The Wishbone Alley Gazette July, 1997 Rainier Auto Sports
Club
*Rally News
x. Oregon Trail came off nicely. The weather didn't cooperate, but the rain
wasn't as bad as we've experienced on the Washington State Nationals. Oregon
is always exotic.
A good selection of rallyists attended, with the Damitio Celica
rejoining the hunt for points (the paint was mostly dry...)
John Nispel led a group of Washington workers into the show. I was
the only Black Sheep-trained worker; from what I saw, the Oregon group is
superbly competent and able. All in all, there were enough workers, but there
was some shuffling to get everything covered.
While not naming names, it turned out like a typical Divisional:
DNF's as expected, damaged cars met the betting pool odds, and the winners
deserved their placing. No surprises.-MN
x. Debbie Sjodin put on a trappy rally based on "variable Main Road rules".
Although there were only 7 entrants, it went well, with no
hangings or threats. Six controls were scored.
x. Our leader asked for volunteers to put together the September Saturday
Niter, and was met with silence. After some arm twisting and other forms of
negotiation, Kirk Simons will do the course. Once this was accomplished,
there was no doubt that it was a real railroad job...hence the name for the
little rally- the Rainier Railroad. Artwork for the dash plaques and trophies
is a far as we've gotten.
x. The Nor'Wester flyer is attached. Please pass this on to your friend.
Like the Alcans, there are long transits, interrupted by serious TSD
sections. The scenery alone is worth the trip. And there are a few roads "of
sporting nature".
Jerry plans some sort of meeting at his house this Sunday, July 13.
Y'all invited.
*Races
The July 4-6 SOVREN Races featured a bunch of neat, old race cars,
"viewed" by a surprising number of rallyists. They obviously had the right
idea. The lure of seeing the classic cars seemed to draw friends and
acquaintances out of the woodwork.
The racers have a casual attitude about actual racing, but hearing
four generations of McLaren Grp 7 cars go by isn't quickly forgotten. As a
matter of fact, it didn't seem like the racers actually had a "peer" to race;
but a representative of each generation was in evidence.
Ed Millman had a good race, saw a lot of friends. Made a few new
ones, too. He says Vince has "pit work" down to a fine art.
*Black Hole in the Spring/ Panama -Alaska Rally
by Cristy Breazeale
Black Hole Racing's fortunes have soured a bit lately. After sitting
out Doo Wop III and IV in March due to a misunderstanding over whether our
class even existed anymore, we came out to Wild West in April with a new
paint job and some electronic gizmos that made our 1500 Rally Lite VW Rabbit
run like a scalded cat...for about a day and a half. Then our stunning stage
times took a major dump and we barely finished. In fact, had the last 2
stages been uphill instead of down, we wouldn't have finished at all. Thanks
to everyone who helped us.
We tried some different ignition parts, more testing. Hey, well
done, it runs great! Then off to Vancouver Island for the Edge of the Rock
Rally in May. This is a C.A.R.S. event, two days this year instead of one,
run on McMillan-Bloedel roads. Wide, fast, and fun, these are superb roads;
and the Canadians even know which way the camber is supposed to go.
The Bunny ran poorly from the start, just got worse no matter what
mojo our service crew tried. After stalling on a stage road and restarting
only after sweep got us hooked up to a tow, then stalling again, we gave up.
As I recall, it took us nearly an hour to get back to service.
The organizers picked a hotel with a huge unpaved parking area in
the back out of everyone's way, and they wrangled a deal on the dinner
buffet. So we bought dinner for our service crew, then put them back to work
while we imbibed and watched rally videos (loudly) with other rallyists.
However, the electronics refused to cooperate, and we had to leave
early.
We told our service guy that we wanted our old "points" distributor back, and
got everything but ("Trust me!"), then went on to an inglorious DNS at Oregon
Trails in June. Our only DNS in 5 years of rallying! What an ego buster! What
a wallet buster!
So after spending too much time and money on a "barely
finished", a "didn't finish", and a "didn't start", and watching our
thrill-to-dollar ratio drop like Red Hook stock, we packed up the new
junkyard-salvage Audi to go meet and spectate (maybe even get to work) the
Panama-Alaska Rally.
Fifty competition cars plus touring and service class vehicles
from all over the world (including a few from our neighborhood) left Panama
City on June 1st heading through 9 countries to the finish in Anchorage 24
days later. Their first night in the USA, as well as their only rest day, was
in Las Vegas. This was our destination. We planned to travel with the rally
for a day or so, then do some "touristing" in Utah, Wyoming, and South
Dakota; seeing sights we've missed on previous trips, and finish up with
visits to family in Colorado and Wyoming. This was the original plan.
However, we'd heard that the organizers needed workers in the
US, so we went with a flexible agenda...also clipboards, clocks, 127 pens,
pencils, and highliters, FIA rulebook...you know, stuff we might need. And
since we're a little short on cash right now, we took our tent and sleeping
bags to save money on hotels; also the camp stove, pots and pans...we found
out that the trunk of the Audi is bigger than it looks. Especially so when we
came out of Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana a few hours after we left the
rally and found a flat tire.
But that's another story.
Locals Bob and Scott Trinder entered the 240Z (they've been
PRO-Rallying this year) in the Competitive class, and RASC members Ron
Clyborne and Michelle Anderson entered their Alcan-Veteran Audi 5000 in the
Touring class. Ron told us that they went through 4 tires and all their extra
time before they got to the States, so they were just traveling with the
rally at that point.
Both teams were still running when we left the rally in Montana
4 days later. In fact, everyone who made it through Central America was still
running at the last stage in the Lower 48.
The Competition class cars (all pre-1970) consisted of, among
others, a lot of Mustangs and Porsches, a V-12 Jaguar, the original factory
Skoda team of 2 cars (one with the original factory drivers!) and a French
team in a Citroen. It seemed that about half the teams were from Australia,
including one in a Menaro. Australian cars are right-hand drive, so it's
really a toss-up when deciding which side of the car to set up start and
finish controls. It worked either way.
There were film crews from France, Australia (Channel 10 entered
2 touring/service class cars), and Czechoslovakia. US coverage was pretty
slim, although we did see a x15 second blurb on the evening news in Salt Lake
City. When I told Jock Wilson this, his response was "15 seconds? They were
here for 3 hours!"
We couldn't afford this trip, but we couldn't justify missing this
opportunity to see the rally and maybe in a small way becoming part of it. I
just have to keep that in mind when the bill collectors start pounding on our
door!
*Club News
Don Massie joined up at the June meeting.
The Treasurer sent a kind note pointing out discrepancies between "dues
received" and the name listed on the previous roster.
*Trivia
x. From Pete: the Toyota shop manual says it's going to take 13 hours to
replace the clutch in Amy's All-Trac.
x. Snoqualmie Pass is covered with radar, supposedly to allow the DOT to
monitor traffic flow. Its X-Band. So our troopers are still filling the state
coffers, using a K-band radar gun!
*For Sale
x. Arrow parts, take 'em all $1500, or offer. Also mags to fit 280Z. Also a
non-Snell helmet (cheap) Mike Jones 206-823-8329
x. Engine: 1989 Charger 2.5 Turbo with auto trans. Cost $850 (in a moment of
delirium) asking $500 $350 Or....? Roy Ward (206)869-3836
* RASC Enthusiast's Calendar
NWRC Hotline: (206) 277-4351
July 11 Friday Niter, Eastgate Park & Ride, FCO 7:31, Torque
Steerers
July 12/13 Pemberton TSD night rally, B.C. RM: Dennis Wende (604)
683-6517/ Martin Wilson (604)683-6517 Late Registration 9PM, Whistler, FCO
11PM, Finish 8AM $70 US.
July 19/20 Jag/MG Rally, Fraser Valley, B.C.
July 19 Mountains to the Sea, Oregon [No intended traps] Reg opens
10am at Mall 205, reserve your room at Best Western Oceanview Resort
(1-800-234-VIEW). RM: `Ben Bradley
July 26/27 ORV Rallysprints
Aug. 2 Oregon Trailblazer TSD
Aug. 2/3 Coast-to-Coast, Vancouver Island
August 9 Saturday Nighter, Eastgate Park & Ride, by ORCA
Aug. 16/17 Road Not Taken, Oregon All Night TSD, minimal pavem't FCO
6:30, McMinnville, fin at 5:30 am.$60 (503)642-4578
Aug. 16/17 Vedder Bench (B.C.)
Aug 23 Hare & Hounds Rally, Portland
Sept 13 Saturday Nighter, by RASC
Sept. 13/15 POR, Michigan
Sept. 20/22 "NOR'WESTER" by RASC (Monday?, yes, Monday)
Sept . 27/28 "Totem" TSD, Canada
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Rainier Auto Sports Club will meet this coming Monday, July 14 at 7:30 PM at
CoCo's in Bellevue,
(520 112th Ave., between the "NE 8" and "NE 4th" Exits of 405 on the west
side of the Hwy.)
We have a meeting room set aside in the back. Monthly meetings are the
second Monday of each month. Past Members, visitors, and spectators are
welcomed.
1997 Board Members:
President: Mike Jones 823-8329, Vice-President: Joel Wright, 244-6253 ,
Secretary: Terry Simons, 854-0382, Treasurer: Cristy Breazeale, 935-8312.
Board Members:Kirk Simons, 854-0382 & Jerry Hines, 823-6343
The Wishbone Alley Gazette is published for the members and friends of
Rainier Auto Sports Club.
The editor is Mark Nolte, ph. 226-3155. Contributions and paid/unpaid
ads eagerly received at
2108 NE 12Th. St., Renton, WA 98056
WAG FAX Line: 226-1469. E-Mail: rallymastr@aol.com
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