Rally4Life Team Takes Regional Podium at Rocky

Canadian rally driver Mark Jennings-Bates and co-driver Jennifer Daly took second place in the regional portion of Calgary’s Rocky Mountain Rally this past weekend. Thirty rally teams from across the country competed through the worst weather in over forty years. It was wet and snowy for the days preceding the event, and record precipitation and low temperatures were set during the rally. Despite the storm, the Rally4Life team camped out at the Skyline Ranch near Claresholm and prepared for a winter rally.

The hostile weather conditions made tire choice a significant factor in the outcome at Rocky. The Rally4Life team struggled through Friday’s initial stages, after selecting winter tires that turned out to be ineffective in the mixed road conditions. They ended the first day of the rally eighth regionally and fifteenth nationally. “It was less a case of multiple tire options and more a case of only one choice for a low budget team.  We had to make the best of a bad situation,” said driver Mark Jennings-Bates.

After considering tire choice for Saturday’s stages carefully, the team was able to take advantage of a new tire support programme provided by Yokohama and Rocket Rally. The valuable service provides on site tire sales and mounting, and the Rally4Life team was able to mount a set of specialized mud tires in preparation for the thick, sloppy Porcupine Hills Stages. On the right tires, and with their KSport suspension setup the team had an outstanding run, despite extremely snowy and muddy conditions.

The snow, sleet or rain fell relentlessly throughout the rally, but Mark and Jennifer were able to take advantage of the challenging weather and absolutely enjoyed pushing back up through the standings. Deep snow forced the cancellation of stages and modification to the event schedule, so the rally was shorter than intended. The Rally4Life team advanced considerably, given the reduction in overall stage kilometres.

Quebec’s Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard won the Rocky Mountain Rally with steady driving and wise tire choices. Squamish based Rocket Rally driver and 2009 Canadian Rally Champion Pat Richard and his codriver Alan Ockwell were second overall; the Quebec team of Bruno Carre and Yvan Joyal rounded out the national podium. Mark and Jennifer placed ninth nationally and second regionally. They shared the regional podium with first place Hardy Schmidtke and Adam Vokes, and third place JC Bourgeois and John Hall.

The hardworking Rally4Life service crew for the Rocky Mountain Rally was Dave Steeper, Alex Schubel, Eric Bauld and Jackie Jennings-Bates. The Rally4Life Team will be aiming for an overall win at their upcoming home rally, the Mountain Trials Regional Stage Rally, on June 12 in Merritt BC.

Link to Sirius Rally Team photos HERE.

Link to full results HERE.

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)

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)

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)

 

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.

Tracking the Sirius Rally Team at the Alcan Winter Rally

The BC contingent of the Sirius Rally Team is together in Squamish and preparing for Saturday morning’s departure. The Rom Comm tracker is online and can be viewed through the following link:

http://www.romcomm.net/romtrax_md/

The following information is required to access the Sirius account:

username: rally
password: rally

On some computers a map may be visible on the main screen. To view the team position in Google Earth, from the main Rom Comm screen, check the box next to ‘Sirius Rally’, then click on the Google Earth icon. Google Earth provides an accurate and detailed map, but it’s not absolutely required. To use the Rom Comm map server, click on the ‘Sirius Rally’ text from the initial menu. This will open the Unit Detail screen, and clicking on ‘ROM Map Server’ will show the team position on a map. In general, the Rom Comm site can be navigated by following directions in the left hand column. The site also has a date range feature that shows all the tracker points for a set period of time, plotting the route as the team travels.

Please email siriusrally@telus.net for troubleshooting suggestions. We’ll do our best to get everyone interested in tracking our adventure online before the official start on Sunday AM.

Rom Communications Provides Tracking for Alcan Rally

The Sirius Rally Team is excited to announce a unique partnership with Rom Communications for real time satellite tracking during the Alcan Rally. This venture will raise the profile of the Sirius Team and demonstrate the strength and breadth of Rom Comm’s remote tracking service. We will be traveling with a Rom Comm ROMTrax unit, which will track our location. Our progress will be monitored with an online route map, which will be constantly updated and available on our website. We are also planning on keeping a road diary with tall tales and team updates. This sort of accurate, immediate tracking has never been achieved for the entire Alcan route, and we are confident that Rom Communications will follow us into the far North all the way to Tuktoyaktuk. Google Earth software will be required for viewing. August has been testing the tracker as he travels the province for work, and we can’t wait to get it working in the rex. Thanks to Roger and everyone at Rom Communications!

Link to the Rom Communications site HERE.

OK Lake Rally Test Day Tomorrow

The first Okanagan rally event in recent history, planned by Sirius Rally Team staff, is taking place off of Bear Creek Main FSR tomorrow. There are reports of snow within about 200m of the stage finish, so it is shaping up to be a wild ride. There will a car from Alberta and one from Kamloops out for pre-PFR shakedowns, as well as the local Prescribed Burn Car, and a car from Rocket Rally. The latter two entries will be showcasing rally up close in the right seat for raffle winners and volunteers.

Volunteers should arrive @ 0800. Recce begins @ 0800, and the first car out is @ 1000.

Thanks to the Orchard City Amateur Radio Club for HAM support, and Coldwell Banker for providing lunches for our new volunteer crews!

Click HERE for supplementary regulations.

Sirius Rally Team Gets Graphic

The new Sirius Rally Team logo is ready for press! We’ll be printing and plastering our new design all over the place in the coming months; details regarding stickers, shirts etc will be posted soon. Thanks to Cynthia Frenette @ Hula La Design Company for creating a great new image for our rally team.

Link to Hula La Design HERE.