MCO Link - Motorsport Club of Ottawa

Transcription

- Inside -
The
Link
March 2005
Targa bound Team
Regional Solo 2
Weekend
Electric Bikes
Race reports galore
MiscellaneousRumblings
And just a whole lot
more...
MCO Contact Info
Grassroots
Motorsport in the
National Capital Region
since 1949
Affiliated with
ASN Canada FIA
Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs - Ontario Region (CASC-OR)
Canadian Association of Rally Sport (CARS)
RallySport Ontario (RSO)
Ontario Kart Racing Association (OKRA)
General meetings are held the
first Tuesday of every month at 7
pm. All are welcome. Meetings are
held at:
Louis’ Steakhouse
1682 Cyrville Road
Ottawa, Ontario
You can contact and find more
information about the MCO by web
or mail.
Web Site
http://www.mco.org
webmaster@mco.org
Hosted by:
eMOS Systems
www.emoss.ca
RallySport
Ontario
Mail
M.C.O.
P.O. Box 65006
Merivale Postal Outlet
Ottawa, Ontario
K2G 5Y3
2004-2005 MCO Executive
Board of Directors • executive@mco.org
President, Ontario Race Organizer’s Rep • Ron Woltman • H: (613) 831-8682 • xracer@rogers.com
Vice-President • Terry Dale • H: (613) 715-4025 • C: (613) 296-2362 • F: (613) 567-1009 • dalemotorsportcanada@rogers.com
Open Wheel, Public Relations/Marketing • Sam Mandia • H: (613) 745-4227 • W: (613) 731-7441 x252 • fv1200@yahoo.com
Solo II • Charles Payne • H: (613) 792-1083 • chuck@turningpointracing.com
Privacy Officer, Assistant Membership • Al Gullon • H: (613) 738-0712 • al@alsaces.ca
Closed Wheel, Secretary • Steve Greiner • H: (613) 723-7534 • C: (613) 878-7534 • steve.greiner@gmail.com
Appointed Officers and Executive Members
Karting • Paul Swinwood • H: (613) 720-3468 • W: (613) 237-8551 x133 • F: (613) 230-3490 • paulds@rogers.com
Solo I • Arek Wojciechowski • arekw@macrocosm.on.ca
Membership • David E. Butler • H/W: (613) 933-9276 • F: (613) 933-2136 • membership@mco.org
MCO CASC-OR Membership Liason • Albert Cohoe • omembership@mco.org
Treasurer • Robert Benson • H: (613) 837-2051 • W: (613) 995-7374 • ben1544@rogers.com
Club Merchandise Co-ordinator • Craig Hamm • H: (613) 727-3192 • W: (613) 596-7107 • kchamm@sympatico.ca
Web Site Manger • Aleida Dikland • C: (613) 240-8848 • webmaster@mco.org
LINK Editor • Alan Ritchie • H: (613) 482-2558 • link@mco.org
Officer at Large • Richard Muise • H: (613) 270-0982 • W: (613) 765-5744
Rally • Position Available
Associated Contacts
Ontario Race Committee Rep • Cindy Armstrong • H: (613) 489-2725 • cindy.armstrong@sympatico.ca
2 Motorsport Club of Ottawa The Link March 2005 http://www.mco.org
Table of Contents
Editorial Exhaust .................................................................................................................4
The President's Report ....................................................................................................5
The 55th Anniversary Motorsport Club of Ottawa Banquet and Awards Night .6
2004 Public Relations and Marketing Report ....................................................7
PR & Marketing Report -January 2005 ...................................................................7
Mortimer Mutterings – Targa Newfoundland ...................................................8
MCO Thanks Nova Visual Products ..........................................................................9
Missing... ..................................................................................................................................9
2004 Final Open Wheel Report ..................................................................................10
2005 Off-Season Open Wheel Report ....................................................................10
2005 January Rally New .................................................................................................12
2005 February Rally News .............................................................................................12
Dumb ‘n’ Dumber: The Only Thing Dumber Than Banning Cell Phones … 14
Classified .................................................................................................................................15
2004 Yearly Website Update ........................................................................................16
Thanks Everyone -Motoring with the Webmaster ..........................................16
Time Allowance (TA) Regulation-Rally Group ...................................................18
Introduction to Rallying .................................................................................................18
Contest .....................................................................................................................................19
Greenspond Go-Round ..................................................................................................19
ASN SoloSport Committee Conference Call Jan 18, 2005 ..........................20
Miscellaneous Rumblings II .........................................................................................21
Classified .................................................................................................................................27
The Back Seat........................................................................................................................27
Motorsport Club of Ottawa The Link March 2005 http://www.mco.org
3
Check out the full
colour electronic
version of The Link. It
isdownloadablefrom
the MCO web site,
http://www.mco.org
EditorialExhaust
by Alan Ritchie
2005 is the New Year. With that
brings some new changes to MCO and
the Link. A lot has happened since the
last publication of the Link. Changes in
the Club include the AGM and the election
of a new executive. MCO is in a stage
of many people growing into new shoes.
For one, I have stepped into the shoes of
the Link Editor. It turns out this is a much
larger job than I expected. However, I feel
a great sense of success now that I have
finally published a newsletter for the first
time. Please be gentle with the criticism,
but please let me know how I can make
the Link better. Of course, anyone who
submits criticism will be asked to contribute .... Yes, every part of the club needs
help. We all make the MCO the great club
that it is.
Before I release the presses, I must
remember to credit our photographers for
this issue. Gorodon Sleigh from Halifax,
Marden, Alan Ritchie, Andrew Harvey of
MLRC and Dave Lee all contributed photos. Thanks! Looking at the articles and
photos, it is obvious that MCO has had a
banner year behind the wheel. Let’s make
2005 even better! Have fun, and keep
your wheels on the road or the track.
You may notice there is a lot missing
... If you submitted something that did
not appear, please let me know. I have
had to save a few articles since this issue
filled up very quickly once things got
rolling. With the change in editors, it is
possible that some submissions got lost
in the ether. I guess that means it is time
to start on the next edition already. My
autosport resolution is to be regular about
publishing the Link ... and regularly driving
in rally events. Volunteering this last year
at Motorsport events makes me want to
get out and drive.
The LINK is the official publication of the Motorsport Club of Ottawa. The
opinions expressed in the LINK do not necessarily reflect those of the LINK
Editorial Staff or the Club’s Executive. Though all efforts are made to ensure
that facts stated in the articles herein are accurate, the individual contributors
should check the accuracy of their articles prior to submission.
Article submissions can be made by email at:
link@mco.org
Deadline for submissions are the end of each month
Web Update
MCO Media
662 photos online
23 .Mpg, 12 .Mov and 2 .rm video clips
8 slide shows
MCO Forum has
3026 forum topics, with 13820 replies
714 forum members
See for yourself at:
http://www.mco.org
The
Motorsport
Club of
Ottawa needs
your Help!
We need members to come
forward and be a part of your
club. Positions available
immediately include:
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Rally Director
If you have problem, why not
be part of the solution.
Don’t sit back and expect
someone else to do it for
you. Act now!
AdvertisingRates
Full page with web link $150
Half page with web link $75
Quarter page $35
Business card size $25
Business card size for MCO
members FREE
The President's Report ...by Ronald Woltman
Dear members: -- it has been
a quite a dry spell without the
venerable Link in your hands;
however, I trust we have rounded
the corner and the award-winning
Link will again be a regular feature
each month.
Alan Ritchie, our new Link editor,
will provide further detail, but it is
our intent to return to a monthly
production schedule. To do so
will take input and help from
everyone: Alan wants to hold the
editor’s “pen”, so to speak, but
volunteers are needed to print and
mail copies. Very easy -- here
is an opportunity to contribute to
your club.
MCO is revving up its engines
for what is likely the biggest
and busiest year in our 56-year
history. It is promises to be a
challenging year. We are going
to need every one of our 260
members to achieve our lofty
goals. Please don’t be shy: come
forward and offer your talent, your
enthusiasm and energy. None will
be turned away…. a place will be
found for you to contribute…. so
I ask each member to look inside
and say “yes”, when the phone
rings!
MCO will be staging the inaugural
race weekend, the Ted Powell
Invitational, at the new Calabogie
Motorsports Park Sept. 9-11,
2005. Vice-President Terry
Dale has agreed to act as
Race Director for the event and
planning is well underway.
Your organizing team consists
of Richard Muise (assistant
Race Director), Cindy Armstrong
(Clerk of the Course) and myself
(Secretary of the Meet). We have
started putting team leaders into
place for each key area. These
team leaders will be calling upon
you to be part of their team. If you
want in right away, come forward
now, and you will be an integral
part of the machine.
MCO is also hosting and
organizing the first Solo 1 at CMP,
under Arek Wojciechowski’s able
direction. Our intent is to us use
this Solo 1 weekend (August 19
–21) as a ‘test bed’ weekend
for our big race weekend, so as
to ‘debug’, as best we can, the
September event. The neat deal
is Friday, August 19 at CMP will
be an open lapping day, and for
those workers who assist, it will
be part of the package!!
