CRC on TSN – Defi and PFR Coming Up Soon!

The updated schedule for the Canadian Rally Championship on TSN has been released:

Rallye Defi

Wed Oct 21 01:30 / Fri Oct 23 04:00 / Fri Oct 23 13:30

Pacific Forest Rally

Sat Oct 24 11:30 Wed Oct 28 01:30 Wed Oct 28 12:30

(24 hour Eastern Time; check local listings for confirmation)

Sirius Rally Team Founding New BC Stage Event

The Sirius Rally blog will be quiet for a few months while the team prepares for the first annual Big White Winter Rally, a full stage rally presented by Valley Mitsubishi at the Big White Ski Resort, and hosted by the West Coast Rally Association.  The event will feature a snowX similar to last year, which rally cars will run as a super special, plus four snowy forest stages, totaling over 100km of stage distance.

Link to the Big White Rally Weekend HERE.

PBRT Flies to First BC Regional Podium Finish at PFR

Local Prescribed Burn Rally Team driver Mark Jennings-Bates and co-driver Jennifer Daly achieved their best ever national finish and second overall in the regional at this year’s Pacific Forest Rally on October 3 in Merritt, BC.

After an exciting and competitive event, the team took a well deserved regional podium for the first time in their new 2004 STi rally car. The rally started well for the duo on the Friday night stages, as the team adapted to the new KSport gravel suspension, which was tested heavily at the event, and provided consistent and confident handling.

Even in the dark, Friday night proved to be very fast; this trend continued for the whole event and ended with Subaru Canada’s Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell destroying the stage record on Helmer in the dark on Saturday.  With mud, snow and fog during the early recce portion, choosing tires was a significant challenge, but the conditions improved dramatically by the time the cars were on stage, and PFR 2009 turned into one of the fastest Merritt rallies in history.

The PBRT service crew were professional and effective, and kept the team in the hunt for a strong finish; however, the last 150km of the event were run without any power steering, a big challenge for driver Mark Jennings-Bates:  “Now I will stop whining at my strength and conditioning coach, Leanne Manlove at Pinnacle Elite Athlete, about all the strength work she is making me do.  I really needed to work hard to keep the car on the road for the last two stages, but thankfully we did not drop much time and gained a place in the process.  I guess the training is paying off!”  Codriver Jennifer Daly was also very busy at the weekend, as the stages were fast and adapting delivery timing to a greatly increased pace can be very challenging. “We certainly came out of the first stage with a good pace” said Daly, adding “on Saturday we hit a jump and seemed to be in the air for several seconds, which was intense, and a total thrill.  Our service crew was reliable and we owe a big part of the success this weekend to them”.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team’s newest driver Craig Ross and codriver John Hall took the start line for the first time ever at PFR.  Craig’s objective for his first rally was to finish, which he did, setting some very competitive stage times along the way. A puncture and necessary tire change cost the new team in overall time, but Craig clearly demonstrated that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

PFR was the first successful rally for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team in over a year.  Mark and Jennifer finished 5th overall nationally and 2nd overall regionally.  Craig and John finished 12th overall regionally, despite their puncture!  

The PBRT service crew for PFR consisted of Dave Hood, Anthony Evans, Reagan Ritchie and Devon Crosby. The next event on the calendar for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be the all new Big White Winter Rally, taking place on December 5, 2009 at the Big White Ski Resort. 

Link to 2009 Pacific Forest Rally results HERE.

Link to the Big White Rally Weekend homepage HERE.

(car photo credit Kurt Schantz)

Pacific Forest Rally Spectator Guides Available in Kelowna

Spectator guides with all the details regarding the location and timing for this weekend’s Pacific Forest National Stage Rally in Merrit are available at the following locations:

Agar Auto Body, Westbank (PBRT Sponsor)

Big-O Tires, Westbank (PBRT Sponsor)

Dan’s Tires, Kelowna

Valley Mitsubshi, Kelowna (CRC Contingency Sponsor)

Wyatt Auto Parts, Kelowna (PBRT Sponsor)

Dig Out Your Old Routebooks, Sheep Mab is Back!

The stage schedule for the 2009 Pacific Forest Rally has been posted, and the rocky, tricky Sheep Mab stage is returning to the rotation.  Friday will be multiple runs through Comstock stage, with its infamous hairpin and tarmac into tunnel sections, plus the downtown Railyard Mall stage for the spectators.  Absent on this year’s schedule is Princeton Cutoff, but with three runs through Nicola stage, there will be plenty of cheek clenching exposure for the rally teams to brave.  The spectator friendly AMR and Helmer stages complete the schedule.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be competing in the Pacific Forest Rally on October 2, 2009.  This will be the first event for the team as a two car entry, with Craig Ross in Mark’s old Talon for his debut rally drive!

Volunteers are still needed for the event. See the PFR homepage below.

Link to PFR stage schedule HERE.

Link to PFR homepage HERE.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 6

The final day of Targa Newfoundland 2009 started in Marystown, and competitors made their way back to St.
John’s through a number of stages. Weather was not cooperative today. Rain was constant, and the forecast called for 30-40 mm over the day.
One of our stages ended up being cancelled as the schedule fell further and further behind as the weather required downgraded speeds all day.
Final results should be available soon on Targa Newfoundland website.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 5

Today started at a beautiful little town on the Burin Peninsula called Harbour Mille. Cars ran into the town, breakfast was served at the fire hall, and then the stage was run in reverse. Following that we went to one of my teammate’s mother’s homes for lunch in Lewin’s Cove. Afterwards we worked the finish control at the stage through Marystown.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 4

We got off to an early start this morning, as we were working one of the first stages of the day. Another two competitors went out on the Frederickton-Carmanville, although one managed to get going just as sweep was approaching, and finished the stage, getting a terrible score.
We took a little tour around the Kittiwake coast after our assignment as we had a fair bit of time to make it to our next post. Fantastic scenery in all directions.
We ended the day in North West Brook with a stage that had to be split into two sections due to major construction part way through. Suffice it to say, the construction was warranted.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 1

Today the first stages were run. I woke up with a fine hangover because I have not yet learned to not try to keep up with the English in the pub – the service crew for the cars I posted yesterday just happened to be there.  

