Dave532
15+ Year Contributor
- 98
- 0
- Jun 5, 2006
-
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Ojibwe Forests Pro Rally
Aug 17-18, 2001
Bemidji, MN
Being this was my first true Pro Rally, I was understandably excited. Though I cannot afford to compete in the actual nationwide Pro Rally itself, the Club Rally competitors drive on the exact same stages and abide by the same rules. The major difference being we were not eligible for National Points. Because of this, we had a Friday Club Rally (10,000 Lakes) and a separate Saturday Club Rally (Paul Bunyan's Ride). My crew this weekend consisted of my brother (Bob) as the navigator, my father (Ron) as the Service vehicle driver and my buddy (Big Bob) as Service as well. We arrived Thursday night in Bemidji, got situated in our hotel and Bob started working on the route book overnight. Meanwhile I calibrated the Rally Computer and made some last minute checks on the car.
Thursday evening:
Stage 1: This stage was actually a very short Super Special Stage in the Bemidji 1/4 mile oval dirt track toward the evening. It was a great opportunity for the spectators to watch the cars without standing in the woods. I spent the majority of my time watching the racing line of the more experienced drivers.
Friday:
Parc Expose: Around 5:00 all of the crews were asked to display their cars at the local oval dirt track again shortly before the start of the rally. A few teams were still performing maintenance during this 'rally car showcase'. While waiting for the start my brother and I were conversing with a few spectators who owned DSMs of their own and were wishing us luck.
Stage 2: Our first real stage. Bob had his notes and directions down to a tee and we started getting a feel for each other on the road. I didn't entirely trust his calls in the beginning but I became more comfortable with directions, countdown to corners, etc as the day wore on.
Stage 3: Trouble. During the transit to this stage I notice the oil pressure is slowly falling...hoping it's a failing sensor we continue on. However, halfway through the stage the dreaded idiot light comes on and I pull the car over to the side of the road and shut it down before more damage is done. A quick check shows the engine is out of oil...the majority of it seems to be coating the underside of the car. After all the competitors have run the stage, we call my father who meets us in the middle of seemingly nowhere and we trailer back to Headquarters.
Friday end: We end our second rally with a DNF
After some investigation we find the oil return line from the turbo had cracked at some point during the event. Further investigation found the turbo had come loose which is what actually broke the line.
Saturday start: My brother and my buddy found a replacement oil return line from Mark Utecht's team (thankx Mark!). We tightened the turbo, replaced the return line and topped it off with oil (Mobil 1 synthetic at the time). The car fired up with no apparent issues. We were ready to start our third rally around high noon.
Stage 1: Once again soft, rutted stages with a fair amount of dust. We eventually learned this was the nature of running in the back of the field. Due to our lack of experience we were seed 7 out of 8. Assuming we finish more and more rallies will seed higher and higher in the start order...resulting in the stages being in better condition.
Stage 2: Pressing on. Not trying to set any records, I'm just trying to gain more confidence in the calls from the co-driver.
Stage 3: We pass our first car! Apparently this was the first time he had been passed (It was a team from Italy?) and he didn't look in his mirror for about 3 miles. We lost a significant amount of time here but we also knew we weren't going to get any stage wins anytime soon.
Service: We meet my crew at the Service location and look over the car. Much dirtier but everything else seems fine. We check tires, go through the fluids etc. Grab a bite, get belted up and off we go.
Stage 4: Apparently we are going in the right direction because we pass another car on stage.
Stage 5: The "Ranch Stage". This is a very short stage that is easily viewable by spectators. It ends up being the most brutal stage of the weekend...We come upon a deceiving section which sends the nose of the car 3 feet in the air. By the end of the stage I notice the steering wheel is a bit off-center.
Service: While my buddy mounts the lights that we will need for the night-time stages, I go over the front end...seeking any damage that may cause my steering wheel being off-center. I find a bent tie-rod on the driver's side. Me and a hammer straighten it out the best I can and call it good. This will be the last service of the day so we check everything we can. The engine is too hot to check how tight the turbo is…which will hurt us in the end.
Stage 6: My first stage with the lights, 300 watts of KC and 100 watts of Hella. The good: I could see, literally, for miles. Nothing inspires one to go 120 mph down a forested gravel road at night, like being able to see EVERYTHING. The bad: the battery drain, of course, was tremendous. AT WOT and 6000 RPM the electrical system could only muster 9 volts. Luckily I had purchased a good Optima red top battery at the time and we were going to be fine. The horsepower drag was noticeable enough however, that I vowed to buy some HIDs in the future. There was also more vibration with the light mount than I liked. Not impossible to work with but it can be a bit distracting.
Stage 7: Trouble again. Oil pressure gauge is falling toward the end of the stage. I am not going to DNF again so I keep driving until the end of the stage. (keeping in mind I had an extra engine at home in the garage if need be) We have finished the stage but we have 18 miles of transit to go and the oil pressure is still dropping. No DNFs! So we drive as conservatively as possible with the oil pressure needle on the bottom and the oil light flickering until we come upon a gas station 4 miles from the end of the rally. I purchase all of their synthetic oil (3 quarts) and we continue to limp back to the end.
Saturday night: We finished!
After the festivities I look over the car. It appears the turbo has loosened itself which cracked the oil return line again! However, thanks to (I believe) synthetic oil and the tough little 4G63, apparently no permanent damage took place.
I brought the car home and surveyed the damage; one bent tie rod, oil return line and a desperate need of a wash...top and bottom. I had 2 months before the next event: Lake Superior Pro Rally in October.