Marshals!!! We need marshals
to stage our race weekend. Both
CRCA (Shannonville) and MMS
(Mosport) led by Marty Cooper
and Peter Corley respectively
are behind us 100 percent. The
issue is date conflicts, as we were
very late in getting the race on the
calendar, so we may not be able
to rely on having sufficient people
from each club to marshal.
They will help us, but we need to
start building a base of trained
and licensed marshals here in the
National Capital Region. If there
is sufficient interest – and I am
positive there is – we will organize
a Marshal school here, complete
with fire training. That is to put
fires out – not start them!!
I cannot stress enough the
need for volunteers to step into
the breech and try their hand
at marshalling: you cannot get
closer to the action.
In addition to the above, MCO
will again be hosting one of the
most competitive Solo II series
anywhere, again at the Corel
Centre. Our Solo II director
Chuck Payne has a great season
lined up – and MCO will have its
own closed Pace American trailer
to cart about the Solo II goodies
etc!
We just concluded another
successful Winter Driving and
Skid School season at Ottodrome
International Speedway with
close to 120 graduates. We
implemented an evaluation form
(thanks to Cindy Armstrong), and
the feedback was overwhelming
positive. And, it also will help us
tweak things to make it better.
For example, we now have chairs
for the students!!
The ice track, of course, hosted
our annual S&S series, and
without a doubt, we had the best
track ever. In fact, the way winter
has been this year, we could be
easily still running events…way to
go Warren, Chuck and gang.
Big news on the rallying front
is the return of the ‘infamous’
Fall Night Rally’ organized by
Robert Roaldi, and assisted by
Craig Hamm. That is cool…as
this event was one of MCO’s
most ‘infamous’ events in the
60s & 70s!! Read about it in
MCO’s fascinating history: “The
Motorsport Club of Ottawa: The
First 50 Years (1949-1999)”,
authored by Michael S Lowe and
Ronald Woltman. Only a few
copies remain!!
If you cannot find an opportunity
to contribute this year, you are
simply not trying! Just Do It….
sorry Nike.
5
The 55th Anniversary Motorsport Club of
Ottawa Banquet and Awards Night
The Annual MCO Banquet was
held at Louis’ Steak House
on Friday November 26th.
A total of 64 members and
guests attended. The Master of
Ceremonies was Mr. Don Tarte,
who did a great job entertaining
everyone with stories and quips
about just about every subject
that came up. A buffet style meal
coordinated by Wendy Mortimer
was served. It consisted of roast
beef, lemon chicken, vegetarian
lasagne, roast garlic vegetables,
rosemary potatoes, and an
assortment of salads. Desert
was carrot and chocolate cake
served with tea or coffee.
The sequence for determining
which table went first and so on
was done with correct answers
to trivia questions. Draw prizes
were in identical boxes and
showed the sponsors were very
generous this year.
They were: Elite Motors,
Ogilvie Motors, Camco Acura,
Duss Bros. Ltd., Inside Track
Magazine, Robson Auto
Center, Talon Tires, Hunt Club
Volkswagen, and Bennett Leckie
who also looked after the trophy
engraving etc. Thank you.
The creators of the 50th
Anniversary Book were
recognized for they’re effort and
achievement. A commemorative
plaque was presented to
Christal Pomeroy, Mike Lowe
and Ron Woltman.
The 2004 Award winners were:
Solo Events Champion – Greg
Kierstead
Order of the Bent Valve – Allan
Pepper
Dows Lake Summer Slalom
Champion – Stephen Durr
Bridgestone Blizzak Cup
– Warren Haywood
Solo Fanatic Award – Greg
Kierstead
Novice Slalom Champion
– Mathieu Brazeau
Solo II Class Awards:
“A” Class 1st – Fritz McKellar – 5th overall
2nd – Klause Willroider – 6th
overall
3rd – Bruce Jackson – 9th
overall
“B” Class 1st – Robin Emard – 3rd overall
2nd – Luc Saumure – 4th overall
3rd – Mathieu Brazeau – 7th
overall
C: Class –
1st – Stephen Durr – 2nd overall
2nd – Norman Boudreau – 14th
overall
3rd – Steve Blais – 16th overall
“D” Class –
2nd – Luc Bouchard – 11th
overall
Worker Awards –
Order of the Holed Piston – Luc
Saumure
and Special Award for Klause
Willroider and KW Electric for
designing and building the
“ProSolo Light System”. Thank
you.
Worker Awards – To recognize
those who unselfishly helped
promote motorsport, through
their yearlong devotion of time
and energy:
Ron Woltman, Charles Payne,
Richard Muise, Bennett Leckie,
by Sam Mandia
Sam Mandia, Craig Hamm, Paul
Swinwood, Jeff Graves, David
E. Butler, Albert Cohoe, Steven
Fong, Aleida Dikland, Robert
Benson, Cindy Armstrong,
Jennifer Armstrong, Bob
Armstrong, Craig Seko, and
Nick Berry.
The Golden Pen Award – John
Powell
Top Female Worker – Cindy and
Jennifer Armstrong
Gary Hunt Memorial Award
– Bennett Leckie
Paddock Engineer Award – Herb
Henning
The Ladies Cup – Aleida Dikland
The Dewar Award - Jamie
Holtom
Frank Hicks Sedan – Bob
Armstrong
Frank Hicks Formula – Sam
Mandia
Frank Hicks Technical – Bruce
Malanka
MCO Race Champion – Nigel
Mortimer
Order of the Halda – Robert
Roalidi
The Hard Luck Trophy – Warren
Haywood
The L. Smith Trophy – Chris
Trauttmansdorff
Rally Driver Trophy – Ferdinand
Trauttmansdorff
Annual Achievement Award
– Robert Benson
The Ted Powell Award – Ron
Woltman
2004 Public Relations and
Marketing Report by Sam Mandia
The Club this past year gained
in my view a proper place in the
eyes of the community. The two
morning TV shows on CJOH and
CHRO certainly helped to “sell”
our Winter Driving Schools, and
hopefully will gain momentum for
next year. Thank you to all who
came out those early cold and
dreary mornings. The media was
always glad to assist in informing
the public about our events, this
was done through hand delivered
news releases.
The MCO Karting series got off
to a great start, but unfortunately
fizzled out for the last 3 events,
although I believe we got several
new members because of it.
The karts were shall we say of
questionable reliability.
The MCO Driving School once
again showed the Region what
we can do, and how well we
can do it. Two long but very
rewarding days saw people
progress through the “learning
curve” (no pun intended).
The Ted Powell race weekend
was a disappointment in terms
of entries, but enthusiasm and
quality of the volunteers I believe
made up for it. Once again, press
releases went out prior to the
event to all media outlets.
The two lapping days went very
well, providing a venue for cars
and drivers to go quick/fast but
at their own pace. Thank you to
Bennett for organizing these two
days.
The efforts of Chuck and Jeff in
Solo II and Solo I respectively
speak for themselves.
Entries and income more than
covered any expenses incurred.
Thank you.
Rallying had Craig as its Director,
and I am sure he spent many
hours providing guidance and
leadership for this Club. Thank
you.
The Ottawa Citizen, I would like
to thank as well for providing the
PR & Marketing
Report January 2005
to run a “spot” on the afternoon
news about the WDS – to be
aired on Friday February 4.
Club sponsors from previous
years are still with us. Talon Tire
has generously offered $1500.00
in gift certificates to be used in
MCO series events. A form with
club activities has been submitted
to Sunoco for approval and if
successful again this year should
provide us with a varying array of
useful and practical products and
certificates.
With the resurrection of the Link,
the sponsors that graced the
previous issues should be on
board yet again.
The introduction of Calabogie
Motorsport Park should raise
the “profile” of road racing and
by Sam Mandia
Beginning with the Winter Driving
School, the general public through
radio, television and newspaper
advertising helped to fill the
classes by the early New Year.
To quote Jaak Laan: “turn off the
promo machine”. The inquiries
from organizations and groups still
looking for classes during the week
are still coming in and will need
special attention. Ron Woltman
was approached by CHRO TV
public with information about our
events.
The Club sponsors this year:
Louis’ Steak House, Anjura,
Sunoco, Talon Tire, CanUPease,
thank you. As well as the
companies who provided draw
prizes for the Annual Banquet. I
was never refused a request for
“something”.
The only thing that I think should
and has to be changed is
participation of more members.
The same people always seem
to be doing the majority of the
organizing and helping at “our”
events. We all have to become
involved; many regulars are
suffering from burnout and shear
frustration regarding this situation.
I am not going to beg you. That I
leave to your conscience.
automobile interests in general
in the whole Ottawa area. The
proximity of this new facility should,
I believe hopefully make finding a
sponsor for our cars a little easier.
Wish-full thinking maybe?
As of this writing MCO has
tentatively scheduled an
“Invitational” race at CMP on
Sept. 9- 10-11, as well reserved
the dates August 19-21 for other
club activities. Fire up the promo
machine – I kinda like that, but as
usual we need your help. This
club still relies on a precious few
to do ALL that is required to stage
events. Thank you in advance to
all who help.