Today’s stages were not scored. It was a sort of test day / familiarization course for the competitors. Despite this, the day was not without incident. Car 906, the factory supported STi, driven by Marc LaChapelle & codriven by Keith Townsend, was involved in an off road excursion resulting in a precautionary trip to the hospital for the crew. They were checked out and are fine. Last I heard, they are in need of a steering wheel hub in order to complete repairs.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 0

The combination of jet lag and sleep deprivation has resulted in a feeling of disorientation like no other. I got a basic tour of the St. John’s area from my gracious host which included a jaunt out to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America.
I met with the rest of the volunteers today, got the standard package of stuff, had a little bit of time to check out the competitors that were on display, and saw a couple of gorgeous twins (see picture.) Now it’s time for a nap…

New Adventure, New Author!

Alex here. I’ll be volunteering this year at Targa Newfoundland. I’ll be working as a radio operator, and should have an interesting perspective. Keep posted here for updates from ‘The Rock.’ I’ll do my best to provide as many updates and photos as time will allow.

Now to get there…

Check out the official Targa Newfoundland website for information about the event.

-Alex

Our Canada Features Sirius Rally Alcan Adventure

In December 2008 Our Canada magazine ran an article on the Sirius Rally Team’s experiences of the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk.  

Here’s an excerpt:

“In the low light of pre-dawn, we find our way to the boat launch and creep onto the frozen Mackenzie River. We pass tugboats and barges frozen into the river on which we are driving, but we don’t encounter any other rally traffic or local traffic – the ice road is ours. It’s smooth, straight and seems almost five lanes wide along the Mackenzie Delta, but we encounter more cracks and sweeping corners as we head northeast on the Beaufort Sea. We are driving on ocean water along the northern shore of the Northwest Territories.”

Link to a PDF of the article HERE, thanks to rallysport.ca.

Oregon 1000 Frantic and Fun for Sirius Team

Ben and Jennifer started the second day of the Oregon 1000 under duress, when they realized, on their way to the first regularity, that the rally computer was not working.   After couple of stops at curbside repair ramps, Ben was able to fix the problem, but the team was very late and forced to take a time deck.   They ended up disorganized and frazzled through the first reg, taking on maximum points at one checkpoint and hefty early points at another, effectively putting them out of contention for the event.

After the chaos subsided, the fun began.  Ice cream, thunderstorms, water balloons and good rally friends became the highlights of the day.  As the rally progressed through the twisty, rolling roads of the Oregon backcountry, the weather cleared and Ben and Jennifer got back on track, improving their scores and working as a successful unlimited team.  

The end of rally party took place on a lovely shaded patio in Hood River, OR as teams shared stories of spinning out, close calls, flat tires and even some scoring concerns, including an unresolved balking penalty.  After the awards, Alex joined Ben and Jennifer back in Portland, where a final water balloon fight temporarily remedied the intense heat that had gripped the Pacific Northwest for the previous weeks, and the first Oregon 1000 was over for the Sirius Rally Team.

No online results have been posted.

Link to Sirius photos HERE.

Oregon 1000 Update

Jennifer and Ben survived the first day of the Oregon 1000, accumulating a total of 24 points.  The first place teams has 12 (Kraushaars), 13 (Smith/Song) and 16 (Webster/Harer), with three others close to the Sirius rally total.  Few teams finished the day without a challenge or a story to tell; for Jennifer and Ben it was a haunted rally computer that dropped the count mid-regularity, leaving them with no information for 3 miles.  They were very lucky to take only 5 points at the next checkpoint, the highest single score during their day.  Other teams got lost, had serious computer issues, the wrong in times or rally times; another team burnt out and replaced an alternator at the roadside.  The most memorable roads were twisty, elevation changing tarmac trails through state forests.  Thunderstorms with pounding rain and hail, dramatic lightning and winds followed the teams throughout the afternoon.

Sunday will feature more gravel, and Jennifer and Ben will be focused on catching the teams close in the points totals, and getting a few more zeros before the final control.

New Challenge for New Team at the 2009 Oregon 1000 TSD Rally

The newest incarnation of the Sirius Rally Team will be in action at one of the more demanding TSD rallies of the season, the Oregon 1000 Rally, coming up July 31 – August 2, 2009.  The 2009 edition of the Oregon 1000 will venture into Central Oregon, rather than the southern coast.  Staying true to its name, the route will once again cover 1000 kilometers of some of the best rally roads Oregon has to offer, and contain significantly more unpaved roads than previous editions.  It starts in the greater Portland area and finishes near Hood River, with a Saturday intermission in Prineville, Oregon.  

Driver Jennifer and codriver Ben will be competing in the equipped (read: unlimited) class with Ben’s WRX wagon.  This will be the second outing for the team with the fancy computer setup, and their first gravel event.  Oregon 1000 is a much longer, more serious gravel adventure compared to the paved afternoon SnoGit rally, with a much more competitive entry field.  The entry list is full of familiar friends from the 2008 Alcan 5000 Winter Rally, many in different teams and classes, but all capable of keeping their scores low and winning the Oregon 1000.

The Oregon 1000 will also be an occasion to celebrate the birthdays of Ben and one of the Tabor rally clan.  Alex will be traveling down from BC again to codrive Robert, so there will be some relaxed fun and socializing in addition to the challenges and excitement of a summer tsd rally.

Link to the Oregon 1000 webpage HERE, and entry list HERE.

SnoGit TSD 2009 Podium Finish for Sirius in Debut Unlimited Class Drive

This year’s SnoGit TSD featured miles of twisty and scenic tarmac roads through the lush forests and farmlands of Washington’s Skagit County, designed by Jack Heppes and the Olympic Rally Competition Association. The speeds were lively; teams were kept busy searching for do it yourself checkpoint markers along the regularities and negotiating tricky sections with multiple tight corners. Main roads busy with summer recreational traffic were challenging for some competitors, and with a large number of novice teams participating, many of the regularity starts were busy and interesting, with multiple cars leaving on the same minute.

After a sunny day of TSD competition, SnoGit concluded with a spirited uphill transit, followed by hearty barbeque and storytelling at Lake Tyee. The results were tallied, and the rally ended up as an extremely close battle between seasoned veterans and teams quite new to the unlimited class. Three teams finished with a total of 14 points, with two more teams close behind at 15 and 16 points. The three-way tie was broken by totaling zeroes, and the practiced elders came out on top. Don Gibson and Mike Workman took first overall with 9 zeroes, Michael Daily and Tom Palidar finished second overall with 8 zeroes, followed by Jennifer Daly and Ben Bradley in third overall with 7 zeroes, as their first outing with Jennifer driving in unlimited. Also fairly new to the unlimited class, SOP experts Steve Perret and Kathryn Hansen finished in fourth, only one point behind the overall leaders. Joel McLaughlin and Chris Ringhofer won the equipped class, Terry and Arlene Nickels took first in SOP and Tom and Tate Matthews were the top novices.

