(simon van der wal pic)
Last rally with the M42 (slightly sad)
Since Chris already did his write-up of WMWR'19, here's mine (re-using some of the pics that he borrowed from me for his thread). WMWR is one of our closest and favorite events. It's not a full stage rally, but instead the first 2 stages of STPR run 3 times each (i.e. same stage in both directions). But if you've followed along with me, you know that I prefer the more technical stuff (rallycrosser.....) to the high-speed stages at STPR, and they are better suited to our low-power, balanced e30 as well. Last year we won 2WD at WMWR by choosing the right tires – while others chose poorly. This year we'd have no such luck, as everyone showed up with snow/ice tires – so with a level playing field, it was sure to be closer.
We rolled up to Wellsboro and unloaded, and headed out in the Sequoia to do recce, along with a few other teams in their own tow rigs...
Then off to tech. Though I keep the car in pretty good shape, tech always makes me a bit nervous. But we flew through with no issues – so that's 10 techs successfully passed :)
I forgot to upload a pic of our car at tech, but it looks like...the same car you've been reading about for 9 years now. So here's a pic of the Merkur getting tech'd instead
Chris and I managed to show up to tech wearing the exact same thing, which foreshadowed what happened later...
That night, headed out to the local bar to hang with some of our local friends – oddly enough none of the 3-4 local rally drivers were entered, for one reason or another, which kind of sucked.
Next morning off to parc expose we went.
(lori Lass photo)
There was a chainsaw ice-sculpture competition going on across the green
And then off we went to start the rally. While we've done this rally 3 times before, there were some changes this year. First, a new half-mile section was added at one end running through the Waste Management quarry area (also used for STPR this year), which was pretty cool and made for some great photos and vids. Here's Sean Burke's video footage (us at about 0:50) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Xqwt8QX2E&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0tHLpHgitNrmj0V3LdNsvpE_qlWUxEWfyFDOqodm0vAlKOCj8BBrdZkj0
The other change was at the jump. At STPR it's a wide-open, big-air jump. SCCA rallysprint rules discourage “getting air,” so every year they try something to slow the cars down. This year, they made a double-pin-turn at the jump where you entered on one side, drove past the jump, pin-turned and drove up and over the jump (fairly slowly) then another pin turn, down along the side, and going down the straight.
Here's us on one of the entries:
And making the pin turn, a bit sloppily with not enough slip
Not much air to be had
(both Mike Seitz photos)
I know the guys who like the air (like Chris) didn't really like this setup, in spite of the fact that many of them have hydro-brakes to assist in the turns (we don't). Since we generally don't go very big on jumps anyhow, and like tight stuff, I kind of enjoyed it – though it would have been nice to have some additional turning space and grip in there. In any case, it let spectators at the jump area get to watch a bit more action from each car than just a jump.
We continued on, without much drama. Had a few quick minor offs that required backing up, and a few close calls (sliding across a big ice sheet in a corner and almost hitting Matt Chmielewski's WRX that had already skidded off there and hit a tree), but overall the car felt pretty good and we were on pace with the notes. Between stages comparing notes with Nonack and Alan Edwards, it was pretty clear we were all running close times to each other (with only the Subarus running a bit faster).
We finished 3 stages and headed for service, which consisted of eating lunch and our crew checking stuff, since nothing needed repairing.
Nonack had about 45 people on his service crew, looking desperately for something to fix (which is typical for him, except this time nothing was broken...)
And out we went for 3 more stages. Now the rally had started with snow/slush/frozen mud surface, and during the day any area in the sun melted and became giant lakes of water (with shady areas remaining frozen). As we progressed to the last couple stages all that wetness was re-freezing and getting very slippery again
By the last stage, it seemed like we had a slight margin and with everything refreezing, drove a bit more carefully to avoid trees, rocks, and/or flatting our Altimax Arctics on some of the jagged rocks that had been kicked up during the thaw. Still put up a pretty good time, but I'll admit that I almost coasted through the last few turns which were getting icy, thinking of BRS where we almost went off right before a stage finish. Would be a lousy time to go off.
So, we transited to the final check-in, took a few pics with our excellent crew
Then off to the fairgrounds, where we parked next to Nonacks....
Some other casualties were there...Ozgur's e30 (you may recall I gave him the shell) had some transmission issues and debeaded a tire and retired after 4 stages.
Matt managed to get unstuck and continue on for a few more stages before his WRX retired
So in we went for the post-event dinner and awards/hangout time. And after a while, provisional scores were posted. WTF?
yep, you read that right. We tied with the Nonacks for 2nd overall (I think we actually “beat” them based on a stages-won tiebreak or something). AND we tied them on time on the 5th stage. What are the chances? Since they are in the “over 2.5L class” and we are in the “under” we both won our classes. But still, pretty crazy that after 83 minutes of stage time we tied. It was cool, but also annoying since I know I let off for those last few turns that could have saved us a few seconds. Oh well...
Loaded up the next morning to head home, with some dirty vehicles..
Overall, pretty pleased with my driving and Jim's notes, and the car's performance in general. Not a huge entry field, but we did well against drivers who have historically been faster than me (Chris, Alan, among others) so I'm personally happy we were able to win on equal-tires this year. Looking forward to next year's WMWR again!
(Lori Lass photo)
Here's some in-car vid from one of the stages to give you an idea of the conditions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bxjTx4vWP0&t=587s
Some other spectator video: (us at about 2:55 and a few other times) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u6eTVBCJWc&t=8s
And will post more interesting photos/vids as they become available.
