Rallye Star!

	December 11, 2004 It was hard getting out of bed, but we were all on the road by six. Today’s transit was two hours long and we got there without a minute to spare. In fact we were in just as our minute was about to expire, only to have the worker give us road points and there’s nothing Alex and I hate more than road points. Luckily Alex and I read the supplemental regulations that said we were using the FIA timing system, so he filed an inquiry. Later on, the points were lifted, but it put us in a belligerent mood and we brooded around my car until the rally adrenaline kicked in. And it was a kick! After the first crest, the road began to slowly creep out of the Grand Canyon and there were lots of safe little crests and creek beds where I could push myself and go faster than before. I spent most of the time in fourth gear, forgetting that I finally had a new gearbox with all five gears intact! Silly me! I laid into corners and got a little sideways, although I don’t think Alex had ever been sideways before because I seemed to scare him a little. But just a little. It felt great rising out of the canyon, the sky opening over a big red plateau. I stumbled through a little creek, bumping down a bit hard. It was so fun and everything was going by so quickly as we zipped over a small crest to the finish! I was shocked when Alex told me that this was the long stage! I was glad that Alex had enjoyed this stage. This was his first trip to the Southwest. We made our way back to service, where Leon found a broken shock over the right wheel! We were literally in for a rough ride! Big Tom’s son Aaron immediately jumped under the car with an acetylene torch to ‘cauterize’ the leaking shock. Leon had the common sense to grab a fire extinguisher- just in case. I had a drink then began to sip my suit up when suddenly I heard a big WHOOSH! I turned around. The fluid leaking out of the broken shock had caught on fire just as the torch had cut through, while Aaron scrambled out with singed hair while Leon killed the fire! My mechanics laughed and shrugged it off, while I was completely shaken. Aside from Aaron’s hair and the hole in the tarp, nothing was damaged. Everyone had to calm me down as I was quite upset, and coax me back into the car. Although everyone told me that the car would ride the same (c’mon guys, I’m not that bad!), it certainly didn’t on the transit to the next stage. Eight miles of washboard… ugh… loud and bumpy! Despite the nice weather, the stage ahead wasn’t looking great. It was still muddy here. But as I started, my wheels caught grip. The slimy mud that I had feared wasn’t there, but the stage just didn’t feel right. Everyone has an off stage, this was mine. The really fast long straight sections scared me. The stage ended with a lot of tight spots on an exposure. All the slippy mud was here! I went slow and it seemed like every bump and slip of the tires freaked me out. This stage was shorter than the first stage, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. When I drove through the finish control, everyone was lined up for the turnaround stage and it felt like everyone was staring at me, Oh hurry up already looks on their faces. Yeah, I wasn’t looking forward to that return trip… But it was the only way back! Right as I was about to start the stage, all traffic was stopped- someone had gone off. We waited for twenty minutes and I was on edge. I just wanted to go, to finish two more stages and make it through day two. I wasn’t going to get my wish. The stage was cancelled and all five remaining cars drove out to the next stage (a repeat of the first one we did today) about an hour away. At least I got a neutral stage time, which was faster than what I would have done anyway. But the wait and transit back made me tired and at the bottom of the canyon it was cold! Yes, darkness was upon us again. Alex and I tested my lights and tried to secure them down. The cold drove me back into the car. I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy this run of the Grand Canyon as much as I had enjoyed it the first time. But now with only one stage to go completion, not enjoyment was my main goal. I started second to last, in complete darkness. I hit a small bump which knocked my rally lights down. With only street lights, I couldn’t see through the dust. I ran through a puddle, hit the wipers and couldn’t see anything. But I kept driving. This is rallying. Everything was so bad I ended up driving through the stage at 45 MPH. The last car was a really fast truck that had had a flat tire the stage before and had fallen behind. He was on my butt now, but he wouldn’t pass me! I kept moving over, but he wouldn’t move! I couldn’t go any faster and pulled even further off of the road and finally he passed me. But I was left with his dust! A few minutes later it was all over. Aaahhhh! I had finished 2/3 of the rally and had another mini rally under my belt! As soon as Prince was back onto Leon’s trailer, I was napping in Leon’s truck. I was so tired from it all that I barely remember meeting my parents who had come to watch the super special stage tomorrow. I went straight to bed, happy to have a lot of hard work behind me. I was exhausted, but deep down inside I had a lot of fun today. The worst was over, but you never want to underestimate the super special stage! It’s usually only a mile long. You’re not going to improve your time that much, but you can certainly hurt your position if you go off! People let the crowds and their partner on the track distract them from the road ahead then they spin or roll, DNFing or losing a good 30 seconds. I’ve got to stay on the road ahead… But that can wait until tomorrow! Back to Diary of a Driver.

December 11, 2004

Heading out for day two!