This was the largest SnoGit ever, with 26 entries. Many teams traveled from British Columbia, drawn by the inclusion of SnoGit in a new novice TSD series created by Jim Bowie from the West Coast Rally Association. The entrants spanned over five decades in age range and featured an interesting variety of vehicles, including rentals, demos, the usual contingent of Subarus and a pickup truck. At the finish, many teams were already talking about their preparations for the upcoming Oregon 1000 TSD rally, a longer gravel event with an impressive entry list featuring the most competitive TSD teams in the Pacific Northwest.

Link to full results HERE.

Link to Sirius photos HERE.

Another DNF For Prescribed Burn Rally Team

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

PBRT Become Spectators After Mechanical Troubles Force Early End to Rocky

June 1st, 2009 – The Prescribed Burn Rally Team was only one and a half stages into the Rocky Mountain National Rally when the engine of their 2004 Subaru STi overheated, taking them out of competition after less than 20 stage kilometers.  Although the sweep truck was able to return the car to the service for assessment by the crew, they were not able to isolate the problem, and the team opted to retire rather than risk terminal engine failure that was likely inevitable if they attempted to continue.

With the PB rally car stowed on the trailer, the team was free to spectate the rest of the event, which featured rally teams from Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.  The main spectator area was crowded with rally fans from across Canada, cheering and enjoying the sunshine as the rally cars roared though a challenging section of stage featuring an acute corner and texas gate.  The event was lead from early on by Canadian Champions Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell, who took first overall. The battle for first in the two wheel drive class was eventually won by Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila, who managed to nurse their 1996 VW Golf through the majority of the last stage and to the final control with only three wheels on the car.  They had been in close competition with Manitobans Jan and Jody Zedril, who lead the their class until they rolled their Mitsubishi on the eighth special stage.

Mark and Jennifer were joined by Craig Ross and Alex Schubel as service crew for this year’s Rocky; they are also indebted to Regan Ritchie and Dave Steeper for their mechanical knowledge and preparation efforts leading up to the rally.  The 2009 Rocky Mountain National Rally will be broadcast on TSN June 20th.  The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be busy rebuilding the engine in preparation for their next event, the Mountain Trials Regional Stage Rally, taking place in Merritt, BC on June 12^th and 13th.

Photo Links

Formula Photographic

WorldRallySport

RallyPic.com

B.G. Images

PBRT Competing @ Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Rally This Weekend

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Local Team Takes on National Competition at Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Rally

May 20, 2009 – The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be traveling to Alberta to compete in their first national event of the 2009 rally season, the epic Rocky Mountain Rally, taking place on the ranchland roads outside of Calgary May 28-30.   This will be the second outing for the team’s new 2004 Subaru STi rally car, which has received suspension and brake upgrades since the team’s open class win at the Cochrane winter rally in March.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is aiming to improve upon their 2008 result of 6^th overall.  Driver Mark Jennings-Bates is looking forward to giving the new car its first hard drive on the fast, open Alberta roads: “We were happy with last year’s finish, but it was a learning experience for us.  This year we are better prepared, with the right tires and more knowledge.  We’re planning on pushing our limits from the very first stage, and staying in close battles with some of the eastern teams that finished just ahead of us last year.”  Rocky is a particular challenge for codrivers, because it is run on computer generated ‘Jemba’ notes, a vast difference from most events, where teams are permitted to generate their own pace notes.  With a new rally computer in the car, codriver Jennifer Daly is feeling confident: “Two years ago Rocky was the first event for Mark and I as a team, and we’ve come a long way since.  The car is well equipped and we are working well together; I think we’ll be able to push harder and use the Jemba notes more effectively than in the past.” 

The Rocky Mountain National Rally will be broadcast on TSN this fall as part of the televised Canadian National Rally Series.  The event draws rally teams from across Canada, including the 2008 championship winning Rocky Rally Team, lead by Patrick Richard.  The 2009 Rocky Mountain Rally begins on stage roads familiar to the teams from other regional Alberta events, and features a head to head super special at the Race City Speedway on Friday night.

-30-

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is a performance stage rally team based in British Columbia’s Okanagan valley.  Driver Mark Jennings-Bates and co-driver Jennifer Daly compete in an open class Subaru WRX STi, supported by a dedicated team of local volunteers.  For 2009 the Prescribed Burn Team will be striving to win the Western Canadian Rally Championship.  Mark Jennings-Bates is also endeavouring to raise millions of dollars for charity as part of his bid to be the first Canadian driver to enter the infamous Dakar Rally in 2011.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is sponsored by BCResortHomes.com, Agar Paint & Autobody, BigO Tire in Westbank, Aerius Engineering, Wyatt Auto Parts, Kelowna Moving Centre, Provisiondata.com, The Great Canadian Oil Change and Bell Racing.  The team is supported by K96.3FM, Castanet.net and Green Couch Designs.

(as reported by PBRT media)

Follow the Prescribed Burn Rally Team @ Rocky via twitter (link on right) or check out FlatOverCrest.com for all the rally tweets….

Canadian Rally Championship on TV – Reruns & Premieres!

TSN will be running the entire 2008 CRC season as a leadup to the 2009 shows:

2008 Rallye Perce-Neige – Maniwaki, Quebec: Mon Jun 08 09 05:00

2008 Rocky Mountain Rally – Calgary, Alberta: Mon Jun 08 09 05:30

2008 Baie des Chaleurs – Richmond, Quebec: Tue Jun 09 09 05:00

2008 Rallye Defi – Ste. Agathe, Quebec: Tue Jun 09 09 05:30

2008 Pacific Forest Rally – Merritt, British Columbia: Wed Jun 10 09 05:00

2008 Rally of the Tall Pines – Bancroft, Ontario: Sat Jun 13 09 05:00

2008 Year In Review – Sat Jun 13 09 05:30

2009 Air Dates:

2009 Rallye Perce-Neige – Maniwaki, Quebec: Sat Jun 13 09 11:30 Premiere

2009 Rocky Mountain Rally – Calgary, Alberta: Sat Jun 20 09 11:30 Premiere

(as reported on SpecialStage)

 

Sirius Rally Team Takes 1st in Class & 2nd O/A in 2009 TSD Debut!

