Dave532
15+ Year Contributor
- 98
- 0
- Jun 5, 2006
-
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Lake Superior Pro Rally 2003
Houghton, MI Oct 17-18
Redemption...
Pre-Race: Since this rally has the well-earned description as the "Oldest, Toughest, Meanest" Pro Rally in the country, I spent some extra time prepping the car before the event. The "clutch" damage at the previous race was much worse than initially thought. I had to replace both the engine and transmission a couple weeks before this event. The Front ear wherwe the trans mounts to the transmission was broken off and unrepairable.
Thanks to Steve Gingras of GingrasRallySport for borrowing me the motor and to Chris Huntington of Metric Auto Works for building me one good transaxle from two bad ones.
The PGT Central Division (Midwest) Championship hinges on what happens this weekend. Even though I currently lead the points, if the current 2nd place holder wins BOTH races this weekend, he secures the title by two points My goal is to win at least one race, thereby removing his chances.
This race is fun because of the unique/memorable stages and beautiful countryside. Just finishing this event is considered a victory, much less a win.
Bob really wanted to co-drive for this event so he is back in the right seat. I notice my tachometer has failed before the start.
Friday: Parc Expose is crammed with people. I sign many autographs. People want pictures of the car, etc. This sport continues to grow in the US.
Stage 1: This stage is well known as a car-breaker. I take it fairly easy, not wanting a DNF so early. I always take longer to warm up anyway.
Stage 2: A fast but technical stage that is fairly long. Alot of carnage...rolled and broken cars. I'm pushing pretty hard.
Dust starts to become a problem. Toward the end, I pass the car in front of me. We must be doin' good. We're finding a good rhythm with the pace notes.
Stage 3: The infamous Passmore. 16 miles long and pea-shaped gravel covers the surface making it very slippy in spots. Dust is still an issue as I am catching one of the factory Mopar cars. I come into one corner with no brakes due to my vacuum assist being depleted from so much turbo boost. Close call but we continue after "making a little salad". I adjust my driving style accordingly.
Service: After checking the stage times, Bob says I'm leading PGT by 25 seconds. I find this hard to believe. Night falls with a light rain. This should keep the dust down. Car us running well with no issues.
Stage 4: A repeat of stage 2. More roadside carnage. I am assuming the 2nd place PGT entry will start to get faster now that the dust is down, so I start pushing hard. Bob is doing great.
Stage 5: Repeat of Stage 3. My nemesis again. I love this stage but my "off" here last year cost me the win & the championship. I drive harder than I ever have before. I've never had so many "moments" on a single stage. We're faster'n hell, until 3 miles from the end. Bob is a bit late on a note & I go straight at a 70 degree right hander doing about 70 mph. Luckily, there was nothing to hit, so I reverse and continue on but we did lose 15 seconds. I figure the title is lost because of it. More carnage...I swear this stage swallows cars whole.
Friday end: Somehow we finish 1st in PGT and 8th overall, thereby securing the Midwest Divisional Title by 10 points! I was very relieved. The DSM, Bob, Metric Auto, my crew...everything performed so well.
Saturday Start: Fluids are topped off and the car is ready to go. Now that the pressure is off, I decide to take it easy today. My Pirellis were used up from the night before so I wasn't going to be too fast today anyway. I couldn't afford another set of tires and ran what I had. The weather is perfect.
Stage 6: Another car-breaker stage but it's very fast & narrow at times. Bob is having some difficulty with the pace notes and timing.
Service: I notice a very small oil leak at the turbo. I run synthetic oil, so there is very little danger of an oil fire. Top off the fluids and we go.
Stage 7: Delaware. Fastest gravel stage of the entire season. Even though I'm still taking it easy I average 85 mph through the 4.5 miles. This stage also has arguably the most famous corner is the US; the Delta ( a VERY tight right-left chicane) I don't notice at the time, but later I hear that over 700 spectators were at this corner. I notice a suspension problem after this stage.
Stage 8: A fast but rough stage. Half tarmac, half gravel. The car tends to snap-oversteer on right-handers. I'm not sure what's causing this but I lower my corner-entry speed, giving myself room to catch it.
Stage 9: Brockway: Most famous stage in North America. This is a full tarmac stage which goes up Brockway Mtn on the tip of the peninsula.
Many opportunities to make your car fly here. Normally I enjoy this stage, but the organizers wouldn't allow us to adjust suspension settings or change to tarmac tires. The car felt sluggish and wallowed in the corners. It could have been better.
Service: I find that the cause of my oversteer problem is a left front lower control arm that is loosening up. I replace the missing nut, eat and go out again.
Stage 10: Reverse of stage 8. Car feels much better. Bob is still having difficulty with the pace notes and getting frustrated.
Stage 11: Reverse of stage 7. Fly through here at a decent pace.
Service: My service crew is missing due to their "gift shopping". Apparently they couldn't pass up some deals. No biggie as the car is doing well and am I not pushing at all. They show up with 5 minutes to go and we mount the lights.
Stage 12: Reverse of stage 6. Bob nails the notes on this one and we set a good time. A fun stage but hard on the car.
Saturday Finish: We finish 4th in class and 14th overall. Considering all the minor issues we had with tires, suspension , pace notes, etc, I was very happy with the overall weekend. This event had more spectators and volunteers than any US event before it.
I later found Bob had difficult concentrating on the pace notes on Saturday as his wife called him friday night and told him he was going to be father for the first time!
Having accomplished my goal, I was ready to take 2004 off and spend my vacation time on an actual vacation of all things...not to mention I was out of money! But 2005 wouldn't be far off...