7
Mortimer Mutterings – Targa Newfoundland
by Nigel Mortimer
Now that our foray into
rallying is over I thought
I should put pen to paper
to let you all know how
it went competing in the
Targa Newfoundland.
We found out that there
are ups and down’s to
rallying, pun intended.
As a F1600 driver it is
exciting to drive flat out on
a public road that you have
never seen before. The
route instructions do not
describe all the features
of the road that you are
traversing which makes it
exciting and demanding to
say the least.
Lew MacKenzie graciously
allowed me to help out with
the driving chores and he
didn’t even blink when I hit
the picket fence in front of
Grandma Jean’s house in
MCO on your
Handheld
There is a new section to the web for
everyone unable to resist checking for
info while at the track or on the road.
MCO Mobile at:
http://www.mco.org/mobile/default.asp
New Tech Disclaimer
The mobile site does not work on phones,
only Ipac/Palms. Open the forums/external sites at your own risk. The forums
do not have a mobile component in the
application. If you have a handheld with
4MB of memory, you may have problems
displaying postings. External sites do not
currently have a mobile component. You
may have problems displaying them.
Placentia. In addition Lew didn’t
even say a word when I drifted
it through a turn at 180kph and
ran out of road, although I did
hear him start to breath again
after I said “I’ve got it.”
Darryl Malone our service crew
was a huge help and his duties
included a 700km drive to pick
up the donated transmission
and then help install it. To
illustrate how hot a turbo engine
gets he even burned his arm
on the flywheel 3 hours into the
tranny change.
Herb Henning was instrumental
in building the car and designing
some awesome features into
the SRT, which made our life
much easier and safer during
the event.
This was a total team effort
and though it is one tough and
dangerous mother of a race
it is a lifetime achievement,
which I will always remember.
Unfortunately during the event
you are so stressed and sleep
deprived that you don’t have
time to enjoy it. Now that it
is over I can look back on it
with an incredible feeling of
accomplishment. For any
one considering it you must
move heaven and earth to do
it as the scenery and people of
Newfoundland are incredible
and you will find it a truly
moving experience to be around
these people.
Oh yes, I almost forgot,
we won !
MCO Thanks
Nova Visual
Products
Nova Visual Products
provided the loan at no charge
of an LCD projector. This was
used for the February 21-22
Winter Driving School. The
success of MCO events is
based on the support of our
members. Thanks to Guy
Parent and his staff at Nova
Visual!
a
b
b


Missing...
Two of the club’s FRS radios
went missing at the fall lapping
day at Shannonville. They are
Corba radios with NiMH battery
packs. Each radio has a large
number on the back, one is #82
and the other is #89. Please
contact the exec if you have
them.
b
c
d
e
f
a)
b)
c)
d)
cap ....................................................$15
windbreaker and track pants.............$40
travel mug .........................................$6
pen....................................................$7
case ..................................................$8
pen and case ....................................$15
e) 2” diameter MCO badge ...................$3
f) key chain...........................................$5


9
2004 Final Open Wheel Report by Sam Mandia
Formula Ford this year
had renaissance. By
combining multiple classes
of cars based on the year of
production fields flourished.
The 35th Anniversary
of Formula Ford was
celebrated at the VARAC
event in June, with 35 cars
both competing and posing
for an historical photo.
The racing was fierce and
close. Rain on several
occasions made for quite a
show for the spectators and
marshals.
MCO drivers competing
were: Pier Bortot, Jean-Guy
Fournier, Lew MacKenzie,
Adam and Nigel Mortimer,
Drew Wilcox, Rob Peters
and Lee Racicot.
Cartini.
George Rau had an up and
down season in Formula
Libre, but always drove
Formula Vee had reduced
the car to its max. Dominic
entries compared to past
years, but the racing was as LeBreton made steady
close as ever. Fractions of a progress in Formula first
throughout the season.
second often-covering 3 or
4 cars. A reduced schedule
Please check the CASC-OR
web site for complete driver
of 6 races, much like
standings for the season.
Formula Ford helped bring
the average to at least 10
cars per event. There was
a season high of 18 when
4 cars made the trip all
the way from Winnipeg for
the Celebration weekend.
Competitors from MCO were
Sam Mandia and Eugene
2005 Off-Season Open Wheel Report
Well, it’s that time of year
again. Not much happening in
garages right now. Schedules
at this point in time are still
being worked on, with everyone
trying to be in the first race at
Calabogie Motorsport Park.
Nigel Mortimer reports that
there could be up to 13 Formula
Fords running out of MCO this
coming season. In Formula
Vee, the number of drivers
participating should be 3: 1 in
F1200, and 2 in Formula First.
That is a great total of 16 open
wheel cars.
The Report from the CASCOR Regional Road Racing
Taskforce was presented at
the AGM in November of 2004.
The Issues covered were as
follows: #1 –Too many events,
#2 – The need to clarify and
simplify the procedure for
participation, #3 – Poor and
inconsistent officiating, #4
–Make racing more friendly to
the lifestyle of the participants,
#5 – Lack of variety-tracks and
format, #6 – too little return
for investment, #7 – Ongoing
costs too high, #8 – Lack
of promotion, #9 – Lack of
rule harmonization with other
sanctioning bodies, #10 – Initial
costs too high. Along with the
issues were recommendations
that should/could be acted on
by the Ontario regional racing
executive.
by Sam Mandia
The report from the Race
Director Gunter Schmidt
contained in my mind some
surprises. Overall the entry
count was up by 2% over
2003. Facts were: 380 different
participants, 121 participated in
2 or less events, 59 participated
in 6 or more events and 16
participated in all 9 events.
There were also over 60
penalties assessed.
I would invite you to please log
onto the CASC-OR web site
if you need or require more
information.
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CanUPeaseTM : where innovation becomes reality!
11
2005 January Rally News
Andrew Comrie-Picard and
Marc Goldfarb drove overnight
to a hard fought win at the
Lanark Highlands Rally, Oct
31, narrowly beating last year’s
winner by 0.2 minutes!
Craig Hamm did not run for reelection as rally director at the
MCO AGM. This position is still
open and we need a leader!
Please step forward and I will
work together to keep rally alive
in the Ottawa region.
Approximately 20 MCO
members worked the Rally of
the Tall Pines in November. Well
done to new stateside MCO
member Jeff Debrule (born in
Canada) co-driving a ’85 VW
Golf GTI 85 to second place in
the Group 2 Regional event!
New member (Jan ’05) Andrew
Comrie-Picard was leading the
National Event up to SS8, and
DNF on the third night stage
pushing hard to gain first place
from Antoine L’Estage.
Presented at the MCO Annual
Awards Banquet, for the 2004
competition year, Ferdinand
Trautmansdorff won the MCO
Rally Driver’s Trophy and his son
Christopher Trautmansdorff won
the L. Smith Trophy (navigator).
Well done!
The Canadian Association of
RallySport AGM was held in
Toronto on January 15. Former
Rally Director Craig Hamm
represented MCO’s proxy.
Several by-laws were changed,
and creation of an arms-length
by-law review committee was
agreed upon. See:
http://www.rallysport.on.ca/
news/Committee_Member_
Letter.pdf
We will try to have two-time
Dakar Rally motorcycle finisher
2005 February Rally News
Since nobody else has taken
over as the Rally person for
MCO, it falls to me to once more
update you on our activities.
So far MCO Rally Group has only
two rallies scheduled for 2005, a
far cry from what the talent in this
club is capable of. Robert Roaldi
will be organizing a resurrected
Fall Night Rally, once MCO’s
premier rally, one that had a
stellar reputation. Currently it is
scheduled for October 1, 2005,
and will run in the Hawkesbury
area, as a challenging night time
navigational. Expect to be done
by 11 pm or so. I am already
in the early planning stages
for the Lanark Highlands Rally,
scheduled for the overnight
of Oct 29/30, running out of
Maberly. You can catch a
review of the 2004 edition in the
February edition of Grassroots
Motorsports, complete with
Andrew Harvey’s photo of Car
1 being started by Canadian
rallying legends Doug Woods
(MCO member) and Walter
Boyce. See photo in this issue of
the Link [next page]. The same
page of GRM tells the tale of
good sportsmanship from fellow
by Craig Hamm
at the next Rally Group meeting,
Emerald Plaza library, see MCO
Forums for details. Meetings are
held on the last Thursday of the
month.
MCO is offering an 8-class
course on rallying at Algonquin
College, May-June. See current
description on the MCO Rally
Discussion Forum at www.mco.
org or in the article in this Link.
Upcoming Events:
Perce-Neige, Cdn. National Rally
C’ship, Maniwaki, Feb. 5, http://
www.lino.com/~rallyperceneige/
MLRC Ontario Winter Rally,
440km, Feb 19/20, http://www.
mlrc.ca/events.html
SMCC 1000 Snowbanks Rally,
185 km, Feb 26, See SMCC or
MCO forums.