The 2009 Trail of the Gnu Rally around Rocky Mountain House, AB in late March turned out to be a true winter driving adventure for Sirius driver Jennifer and her new teammate codriver Leanne.  The first outing for the all girl team was a super fun, spirited and lucky drive, with challenging slippy and deep snow roads, and the rex’s wheels leaving the ground on more than one occasion.  

The team had the privilege of starting directly behind rallymaster Taisto and his accomplished right seat Jim, who provided a lot of advice and encouragement, as well as great racing lines, throughout the event.  Organizers Eric and Kris have built Gnu into the premiere TSD in AB; indeed, the Gnu roads rivaled any of the Alcan regularities, except for Blackwater, and were some of the best times Jennifer has ever had at a TSD.  After a bit of a rough start as the new team sorted out how to work together, the points stayed low, with the exception of overestimating the difficulty of a series of hairpins and coming in early, and stuffing the car into the deep snow on a narrow section.  Luckily, on the reg where the team got stuck disruptive locals caused havoc for the cars behind, and it ended up being an unscored section.  Even luckier, the team put the car in the bank on such a narrow road that the next cars could not pass and were eager to pull them out quickly.  Many thanks to Richard and Helen for getting the rex back on the road with their 1974 BMW!  

After the off, the codriving was impeccable and the rest of the rally flew by, highlighted by a zero through a challenging hairpin series, and an impressive ‘jump’ over one of the final cattle guards.  Veterans Peter and Geoff Hill took the overall win, besting Jennifer and Leanne by only two points!  Unfortunately, the newly formed team will be unable to contest for the 2009 RallyWest TSD title because of the untimely crash and writeoff of the Rex in late April.  

Link to results HERE.

Link to istaphoto.com event photos HERE

Link to Sirius event photos HERE.

WCRA Little White Rally Test Day This Weekend

There might be only a few winter rally roads left in the Okanagan, and the West Coast Rally Association will be hosting the Little White Rally Test Day on one of them outside of Kelowna this weekend.

Link to supregs @ rallyBC HERE.

PBRT Takes Open Class Win at Cochrane Rally

The new Prescribed Burn 2004 Subaru STI left its tarmac circuit racing history in the dust this weekend at its first rally, the Cochrane Regional Rally of the Ranchlands in Alberta.  This year’s Cochrane Rally, the first round of the Western Canadian Championship, began as a pure snow and ice winter event, with some teams ending up in the snowbanks multiple times, and ended as a warm sunny spring rally with a great finish for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team.

On the first few morning stages, driver Mark Jennings-Bates had his hands full keeping the new car, with its still stock suspension and non rally tires, on the slippy winter roads.  Other teams struggled for grip as well, including the first car out, which ended up in the snowbank on the first stage.  By the long mid day service the Chinook arch was high in the sky, and the temperature was rising rapidly.  The Prescribed Burn service crew worked hard and solved a list of problems that cropped up throughout the morning, giving Mark and Jennifer a chance to test out the new car in earnest during the second half of the rally.  With the temperature above freezing, the worn winter tires found more grip and the team returned to rally pace, enjoying settling in to the new car. 

 The Prescribed Burn Rally Team’s 2009 Cochrane Rally was an eventful one, with new car teething troubles, stopping on stage to pull another competitor out of the snowbank, and penalties incurred when they spun 360 degrees backwards through a chicane, obliterating most of the elements.  The detailed results are not yet available, but without the estimated five minutes they lost to these challenges the Prescribed Burn team would have been in an overall podium position.  By the last leg of the rally the team was consistently setting competitive stage times, enough to and take first place in open class and fifth overall.  The next event on the PBRT calendar is the Rocky Mountain National Rally in Alberta in May.

1 – #4 Hardy Schmidke Adam Vokes 1:07:21 1
2 – #2 Eric Grochowski Leanne Junnila 1:09:42 2
3- #11 Onur Tezcan Aaron Neumann 1:10:43 3
4- #9 Jared Powell-Williams Mark Uhlmann 1:12:45 4
5 – #3 Mark Jennings-Bates Jennifer Daly 1:14:49 5
6 – #7 Graham Bruce Ryan Warrington 1:15:51 6
7 – #8 Neil Wright Lorna Wright 1:16:37 7
8 – #12 Jim Gemmell John Gemmell 1:17:53 8
9 – #10 Mehran Arefi Dan McLean 1:21:01 9
10 – #1 Colin Armstrong Jason Thain 1:30:02 10
– #5 Brian Maplethorpe John Hall DNF – Max Late
– #6 Ken Maydaniuk Chris Maydaniuk DNF – Off road

Link to detailed results HERE.

Photo links:

Istaphoto

Andrew Snucins

Sirius Rally Team

Travis C, chicane supervisor

PBRT Opens 2009 Season at Cochrane Regional Rally This Weekend

The new Prescribed Burn 2004 Subaru STI will take its first rally start at round one of the Western Canadian Rally Championship this weekend. The PBRT service crew has been hard at work converting the street prepped STI into a tough and stage ready open class rally car.

Last year’s Cochrane rally was the first event as the lead rally car for the Prescribed Burn team, an added challenge for still novice codriver Jennifer, and a substantial disadvantage in the winter conditions.  As first car out the Prescribed Burn Impreza cleared the way for the later entries, sweeping the untouched snowy stages at a slower pace.  The team will be looking to improve upon the 2008 result of fifth overall, and aiming to adapt to and show off the new STI.

Link to the Cochrane website with entry list and schedule HERE.

Good luck to all the WCRC competitors, as the race for the 2009 title begins!

Sweet New Logo for Prescribed Burn RT this Season

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team enlisted the help of trusted graphic designer Cynthia Frenette, the artist behind the Sirius Rally Logo, to update their logo for the 2009 season.  The Okanagan rally team is beginning to attract local commercial and media attention; it has also added a second rally car to the team for 2009, and everyone wanted a logo that reflected the team’s growth and success.  Thanks to Cynthia for an eye-catching professional  that reflects the flare and fun at the core of the Prescribed Burn Rally Team.

Link to Green Couch Designs HERE.

The current PBRT website will be updated to fit the new logo soon, hopefully before the team’s first event of the season, Cochrane Rally of the Ranchlands, on March 1st.

2009 Thunderbird Rally in Review

The Okanagan and environs became the partly sunny playground for the biggest TSD rally of the season this past weekend, where almost fifty rally cars took on the snow, ice and bare gravel roads in pursuit of the 38th Thunderbird title.

