June 2-3: No Alibi 2-Day TSD Rally (Washington State)

[Hans]

Arguably the best gravel TSD in the northwest, No Alibi returns to Eastern Washington June 2-3 for another weekend of challenging driving, beautiful scenery, and an all-around great time hanging out with a bunch of car and/or math freaks.

Here's what the Rallymaster says:

No Alibi 2012 is a 500-mile, two-day rally that explores Eastern Washington's beautiful scenery, pleasant weather and endless roads. You'll see some of the area's best gravel back byways and some quiet paved ones as well. The event will begin, overnight, and end in Kennewick, Washington. The course will use all types of roads, from paved highways to wide gravel to twisty and dusty dirt surfaces. However, this event's roads are selected for their smooth character and are not of the car-breaking variety. This year's route will feature a significant amount of new roads (at least 80% of the rally), along with an afternoon exploration of northeast Oregon. The No Alibi rally typically enjoys beautiful early-summer weather and provides a glimpse of the spring-to-summer transition.

Following event tradition, Saturday night features a social gathering, including a top-notch dinner. We'll also have a catered BBQ at the finish. Our event is intended to challenge the experienced competitor but is completely suitable for novice or lightly seasoned entrants. No Alibi 2012 is also Round 2 of the Pacific Coast Challenge rally series.

Check it: http://www.rainierautosports.com/events/2012/noalibi/

Some pics from past events:

[Jordan]

Sweeeeet

[Geoff]

That sounds like such a fun event. Too bad its 2,500 miles away!

[Hans]

That sounds like such a fun event. Too bad its 2,500 miles away!

We usually get a number of arrive-and-drives: Gary Webb often comes up, as does R.Dale Kraushaar and Satch Carlson. Okay, so maybe they're not coming as far as you would (AZ & CA). Maybe 99super would be up for it, with an East Coaster for a navi...

[sjones]

Great pictures and sounds like a lot of fun.

[SalemSaab]

This looks damn cool, and a great intro to Rallying (I've only done Autocross).
Wish I had more time to consider/plan .. I think funds will be insufficient, given this is 500-miles round-trip from me already.
Looks like there are several other events though, from British Columbia down to Oregon (no info yet)

Or maybe I can talk a buddy who did Audi rally-codriving into accompanying on this
Or if someone else needs a #2 and wants to drag a n00b into this .. I am very gullible & easily persuaded!

one question -- do events like these usually require safety gear / helmets, and if so, what certification level?

[Crazyswede]

one question -- do events like these usually require safety gear / helmets, and if so, what certification level?

No not usually. TSD = Time Speed Distance. The idea for most TSD events is that anyone can enter with any car and have a chance at winning. The speeds are usually legal road speeds and the idea is to arrive at hidden checkpoints at an exact time. They have all sorts of screwy rules that can be exploited to increase the challenge. For most events its hard to drive slow enough...there are a couple events where its almost impossible to drive fast enough but those are the minority in the TSD world.

[Hans]

Yes, time-speed-distance rallies are about precision, not speed. All speeds are 10% under the posted speed limit, for liability reasons. If you are late, though, things can get spicy to catch up. On gravel/snow, it can be plenty exciting (though certainly not like stage rally).

Oregon has decent rallies, too (Oregon 1000 is fun, but not gravel, or it hasn't been in the past); however, BC's (http://www.rallybc.com), in particular Totem, in November, and especially Thunderbird, in February, are about as good as it gets in the PNW, if you prefer snow to gravel. A drawback to these rallies is salt, though. Also, at least one of BC's annual rallies has a reputation for being a car-breaker (Coast to Coast, a.k.a. Crestline, out on Vancouver Island) but it looks like it hasn't been run in a couple years, so it's a moot point...

If your buddy can read and do simple math, then he can navigate for you.

EDIT: Most PNW rallies have NO gimmicks; there are no weird rules or traps. It's all straightforward: you go where the routebook says, at the speed indicated, you pass the checkpoints, you try to score well. If you like gimmick rallies with grammar and logic twists in the instructions, look for "Friday Nighters" run out of the Portland area (they're also run out of Bellevue, WA, too, all summer).

[Crazyswede]

Yes, time-speed-distance rallies are about precision, not speed. All speeds are 10% under the posted speed limit,

Usually. The Vermont winter event is often the road speed...or a slightly creative interpretation of the road speed....couple these speeds with snowy, twisty, icy roads and all of a sudden a 42 mph average speed can be a full on challenge. The first year thet ran the event one car rolled and another went straight through a T intersection. We have had a number of close calls...and the last two years have retired with mechanicals...a failed alternator 2 years ago and a shattered strut bearing last year. The event starts at 6pm and ends around 6 am the following day



If your buddy can read and do simple math, then he can navigate for you. And not get car sick

.

[Mars]

Wow, this seems like the perfect thing for me! One major problem, it's the weekend before finals. Awesome...

[DrewP]

Wait, does someone need a co-driver? I'm pretty decent at not getting car sick....

[Hans]

CrazySwede makes a good point: Not getting car sick is actually a pretty big deal for TSDs. If you can't keep your cookies down , you can't navigate. I know a couple people for whom no amount of drugs, patches, ginger, etc. can keep their stomachs from protesting with extreme prejudice. They're either drivers now, or don't rally anymore.

[Crazyswede]

CrazySwede makes a good point: Not getting car sick is actually a pretty big deal for TSDs. If you can't keep your cookies down , you can't navigate. I know a couple people for whom no amount of drugs, patches, ginger, etc. can keep their stomachs from protesting with extreme prejudice. They're either drivers now, or don't rally anymore.

I have to use the scopalamine patch when i navigate. did one event with notes and no drugs....spent the day puking into a ziplock bag....very not recommended.