RallySport Ontario schedule:
http://www.rallysport.on.ca/
schedule05.html
by Craig Hamm
members Warren Haywood
and Jodie Shay at the GalwayCavendish Forest Rally. I am
currently looking for an organiser
for the Golden Pine Rally
night drivex that got cancelled
last September. Most of the
groundwork is done for that
event, and I will most definitely
help a new organiser breathe
some life into it. It is ironic that
in 2004 we had more expressed
interest and participation in MCO
rallies from USA teams, and top
Ontario/Canadian stage rally
teams, than in many years, yet
we find ourselves in a tenuous
position for 2005. SMCC out
of Montreal are having similar
issues with a lack or organizers,
and hence, events. In an effort
to boost each club’s series,
we have jointly agreed to each
include one rally from the other’s
club in the local club series. The
SMCC 1000 Snowbanks Rally,
Feb 26 (Hakesbury-Ste. Jovite)
will therefore count toward the
MCO Road Rally Championship.
Chris Krepski and I recently
marshalled for the first time
at a Canadian Championship
Rally across the river at the
40th edition of Rallye Perce
Neige. Former MCO member
Steve Rioux was the Chief
Marshal and put out the call
for workers. The weather was
uncharacteristically tropical, at
5C all afternoon, only about 30C
warmer than normal for this rally!
Rally workers were treated very
well, accommodations, food, and
souvenirs all provided free. It
marked the first stage rally for
our friend Jaak Laan in a newly
prepped Civic, with Jim Morrow
co-driving. There is a typically
tragic yet entertaining rally story
that will be retold for many years,
regarding the DNF that halted a
great first effort, but I hope Mr.
Laan will tell that tale. If not, it’s
on the rally forum! Matt Iorio
is a top American stage rally
competitor and has affiliated
with MCO. Matt put in another
impressive showing coming forth
overall of 34 starters at PN!! I
see a podium in his future!
and vote. There are actually
elections this year for President,
VP Performance Rally, and
possibly other positions. Many
votes will be by proxy. While
I intend to carry many proxies
this year, I do NOT intend in
swinging all proxies that I carry to
one candidate or another (usual
practice it seems). I URGE all
MCO members to go online
and review the platforms posted
by the Presidential candidates
and make your own decision.
Inform me of that choice, and I
will ensure that your proxy goes
to the candidate of your choice.
See http://www.rallysport.on.ca/,
and review all the documents
there. There’s a LOT going on in
both RSO and CARS these days.
Speaking of meetings, I attended
the Canadian Association of
RallySport (CARS) AGM and
EGM (Extraordinary GM) on
January 15. The climax was the
vote to ratify the actions of the
Board for 2004. The Board’s
actions were approved by a vote
of 9 to 8, and 4 abstentions. A
more detailed account of the
AGM can be found in the vibrant
new-look MLRC newsletter On
Route (ask me and I can copy
for you), but I will say that that
vote was a tense moment. If the
Board’s actions had not been
ratified it is possible that the
sport could have been thrown
into a governance limbo right
then and there, hours in front
of the EGM in which several
more pressing issues needed to
be discussed and voted upon.
Issues that would change how
CARS operates, and how the
sport would go forward. MCO
abstained, deciding that while
the Board’s actions could not
be fully endorsed, MCO did
not want to contribute to a lack
of governance. A very tough
decision, but now we are moving
forward and a very, very, strong
message has been sent. It will
be a pivotal year for CARS, and
there will be another vote at the
next AGM in Vancouver, in 2006.
Photo: Andrew Harvey
The RallySport Ontario
(RSO) AGM will take place in
Peterborough on March 26.
Any MCO member can attend
13
Dumb ‘n’ Dumber: The Only Thing
Dumber Than Banning Cell Phonesby…
Al Gullon
Editor’s Note: This article was submitted to the Ottawa Citizen but not published.
…. is what many legislators
are talking about doing after
that tragic highway accident
near Washington, D.C., that
killed four Canadians and an
American: i.e. only banning
the use of regular cell phones
while driving and thus implicitly
approving the ‘hands-off”
versions as being somehow
safer. Without overstating
the case one little bit such
legislation will result in not
fewer but more deaths on our
highways.
In brief my research over the
past six years has shown
that when the economy
starts to boom so does the
accident rate. People spend
too much time thinking about
their improving economic
prospects and not enough
about driving. My Detroit
paper (SAE, Feb’97) showed
this close correspondence of
economics and traffic fatality
rate on the expressways of
Europe and the Paris (FISITA
Oct’98) and Seoul (FISITA
Jun’00) papers extended that
finding to all road traffic and to
countries representing every
inhabited continent. Of course
we humans don’t daydream
only about our jobs. However,
the job is the subject of the
daydream a large enough
portion of the time that an
increase in ‘job distraction’ can
be seen in the traffic fatality
rate.
14
Discussions with BMW
engineers over the last half of
’00 (during preparations for a
special “BMW Showcase” in
Torino, Italy) have shown that
the best way to communicate
the kind of deep distraction
that is at the root of most
traffic accidents is to call it
the Absent Minded Professor
Syndrome or AMPS.
a cell phone while driving has
caused more people to die
on our roads. Yet, in Canada
cell phones have gone from 0
to 7 million (CSC estimate) in
just 10 seconds (cosmological
time) without moving the
fatality rate. How can this be!?!
Returning to cell phones it is
common to many countries
that the authorities are all
pointing to this horrible
new distraction. But these
countries all have something
else in common. The traffic
fatality rate in all those
countries has been dropping
throughout the ‘90’s while
cell phone use has literally
exploded. And you don’t have
to take my word for it. Surf
on over to the traffic safety
websites for Canada, the
U.S., the U.K., Germany and
Switzerland. They all show flat
or declining fatality rates over
the last 10-12 years.
The problem is distraction.
It doesn’t matter by what.
The business type who had
an accident in ’99 “because
he was using his cell phone”
would have had the same
accident in ’89 thinking about
the same business opportunity
and will again in ’04 if cell
phones are banned. Thus
the first part of the title is
explained. It is dumb to ban
the use of cell phones while
driving because it will not
lower the accident rate.
Now I’m not silly enough
to suggest that this proves
that increasing the use of
cell phones will measurably
improve traffic safety.
However, it provides no
support whatsoever to the
contrary hypothesis. That
is to say, there is absolutely
no evidence to suggest, let
alone prove, that such an
obviously unsafe act as using
Elementary, my dear Watson.
The answer is, “Substitution”.
It is even dumber to ban only
the non-hands-free units
because that will raise the
accident rate. The false sense
of security created by this
‘official blessing’ will let the
driver slip even further into
AMPS and he will be at the
mercy of the smallest mistake
by another driver. Even now
we see them gesticulating
with their ‘free hands’, even
pounding the steering wheel
for emphasis! These people
are already deeply distracted
by their conversations. Giving
Now it is perhaps useful to
point out that I am not the
only one arguing against such
bans. Emile Therien, president
of the Canada Safety Council,
has been quoted as saying,
“Banning cell phones would
be counterproductive and
unenforceable. We should be
focusing on driver education
and attitudes.”
However, in the very next
paragraph, they state, ”We
observed no safety advantage
to hands-free … telephones.
(we found no explanation
except possibly) … that motor
vehicle collisions result from
a driver’s limitations with
regard to attention rather than
dexterity. Regardless of the
explanation, our data do not
support the policy followed in
some countries of restricting
hand-held … but not those that
leave the hands free.”
that could offset the potential
reductions in risk due to
restricting the use of cellular
telephones.”
Arguably of more importance
than either of us are the two
medical doctors, Redelmeier
and Tibshirani, whose paper
in The New England Journal
of Medicine (Feb. ’97) is often
cited by public authorities as
justification for banning cell
phones. Their study of cell
phone use and accidents
justified the headline-grabbing
statement that, “This relative
risk (of using a cell phone
while driving) is similar to the
hazard associated with driving
with a blood alcohol level at
the legal limit.” (p.456)
This seems to effectively shoot
down the legislator’s ‘dumber’
policy. Lest they should retreat
to the ‘merely dumb’ policy
of banning all cell phones I
refer the legislators to the last
paragraph on page 457 in
which the authors state, “We
caution against interpreting
our data as showing that
cellular telephones are
harmful and that their use
should be restricted. Even if
a causal relation with motor
vehicle collisions were to
be established, drivers are
vulnerable to other distractions
Classified
them an implicit blessing by
public authorities can only
make matters worse.
Do not despair dear reader.
There is a solution to the
traffic safety problem of
distraction and particularly
to the distraction of using a
cell phone. It will be revealed
to you, and to the Minister
of Transport Canada, in an
upcoming issue of the Ottawa
Citizen. Watch for it!
Request for info… Don Haag
I own a 36 Ford that was restored
in Ottawa in 1983. I have a
picture of it with a trophy setting
on its running board and on the
back of the picture it says “Trophy
for Best Restoration 1984 Ottawa Club.”
It would be interesting to talk to
the restorer and also to let him
know his Ford is still living well
and now gets its energy from a
350.
