Sorry, I know this is very late notice : Event overview: This will be a Saturday event starting and finishing in Chillicothe, Ohio. The first half of the route will be run in the daylight with a break near McArthur, OH. After it gets dark you'll run the rest of the stages as you go back to Chillicothe. The route will be composed of about 160 miles of county/township and forest roads once used for the Sunriser 400 Forest Rally. The route is primarily in Ross, Vinton, Athens and Pike Counties. The route is about 70% well-maintained gravel roads. Over the past years we have been asked a number of times if the Sunriser 400 Forest Rally might ever come back to southern Ohio as a stage event. There is a possibility that this may happen and if it does, the route for the first running since 1996 will probably look a LOT like what we will be running on December 11, 2010. HOWEVER: This is NOT a speed event. The local rangers and sheriff deputies frown upon people who play too hard on these roads. If you want to go 90 MPH on the gravel this IS NOT the time or place to practice. Pre-Registration IS REQUESTED. We will have a limited number of route books available for walk-on's. Should you decide to run after 12/3/10, please call the Rallymaster, Dick Paddock at 614-619-0049 (cell) or email him at [email protected] to assure we will have materials for you. Working the Event: We can always use more workers. If you are not in a position to run. but are interested in volunteering to work, we have provided a worker sign-up form that is available by clicking HERE. If you are inexperienced as a control worker, we will try to pair you with an experienced person. As a worker you will be driving sections of the route to get to your assigned locations, but unfortunately you will not see the entire route. We will be doing a worker's meeting about Noon on Saturday of the event to distribute control materials, make sure you know the procedures and assure that you know how to get to your locations. If you are experienced, and can not be in Chillicothe at Noon, sign up anyway and we will work with you to get materials to you earlier and do a phone briefing. Running Schedule: The start will be from the truck parking lot behind the McDonalds in East Main Street at US 23 on the east side of Chillicothe - Click HERE for map of the start location. The map is from prior year so ignore the date at the top - the start is across the street from the old Travelodge on the map. The Travelodge used to be the L-K Motel in the days of Sunriser 400 and is now an America's Best Value Motel. Worker's Meeting - Noon Registration - 1:00 to 2:00 PM Driver's meeting - 2:00 PM First Car Off - 2:31 PM First Car at break - 5:30 PM First car resumes rally - 6:01 PM First Car finishes back in Chillicothe - 9:30 PM Awards - 10:00 PM Route Status: The roads are in great shape. The roughest part of the rally is actually a few sections of paved road which has developed significant pot holes. You will be warned of these locations. NOTE: The route will be a bit brisk. Speeds are often in the 35-40 MPH range on the gravel and higher on the pavement. This will be a bit like the old Ohio rally Championship or Michigan-Ohio-New York events. You are cautioned to DRIVE SAFELY on the narrow forest roads. Be wary of hunters... Clarification of Scoring: If you are delayed for any reason, you can claim a no-penalty delay of whole minutes + 30 seconds up to 20 minutes for any one half of the event. Delays must be turned in, in writing at the control after your delay. Timing / scoring will be 1 point per 0.01 minute early or late up to 2 minutes and 500 points for a missed control or more than 10 minutes early / late. All potential controls will be shown in the route book, and interval times between instructions will be provided to simplify the math. Not al marked locations will be staffed. It can't get much easier, but experience shows that people will still be early / late. (See the regulations for a sample of the route book.) Route books will be distributed at the registration. Entry / Worker List: We are maintaining an entry list as pre-entries and worker information forms are received. To pre-register and request a car number, complete and submit the registration form. You will receive a confirmation email from the Rally Master with your car number. This will be run on Smooth Gravel Roads, so you might want to bring something other then a mini? I will be there, see you there Jason
Thanks for the heads up Jason. Barbara & I have many miles on those roads both in the Sunriser & Tulip 200 days. We still go out & drive them probably once a year just to reminisce. Great roads for her Forester. Many folks do not even know those roads exist. Most MINI/Mini folks that I know would faint at the sight of those gravel roads. :lol: If you have ever wanted to see what a real rally is you should go. This is a TSD rally not a stage rally like you see on HD theater. It's how all rallies started back in the olden days. Those gimmick things & poker runs are not real rallies. Jason your link HERE is broken.