Our Thunderbird Rally adventure began in the ranchlands outside of Merritt, sailing through the sweeping corners of the Minnie Lake regularity.  I’m pretty sure this reg has been cancelled in years past because of flooding, but this year we just sailed over huge glass ice puddles that covered many spots on the long straights, maintaining our speed and line effortlessly.  Apparently the ice broke and the conditions deteriorated as the rally progressed, resulting in front end damage and a very early retirement for the 1967 Volo Eis Munky lead team.  The second Eis Munky paper class entry was reported off on the same reg, eliminating the team from contention.

The hairpin checkpoint we were assigned on Sunday was the most eventful of the rally, as almost half the field ran into some sort of trouble negotiating the steep, acute L turn.  

With provisional scores posted, the 1969 Saab of driver Satch Carlson and codriver Russ Kraushaar was in the top position, repeating their 2007 victory.

Link to Sirius RT event photos HERE.

Link to Eis Munky Brian’s photos HERE.

Link to event results HERE.

Hairpin video to follow….

Thunderbird Rally Goes High Tech with Sirius Team Checkpointers!

The Sirius WRX Wagon will be traveling the back roads of BC this weekend as part of the Thunderbird TSD Rally.  Over forty teams from the Prairies to the Pacific Northwest, including seasoned stage rally veterans and a herd of newbies in shiny Subarus, will be competing for the Thunderbird Title.  

Without a dedicated TSD rally budget for 2009, Jennifer and August are volunteering for the weekend, and looking forward to some serious winter driving and Subaru rescuing.  Jennifer will be trying out the PBRT twitter rally setup, sending mobile updates from the road, and the Sirius team’s location will be available via August’s Spot tracker @ whereisaugust.com.  Check the Twitter link in the side column of the Sirius team site for twitter updates.

The Eis Munky Rally Team will be attempting to defend its team title from last year, with founding members Gil Stuart and Chris Peake leading the team in Gil’s historic class 1967 Volvo 123GT.  The 2009 Eis Munky Team continues its tradition of including a paper class entry  with Washingston’s Steven Kang and Greg Hightower in their 98 Subaru Outback Sport.  The third Eis Munky team will be an unlimited class 2000 Subaru Impreza piloted by veteran rally fans and organizers Max Vaysburg and Tony Latham. 

GO EIS MUNKY RT!!

2009 Thunderbird Rally Home

1st Annual Big White Rally Weekend

As a bit of catchup, here’s the link to the recap of the superfun events at Big White before Christmas, hosted by the Prescribed Burn Rally Team:

Big White Rally Weekend PR

The second stage test day to be organized in the Okanagan opened the event, with four rally cars out testing and playing in the snow. The next test day is tentatively scheduled for Saturday March 21st, and the Prescribed Burn Team plans to host another Big White Rally Weekend in early December 2009.

Prescribed Burn 2009 Competition Schedule

Cochrane Regional Rally of the Ranchlands – Feb 28-Mar 01, Cochrane AB

Ski2Sea Relay Race - April 19, Kelowna BC

Rocky Mountain National Rally - May 29–31, Calgary AB

Mountain Trials Regional Stage Rally - June 13-14, Merritt BC

Bighorn Regional Stage Rally - August 15-16, Edmonton AB

Pacific Forest National Stage Rally - October 2-4, Merritt BC

Kananaskis Regional Stage Rally - November 7-8, Kananaskis AB

 

Prescribed Burn Rally Team Takes 2008 Open Class Title, Prepares for 2009 Season

After a successful 2008 season, culminating in the Western Canadian Open Class Title, the Prescribed Burn Rally Team will focus on the Western Canadian Rally Championship exclusively for its 2009 season.  This rally series begins in March, but the team is currently working on a number of preseason efforts, including prepping and testing a new car, creating a new website, and initiating new team members.

“Last season was a real roller coaster and a big learning year for everyone,” reflects codriver Jennifer Daly.  “We had record results, but also some crashes and frustrating mechanical troubles.  Despite the trials, we won open class and placed third overall, and we are heading into this season as a more tightly knit, experienced, and determined rally team.”

 As his rally team evolves, driver and team founder Mark Jennings-Bates regards the season ahead with excitement and growing confidence: “The profile of rally as an action sport is increasing: both the Canadian National Series and the Dakar Rally are getting mainstream television coverage, and we’re seeing more and more spectators, sponsors and new drivers coming to rally.   As part of this momentum, we intend to take our team to a higher level of performance and exposure in 2009,” says Jennings-Bates.  “We are focused on winning the Western Canadian Rally Championship.”

As part of this pursuit, the team will be upgrading to a faster rally car, a 2004 Subaru STI.  The PBRT service crew of local volunteers will be hard at work preparing the new car for the team’s first event of the season, Alberta’s Cochrane Regional Rally of the Ranchlands on March 1st. 

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is a performance rally team based in British Columbia’s Okanagan valley.  The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is sponsored by AGAR Paint and Autobody, Big O Tires Westbank, Wyatt Auto Parts, The Vault Sign & Design, Realtors at The Grand, K96.3FM, and Provisiondata.com; the team is supported by the Horie Family, Bell Racing, Driver’s Edge Autosports, Kelowna Moving Centre, Great Canadian Oil Change and Green Couch Designs.

 PBRT Media Release 02/03/2008

PBR Team Rallies to Career Top National Finish at Rocky

An unusually heavy week of rain descended upon Calgary, Alberta just in time for the 2008 Rocky Mountain Stage Rally, creating challenging conditions for the organizers, teams and volunteers. The second round of the Canadian National series had thirty four entries and showcased new contingency programs and factory support from Subaru and Mitsubishi.

As teams traveled out to the first stages, a rare short break in the rain occurred and Mark and Jennifer flew through the familiar roads without incident. By the first reseed they had moved ahead of their usual regional competition, and just in behind the funded factory teams. The third stage of the rally was the longest and a favourite of Mark’s; although turbo problems had prevented the team from truly taking the stage in the past, this time they pushed hard and drove Powderface all out. On the transit back to Calgary two top teams were stopped on the roadside, and another was left on stage with a blown motor. This attrition put the Prescribed Burn Team in the running for a top five National finish.

The impact of the weather was apparent early in the rally when flooding forced the cancellation of the short spectator stages. In lieu of the planned gravel course, the organizers devised a head to head, WRC style tarmac super special for the spectators expected at the Race City Speedway on Friday night. Despite the downpour, a sizeable crowd equipped with cameras and umbrellas turned up to see the teams and cars at service and on the track. The Prescribed Burn Team ended day one in fifth place overall, its highest National standing ever. Mark and Jennifer aimed to carry the speed and composure they attained on the Powderface stages into the Porcupine Hills, despite the torrential rain and rumours of car-sucking mud on Saturday’s tricky and technical stages.

The Prescribed Burn Team started day two by setting fourth fastest times on the first two stages, moving them ahead of Mitsubishi teams from Quebec. Mark and Jennifer were surprised at how well they fared since they battled thick fog and confusion about chicane placement on the first stage. At the first service the focus was on tires, and many teams were changing to new gravel tires or narrow mud tires. Deep mud and rocks on the next two tight, narrow stages cost the team time and a lot of tire wear, but they managed to lose only one position.

Mark drove at the very edge for the grip and the conditions over the last two stages, but their closest competitors with mud tires gained ground. The Prescribed Burn Team finished the Rocky Mountain Rally in sixth overall, also collecting important points as the second place novice entry. Patrick Richard and Alan Ockwell won the event for the Rocket Rally Team in their new Subaru Canada WRX STI.

According to co-driver Jennifer Daly, the rally was a success: “I’m very happy with our performance and I think we are steadily progressing as a team. We were consistent and we are gaining confidence; sixth overall is an outstanding result. We relied heavily on our volunteer service crew to maintain the car and especially the tires at this event. They were dedicated and steadfast despite the terrible cold, wet, muddy conditions they endured all weekend.” Dave Hood, Eric Bauld, Alex Schubel and Dave Steeper were in attendance as service crew for Rocky.

Over the course of the event, the rain flowed in rivers across the transit roads and into culverts on stage, creating huge puddles that splashed into the roof vents and engines of the rally cars, forcing at least one retirement. The Canadian National series is being filmed to air on TSN in the fall, and according to the veteran rally videographers, the 2008 Rocky conditions were the worst ever.

After reviewing the stage times, driver Mark Jennings-Bates summarized his performance: “We set a competitive pace on Friday and maintained it for the Saturday morning stages. The mud got thicker and deeper as the day progressed, and against other teams with specialized mud tires, we lost precious seconds and dropped in the overall final standings. There are well equipped new or returning teams on the Western Canadian circuit and we’re looking forward to some close battles this season.” With new rivalries brewing, the team will begin preparation for its next outing, the Mountain Trials Regional Stage Rally, taking place in Merritt BC on June 13 & 14. Mountain Trials is a home event for the team and they will be driving hard for a podium finish.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is supported by BCResortHomes.com, Agar Paint & Autobody, BigO Tire in Westbank, OkanaganVisitor.ca, Provisiondata.com, Stacy Screen Print, Kelowna Moving Centre, Wyatt Autoparts, Wishbone Industries, The Great Canadian Oil Change and Bell Racing.

PBR Team Takes on US Competition at Olympus Rally 2008

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team had an action packed weekend at the historic Olympus Rally in Pomeroy WA. The first US event for the team was a challenging mix of smooth ridgeline roads and tight corners in and out of grassland valleys, with some teams reaching speeds near 200 km/h. The rally was centred at the Garfield County Fairgrounds, where driver Mark Jennings-Bates, codriver Jennifer Daly and service crew Dave Hood, Alex Schubel, Dave Steeper and Eric Bauld enjoyed the old fashioned small town generosity of the host community. The Olympus Rally has a historic past as one of the oldest rallies in America, and as a previous World Rally Championship event.

On Saturday the first regional rally came to a sudden end for the Prescribed Burn Team less than two miles into the second stage. The car slid slightly wide on an acute loose gravel corner; the soft bank edge fell out from under it and the car landed at the bottom of the steep outside ditch. Unharmed, Mark and Jennifer scrambled out of the gulley to await the course closing crew, who capably extracted the rally car and notified the rest of the team. Determined to continue, Mark drove the car back out of the stage in reverse, with two flat tires, bent rims and a crooked front wheel. At the stage entry they were rescued by their service crew, who towed the car back to the fairgrounds to assess the damage. A few hours of hard work and some spare parts got the car repaired in time to reenter the second regional rally, a commendable achievement for the volunteer service crew.

The early crash was not the end of the trouble for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team. Turbo problems caused them to limp through the first stage after the restart, effectively putting them out of podium contention. This problem was tackled in the later stages and resolved by the last day of the event, where the team came within seconds of reaching the maximum average speed allowed on the final stage. They also bested some well known drivers of large budget factory teams. Mark and Jennifer gained confidence using pace notes and they were able to test the limits of the rally car; working under time constraints and getting the car back into the rally were valuable experiences for the service crew.

DC Shoes founder Ken Block won the national rally for the Subaru USA team; Mark and Jennifer placed 6th overall in the second regional. The team traveled to the Olympus Rally as part of their preparation for their first national event of 2008, Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Rally in May.

Link to the Olympus Rally website HERE.

Canadian Rally on TSN/RDS

The first event of the 2008 series, Perce-Neige Maniwaki, has been aired on RDS and is now available at flatovercrest.com, in association with CARS and TV2Go. The English version will be on TSN this fall.

The next event on the CARS calendar is the Rocky Mountain National Stage Rally in May. The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be competing at the Olympus Regional Stage Rally in April as part of their preparation for Rocky.

Prescribed Burn Rally Team Takes Open Class Win at Cochrane Rally 2008

This year Cochrane was a fast paced, exciting rally, complete with winter driving challenges, amazing offs and fierce competition.  Sunday’s stages were ice and gravel blanketed by a few centimetres of fresh snow.  The conditions were highly variable depending on running order, and changed substantially throughout the day.  The Prescribed Burn Rally Team set out first on the road in the morning, setting respectable times despite the slippery and deceptive untouched snow on the stages.   By the first service they proved to be behind the pace of the leading group, who were taking advantage of the grippy gravel that was appearing as the rally progressed.    The second leg of the rally took place on the tricky and technical Harold Creek stages; these stages claimed two rally cars during the event, and the Prescribed Burn car almost became a third.  Early in stage 3 Mark and Jennifer came flying into a sharp left slightly unprepared, and ended up on top of the large snowbank, on the outer edge of the road, sliding along it and managing to use whatever wheels were still on the ground to avoid going over the edge. This corner saw a lot more action after the Prescribed Burn team came through – some competitors bounced off the bank, and one car went off and rolled over completely.  The rollover was the big story of the event, until another team launched their car off a crest and wedged it between two trees on the second pass of the Harold Creek stages.  The crews from the crashed cars were uninjured but out of the rally.  Mark and Jennifer made up time during the final leg of the rally.  They set top times on stages, and were within 10 seconds of second and third place overall.  Delays from earlier in the rally caused two late stages to be cancelled, and the opportunities for the Prescribed Burn Team to continue making up time were lost.  The team was still in line for the open class win, as the next closest open driver ended up hitting a bridge trying to catch them.  As all the teams filed into the final control it became clear that the results were extremely close, with a large part of the field possibly on the podium.  This situation is unusual in rally, and it took the officials a long time to declare the results.  Mark, Jennifer and the Prescribed Burn Team took the Open class win, and placed fifth overall, 20 seconds out of third.  The Bullit Racing Team of Colin Armstrong and Jason Thain won the event and the Group 2 title.  The next Alberta event is the Rocky Mountain Stage Rally in May.   Link to event photos from Formula Photographic HERE. Link to Shawn’s photos, including sequences of the close calls on Harold Creek, HERE. Link to Louren Sansregret’s photos HERE. 

Cochrane Rally Opens Sirius Stage Season This Weekend

Twenty teams from BC and AB will be rallying through Albertan ranch country at the 2008 Cochrane Rally of the Ranchlands on March 15 & 16. Sirius team members Jennifer and Josh will be in the right seats for Mark Jennings-Bates in an open Impreza and John Breen in a P-3 Focus, respectively.

The G2 battle will be the main focus of the Cochrane Rally this year. Two of the top G2 cars have new codrivers, and a perennial favourite is returning to his old VW ride for the event. Mark and Jennifer are slated as car 1 in the start order, leading all the 2wd cars onto the stages. Being the first car on the road will be a new challenge for Jennifer. The Prescribed Burn rally car has been fined tuned at Rocket, and the volunteer service crew will be out in full force for Cochrane. The Prescribed Burn Team is hoping for a reliable start to the 2008 season, and aiming for a podium place at Cochrane this weekend.

Link to event homepage HERE.

Sirius Rally in the News

The Alcan pace had me barely skimming some of the comments while we were on the rally, but now I’m enjoying going back through and seeing what people wrote. I almost missed a heads up from someone we met on day 2, a teacher at the school, I think, about an article in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a paper copy but it’s also available online HERE.

Rookie Sirius Team Takes Second Overall at Alcan Rally!

We’re finally getting settled back in to life not on the road, and here’s the overdue conclusion to the Sirius Alcan Adventure:

The combined efforts of cars 16-18 resulted in the second place team prize for the 2008 Alcan Winter Rally. Our ‘all newbie’ crew is very proud of finishing closely behind the accomplished Arctic Challengers, who won the team honours despite one of their cars suffering some damage on the ice road. The Tres Hermanos RT took overall honours; the Alcan site still doesn’t have scores past day 4 so we can’t post all the details. The results were announced at the finish banquet, and a score sheet was distributed, but in the post-Alcan revelry we lost track of both. Josh and Evans left early to make it home the next day, so the points totals are listed in Josh’s post below. We made a leisurely trip back, stopping at the Eagle Eye for a mountaintop lunch, but it was cool to see our other teammates rushing happily home to their families.

Here’s the breakdown for each Sirius entry:

Josh & Evans Keatley – CAR 16 (grey Subaru Forester)
FIRST PLACE class IIE
9th overall
the ‘behind the scenes’ lowdown: Josh and Evans were the token father/son effort, and the Forester they rescued from the wrecker turned out to be a great Alcan ride. They were dependable teammates and Josh put on a heck of a show at the ice races, posting fast times in a non turbo car.

Jennifer Daly, Gord Ryall & August Ustare – CAR 17 (wrb 2004 Subaru WRX Wagon)
ICE RACE CHAMPIONS
second place class IE
11th overall
the ‘behind the scenes’ lowdown: If not for our day 4 sleep in, we might have had our class win and the team prize. Once we got behind, we had more of a fun holiday and didn’t pay a lot of attention to the points, but our TSD abilities still improved dramatically. When Gord started winning the ice races, I got to do more TSD driving. Gord has sworn off TSD entirely as of the last day of the Alcan, so August and I will compete as a team for selected events this year, hoping to continue on the improved and competitive pace we attained on the Alcan. The rally was a scouting mission for future adventures, and the draw to explore the Yukon and NWT is even stronger now that I’ve seen a little of what it has to offer.

Bill Beers & Doug Heredos – CAR 18 (Big Blue Dodge Ram)
second place class IIE
12th overall
FIRST PLACE favourite last minute teammates and road buddies
the ‘behind the scenes’ lowdown: We were lucky to have these two stage rally guys from Oregon as the objects of our pranks, impromptu cameramen / media hounds and dependable Kokanee company. The truck was an unlikely ride but they drove it with style and a sense of humour. If there had been close to the expected number of ice races, they might have been able to coax us into switching up for the Rex. They stayed close on the heels of the Keatleys, and the tightness of this race helped us overall in the team standings.

Adding one more blue Subaru to the mix made for a lot of camera opportunities and better chances to gang up on the Dodge, and by the end Stevan and Kristin were pretty much teammates as well. Stevan braved a pretty bad virus to join us for the token champange splash at the finish. Kristin was a great navigator and had a solid handle on TSD by the end, even though she had no idea what she was getting into when she started. We’ll be watching for them to turn up on the Canadian stage circuit in the future. I’m not totally certain, but their presence in our class, despite not having a rally computer, may have upped the Sirius Team score.

We’ll add thoughts, top ten lists and ramblings as the impact of our rally sets in, and we’ll be busy with the 2008 stage season very soon. It was 4 years in the making but I think we got everything we hoped for and much more from the Alcan Winter Rally. Immense thanks to Jerry and all the volunteers who set the route out before us.

Home! (Car 16, at least)

Well, after last night’s awards banquet and social to-do, the Sirius Rally Team has gone it’s separate ways and headed for home.  As the lucky ones closest to (one of our) homes, we managed to make it back to Calgary by 9 in the morning on Wednesday.  As it turns out, neither of us could sleep past 4 am, so we decided to hit the road.  The Icefields Parkway is spectacular in the daytime, but not much to look at at 5 in the morning.

So, a team update on behalf of the travelling Siriusians still on the road!

As a team we all did extremely well, especially for rookies!  Car 18, Bill and Doug, finished 12th overall and 2nd in class IIE, with 271 points.  This was a great finish for a great couple of guys.  They had the most entertaining runs through the ice race course, with the snowbank crushing power of the Dodge.   Car 17, Jen, Gord and August, finished 11th overall and 2nd in class IE with 261.4 points.  They claimed first overall in the ice races on combined times, beating all of the perennial favourites in this part of the competition.  We in Car 16 finished 9th overall and first in class IIE, with 159.9 points.  Most importantly, all of us on the team had a great time, enjoyed each other’s company and made it to the end of the event with relatively little drama.

All of this was announced at the end of rally banquet at the Jasper Inn, where each car and team was described with some highlights, along with their scores and standings.  A computer projector showed photos and videos from the event, and great fun was had watching all the clean lines and major stuffs from the ice races.  After the dinner, we all chatted and talked about the event and rally in general.  It was great being able to kick back and get to know so many people from across the continent(s, for car 12).

All in all, a fantastic event and a great experience!

Josh

We did it!

We arrived in Jasper this afternoon to complete the Alcan 5000 Rally at mile 4706.944. We’re glad everyone arrived here safe and sound. We’re looking forward to the banquet tonight to share stories and see results. There’s no wireless internet here at the hotel so I’m making this short post from my cellular internet account. Stay tuned for more updates from us.

Thanks to those who followed us along the way and provided their words of support. See you soon!

AU

Car 16 Inuvik to Tuk to Eagle Plains to Whitehorse to Liard Hotsprings to Dawson Creek Update

So we’re back in civilization, or at least Dawson Creek, just across the Alberta border in northern BC.  Since my last update we have travelled north from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, been fogged in on the Beaufort Sea on the drive back south, spent the night in the 1970’s chic Eagle Plains Hotel, returned to Dawson City, Whitehorse and points south, and are now at the end of the Alaska Highway.

Day by day updates:

Friday – Departed Inuvik NWT for Tuktoyaktuk via the ice road.  Arrived in Tuk about 9:30 am, and got some good pictures of ourselves at the Trans Canada Trail marker at the tip of the town.  Walked around town before heading back south again, and got invited in to the town office by the staff, cause they were surprized to see so many cars driving to the town that time of year.  Headed south on the ice road in a thick ice fog, but made it back to Inuvik safely.  Did a little shopping and got some photos of the unique architecture around the place.  Headed south to Eagle Plains on the Dempster Highway. 

Saturday – Departed Eagle Plains early for a side tour to Dawson City in daylight, discovered that at -30 and the middle of winter, Dawson is pretty much shut down.  Got some great photos of Dawson, then headed south for Whitehorse.

Sunday – Had a short (8.4 mile) TSD section in Whitehorse, then off to the lake for an ice race.  Managed to only pick up 4 points on the TSD, and then didn’t take maximum points at the ice race!  Our teammates, Car 17, took fastest overall time of the day, to lead the ice races overall for 4WD studded tire cars.  After the ice races, we headed south on the Alaska Highway to the Watson Lake signpost forest and the Northern Rockies Lodge where we spent the night.  This place is amazing – almost the middle of nowhere, and just a great facility.  Saw about 50 buffalo along the highway on the drive.  Very cool!  On the way down, stopped at the Liard Hotsprings for a soak, and got to relax in the steaming water while the air temperature was about -5 degrees.  Great way to end the day.

Monday – a long transit day, we headed south on the Alaska Highway again, ending in Dawson Creek.  Along the way, we had TSD sections in Fort Nelson and just outside Dawson Creek.  Picked up 16 points total, middle of the pack for the day, but we are still managing to lead class 2E.  Had a short parking lot session trying to help Gord, our teammate and Subaru tech, patch one of the officials cars whose timing belt seems to have jumped a few cogs.  I wasn’t much help, but I felt good about contributing a flashlight.  We are resting up for the final day tomorrow – 330 miles south from Dawson Creek to Jasper, with one TSD and lots of transits.

Josh

Day 9 – TSD Rally Sirius Style

I had every intention of dragging Gord and August back to the hot springs this morning, but I think we really needed our sleep in time, still recovering from the chaos of the first few days of the Alcan Rally. Having no internet at Liard was a treat; we had a chance to chat and relax without dealing with tech frustrations and frantic uploading. I’ve been able to enlist the guys to help with the updates as well. It was fitting that Gord agreed to write about yesterday, since it was his big day as the iceX champ. Josh, our teammate from car 16, was in the hunt for fastest time, even though his rennovated Forester lacks a turbo. His advice of the day, a mantra he followed, was “brake LATE”. We have some video of him ‘kissing’ the snowbank on the final outer corner, and he put on a great show.

It feels as though we have resurfaced in the civilized world today – we’ ve started to wonder about what’s been happening at home while we’ve been gone, and August and Gord are once again tied to their cellphones. We started at Liard and we’re sleeping at Dawson Creek, and here’s a little bit about how our uneventful but enjoyable day unfolded:

We are finally getting the hang of this TSD thing. Gord has generously agreed to let me do the remainder of the TSD driving, and August is totally on with his spreadsheet and the real time challenges of keeping us on perfect time. We had two regularities, both about 12 miles in length. The first was near Fort Nelson, taking us through a snowy neighbourhood and around the airport turnaround at 10 mph. I think Gord lets me drive because I’m good at going really slow when needed. As one might imagine, Bill and Doug are having trouble doing slow average speeds in their massive truck, and they’re in for it even more because August has just told me there is a section requiring an average speed of 4 mph tomorrow!

The second was part of the Old Alaska Highway, and I was nearly driven to distraction by a fierce and colourful sunset along an old road with a crazy bridge and lots of turns. We’re still waiting for the scores, but it felt great. I’m sad that the rally is ending tomorrow, since today has been a pretty happy and effective day for the team. There’s a lot more to say, but the rally is in its last hours and I am eager to enjoy the time we have left. August’s friend Ryan is here to keep us company, and we’re starting to organize our homecoming plans. I’ll be fleshing out the details of all the posts as they come back to me, and we’re aiming to have photos up before we leave for Jasper tomorrow.

JD

Update: The scores are in and we finished the day with a tiny 6 points overall. That’s only 3 points per regularity; with each one having 4 checkpoints, that’s a lot of ones and zeros (and one two, but still, I’m proud). Our teammates, car 18, are only 2.4 points ahead of us overall, so the story of the day will be Rex vs. Dodge for the win.