Contact: dehaag@yahoo.com
15
2004 Yearly Website Update
Go to the forums at www.mco.
org and read all about it:
Hot topics in winter…
Comments on the book…
Ice makes contact…
Insurance update…
Seat belt usage…
Visit to Loopyland…
An old debate returns…
Car vs Motorcycle
Rant of the month…
Get some snow tires
Help wanted…
Link Editor
Rally Rep
Secretary
Treasurer
Project car updates…
NX2000
240SX
Luso ‘lude
Nissan 200
by Aleida Dikland
Event comments…
Anyone want a MCO winter
rally?
First slush ‘n’ slide event…
Tall Pines stories…
Visitors from Jamaica…
Innovations…
The Tweel
New Media
Onboard rally videos
Peugeot films
Snowy Safari Rally video
Reading material wanted…
supporting different driving
styles based on the type of drive
line on a car?
Reading material supplied…
Jeannie submits to GRM
Canada for Feb issue.
Thanks Everyone -Motoring
with the Webmaster
by Aleida Dickland
August 04:
Getting to the track. It doesn’t
seem like such a big deal to
anyone in the club. Just jump
into your car and drive. It can
be.
I wanted to thank everyone
for all the help I’ve been
given. Knowing nothing about
motorsports or cars, the
year has been an amazing
experience.
It’s coming up to my first year
of membership ending, and
7:30 the first morning, I drove
into the Corel center lot. After
some surprise, (you’re not
lost?) the guys started to help
me learn how to drive. Guy
explained marker cones and
explained the what and whys
of course walks. Later in the
year, Alain covered all the other
options not yet seen.
My year started in Solo II where,
after putting on a helmet for the
first time, I proceeded to drive
the same as on the streets. I
was quickly shown the light by
Bruce and Richard during my
first ride-alongs. At every event
afterwards I have been able to
ride with someone, and learn
something else about cars and
driving.
The executive exposed me to
all the various bodies involved.
Running as much as MCO does
is a major feat of organization.
All the acronyms were just
alphabet soup, but each has a
function. It’s easy to forget all
the paperwork required to setup
the events.
In September I was exposed
to Solo I, and saw what driving
should be like by Brad, when
he started playing catch on
the track. He was obviously in
control, but I was not able to
follow what he was doing to
make his car dance. There had
to be magic involved; and I want
to learn it.
October, I traveled to the US in
a road trip for a Solo 2 enduro.
The wonderful autumn colours
made the long hours in the car
driving down worth it. Standing
beside the karting track in the
never-ending rain was worth it
just to find out I didn’t know how
to slide.
Craig had me sitting on a great
road for check point 3 in Lanark
Highlands. Thank heavens for
my navigator, because without
him, I would still be lost in that
region.
Jaak was my instructor
for the Winter School. He
demonstrated limited slip in
action. Cindy was the sacrificial
pylon for accident avoidance.
The school lessons learned
were soon put to use on the
black ice covering the roads.
They had helped prevent a
nasty pileup within a month.
Allan was very convincing in
saying winter solo was fun. His
describing sliding up the track
sideways was reason to try it.
Warren extended the last winter
solo event by a run, where the
repeated instructions from Alain
and Bennett on sliding finally
made sense.
Karting was interesting. I
learned the protocol in getting
passed. And learned I needed
to learn about line (What is it
anyways?).
I was talked into taking the
Solo 1 school at Mosport
driver development track this
year. I had no real idea what
I was getting into. As the day
approached, and I got nervous,
I was given all kinds of well
meant advise. It was still over
my head. Things like bleed the
brakes, flush the brake fluid,
bring replacement brake pads,
get a track oil pan with baffles. I
knew about putting gas in, and
sometimes washer fluid.
Jeff handed me a stack of books
to read prior to the school.
Rob reassured me. I had the
greatest time. I was shown line.
So that’s what everyone talks
about! I was shown what my car
could do, with the right driver.
I think I had all the instructors,
but my brain shut down
sometime on Sunday. Sorry,
I have no idea what I learned
from whom anymore. I did
notice an improvement in solo 2
after the school, so something
stuck.
Jeff and Greg have been letting
me near their cars to learn
about car mechanics. Mostly I
hand them tools and questions
with equal frequency.
This last month I saw my first
road race at the Ted Powell
event. Random comments;
many of the cars are loud.
When driving by the pits, they’re
even louder. At the end of the
weekend, hearing is optional.
Sam saved me in the morning
with fresh coffee. His morning
coffee conversation included
bolt material makeup. (There’s
more to bolts then using a
socket. Eek!) The Segway was
fun to try, even more to talk
about. Thanks to Alan Ritchie
and his girlfriend, and the
three girls who were talked into
running up stairs for me. Thanks
to Cindy for explaining what was
going on.
experience and knowledge to
allow the rest of us to play and
learn something.
Update January 05:
Watching the Prosolo was fun.
The Solo 2 regional event the
next day created a new level of
expectations in fun events.
At my first Solo 1 event I had a
ride to remember from Wes. I
didn’t know cars were able to do
things like that on purpose. The
event itself was intimidating.
Despite the help, there was too
much time between the school
and the event for my brain to
remember.
Lapping at the same track was
fun. The pace was slower,
with more practice time.
Bruce complicated things by
introducing strategy to taking a
line. Now the books began to
made sense.
I’ve spent more time near cars,
peering into engines. Team
Nismo Blizzard let me go after
the sound damping tar in the car
with an air chisel. This could get
addictive. Removing stuff is fun!
It seems I am just beginning
to understand what I jumped
into. I’m glad made the leap,
and wondering what the next
discovery will be.
And thanks to all the people I
never found out or forgot the
names of. Course designers
and reviewers, the base radio
guy and all the other people
who contribute their time,
17
Time Allowance (TA) Regulation-Rally Group
The purpose of Time Allowance is
to allow rally teams that have gone
off course or fallen behind on time
to run competitively without trying
to make up the time lost before
the next checkpoint. Each team
is given the option of requesting a
Time Allowance (TA). There is no
need to exceed the posted speed
limits.
a) Teams start with a TA-budget
of 19.5 minutes for each Leg of
an event. A Leg is a series of
checkpoints between main time
controls or rest stops.
b) Time Allowance must be
requested at the control before
disclosure of your TIME IN.
c) TAs may be declared in oneminute increments beginning with
one-half minute. Valid TA’s are 0.5,
1.5, 2.5, 3.5, etc, 18.5, 19.5.
d) TAs improperly requested,
usually of a whole minute, will be
rounded to the next half-minute
for scoring (e.g. requesting 2.0
becomes 2.5)
e) If you are delayed, and observed
to be delayed by the control
marshal you can be granted a
small TA for the exact amount of
the delay. The marshal is a Judge
of Fact, false claims will not be
considered. Baulking in sight of a
control is not a legitimate delay.
f) The granted Time Allowance will
be subtracted from your actual ET
(elapsed time from previous staffed
control, Control 7 to Control 8, for
example).
g) At the discretion of the organiser,
a small penalty may be assessed
for using a TA. The penalty
shall not be so excessive as to
encourage exceeding the speed
limit.
h) At the discretion of the organiser,
for Experts there may be no TA.
This can be expected for a drivex.
Notes:
The TA budget of 19.5 minutes will
keep you just within max lateness,
assuming you were ‘zeroing’ most
controls (no penalties).
Depending on the Supplemental
Regulations, an organizer may
apply a small penalty for using a
TA, in which case you would never
zero the control.
Checkpoints (controls) will still
close at the same time as if there
were no TA regulation.
Example 1. If you were 1.7 minutes
by Craig Hamm
late, and requested a TA of 1.5
minutes, your new score is 1.7
subtract 1.5 = 0.2 late penalty.
subtract 2.5 = 0.8 early penalty.
subtract 1.5 = 0.0 (no penalty)
If there is a penalty for using a TA,
the score in Example 3 would be
equal to the penalty.
Introduction to Rallying
ALGONQUIN COURSE OUTLINE
Robert Roaldi, Coordinator
Classroom sessions: May 4th,
11th, 18th, 25th, June 1st, June
8th.
The student navigational rally will
be run on Saturday May 28th,
on the weekend after Victoria
Day. The day of the performance
rally car shop demonstration is
currently scheduled for June 11th.
Expected Fee: $120
1. Introduction to Rallying: R.
Roaldi, C. Hamm, S. Carrick
• National, provincial and club
framework; sanctioning bodies;
legal/safety requirements; brief
overview of North American and
international scene
• Web and club resources; Ontario
competition calendar; General and
Specific competition rules
• Descriptions, similarities and
differences between Navigational/
Performance rallying
• Basic concepts of competition
by Robert Roaldi
navigational/performance
• Structure of a rally
• What happens at a rally, both
navigational/performance
• Navigational Rally Basics
– R.Roaldi
2. Road Rally Navigation
(continued) : R. Roaldi & S.