If you don't have anything to do this Saturday then you should come out. The speed will be low and its a great time. make sure you have a navigator with you and a flash light. We will be running in the dark. ITs going to be great.
Are you going to drive LIL PIGG? I'll have to see if I can convince one of my old co-drivers to come out of retirement.
no, the mini is in hibernation right now. I am setting up a VW Fox for the rally. I am putting lights on the roof since it will be in the dark.
Pretty foxie... Nice to have ground clearance, you'd no doubt re-profile the sump on your classic. I'd recommend not putting your lights on the roof. If it is the least bit dusty of foggy you will be blinded by those lights. Best to mount your driving lights on top of the bumper. As I recall Foxes have large bumpers that would work well for that.
good to know Chuck. the only thing is I don't want to dril holes in the bumper. I am kind of jerry rigging something just for this Saturday. I have a bicycle roof rack and my plan is to mount the light on to the front cross bar. I was just going to wire them up to a cigarette outlet for power. just plug it in when I want lights. That is something to think about. I am still looking for brackets for the roof rack. Maybe I will double check the bumper. I borrowed some BBS tires with new rubber on them for the front. I am just trying to make it a little bit easier. Chris Clark is going to Drive the car and I will Navigate. I think I am a little bit better navigator and he is a better Driver. This will be my last time in the Novice Class so I am going to try my best. next year I have to move up in a class so I want to go for it. If you or anyone else has any input, I would greatly appreciate it.
I wasn't aware these kind of events still took place in the USA, especially in Ohio. The best of luck to ya Jason. I wish my MINI was safely setup to do this kind of driving; I have enough strut tower mushrooming as it is... If anything, I would be interested in leisurely driving this route sometime after a monthly breakfast. What do you think Chuck?
No safety equipment required for this kind of rally Cooper other than a car in good working order. This is not a stage rally it is a TSD, timed speed distance. You have to drive assigned speeds & you get points for arriving too early or too late at checkpoints along the route. I'd be up for driving that route in our Subaru, but no MINI owners that I know except one would drive their MINI down those roads.
check out Central Ohio Rally Club - CORC They do one event every month. Well I think they may skip a few in the winter. Like Chuck said is is Time, Speed, and Distance. you just need a good working car. the speeds are normally around 35 to 40 for your CAST. If you are running late you might go 55mph. If you are to early then you might go 25mph. This is my first one running in the dark so that is why I am thinking of extra lights. The roads are normally country roads and are very safe. I usually drive the mini but the roads on this rally are going to be a little bit to rough for the mini. I also have been running with a different navigator each rally so if someone wants to go I might need a driver or navigator. This is really a fun thing to do and normally run on Saturdays in the late after noon.
sorry Chuck, I had a great time, and the fox did perfect. It is hard to imagine that those Forrest roads are two lanes. There are some spots, ok a lot of spot where if you go off the road the car isn't coming back and you have a long hike up a hill. I finished in the middle of all the cars and of the novice class. I think I understand how this rally thing works now. Next year I have to move up a class, so I hope I do better. There were a lot and I mean almost every car was a WRX. I am going to try to get a mini ready to run next year. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. You will have to do some rallys with me next year. It seems I always need a partner in crime. You can drive and I will navigate.
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Jason. I knew you would. Those are fun roads for sure & many are unforgiving of a mistake. When we ran Sunriser & Tulip down there I was always amazed at some of the offs we came upon. Barbara & I would ask each other, how the heck did they get there? Yep the WRX is the rally car of choice these days. When I rallied the only awd was John Buffum & his Audi Quattro. Everyone else was in a rwd with some fwd thrown in. If Eric was still with us he'd have been there with you in his MGB rally car. Thanks for the offer of a ride Jason. Sounds mighty tempting. :arf: