaware 2: Now we are going down the hill...incredible speeds.
Stage 7: Burma 2: The roads are really getting rutted now so I don't have as much choice in my driving line.
Stage 8: Gratiot Lake 2: A muddy soupy mess with a big water splash at the end for the spectators.
Saturday night: We finish both days!
Long days, long nights, long transits...truly the toughest rally of the year. Finishing LSPR is an accomplishment in and of itself.The car was relatively unscathed (tiny dent, pummeled floorboards, etc) and Bob and I were hooked. We decide to do a full season in 2002 starting next january. We all close the "Library" bar while offering congratulations to some and sympathy to others.
Friday: 4th in Class, 16th Overall
Saturday: 3rd in Class, 16th Overall
Disclaimer: The exact order and/or number of stages may not be entirely accurate as I am generating this recap entirely from memory. I am conferring my strongest memories from each event. Everything recorded is true...just not necessarily in the correct order