Carrick
• Introduction to basic jargon and
most common instruction types
• Variations on basic instructions;
“tricks” and “traps”
• Drivex
• Navex
• Targa Newfoundland specifics
(S. Carrick/E. Gamblin)
• Timing considerations
3. Rally Marshalling: C. Hamm
• General info for navigational/
performance
• Detailed description of
navigational rally marshalling
4. Short Road Rally – various
members of MCO with outside
help
• Short event of 80-100 km
illustrating the basic navigational
instruction types and timing
considerations
• The route will be simple on good
roads with help available along
the route
• Control check points will
be manned as per normal
navigational rally
5. Rally Wrap-up & Stage Rally
Co-Driving
• Wrap-up of the rally in session
4; review scores and mistakes (R.
Roaldi, S. Carrick, C. Hamm)
• Start of Co-Driving Seminar
by Mike Koch (past CARS and
OPRC champion)
6. Co-Driving Seminar (continued)
– Mike Koch
• Duties, responsibilities of
performance rally co-driver before/
during/after/rally
• Typical performance rally
weekend
• Demonstrations of various types
of electronic rally aids; odometers,
timing devices, etc
7. Rally Organising: C. Hamm &
R. Roaldi
• Examples and issues drawn
from previous events of types
• Navigational rally organization
specifics
• Performance rally organization
specifics
8. Rally Car Preparation: W.
Haywood, S. Carrick, other.
• Demonstration (in shop) of a
purpose built performance rally
car
• Discussion of preparation
requirements re safety, structural
improvements, as per National
rulebook, including tips, estimates
of costs etc.
Contest ... TO DESIGN LOGOS FOR THE CANADIAN
AUTOSLALOM AND SOLOSPRINT CHAMPIONSHIPS
The ASN SoloSport Committee
of Canada is looking for new
Logos to promote the new
names for it’s AutoSlalom
and SoloSprint (Solo 1)
Championship Events.
The Canadian SoloSport
Community is invited to enter a
contest to design two new Logos
for these Championship Events.
Criteria:
- The Logos should be nonmarque specific as there are
many different makes competing
in these events.
- Designs should include the
ASN Canada FIA Logo:
- AutoSlalom Logo should
include the words: Canadian
AutoSlalom Championship and
Championnat d’AutoSlalom du
Canada
- SoloSprint Logo should include
the words: Canadian SoloSprint
Championship and Championnat
de SoloSprint du Canada
- Designs should be submitted
as a JPEG format file no bigger
than 4MB
- Deadline for entry is March 30,
2005
The winning designer(s) will
each receive an honourarium of
$100
If you are interested in
submitting a design, please
send to Doug Campbell, ASN
SoloSport Committee: email:
talongeo@shaw.ca
2004 CAC Logo By: Jimmy
Merckx
Greenspond Go-Round
Supported by - Subaru
by Ray Felice
3rd round in the 2005 Ontario
Road Rally Cup
class, (E/I/N) Plus Trophies
$40. 2nd in each class, (E/I/N)
Plus Trophies
Start Location: The Stadium
Bar & Grill, Aberfoyle (just north
of Wellington County Rd. 34 &
46 which is the old Hwy 6 into
Guelph from the 401)
Date & Time: Saturday March 19,
2005
Registration: 11am
Driver’s meeting: 12:15
Car “0” starts: 12:45
Car “0” finishes: 4:00pm
Organizing club: Maple Leaf Rally
Club
Organizer: Ray Felice contact
- president@rallysport.on.ca
Entry Fee: $40. per car (cash or
cheque only)
Cash Awards: $60. 1st in each
This will be a navigational type
event with emphasis on the
navigator’s skill and drivers ability
to maintain steady speeds on
twisty winter/spring type road
conditions. Expect snow, ice, and
slush depending on the weather.
Roads are approximately 30-40%
tarmac based surfaces. Total
distance will be around 220Km.
This IS a beginner friendly rally.
Be prepared to show vehicle
ownership with a valid plate &
valid insurance slip.
Online registration is available
through the RSO web site at
www.rallysport.on.ca
19
ASN SoloSport Committee Conference Call
Jan 18, 2005
Status of ASN GCRs.
Terry Epp and Paul Cooke are
scheduled to start work on the
National General
Competition Rules January 20th.
The ASN Board affirmed, at the
December 18, 2004
Board Meeting, that they would
like this rule set to be put in place.
Invitation to form ASN
Autoslalom Technical SubCommittee. (former CNAC
board).
Authorization to form this
committee has been given subject
to a set of protocols:
Sub-Committee will report to
ASN through the ASN SoloSport
Committee
Need a Mandate document which
will outline the following:
- What will be their responsibilities
- How will representation on the
committee be chosen
- Financial responsibility
- Reporting outline.
Cliff will work on an initial
draft and circulate to the ASN
Committee by the end of
January. Final draft to be ready by
Mid-February
2005 ASN Canada FIA Canadian
AutoSlalom Championship.
Date: August 19 – 21, 2005
Location: Westerner Fair
Grounds, Red Deer Alberta
Organizing Clubs: Calgary Sports
Car Club, Vancouver Chinese
Motorsport Club
Organizing Chairmen: Reijo
Silvennionen CSCC, Henry Ho
VCMC
VCMC will supply timing and PA
system.
Organizers are looking for a Title
Sponsor and other sponsors for
the 2005 CAC Event.
It was decided to leave primary
sponsorships to local organizing
clubs, and multi-year
deals could be handled by the
ASN Committee.
No Eastern Regional/National
Autoslalom Championship event
is planned for 2005
2005 Rules are being finalized by
Cliff Loh and the CNAC technical
committee.
Event Planning: The ASN
Committee suggested setting up
a forum, to invite and
connect co-drivers from out of
town, with other competitors who
are looking for codrivers. It was suggested that the
Calgary Sports Car Clubs Yahoo
Forum site could be
used for this purpose.
Logo for the 2005 AutoSlalom
and SoloSprint Events:
Doug Campbell will form a
competition proposal to invite
individual members of the
SoloSport community to submit
designs for these events. Criteria:
Will incorporate the
ASN Canada FIA Logo, and the
words: SoloSport, Canadian
AutoSlalom Championship,
and Championnat d’AutoSlalom
du Canada for the AutoSlalom
event, and Canadian
SoloSprint Championship,
Championnat de SoloSprint du
Canadafor the Solo 1 event.
An honourarium will be awarded
to the winning designers.
2005 ASN Canada FIA First
Annual SoloSprint Canadian
Championship Event.
Solo 1 Name: It was decided
that the new name for Solo 1 in
Canada will be
“SoloSprint”. The new name will
be the same in English or French.
Date: September 9 – 11, 2005.
Location: Shannonville Racetrack.
The event will hold
dual National and Regional
Status. Organizing Club: HADA
(Honda Acura Drivers
Association) Organizer: John
Paczynski
Sponsorships: Would like to find
a shipping sponsor to increase
participation from
Western Canada for 2005.
2006 Event Planning.
Proposals for these events
should be submitted to the ASN
SoloSport Committee by June
2005, so that they can be
announced at the August event.
2005 Budget.
At the last ASN Board meeting,
confirmation of the need for
SoloSport Championships
to proceed with limited ASN
financial involvement. Approval
for National Licencing
fees was given.
Terry Epp will draft a budget and
circulate via email to the ASN
SoloSport Committee.
Expenditures: Needs, AutoSlalom
Championship, SoloSprint
Championship, travel, other
Revenues: potentially: permits,
levy/licences, sponsorships.
Lapping Events.
The Committee must look at
setting up standards for these
events for consistency across
the country, and insurance
purposes.
Automobile Insurance Issues.
Due to Provincial variations in
Auto Insurance, the ASN can’t
take on investigating this
issue.
Next Conference Call Date: Feb
15/05
photo by : Flair Photo
by John Powell
October 2004
MiscellaneousRumblingsII
Racer’s Grass
My regular readers (both of you)
will be aware that, with almost
an acre of lawn to mow, cutting
the grass has been a major
“task interference” factor when it
comes to my racing. Especially
this year, as with all the moisture
we had up to the end of August,
the grass didn’t go into its usual
summer slow-growth period. But
relief may be at hand for me and
other racers with large lawns to
cut, as the August 10th edition of
Ontario Farmer reported a major
advance by Sherry AndowJansen of Minnesota. It seems
that she has developed a type of
grass (real, not artificial) called
“No-Mow”, a mixture of Creeping
Bluegrass and Southern
Centipede grass, which only
grows to a height of 3.5 inches.
The beauty of it all is that this
grass needs only to be cut three
times a year, in late spring, midsummer, and early fall.
There is a downside to this,
for me at least. There are
43,560 sq. ft. in an acre, so at
my place I’m looking at about
36,000 plus sq. ft. to seed
down. The coverage of the
mix is one pound per 1,200 to
1,500 sq. ft. so I’d need about
27 pounds of seed, which would
be two one pound bags and
one twenty-five pound bag. The
cost would be US$21.00 per
one pound bag and US$290
for the twenty-five pounder, for
a total of US$332.00, or about
$450.00 Cdn., plus shipping and
brokerage. Then there’s seed
bed preparation. As I’m looking
at the equivalent of a small field,
a rented walk-behind roto-tiller
won’t do. I still have a tractor,
but I’d have to rent a mounted
tiller, and also a set of flat
harrows to level the seedbed.
And for putting the seed in I’d
also have to rent a small seed
drill or mounted broadcast
seeder.