Friday: DNF
Saturday: 6th in Class, 19th 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
-Dave
#532
Aug 17-18, 2001
Bemidji, MN
Being this was my first true Pro Rally, I was understandably excited. Though I cannot afford to compete in the actual nationwide Pro Rally itself, the Club Rally competitors drive on the exact same stages and abide by the same rules. The major difference being we were not eligible for National Points. Because of this, we had a Friday Club Rally (10,000 Lakes) and a separate Saturday Club Rally (Paul Bunyan's Ride). My crew this weekend consisted of my brother (Bob) as the navigator, my father (Ron) as the Service vehicle driver and my buddy (Big Bob) as Service as well. We arrived Thursday night in Bemidji, got situated in our hotel and Bob started working on the route book overnight. Meanwhile I calibrated the Rally Computer and made some last minute checks on the car.
Thursday evening:
Stage 1: This stage was actually a very short Super Special Stage in the Bemidji 1/4 mile oval dirt track toward the evening. It was a great opportunity for the spectators to watch the cars without standing in the woods. I spent the majority of my time watching the racing line of the more experienced drivers.
Friday:
Parc Expose: Around 5:00 all of the crews were asked to display their cars at the local oval dirt track again shortly before the start of the rally. A few teams were still performing maintenance during this 'rally car showcase'. While waiting for the start my brother and I were conversing with a few spectators who owned DSMs of their own and were wishing us luck.
Stage 2: Our first real stage. Bob had his notes and directions down to a tee and we started getting a feel for each other on the road. I didn't entirely trust his calls in the beginning but I became more comfortable with directions, countdown to corners, etc as the day wore on.
Stage 3: Trouble. During the transit to this stage I notice the oil pressure is slowly falling...hoping it's a failing sensor we continue on. However, halfway through the stage the dreaded idiot light comes on and I pull the car over to the side of the road and shut it down before more damage is done. A quick check shows the engine is out of oil...the majority of it seems to be coating the underside of the car. After all the competitors have run the stage, we call my father who meets us in the middle of seemingly nowhere and we trailer back to Headquarters.
Friday end: We end our second rally with a DNF
After some investigation we find the oil return line from the turbo had cracked at some point during the event. Further investigation found the turbo had come loose which is what actually broke the line.Saturday start: My brother and my buddy found a replacement oil return line from Mark Utecht's team (thankx Mark!). We tightened the turbo, replaced the return line and topped it off with oil (Mobil 1 synthetic at the time). The car fired up with no apparent issues. We were ready to start our third rally around high noon.
Stage 1: Once again soft, rutted stages with a fair amount of dust. We eventually learned this was the nature of running in the back of the field. Due to our lack of experience we were seed 7 out of 8. Assuming we finish more and more rallies will seed higher and higher in the start order...resulting in the stages being in better condition.
Stage 2: Pressing on. Not trying to set any records, I'm just trying to gain more confidence in the calls from the co-driver.
Stage 3: We pass our first car! Apparently this was the first time he had been passed (It was a team from Italy?) and he didn't look in his mirror for about 3 miles. We lost a significant amount of time here but we also knew we weren't going to get any stage wins anytime soon.
Service: We meet my crew at the Service location and look over the car. Much dirtier but everything else seems fine. We check tires, go through the fluids etc. Grab a bite, get belted up and off we go.
Stage 4: Apparently we are going in the right direction because we pass another car on stage.
Stage 5: The "Ranch Stage". This is a very short stage that is easily viewable by spectators. It ends up being the most brutal stage of the weekend...We come upon a deceiving section which sends the nose of the car 3 feet in the air. By the end of the stage I notice the steering wheel is a bit off-center.
Service: While my buddy mounts the lights that we will need for the night-time stages, I go over the front end...seeking any damage that may cause my steering wheel being off-center. I find a bent tie-rod on the driver's side. Me and a hammer straighten it out the best I can and call it good. This will be the last service of the day so we check everything we can. The engine is too hot to check how tight the turbo is…which will hurt us in the end.
Stage 6: My first stage with the lights, 300 watts of KC and 100 watts of Hella. The good: I could see, literally, for miles. Nothing inspires one to go 120 mph down a forested gravel road at night, like being able to see EVERYTHING. The bad: the battery drain, of course, was tremendous. AT WOT and 6000 RPM the electrical system could only muster 9 volts. Luckily I had purchased a good Optima red top battery at the time and we were going to be fine. The horsepower drag was noticeable enough however, that I vowed to buy some HIDs in the future. There was also more vibration with the light mount than I liked. Not impossible to work with but it can be a bit distracting.
Stage 7: Trouble again. Oil pressure gauge is falling toward the end of the stage. I am not going to DNF again so I keep driving until the end of the stage. (keeping in mind I had an extra engine at home in the garage if need be) We have finished the stage but we have 18 miles of transit to go and the oil pressure is still dropping. No DNFs! So we drive as conservatively as possible with the oil pressure needle on the bottom and the oil light flickering until we come upon a gas station 4 miles from the end of the rally. I purchase all of their synthetic oil (3 quarts) and we continue to limp back to the end.
Saturday night: We finished!
After the festivities I look over the car. It appears the turbo has loosened itself which cracked the oil return line again! However, thanks to (I believe) synthetic oil and the tough little 4G63, apparently no permanent damage took place.I brought the car home and surveyed the damage; one bent tie rod, oil return line and a desperate need of a wash...top and bottom. I had 2 months before the next event: Lake Superior Pro Rally in October.
Friday: DNF
Saturday: 6th in Class, 19th 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
-Dave
#532
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