Houghton, MI Oct 17-18
Redemption...
Pre-Race: Since this rally has the well-earned description as the "Oldest, Toughest, Meanest" Pro Rally in the country, I spent some extra time prepping the car before the event. The "clutch" damage at the previous race was much worse than initially thought. I had to replace both the engine and transmission a couple weeks before this event. The Front ear wherwe the trans mounts to the transmission was broken off and unrepairable.
Thanks to Steve Gingras of GingrasRallySport for borrowing me the motor and to Chris Huntington of Metric Auto Works for building me one good transaxle from two bad ones.
The PGT Central Division (Midwest) Championship hinges on what happens this weekend. Even though I currently lead the points, if the current 2nd place holder wins BOTH races this weekend, he secures the title by two points My goal is to win at least one race, thereby removing his chances.
This race is fun because of the unique/memorable stages and beautiful countryside. Just finishing this event is considered a victory, much less a win.
Bob really wanted to co-drive for this event so he is back in the right seat. I notice my tachometer has failed before the start.
Friday: Parc Expose is crammed with people. I sign many autographs. People want pictures of the car, etc. This sport continues to grow in the US.
Stage 1: This stage is well known as a car-breaker. I take it fairly easy, not wanting a DNF so early. I always take longer to warm up anyway.
Stage 2: A fast but technical stage that is fairly long. Alot of carnage...rolled and broken cars. I'm pushing pretty hard.
Dust starts to become a problem. Toward the end, I pass the car in front of me. We must be doin' good. We're finding a good rhythm with the pace notes.
Stage 3: The infamous Passmore. 16 miles long and pea-shaped gravel covers the surface making it very slippy in spots. Dust is still an issue as I am catching one of the factory Mopar cars. I come into one corner with no brakes due to my vacuum assist being depleted from so much turbo boost. Close call but we continue after "making a little salad". I adjust my driving style accordingly.
Service: After checking the stage times, Bob says I'm leading PGT by 25 seconds. I find this hard to believe. Night falls with a light rain. This should keep the dust down. Car us running well with no issues.
Stage 4: A repeat of stage 2. More roadside carnage. I am assuming the 2nd place PGT entry will start to get faster now that the dust is down, so I start pushing hard. Bob is doing great.
Stage 5: Repeat of Stage 3. My nemesis again. I love this stage but my "off" here last year cost me the win & the championship. I drive harder than I ever have before. I've never had so many "moments" on a single stage. We're faster'n hell, until 3 miles from the end. Bob is a bit late on a note & I go straight at a 70 degree right hander doing about 70 mph. Luckily, there was nothing to hit, so I reverse and continue on but we did lose 15 seconds. I figure the title is lost because of it. More carnage...I swear this stage swallows cars whole.
Friday end: Somehow we finish 1st in PGT and 8th overall, thereby securing the Midwest Divisional Title by 10 points! I was very relieved. The DSM, Bob, Metric Auto, my crew...everything performed so well.
Saturday Start: Fluids are topped off and the car is ready to go. Now that the pressure is off, I decide to take it easy today. My Pirellis were used up from the night before so I wasn't going to be too fast today anyway. I couldn't afford another set of tires and ran what I had. The weather is perfect.
Stage 6: Another car-breaker stage but it's very fast & narrow at times. Bob is having some difficulty with the pace notes and timing.
Service: I notice a very small oil leak at the turbo. I run synthetic oil, so there is very little danger of an oil fire. Top off the fluids and we go.
Stage 7: Delaware. Fastest gravel stage of the entire season. Even though I'm still taking it easy I average 85 mph through the 4.5 miles. This stage also has arguably the most famous corner is the US; the Delta ( a VERY tight right-left chicane) I don't notice at the time, but later I hear that over 700 spectators were at this corner. I notice a suspension problem after this stage.
Stage 8: A fast but rough stage. Half tarmac, half gravel. The car tends to snap-oversteer on right-handers. I'm not sure what's causing this but I lower my corner-entry speed, giving myself room to catch it.
Stage 9: Brockway: Most famous stage in North America. This is a full tarmac stage which goes up Brockway Mtn on the tip of the peninsula.
Many opportunities to make your car fly here. Normally I enjoy this stage, but the organizers wouldn't allow us to adjust suspension settings or change to tarmac tires. The car felt sluggish and wallowed in the corners. It could have been better.
Service: I find that the cause of my oversteer problem is a left front lower control arm that is loosening up. I replace the missing nut, eat and go out again.
Stage 10: Reverse of stage 8. Car feels much better. Bob is still having difficulty with the pace notes and getting frustrated.
Stage 11: Reverse of stage 7. Fly through here at a decent pace.
Service: My service crew is missing due to their "gift shopping". Apparently they couldn't pass up some deals. No biggie as the car is doing well and am I not pushing at all. They show up with 5 minutes to go and we mount the lights.
Stage 12: Reverse of stage 6. Bob nails the notes on this one and we set a good time. A fun stage but hard on the car.
Saturday Finish: We finish 4th in class and 14th overall. Considering all the minor issues we had with tires, suspension , pace notes, etc, I was very happy with the overall weekend. This event had more spectators and volunteers than any US event before it.
I later found Bob had difficult concentrating on the pace notes on Saturday as his wife called him friday night and told him he was going to be father for the first time!
Having accomplished my goal, I was ready to take 2004 off and spend my vacation time on an actual vacation of all things...not to mention I was out of money! But 2005 wouldn't be far off...
