A Blog About Road Rallying » Road Rally

My First Friday Nighter of 2010 is a success!

4Zeros — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:35:12 +0000

My rally bud, Joe Akerman and I got together this last Friday, the first Friday in March to run Santa Monica Sports Car Clubs First Friday Nighter Rally.

The Santa Monica Sports Car Club has continued the FFN for many years, and you are always guaranteed a great time!

Tonight was different in that my car was not ready to run Class A with a computer and Joe’s car had my old Alpha Elite in it and no reader board. A few days earlier Joe had asked me to rig up a reader board on a Ram Mount so we could mount it to his windshield with a suction cup. Well by the time Friday night came about, a large stone had severely cracked the windshield in Joe’s WRX. So we opted for a clipboard instead. (The best decision of the whole rally)

What this did, was force Joe and I to communicate better. It allowed me to concentrate more on driving and being on time, and Joe more on the instructions and traps. I really think this system works better. As long as I knew what the next instruction was, that is what I was concentrating on, and not a few steps ahead. Sometimes when you are thinking a few steps ahead in a TSD trap rally, you zone out on the current tasks/traps. By doing this, we went through the entire rally and properly executed each instruction and did not fall for any of the traps. This is always a difficult task when Jeanne English is the rally master.

A quick note for Jeanne and the SMSCC gang. Great Rally!! You guys put on a great event. The roads on this rally where in the mountains outside of Santa Clarita California. Great roads for some spirited driving!

After catching each of the traps, which not only tested confidence, but knowledge of the rules, Joe and I managed to score an eleven. Meaning we were eleven hundredths of a minute off for the entire 2+ hour rally. Not perfect, but good enough to pull a 1st place win in Class A. It had been a while since Joe and I had run together and won. It was a good feeling!

The other nice part about this rally, was the attendance! There were 20 cars/teams running this rally. I hope this is a sign that the economy is turning around and people are starting to get out and enjoy themselves more! It sure was nice to see new and familiar faces at this event.

So if you are in the Los Angeles area on the 1st Friday of the month, bring a friend, a car and a watch to the corner of Devonshire and Sepulveda in Mission Hills, where behind the BofA you will find die hard and newbie rally enthusiasts gathering to enjoy their Friday night without the TV, without the bars, but with good friends and awesome roads.

Don’t be shy either, if you have never done something like this before, they have a beginners meeting to tell you how to do it before the event starts.

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ITN Fall Rally Update-

4Zeros — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:36:39 +0000

he Night Rally Team. The ITN gang is putting together the final elements of STELLAR LUMINESCENCE, a 14 hour navigational road rally in the Monte Carlo style made famous by Pan Am and Starlite. The rally runs from Santa Barbara at 9 PM on Friday, Nov. 20 to Las Vegas, arriving late Saturday morning.
This is a beautiful rally course set over some of the best driving roads anywhere in the world. (Yes, we’’ve checked). It’’s a straightforward event with a few good traps for the more experienced folks in Group X, and an easy-to-follow fun run for the Group N and Group B people. There are still plenty of rooms at the Circus Circus for Saturday night, and there is still room for more entries in the rally.
WORKER NOTICE: If you want to help work the rally, the CHECKOUT RUN begins on Friday night, Oct. 30 in Santa Barbara at 8pm and will be done in Vegas about noon on Saturday, Oct. 31. So, if you have ever had any desire to spend Halloween in Vegas, this is your chance. Call 310 350 1360 or reply to this email right away if you’’re interested.
We have been working on this rally for quite a while, and have selected the roads with an eye toward giving you the widest variety of driving experience possible. Everything from mountain peaks to desert dry lakes, from winding along verdant riverbeds to close up visits to a couple of old mining Ghost towns. There will be a few good unpaved alternate routes here and there, for those who choose to take them. There are ample and frequent breaks, and we plan a sumptuous repast for the awards banquet. Even the T-shirts look great.
SPECIAL DISCOUNT OFFER: If 2 cars from the same club, with both cars with two first time entrants, would like to enter, they can run together on a TWO FOR ONE deal. This is a terrific offer. It’’s less than the cost of the banquet and t-shirts alone. We want to do everything we can to encourage new people to try this event. It is a spectacular experience. We promise you will be glad you tried it.
We sincerely hope you can participate in this event one way or another. You really do not want to miss it. It continues to be the best value in motorsports.
See you at Standoff.

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ITN Road Rally – Two Lane Blacktop

4Zeros — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:24:07 +0000

Mark your calendars, Into the Night Road Rally Team is proud to present “Two Lane Blacktop”, a map based Monte Carlo Style Rally in Southern California Area. The start, location not yet disclosed, will be in the Santa Clarita Area on September 12th, 2009. And the finish near Acton.

Times to remember on September 12th, 2009

Registration opens 9:00am

Orientation for first timers and beginners 11 – 12 noon

First Car Out 1:01 p.m. PST

Here is a link to the flyer:

http://carzero.freeservers.com/2laneflyer1.pdf

Here is a link to the Generals

http://carzero.freeservers.com/general.pdf

This event promises to provide a lot of fun for the automotive enthusiasts.