It was hard getting out of bed, but we were all on the road by six. Today’s transit was two hours long and we got there without a minute to spare. In fact we were in just as our minute was about to expire, only to have the worker give us road points and there’s nothing Alex and I hate more than road points. Luckily Alex and I read the supplemental regulations that said we were using the FIA timing system, so he filed an inquiry. Later on, the points were lifted, but it put us in a belligerent mood and we brooded around my car until the rally adrenaline kicked in.

And it was a kick! After the first crest, the road began to slowly creep out of the Grand Canyon and there were lots of safe little crests and creek beds where I could push myself and go faster than before. I spent most of the time in fourth gear, forgetting that I finally had a new gearbox with all five gears intact! Silly me! I laid into corners and got a little sideways, although I don’t think Alex had ever been sideways before because I seemed to scare him a little. But just a little. It felt great rising out of the canyon, the sky opening over a big red plateau. I stumbled through a little creek, bumping down a bit hard. It was so fun and everything was going by so quickly as we zipped over a small crest to the finish! I was shocked when Alex told me that this was the long stage! I was glad that Alex had enjoyed this stage. This was his first trip to the Southwest.

The broken shock. Good thing the tarp was the only thing damaged.

The broken shock. Good thing the tarp was the only thing damaged.

We made our way back to service, where Leon found a broken shock over the right wheel! We were literally in for a rough ride! Big Tom’s son Aaron immediately jumped under the car with an acetylene torch to ‘cauterize’ the leaking shock. Leon had the common sense to grab a fire extinguisher- just in case. I had a drink then began to sip my suit up when suddenly I heard a big WHOOSH! I turned around. The fluid leaking out of the broken shock had caught on fire just as the torch had cut through, while Aaron scrambled out with singed hair while Leon killed the fire! My mechanics laughed and shrugged it off, while I was completely shaken. Aside from Aaron’s hair and the hole in the tarp, nothing was damaged. Everyone had to calm me down as I was quite upset, and coax me back into the car.

Although everyone told me that the car would ride the same (c’mon guys, I’m not that bad!), it certainly didn’t on the transit to the next stage. Eight miles of washboard… ugh… loud and bumpy! Despite the nice weather, the stage ahead wasn’t looking great. It was still muddy here. But as I started, my wheels caught grip. The slimy mud that I had feared wasn’t there, but the stage just didn’t feel right. Everyone has an off stage, this was mine. The really fast long straight sections scared me. The stage ended with a lot of tight spots on an exposure. All the slippy mud was here! I went slow and it seemed like every bump and slip of the tires freaked me out. This stage was shorter than the first stage, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. When I drove through the finish control, everyone was lined up for the turnaround stage and it felt like everyone was staring at me, Oh hurry up already looks on their faces. Yeah, I wasn’t looking forward to that return trip…

But it was the only way back! Right as I was about to start the stage, all traffic was stopped- someone had gone off. We waited for twenty minutes and I was on edge. I just wanted to go, to finish two more stages and make it through day two. I wasn’t going to get my wish. The stage was cancelled and all five remaining cars drove out to the next stage (a repeat of the first one we did today) about an hour away. At least I got a neutral stage time, which was faster than what I would have done anyway. But the wait and transit back made me tired and at the bottom of the canyon it was cold! Yes, darkness was upon us again. Alex and I tested my lights and tried to secure them down. The cold drove me back into the car. I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy this run of the Grand Canyon as much as I had enjoyed it the first time. But now with only one stage to go completion, not enjoyment was my main goal.

Coming out of the canyon.

I started second to last, in complete darkness. I hit a small bump which knocked my rally lights down. With only street lights, I couldn’t see through the dust. I ran through a puddle, hit the wipers and couldn’t see anything. But I kept driving. This is rallying. Everything was so bad I ended up driving through the stage at 45 MPH. The last car was a really fast truck that had had a flat tire the stage before and had fallen behind. He was on my butt now, but he wouldn’t pass me! I kept moving over, but he wouldn’t move! I couldn’t go any faster and pulled even further off of the road and finally he passed me. But I was left with his dust! A few minutes later it was all over. Aaahhhh! I had finished 2/3 of the rally and had another mini rally under my belt! As soon as Prince was back onto Leon’s trailer, I was napping in Leon’s truck.

I was so tired from it all that I barely remember meeting my parents who had come to watch the super special stage tomorrow. I went straight to bed, happy to have a lot of hard work behind me. I was exhausted, but deep down inside I had a lot of fun today. The worst was over, but you never want to underestimate the super special stage! It’s usually only a mile long. You’re not going to improve your time that much, but you can certainly hurt your position if you go off! People let the crowds and their partner on the track distract them from the road ahead then they spin or roll, DNFing or losing a good 30 seconds. I’ve got to stay on the road ahead… But that can wait until tomorrow!

Back to Diary of a Driver.