Rally New York - 4/4 - 4/5

[Air Research]

USRC Rally this weekend in upstate New York.

Ellenville - Wawarsing - Thompson, Monticello - Neversink, NY

Some hill climb special stages !!!

http://www.rallynewyork.com/rnyusa08-index.html

Anyone else going, I'm leaving early Saturday from Cape Cod, MA.[/img]

[Luke]

We had it on the schedule, but couldnt find enough funding to go unfortunatly.

[matt]

I'll be there to spectate on Saturday, hopefully with Luke in tow.

[Jordan]

I'll be there to spectate on Saturday, hopefully with Luke in tow.

Matt brings peer pressure to a whole new level.

[max]

Peer pressure is when Matt sits on you, farts, and says "GO OR SUFFOCATE BITCH!"

[matt]

Peer pressure is when Matt sits on you, farts, and says "GO OR SUFFOCATE BITCH!"

no no no no, that's wrong


















it's bish, not bitch.

[matt]

MINI COOPER S at RALLY NY, check the entry list.

[Crazyswede]

I'll be at an enduro down in NJ this weekend...Sunday....if anyone wants to come out and help out. The event is in Port Elizabeth NJ....we may not go if the weather is supposed to be crappy.

[paulh]

I was there today, and we are heading back tomorrow. Some great action today, lots of slipping and sliding around, the weather was quite nasty. From the looks of it the Mini either didn't start, or was out real early, as i didn't see it at all. The safety cars are getting more impressive every time i come to this event, you have Bruce Turk in his 96, then a 75ish Escort thats all rally prepped, and finally a rediculous sounding Audi S6 or S8. As always, a great event.

Paul

[saab90089]

I was going to head up there this weekend but my car decided that I need to work on it instead (torn axle boot).

I think my buddy Jeremy is co-driving for Gus in a classic SE-R. White with blue was the last color scheme I heard.

ian

[paulh]

I was going to head up there this weekend but my car decided that I need to work on it instead (torn axle boot).

I think my buddy Jeremy is co-driving for Gus in a classic SE-R. White with blue was the last color scheme I heard.

ian

ahh yeah, they had an incident involving a rock wall yesterday, they managed to get going again fairly quickly though, without any noticeable damage!

Paul

[DeLorean]

I was going to head up there this weekend but my car decided that I need to work on it instead (torn axle boot).

I think my buddy Jeremy is co-driving for Gus in a classic SE-R. White with blue was the last color scheme I heard.

ian

ahh yeah, they had an incident involving a rock wall yesterday, they managed to get going again fairly quickly though, without any noticeable damage!

Paul

haha, an incident. Looked to me like they crashed over and through a rock well, got stuck on it, managed to free themselves, swung a U-turn and drove away! haha

[matt]

Luke, Sam, Josh, my mother and I ventured up to Rally on Saturday. After a "relatively" early start we got to service around 12. Hung out at service and got to see the Subaru guys really show everyone how it should be done when Block pulled in. They're so good they need a FENCE around them to keep all the newbs out.
Out on the stages, we tried to make it into a spectating area that was on the stage which meant "get in before we close the stage or you ain't gettin' in" Well, we didn't make it before the stage was closed but we still did get into the stage, only on foot. Luke and Josh sprinted ahead only to nearly be captured by the nasty course marshals who surely would have thrashed them with nearby sticks. Eventually we made our way down to a rather boring corner to watch a stage's worth of cars go by.
After that stage was over we ventured further down the stage to a better vantage point that overlooked a tight corner followed by a quick ess turn into an uphill left. This also proved relatively boring because no one seemed to really be pushing, even Block who looked fast didn't appear to be "going for it."
On our way to the next spectating area we saw a "shortcut" on the map. We approached it confidently to be greeted by a "bridge out" sign. There was a nive guy in a Jeep who had "official" rally new york stickers who told us he was going to see if the bridge was in fact out. Shortly after he didn't return so we assumed the bridge must be intact.
The road was a mix of mud, melting snow and ice due to elevation and dense tree cover. We caught up to the Jeep without too much trouble, then things got interesting. The middle of the road was hard packed snow (it's a snowmobile trail in winter) so the sides were melting and muddy.

The Subaru performed quite well, easily digging through when it had enough momentum, the problems happened when the Jeep was creeping in 4low and I was getting too close. The tow hook came in handy and was more easily accessed after a hard encounter with a 6 inch ice ledge left me short one foglight assembly and smashed the glass in the other.
When we made it out of the ice/snow section we found a stream crossing the road that wasn't more than 10 inches deep.

Then we crossed a field and a "private bridge" that thankfully was open. The alternative was to cross a deeper, fast moving stream. After that we ventured back into a snowy, muddy mess only to discover a tow truck attempting to free a small SUV that sported street tires and only 2wd. The tow truck driver and locals walking there dogs were amazed that this guy would attempt this road with such a vehicle but were also impressed the Jeep and the Subaru made it through from the other side. (Little did we know at the time we were less than 1/2 mile from a paved road).
The locals also told us a someone in a BMW sedan has asked them if he could make it through to the other side, he seemed puzzled when they asked him "does that car have 4 wheel drive" lucky for him he decided not to attempt the trek. After the SUV was free, he proceeded to attempt reversing out to the road.
The tow truck was backing out as well when he started to go toward a small stream, at that point the most amazing thing was observed, a dually tow truck attempting a "j turn" it was truly a sight to see.
Around the next bend, we discovered the SUV was stuck again after apparently backing up into a snow bank.

We continued on to pavement without incident and made our way to the spectating area, only to be told the last cars cames through about 30 minutes before. So we began our trip home, stopped at a gas station for a drink and found Fred the tow truck driver doing the same.

Total time "off the beaten path" was somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours, total number of tow strap usages 5-6, many of them cause by lost momentum due to no 4 wheel low in the subaru.

As Luke said "it was more fun than watching the rally" and as Josh said "we went to a rally, saw what they were doing, said we can do that: and then we did."

Pics and videos to follow.

[paulh]

Well, sounds like you had a more eventful time than us anyway, we kept it on the road and managed to get to the Gully Road area on time, got a great view of the road from up on some rocks. We then headed all the way up to the other spectator area in Neversink where a bunch of people in the crowd almost got trampled by a deer . Then back to Napanoch for the closing ceremonies. It was a great time, Saturday's weather was spectacular compared to Friday even if the stages weren't quite as eventful as Friday in the rain. Interestingly, i got to check out the Audi that was the "0" car, and it was badged as an RS2, but it was a sedan, from what i can find online the RS2's they were all wagons, except for 4 four door cars not sure what the deal was there.

Paul

[max]

MINI COOPER S at RALLY NY, check the entry list.

Are you kidding me? I'd love to see if they had to modify the suspension... I mean there is like NO suspension travel on a Mini... it was probably destroyed into a million peices on the course. POST PICS NOW.