It is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys their car and
back roads. All the roads are paved, and the event will run rain or shine.

I guarantee you will have more fun and better memories with the same amount of cash, or less, than you would going to the movies.

Oh, and the competition is stiff too. I am running this one and not working.

Good Luck!

P.s. Make sure your car is ready to go with new tires from Tire Rack!

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Brandywine Conservancy Road Rally

lenglehart — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:07:34 +0000

On Sunday, October 4, take a drive past checkpoints challenging your navigational skills and along the way learn about an important project of the Brandywine Conservancy’s Environmental Management Center. Party and prizes at the finish line. $100/car includes rally for four. To sign up go to www.radnorhuntraces.org or call 610-388-8398.

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Maps for Midnight Run Rally June 26 2009

4Zeros — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:00:36 +0000

Ok you rally enthusiasts. Joe from ITN has come through again with his promise of

making the maps for Midnight Run available online ahead of schedule.

Here are the maps

Right click on your PC or control Click on your mac to download these images.

It is recommended that you tweak your printer settings to picture quality before
printing these images.

Have Fun and we will see you out there.

David

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Technorati Tags: maps for midnight run, midnight, midnight run maps, midnight run road rally

Citrus Blossom Special

4Zeros — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:06:19 +0000

Title: Citrus Blossom Special
Location: MIssion Hills California
Link out: Click here
Description:

An SCCA Regional Time-Speed-Distance rally written by Rachel Smith. The second in
the SMSCC Rally Series of 2009. This rally will be a fun romp and lightly trapped.
Come out and enjoy the scenery of Ventura County and the surrounding environment.
See the sights and the scenery. Beginners welcome.
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-05-02
End Time: 16:30

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Technorati Tags: Autombile Rally, automobile rally, Car Rally, car rallye, FFN, First Friday niter, Fun things to do with your car, fun with cars, Fun with your car, Los Angeles Road Rally, rallies, rally with your car, road rallies, Santa Monica Sports Car Club, SMSCC, Southern California Rally, Southern California Road Rally, TSD, TSD Rally

May First Friday Niter, FFN

4Zeros — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:02:49 +0000

Come join us this Friday for the May FFN, written by Joanna Paden. It’s a perfect tune-up for Citrus Blossom Special, which runs the next day. It runs in the Simi Valley and shares some roads in Ventura County with CBS. The rally finishes at Topper’s Pizza Place in Simi Valley on Erringer just south of the 118 Freeway. Usual time and place: registration opens at 7 pm, beginner meeting at 7:40 pm, first car out at 8:01 pm, B of A rear lot, Sepulveda and Devonshire, Mission Hills.

Read the FFN flyer and General Instructions at www.smscc.org or www.calclub.com/roadrally.htm. You can also see pictures from previous FFNs and our other events in the Photo Gallery section of the Cal Club road rally website.

Specials:
Zero Dollars: Contestants are awarded ‘Rally Bucks’ for getting zeroes – Class A gets 1 Rally Buck per zero, Classes B and C get 2 Rally Bucks per zero, and Class D gets 3 Rally Bucks per zero. Rally Bucks can be accumulated and used like cash for FFN entry fees.

Both driver and navigator must be SCCA members (for both the FFN and Inaugural). If you are not, you can buy a weekend SCCA membership for $5 per car. (Passengers do not have to be SCCA members.) Please contact us if you have any questions about this.

Minors: For a minor to participate, both parents must sign the SCCA Minor Waiver. Each parent’s signature is only valid if the parent signs in the presence of the rally registrar or the parent’s signature is notarized. You can download the SCCA Minor Waiver from:

http://www.scca.com/documents/insurance/SCCAminorwaiver.pdf

Info: Larry – Larry_Scholnick@yahoo.com 310-270-8826
Jeanne – ean21@juno.com 310-372-7168

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Technorati Tags: Autombile Rally, automobile rally, Car Rally, car rallye, FFN, First Friday niter, Fun things to do with your car, Fun with your car, Los Angeles Road Rally, Rally event, rally with your car, Road Rally Forum, Santa Monica Sports Car Club, SMSCC, Southern California Road Rally, TSD, TSD Rally

Total Recall 2009

4Zeros — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:16:16 +0000

Total Recall 2009 Is Here!

You Are At The Right Place If…

You want to play a giant board game this weekend with your car as the game piece and Central California’s Awesome roads and beautiful terrain as the Game Board.

Sunday April 26th registration opens at 9:00 a.m and the 1st car is out at 11:10 a.m…

Entry fee is $60 for group X and N, $40 for group B.
$20 discount to any car with a first time participant.
Entry fee ONLY $20 with paid Stellar Luminescence entry.

The Start is at Tucker Grove Park in Santa Barbara. Turnpike and Foothill.

So Come out and have lots of fun, bring your friends.

Routes Available on this web site at 7 a.m. Saturday April 25th, 2009

Wikipedia: “Rallying is a form of motor competition that takes place on
public or private roads with road-legal cars. This motorsport is distinguished
by running not on a circuit, but instead in a point-to-point format in which
participants and their co-drivers drive between set control points (checkpoints),
leaving at one minute intervals from one or more start points.”