Looking at time and rental
cost estimates, I have trees,
a hedge, a Hydro pole, four
fair sized rocks (90% buried),
and miscellaneous buildings
to work around. That means
there’s a lot of fiddly bits to do,
so I figure optimistically (I’m
always optimistic with my time
estimates, aren’t I?) it would
take about three hours per pass
with each implement. I don’t
know what the hourly rental cost
for such machinery would be
today, but when I was farming
the average was about $25.00
per hour, so let’s say about
$35.00/hr. today plus taxes,
with about $20.00/hr. for tractor
costs (fuel, etc.). I won’t bore
you with more math, but the total
for seed including something
for shipping and brokerage,
and for equipment costs would
be in the region of $1,100.00,
which the household budget
can’t afford right now. And then
there’s my time. There would be
no out-of pocket cost, but at a
day and a half or so for working
up the land, seeding, etc., plus
fiddling around mounting and
dismounting implements and
picking them up and returning
them, that would be two days
or more (probably much more)
taken away from the race car
wouldn’t it?
Oh well, I guess I’ll be out,
frequently, with the rider-mower
for a few years yet!
21
Birthin’s, Marryin’s and Dyin’s
(yet again)
I’ll only mention the first one
briefly. I had to spend a week
in late July away as a nephew
on Susan’s side died under
circumstances with which the
family are still struggling. He
was just short of being 17 years
old, which struck me somewhat
hard as my brother was about
the same age when he was
killed in a motorcycle accident
in 1956. The rest of this story
is family related, so I can’t go
into much detail here, but the
next loss was that of a special
pet, and as many of you are pet
lovers you may be interested in
the following account.
I lost my best little buddy a
few days after the Celebration
weekend; “Wobbles” the spastic
cat. Now I don’t want to get
into an argument with cat lovers
over the mental capacities of
dogs versus cats. I have owned
many of both species over the
last thirty years and admit to
liking most of them, whether
canine or feline. But, there
are differences. In my years
of observation it seems to me
that dogs use their brains more
than cats. They’re generally
very curious about what’s
going on, and if something
sparks their interest, they’re
more into investigating and
problem-solving than cats, which
probably explains why dogs
seem to get into more of what
we, their owners, consider to
be mischief. Cats, on the other
hand, seem to be interested
in only three things; sleeping,
getting food, and ... well let’s just
say making more cats. If their
bellies are full and none of the
queens around are in heat, all
they do is sleep. And, sorry for
this guys, but the males seem
to be worse than the females.
But Wobbles, a tom (and the
reason for his name will become
obvious as you read on), wasn’t
like that. He was a thinking cat
- he had to be to survive with his
disability.
Wobbles was born a barn cat.
When he was a few weeks
old we noticed that he wasn’t
growing as well as his littermates, so we brought him
into the house to care for him
there. As he began to get more
mobile, we saw that he wasn’t
walking well, and seemed to be
flopping all over the place. This
didn’t stop him from trying to get
around, however, as he’d put
his head down, line up where
he wanted to go, and stubbornly
stagger over to his destination,
not letting his gyrations interfere
with attaining his objective.
The determined little bugger
also soon learned how to climb
things, such as up my legs, bepantalooned or not, to get to his
bottle at feeding time.
By the age of about three
months he didn’t seem to be
growing out of his condition, so
we took him to the vet, who said
that he suffered from an affliction
called “crazy cat”. I’ve forgotten
the medical term, but apparently
this condition is caused by an
infection of the spinal column at
birth which causes the synapses
to fire irregularly and with
elevated force, producing the
violent spasms he experienced
when trying to walk. When I
asked about treatment, I was
told there was none, that cats
with this condition only live
five years or less, and maybe
I should consider having him
put down. When my heart
re-assumed its proper place
in my chest, I looked at him
determinedly staggering around
the floor of the examining
room, investigating these new
surroundings, and thought
that an animal with this much
curiosity, will power and
determination not to be restricted
by his handicap deserved a
chance to live - so I took him
home.
Over the years, as I watched
him thinking about where he
wanted to go and how he was
going to get there, then doggedly
(sorry about that) heading out
and reaching his destination
despite many flips and spins,
I knew that I’d made the right
decision. And, at least up until
this spring, he was definitely
an outside cat; he tried to hunt,
not with much success except
for unwary June bugs and
grasshoppers, and he liked
to travel. One of his favourite
excursions was across a small
field to the side road about 200
feet north of the farmstead, and
on more than one of such trips
we had to retrieve him from the
Humane Society after someone
had picked him up by the road,
thinking from his condition
that he had been hit by a car.
After the first such adventure
we tried to keep him indoors,
but he was so miserable and
determined to get out whenever
a door was opened, that we
eventually relented. And other
than his first visit to the vet, the
Humane Society fees were the
only medical expenses we ever
had with him, as he remained
fit and healthy until just a few
months ago, when he started to
slow down and didn’t want to go
outside as much.
The end came fairly quickly.
The evening before he died he
climbed up on my lap and for
the first time needed help. As
he lay there I noticed he had
lost a lot of weight, his breathing
was strained, and felt cold to the
touch. When I took him out to
his food dish a little while later,
I noticed a little blood in the
leftovers that he had coughed
up earlier. We could have
taken him to the vet, but when
you’ve worked with animals for
a few years as I have, you get
to know when the end is near,
and I didn’t want him to die in a
vet’s cage with tubes and stuff
stuck into him. He died in his
sleep that night, having doubled
the vet’s estimate of his life
expectancy plus a few months,
and is now buried in our pet
cemetery alongside the cedar
hedge. I’ll miss my little buddy,
but I must admit I won’t miss his
claw marks on my legs.
Rocketship RX7 - Part II
Now that I’ve had my period
of catharsis, it’s back to cars
and stuff. As usual, this is a
bit long, seeing as it covers
about three month’s work, due
partly to the fact that The Link
is now published only every two
months. And the reason for this
(sermon follows) is the paucity
of contributions from members
over the last few years (end of
sermon). Also, as the next Link
deadline is fast approaching,
most of what follows is taken
from my thread (Rocketship
RX7) on the Club’s forum, and
anyone who may be interested
in a blow-by-blow account of
our tribulations and eventual
moderate success can check it
out there.
We ended the last episode
with the car in the RX7 Heaven
shop on July 9th, (insert photo)
being almost ready to put the
front suspension bits back on
the car, including the new turnin spacers, and the drive shaft
and retained rear suspension
bits. Next would be a trial-fit of
the panhard rod and tri-link and
marking the mounting locations
for bolting on or welding. Other
stuff, such as the refurbished
gas tank (with a new fuel guage
sending unit), the rear exhaust
system, and new discs and pads
all round would be next, plus
routine stuff such as picking up
new tires and running the prerace check-list. Most of this
was done by mid-August, but as
usual, it wasn’t as simple as it
sounds.
Although later in August
23
ever?
we did get the car over to
Martin Walter to start work on
installing the new suspension
bits, my average of 2 ½ days
a week on the car had been
adversely affected by the death
of one member of the family
(see previous item) and the
hospitalization of another. In
addition we had a problem
with the rear brake calipers on
the car that took some time to
resolve and several trial fittings
of the panhard chassis mount
revealed that it interfered with
the exhaust system in every
position we tried. Also, coming
home from Talon Tire in Montreal
late in the month with the new
RA1s, the alternator on the pickup gave up the ghost, which took
time to replace, and consuming
more time was that I found that
the truck was losing coolant,
and this had to be investigated
and fixed to the extent possible.
Finally, the demands on Martin’s
time, which included having to
fix a somewhat bent the Nissan
240SX that he races at the
Ottodrome, and the discovery
that we would have to make
ride height spacers for the rear
of the RX7 to get the correct
corner weights, meant more
delays. Oh yes, and I came
down sick with what I thought
at the time was some sort of
‘flu bug, and while replacing a
worn transmission mount on
the pick-up, discovered that it
also needed new motor mounts.
More time lost.
By September 11th the car
was back at RX7 Heaven with
all the new suspension bits in
place (sorry, no photos, - they
didn’t turn out) the exhaust
re-routed around the Panhard
rod chassis mounting bracket,
and alignment, ride height and
corner weights all done. Thanks
to Martin for an excellent job! All
that remained (I thought) was
to roll the front fenders a bit for
clearance, finish the pre-race
checklist (tune-up, etc.) and
a few other minor items, give
her a good clean-up and a wax
and polish, and if all went well
it would be off to Mosport for a
test day and the BEMC ISTR
meeting. Again, while we did
get to Mosport, things didn’t go
exactly as planned - do they
First I discovered another
broken weld on the left side
trailer fender and had to
effect temporary repairs, then
while packing the pick-up on
Wednesday evening, I got a
panic call from Susan. The
van had quit on her in Orleans
and I had to go get her started
again to get it home, and on
Thursday I had to take her up
to Cumberland to borrow a car
for the weekend, all of which
delayed getting the pick-up and
trailer ready for the trip. Then
by the time I finished loading
the car, wet tires, spares, etc.
at RX7 Heaven, and fixing the
trailer lights yet again, it was
too late to leave Thursday night,
so I went home to grab a few
hours sleep - and didn’t. I wound
up leaving for Mosport at 4:15
a.m. on Friday, and was so tired
when I got there I had to grab
a few hours of catch-up sleep,
so we missed the morning test
sessions. Things went downhill
from there.
