Tuesday, January 27, 2009

2009 is on the way!

Just a quick post, since it's been awhile.

First, I'd like to extend best wishes to the Western Teams heading East for the first Canadian National Rally of the year, Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, QC. Particularly to Eric and Leanne since they've offered so much support and help throughout the years to me.

Second, I'm very much looking forward to Cochrane Rally on March 1, 2009, the first Western Canadian Rally of the year. The car has been sitting (neglected) in the garage since November after Kananaskis Rally, but was running very good when it was parked.

Take care,
Chad.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Kananaskis Video(s)

cool youtube video of us at the spectators hairpin, not sure who the videographer was, so it was a nice find on youtube.


I've also added the in-car from SS2 to youtube, you'll see I had a bit more trouble with the hairpin on the 2nd pass, losing about 4 seconds at the corner, although faster on SS2 overall than on SS1. However, not pushing on both stages as it was the first time racing the car in a year (and icy conditions yet)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

2008 Summary

Well, 2008 was not the best year of racing!!

Kananaskis rally just finished up last weekend. The rally car was running good, we were just winding up the car, starting slowly since it has been a full year since I've raced the car. We made 2 passes of the Forest Loop spectators stage when one of the competitors behind us had a serious incident. The co-driver was seriously hurt and the ambulance we had contracted expended all their supplies caring for him while STARS air ambulance was on the way. Unfortunately, the ambulance could not be re-deployed for the remaining stages without supplies, and the rally was over :(. Obviously, the real dissappointment is one of our fellow competitors being hurt but the rally also ended much sooner than anyone anticipated.

So the car is parked for the winter, waiting for the 2009 Cochrane Rally.

Chad.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

2008 Kananaskis Rally Preview

Date: November 8 and 9th, 2008
Location: Kananaskis Country, AB
Weather forecast: snow flurries off and on up to the event, near freezing temps

The car is all ready for the trailer, for the ~8hour trip to Calgary. In fact, it's running better than it ever has, so now I'm almost scared to touch it. It looks like there are 15 teams entered which, I think, is about average for this event. It's a mix of fast competitors and even some people who are relatively new to the sport. Christa Monasch of Calgary, AB will be co-driving for me at this event, and I'm very thankful that she has agreed to join me. There have been no significant changes to the car over the summer (besides fixing the overheating problems I was having), although the car has not yet been raced since some significant improvements to the power of the car. However, with the forecast being for snow, power may not matter too much.

Check out the entries, team profiles and, eventually, results at:
www.kananaskisrally.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Kananaskis 2008

Quick Post: It's been a very busy summer and fall (still is), but I'm doing everything I can to get the car on the trailer for Kananaskis Rally on the November 8 and 9 weekend. Kananaskis rally 2007 was the last time the car was actually raced, so I hope I remember where everything is :)

Chad.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Rocky Summary

Well, bad news again. I discovered what seems to be a cracked head on Wednesday night before the rally, 2 hours after I was supposed to have left for the event. I had an overheating problem develop a couple of weeks ago, and replaced virtually every cooling system component trying to resolve the problem. Too bad I'm not a better mechanic, or I may have diagnosed the real problem more quickly. I'm hoping it's not a cracked block, as I have spent a great deal of money on the block.

We had to withdraw from the rally again....2 rallies, 2 withdrawals...very dissapointing.

We left for Calgary anyhow as my family had made many plans for visiting. I hung around the rally for the weekend visiting with everyone and watching some of the action, and helping with scrutineering. Thanks to everyone who expressed concern and wishes that we were there competing.

The weather was quite difficult for the competitors, and extremely difficult for the volunteers at the event. I think they all deserve a HUGE thanks. Pat Richard won the event in his new 2008 Subaru Sti. Results are at www.rockymountainrally.com

I've got to take the summer off and develop our basement (buying more rally time from my wife). John will be competing with Brian Maplethorpe in the upcoming Mountain Trials Rally (www.rallyBC.com). I wish them the best of luck.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Rocky Preview

10 days away from Rocky, and I'm getting excited. 36 cars entered so far, including Pat Richard who is supposed to be debuting a 2008 Subaru STi. Most mechanical issues with my car have been sorted...I've been working in the evenings to clean, check, re-check everything to try and eliminate potential problems during the race.

Rocky is a personal favorite event. This is the first event I ever attended (2004), and decided on the side of that dusty road that this was something I wanted to do myself. We are entered as national competitors this year so that we can run the Friday stages in Kananaskis. We won't be pushing on the Friday stages, however, as we don't want to risk breaking the car before the regional portion of the race begins. I'm hoping for warm dry conditions, as that is where I have performed best in the past (although I haven't been given a lot of opportunity as most rallies I've competed in have had snow and ice to deal with). Last year we finished 12th of ~28 regional competitors (iirc) and we were having mechanical issues that seriously limited power. This year we have more power and more experience, so I'm hoping for a top ten regionally.

Link to the event page:
http://www.rockymountainrally.com/

Take care all. I'll post stories, pictures and video (hopefully) following the event.
Chad.