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Technorati Tags: Autombile Rally, automobile rally, Car Rally, car rallye, Central California Rally, Central Coast Road Rally, Fun things to do with your car, Fun with your car, Map Based Road Rally, Monte Carlo Rally, Monte carlo style rally, Monte Carlo Style Road Rally, Navigational Rally, Rally event, rally with your car, road rallies, San Luis Obispo events, Southern California Road Rally

ITN’s Monte Style Road Rally “Training Wheels” Looks to be a great time…

4Zeros — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:01:25 +0000

Zeros to you Road Rally Fans…

Yesterday, I had the pleasure (and demise, see picture) to do check out for what promises to be another great Monte Style Navigational Road Rally put on by the great folks at Into The Night Rally Club (ITN).

For those of you not familiar with the style of rallying adapted by ITN, here is a quick overview.

These rallies are map based and use a set of General Instructions for the structure of the event, a set of route cues used to guide you the right spot at the right time, and a set of maps are provided for your use.

One of the clues I stated earlier, is that it is a map based rally, and the maps provided to you are the official maps. DO NOT rely on your local Thomas Guide in order to complete the instructions, you will probably end up in the wrong place!

This year ITN has decided to do things a little different to help encourage newcomers to the sport and easier time of learning what to do and when to do it. For instance, most rallies are timed in 100 ths of minutes vs. seconds. That essentially means turn 1 minute into a 100 pieces vs 60. Since this can be difficult to calculate real world time to cross the hose, all check points are scored at the top of the minute. So if you have a properly synchronized accurate wrist watch with a second hand, you have a devise necessary to run a monte carlo style rally. The watch a few highlighters, a car, and a navigator and you are ready to go. Be careful though, be the end of the rally, you will have had so much fun, you will be ready to go out and buy a $400 rally computer. And by the end of the year, you will want to upgrade to the rally computer with a drivers display for $700. I know I did after my 1st monte style rally in 1993.

So set aside March 28th, 2009. Get the oil changed, check the tire pressures, find a good friend or significant other, and head down to Fallbrook, CA for a great 5 hour Monte Style Navigational Road Rally. If you are not sure because you have never done one before. Don’t be, this rally is called Training Wheels for a reason! There will even be a Rally school ahead of the event to teach the newcomers (Group “B”) how to get it done and get it done right the first time.

The roads are awesome and challenging, the scenery is unbelievable, and the time to be had lets you forget the worries of today’s world for a couple of hours.

Come join us on March 28th. To find out more about this event, click on the 28th of March ont he calendar to the right. or visit the ITN web page.

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Technorati Tags: Autombile Rally, Car Rally, car rallye, Fun things to do with your car, fun with cars, Los Angeles Road Rally, Map Based Road Rally, Monte Carlo Rally, Monte carlo style rally, Navigational Rally, rallies, Rally Computer, Southern California Rally, Southern California Road Rally

Stellar Luminescence

4Zeros — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:33:24 +0000

Title: Stellar Luminescence
Location: Santa Barbara to Las Vegas
Link out: Click here
Description: Santa Barbara Sports Car Club did not want us to use the Starlite Rally name, so Stellar Luminescence is the name of this similar style rally. An overnight run from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas. Can\’t get any better than this… Now copy from the sponsoring club site.
INTO THE NIGHT 2009 presents STELLAR LUMINESCENCE
a 12 – 14 hour Monte Carlo style navigational Road Rally
Start Santa Barbara. Finish Las Vegas.
Entry Fee is $325 per car, includes rally, awards banquet, and T-shirts for 2.
SPECIAL DISCOUNT — enter by April 26, 2009 and get a $100 discount on SL.
You pay only $225 for Stellar Luminescence, PLUS you get to enter all 4 of the other ITN rallies in 2009
for only a $20 registration fee per rally.
You can pay by check or with a major credit card.
Click here for Entry Form in pdf. Print it and complete it.
Please mail completed forms with payment to PO Box 642261, L.A., CA 90064.
Entries are guaranteed. If for any reason Stellar Luminescence is cancelled, prepaid entries will receive a full refund.
If you run all 5 rallies, Experts will save a total of $240, other classes save a total of $210. It\’s like running Stellar for free.
There will be special trophies at the end of the year for the best overall driver and navigator in each class based on your best 4 out of the 5 rallies. To be eligible for the year-end awards, you must run checkout or work at least one event.
Start Date: 2009-11-20
Start Time: 21:00
End Date: 2009-11-21

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Technorati Tags: Autombile Rally, automobile rally, Car Rally, car rallye, Fun things to do with your car, fun with cars, Fun with your car, Map Based Road Rally, Monte Carlo Rally, Monte carlo style rally, Monte Carlo Style Road Rally, Navigational Rally, Santa Barbara to Las Vegas, Southern California Rally, Southern California Road Rally, Starlite Road Rally, Stellar Luminescence Road Rally