On the first lap in the first
afternoon session I knew
something was drastically
wrong - the snap oversteer
was worse than it was with
the Watt’s Link and stock rear
upper control arms, and there
were noises from the area of
the rear suspension. I pulled
in after a grand total of six laps
and we spent the rest of the
afternoon trying to figure out
what went wrong. To make
a long story short, we found
that the rear lower control arm
mounting bolts had not been
tightened (my fault) the upper
link chassis mount bolts had
worked loose, and that the lock
nut of the upper link rod end at
the chassis had been binding
against its mounting plate, which
was the most likely culprit for the
snap oversteer and the loose
mounting plate bolts. By the time
these were discovered and fixed,
the test day was over so we
would have to do the rest of our
testing during the race weekend,
and at this point I was tired and
my nerves were frazzled.
In practice and qualifying on
Saturday there was no snap
oversteer at all, but the car
was still way too loose. I was
still somewhat tired, and my
nerves still frazzled, BUT with
the help of suggestions from
Nick Zimninski, we began to
make a little progress. Nick
is an RX7 fan I met a while
back, was in on the first two
years of development of my
car when it was owned by Joe
Chan, and was also familiar
with the G-Force suspension
mods. With the car still needing
improvement, we qualified dead
last for Saturday’s 20 min. race,
so I started way at the back of
the pack. I managed to pick up
about four or so places at the
start, but promptly lost all but
one of them between turns 2
and ten. I got one back again
going down through the chute
into 5a a few laps later, but the
car was pulling poorly up the
back straight so I was in danger
of being re-passed for the rest
of the race, except that I could
gain enough ground between 8
and 1 to keep him at bay. But I
didn’t drive well. I was frequently
missing corner entries, off-line
and braking or lifting too early.
Our best time was a 1:46.9,
which was over five seconds
slower than my best time in the
car, and over six seconds short
of where I expected to be with
the new suspension set-up.
When I got out of the car in the
impound area after the race, I
became light-headed and felt
sick and fatigued, so much so
that I missed the BEMC sitdown supper. And anyone who
knows me knows that for me to
miss food I have to be REALLY
sick. As I was still feeling ill and
fatigued the next morning, we
decided that it would be best
for myself and others on the
track that we withdraw from the
feature 40 minute race, and I
should get home as early as
possible. I thought I was still be
in the grip of the ‘flu bug that I’d
had over the last week or so,
and the stress of not enough
sleep and “issues” to deal with,
which included fixing the van
when I got home, probably didn’t
help either. On the positive side,
we did get in our mandatory race
for the season, the “snap” part
of the oversteer problem was
cured, and we knew the direction
in which to go to cure the midcorner oversteer. As for the
‘flu, it turned out to be a rather
stubborn case of fairly severe
bronchitis - not a good thing to
have in a sport that puts high
mental and physical demands on
the body!
Briefly, the Celebration weekend
went much better. First of all,
I made sure we were ready
to go with no panic over last
minute details such as car prep.,
adequate sleep, late arrival at
Mosport, and so on. We did
miss the first session on the test
day due to having to re-locate
the air dam. We had decided to
raise it about an inch to reduce
front downforce a bit and stop
it rubbing on the track under
braking and on bumps in the
paddock. This couldn’t be done
at home, however, as Dave had
taken it back to Brampton after
the ISTR weekend to repair
the damage done then, so we
had to re-mount it at the track.
As Nick’s suggested rear ride
height change at the ISTR hadn’t
worked very well, I re-set it back
to Martin’s specs at home so the
only other adjustment we had to
make at the track was to lower
the rear roll centre by adjusting
the Panhard bar to it’s lowest
level setting, this time with me in
the car.
The rest of the test day went
well. After tuning for steady-state
cornering in the first session I
found the car to be much more
balanced. In the second session
we played a little with front
shock settings (the rear’s aren’t
adjustable) for turn-in, etc., and
again got an improvement. In the
third session we experimented
with small changes in tire
pressures, and in the last I just
drove and concentrated on
my lines and re-building my
confidence in the car now that
the balance was better and the
snap oversteer was cured. As I
pushed harder I was finally able
to get the car to do something
it never did before - take a set
on corner entry and keep it
through to the exit. With this, my
confidence improved, especially
in turns two and four and the
eight to nine transition in the
esses, and even though I wasn’t
pushing my braking points, we
managed to get a little over two
seconds off my best race time
25
from the BEMC weekend.
The race weekend itself was
generally a continuation of our
progress. We qualified during
the monsoon when others didn’t,
so my grid position for our first
race was rather higher than it
should have been. The result
of this was that I got mobbed
on the first lap by all the faster
cars that were gridded behind
me, and also a few opportunists
who normally run times close
to those that we had been
running. With only seven laps
in this race I didn’t get much of
a chance to try to redress this,
but the car handled well and my
times gradually got better. In the
second race we were gridded
in a position more in keeping
with our times, we again made
progress, getting down to a
1:43.6, and I had a good dice
for a while with a Sentra which I
managed to pass and then stay
in front. The main puzzle of this
weekend was that, while I was
now much quicker through the
corners, the lap times weren’t as
low as expected, and I think that
the answer is that it’s time for an
engine re-build. Last year the
Sentras were all over me in turns
two, four and the esses, but if
I wanted to risk breaking out, I
could fairly easily pull them up
the back straight. As of this last
race weekend I can now give
them a fight in all of the corners,
but can only just outrun some of
them on the back straight. And
although I don’t remember our
speed going into eight last year,
we are now only getting 170
kliks at the hump, which seems
a bit too slow for a 1st. Gen. 12A
bridge-port RX7 weighing 2300
lbs. in race trim with driver.
Overall, I’m quite happy with
the car now, and I know there’s
more speed to come with just
the handling improvements
alone. The forty minute race
was the most useful exercise
of the weekend, as I got in 23
laps of steady improvements
under racing conditions and
my confidence in the car not
trying to exit the track arse first
increased. My main purpose
was to again concentrate on
being smooth with my lines
and transitions, as the way the
car now handles has dictated
a change in some corner
entry points and when to start
applying power prior to corner
exit. I was starting to extend my
braking points a little when the
Last Lap board came out, so I
plain ran out of time for further
experimentation. I really could
have used another weekend this
year, but my poor planning of the
changes and all of the glitches
we encountered kinda fixed that.
So now it’s on to next year.
Some things we’ll be looking at
are an engine re-build, better
gearing (the car still hasn’t seen
5th gear on the track), better
shocks (especially adjustable
rears), proper rear ride height
adjusters (instead of the shims
we have now), and side skirts
to improve aerodynamics. We
also really need a better trailer
tie-down system, and if the
budget allows, a good cheap
cube van for a tow vehicle.
Right now it seems we spend
almost as much time loading and
unloading the car and equipment
and searching for stuff in the
packers, pick-up and tool boxes
as we do running the car on the
track!
Parting Shot
I’m afraid that “they” haven’t
given me much ammunition
lately, at least not that I can
remember, so you’ll have to be
content with the following:
A few weeks back I was flipping
through the channels on TV
and caught a programme where
some earnest young thing,
presenting herself as an “expert”
on child-raising, was going on
about “appropriate” games and
activities for children. After
about a minute or so of listening
to her discourse, which was
peppered with such terms as
“inclusive”, “non-confrontational”,
“culturally sensitive”, “nonviolent”, “gender-neutral” and
other “new-speak” terms, I gave
up and switched over to the Red
Green Show. But the idea of
“appropriate” games wouldn’t go
away, and I found myself musing
about what some of the games
and activities of my younger
days would be like today, such
as (see if you can figure them
out):
• “Visually-challenged Person’s
Bluff”;
• “Hug of Peace”;
• “Re-attach the Tail to the
Donkey”;
• “Tin Peacekeepers” (only in
Canada, eh?);
• “Environmental Patrol Ship”;
• “Everyone in the Middle”;
• “Go Catch-and-Release”; and,
• the favourite game of all
sensitive male children of the
‘40s and ‘50s., “Cowpersons
and Indigenes” (and that’s not a
made-up word - look it up).
The Back Seat
Staying indoors and warm
during the winter ... the
Virtual Rally Championship,
Evan Gamblin navigating car
604 at Targa Newfoundland
2004 [photo credit Marden],
Jaak Laan and Jim Morrow at
Perce Neige 2005 [submitted
by Jaak Laan]
Classified
I have for sale a 1989 Pontiac
TransAm 1LE Race Car. One
of 26 cars built for Players
Cup, last raced Molson Indy
(Toronto) 1996. Only track days
since. Never wrecked. Stored
indoors. Fast and reliable;
$10,000.
Robin James (705)357-1823
27

MCO Link - Motorsport Club of Ottawa

Transcription

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