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.

Sirius Rally Team Member Takes Second Overall at IceX

The first iceX of the season was sunny, slippery and fun, with Sirius team members besting rivals and posting top lap times. The lake was as slick as glass by the end of the day, and cars were sliding sideways and getting stuffed into all the snowbanks. Driven by Ryan from Vancouver, the big red sweep truck was dispatched frequently. A total of 33 drivers participated; a crowd of spectators and passengers braved the cold as well.

The variety of vehicles racing was entertaining: Paul in Mr2, Gil in his 1967 Volvo, and even a token Porche 911. Warwick the organizer flicking back and forth in the fun Justy was great to watch, and he put on an excellent event. The Legacy battle was the story of the weekend, and it ended up almost too close to call. Gord placed 2nd by only 2 seconds to Onur and his fancy tires in the 4wd rubber class. Both placed ahead of all the entrants in the 4wd studded group. Jennifer placed 8th in 4wd rubber. The fastest lap of the day was Onur’s at 56 seconds; Gord’s best was 58 seconds, and Jennifer was close behind at 1:01.

This event was a great opportunity to test our ice driving and our tolerance for cold. Jennifer volunteered for the event and was comfortable out in the elements setting up the course and starting cars. The clear, cold day was forecasted to be -10 degrees at the coldest, and the winds were not strong. Inuvik temperatures will be as low as -25 degrees this week, making Barnes Lake seem balmy in comparison.

Click HERE for results.

Clicke HERE for event photos.

Novice Pals find Gold at 2007 Gold Digger TSD

Sirius team members and friends successfully completed the all night Gold Digger TSD rally on Saturday/Sunday. The roads were fierce and almost hostile, with large rocks, dry mud ruts and lots of washboard kilometres. A lot of position switching occurred, with the passed cars getting roostered with gravel. Long, pitch dark transit breaks were a great chance to meet and chat with other entrants, including accomplished rallyist and two time Alcan champion Gary Webb.

Gord and Jennifer struggled with math errors and an odo that seemed in need of exorcism. They had a fantastic time, but finished last in class. Onur, Sirius member in training, got extremely lucky and landed a semi-willing codriver at the last minute, allowing him to enter the race. Jeff’s enthusiastic spontaneity was awesome, and it was good fun to watch him go for the ride of his life. They finished with an unusually low score for such carefree novices, and claimed the first novice title, previously held by Gord and Jennifer. Dave and Angie enjoyed working as sweep and checkpoint volunteers; there were also reports of some diesel truck drifting moments as well.

The late night high elevation course roads and early morning mountain views were breathtaking. The last regularity was the Green River road, which flows like an engaging stage course and had plenty of exciting turns and challenges. The morning ended with everyone looking pretty awful but feeling accomplished and happy. A likely groundless protest delayed the official announcement of the results, but it was eventually announced that Onur and Jeff finished first in novice class. We wished Jeff luck as he set out immediately after breakfast to his all day wildlife recreation course. The rest of us chilled out for the day, recovering and working on our new rally stories.

Click HERE for results.
Click HERE for event photos.