Doc1647545523 Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) The two CR teams to compete in this year's Rally North America event, Rally Appalachia 2011, rolled back into Columbus yesterday from Charleston, South Carolina with many great stories to tell. I'm sure the others will have things of their own to add to the thread, but here's my version. Farkas and I were one of the three rookie teams from CR last year to compete in the Route 66 Rally. CR sent three teams in 2010, and we came back with three of the top four East Coast trophies (pictured at the bottom of the CR homepage). Needless to say, the 80 teams of the 2011 Rally North America were paying close attention to the CR entries this year. Farkas and I made up Team Bentley #16 and FyrhzrdGT Paul-Michael and his girlfriend Nicky made up Team Mercedes #17 (1985 300D), the only diesel vehicle in the rally. This was their first rally. We left last Monday morning, meeting up at the Denny's near National Trail, reviewing our strategies. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/atDennys.jpg As a taste of things to come, when we left the exit I turned west on I-70, heading back to Columbus. We all had a good laugh over the prospect of a thread on the rally website entitled, "Defending rally champs unable to find their way to 2011 Rally starting line." We made great time to Winchester, Virginia, arriving early at the check-in motel. We came out of the lobby to find a line of other participants. As much fun as we poke at those vinyl stickers, it's actually pretty exciting to see other cars for the first time with the same stickers as yours. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/lineupatwinchesterhotel.jpg At the pre-rally drivers' meeting, old friendships were rekindled and new ones made. The rules were reviewed and we were told that many more checkpoints would be required and that some would require walking, perhaps running and climbing. I should mention before I tell more of the story that last year, on the wide open roads along old route 66, sheer horsepower and speed could compensate for rally navigation skills and tricks. It was clear that the rally organizers this year were going to try to keep a lid on that by using slower roads, more checkpoints, and a few physical tests thrown-in. The rally began on Tuesday, with the start from the historic district of Winchester, Virginia. The 80 teams were parked on the brick streets and numerous locals came out to greet us. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/Paulsshotofoldwinchester.jpg As was the case at many of our stops, TV and newspaper crews were there to cover the event. Over one hundred media outlets covered the story and countless websites carried updates: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/TVinterviewatoldwinchester.jpg Here's a couple minute video of the typical TV coverage (the Bentley gets its five seconds of fame): http://ww2.tv3winchester.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=6067093&h1=Rally%20Appalachia%202011%20Kicks%20Off%20In%20Old%20Town%20Winchester&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=0&LaunchPageAdTag=News&fvCatNo=&backgroundImageURL=&activePane=info&rnd=99866497 As you could see from the TV clip, there were some nut cases in the Rally. Our friends "Team Cream" won the best costume award....... how embarrasing is that? This guy from Houston brought his blow-up girlfriend, Brianna, with him: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/blowupdoll.jpg Some of the competition: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/vetteatoldwinchester.jpg A Lightning which put on slicks at the track and a nice old Porsche with a father and son team driving: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/threeatoldwinchester.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/crowdatoldwinchester.jpg Not everyone's a nutjob, though. This is Jay (at the side of the car, while the video guy installs a cam inside the car), who rallies between his deployments. He drove a dune buggy last year on Route 66, and this year he had this 60's vintage Corvair in the heat and humidity (some days over 110 heat index, and an average of 15-30 minutes of rain at some point each day). http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/mountingcamerainCorvair.jpg The motor was sweet. Check out the four carbs: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/fourcarbCorvair.jpg And the cockpit: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/Corvaircockpit.jpg Edited July 23, 2011 by Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc1647545523 Posted July 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) The rally is almost a scavenger hunt for car people. Many of the checkpoints have a car connection. We were at three raceways, for example. An early one was Shennandoah Speedway, which had a beautiful setting in the mountains. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/BentleyatShenandoah.jpg Sometimes, the trip card (which you are given at the beginning of each day) will give you the actual address of the checkpoint. Sometimes you just get a name, or a "clue" to the name. Sometimes you only get a photograph, and you're told to go find it! As an example, we were given a photograph of this clocktower, and we needed timestamped photos of the checkpoint with both team members: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/clocktowerwithFarkas.jpg On the first day we were back and forth along the beautiful Skyline Drive in Virginia. Both of the CR teams had nav problems, cell signal problems, and driver errors which kept us out of the podium spots. However, we were all having a great time and the cars were running flawlessly. We ended the day at the Natural Bridge Hotel near Lexington, Virginia. The place reminded me of the Overlook Hotel from the movie "The Shining." A police escort lead all the Rally cars in a parade through Lexington. Despite the oppressive heat, a few folks came out to watch the "racecars" come through their little town. We had a great dinner in town and drove back to the Overlook to call it a night. Day Two was clearly the major challenge. There were over 20 checkpoints required and many of those had to be chosen from a group of over 40. Much of the day was on the Blue Ridge Parkway, where the speed limit of 35-45 is strictly enforced. Add to that unexpected road construction delays, detours (of 30+ miles), and the physical tests, and this was the hardest driving and hardest navigating of the day. Here we are the next morning lining up in front of the hotel: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/lineupatnaturalbridge.jpg Everyone receives a starting time down to the second (and some awards came down to less than a minute of time difference). The starter flag girls were a bit of a mixed bag this year http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/EB_Auto_Rally_1-595x433.jpg Things started out well for Team Bentley. At Motor Mile Dragway we were paired up with a BMW One Series and blew their doors off. Additionally, I had the fastest reaction time of the day which was worth a time bonus. Here's the video of the eighth mile run (with my very supportive co-pilot arguing with me that I red-lighted, which I did not). Click to view: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/th_IMG_0407.jpg We visited Chimney Rock State Park where we were required to either hike to a famous 404 foot waterfall (which was estimated to take 90 minutes roundtrip) or to climb to the top of Chimney Rock, a 315 foot monolith at an elevation of 2,280 feet with 75-mile views of the Hickory Nut Gorge. Paul-Michael and Nicky set the group record for the climb up Chimney Rock, and this feat, combined with excellent driving by Paul and flawless navigating by Nicky, won them first place for day two, the top prize of the rally. This was an outstanding accomplishment for anyone, but even more remarkable for a rookie team. And they beat the next team by 45 minutes! They deserve everyone's congratulations. There was loud applause for them at the closing awards ceremony. Here they are accepting the award from the Rally organizers (my apologies for the poor photo): http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/firstplaceceremony.jpg We ended Day Two in Greenville, South Carolina. As is typical on these rallies, there are good eats at the end of the day and then usually a lot of drinking and storytelling. Day Three was the most fun for us. We had the cameraman from Mob Theory in our car much of the day, and I suspect when the video is produced in a month or two, a few of our shenanigans will be immortalized. One of those moments was captured on film when the South Carolina State Police stopped us because the cameraman was hanging about 4 feet out of the car filming other rally members. He let us go with a warning and with a clear explanation of the law and the admonition, "YOU WILL COMPLY." We started with a meet & greet with sports legend Cale Yarborough, four-time winner of the Daytona 500 and one of only two drivers with three consecutive Winston Cup Championships (1976-8). He is very friendly and cordial. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/farkaswithcale.jpg Next, to Darlington Raceway, "the raceway too tough to tame." http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/PaulscaratDarlington.jpg Farkas drove the Bentley for the paced laps. It was a thrill just riding along. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/darlingtononthewall.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/darlingtonatthecurve.jpg This fellow motioned us off the track, and we figured we were in some sort of trouble (not our first for this rally): http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/darlingtonpullover.jpg We stopped, put down the window, and he said, "Hey, what kind of car is this? It's great." Apparently, not to many Flying Spurs go to do laps at Darlington. I thought it was funny that the car's appearance made it into Darlington's newsletter this week. Edited July 23, 2011 by Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc1647545523 Posted July 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) We ended Day Three in downtown Charleston at the very luxurious Marriott. Team Bentley finished the Rally with no prizes. We finished fifth place on Day Three due to a route "gamble" that didn't deliver. But we had a great time and learned that you don't have to win the rally to have a blast. This year, Team Mercedes did the representing for CR. The day ended with a party in Old Charleston at the Southend Brewery. We rented two floors and had a band. There was an awards ceremony and much revelry past 2 a.m. on the streets of Charleston. Somehow, a Mob Theory sticker ended up on a Charleston Police cruiser. I'm told that the officers were not very amused. But just so you're not totally disappointed in Team Bentley, let me tell you about some fun we had on Day One. There was a lot of discussion about which of the 80 teams brought the most horsepower the the Rally. I got kidded that I had to take backseat to a built Cosworth STI that soaked up 100 grand and put out over 700 horses. As luck would have it, I came up on said STI on the freeway on the first day, and we signalled that CR was ready to roll. The Subie driver gave the signal that he'd honk it off. We each slowed to 60, downshifted to 4th, and on the third honk, Subie got a great view of the ass end of of Flying Spur. I let off at 140 and when he pulled along side, he gave a look of astonishment and a thumbs up. I later heard that he wanted a rematch and that he told people he wasn't ready (even though he honked it off). Then I heard that he said he was having clutch problems. He never spoke any of this to me directly, in fact, he didn't bring anything up about to me for the rest of the rally. So, don't be totally ashamed of me, I've learned from you all! http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/bilde.jpg I can't say enough good about Paul-Michael and Nicky. Everyone in the rally was so impressed with them. They were a joy to travel with and great sports. They did CR proud. I hope we can attend another rally together. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%20Appalachia%202011/bilde2.jpg Farkas was of course fun to travel with and a great navigator and driver. You don't take just anyone on one of these things for a week. We're already plotting our revenge strategy for next year. One of the two organizers for this event is CR member Scott Spielman (Spieldawg), and he does an outstanding job and put in hundreds of hours of work. The charity for this year is the very worthy Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, providing state of the art rehabilitation for wounded veterans. I believe the rally raised five figures for the charity. If you think you might be interested in participating in a rally this diverse (this year teams came from 29 states and from Canada), bookmark this site http://forum.rallynorthamerica.com and follow the planning of Rally 2012. A final location has yet to be determined, but it's bound to be worth the trip. Just ask any of us who went. Edited July 24, 2011 by Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyFKINPowerz Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Congrats guys. It was nice seeing ya at Cars and Coffee this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 thread under construction, part II No worries, I will merge them all together once you're done. GREAT thread, BTW. And congrats. And, on a side note - I live 4 minutes from Trails and had ZERO idea we had a Denny's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverMaker Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 I have been waiting for this writeup! Good stuff so far. LOL at the trunk shot in the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) Doc, this is an awesome event. Great info and write up. I need to de this next year. The PRK rally last year was great, and my first time doing one. The most fun I had had in a long time. How long was your planning and prep, not counting registration? I want to do this event next year if I'm back in Columbus in time. Any unforeseen issues you had come up, you care to share? Edited July 23, 2011 by Mojoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HUMBLER1647545517 Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Scott has done a great job with this event, thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleguy Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Awesome awesome awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaewsky1 Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Congrats on another win. Great story too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dover Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 HAHAHA Farkas "I think we redlighted" Doc "Nope don't think we did" ... awesome rally I'd love to come on the next one ya'll do. The Evo is begging for a fun run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsv8 Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 I hear rally and think off road and jumps like wrc would be more interested if it had some off road actual rally. Congrats anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye1647545503 Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Depending where it go's next year I may do this instead of the power tour... Of course Texas will be hard to beat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Sounds like a lot of fun. Great write up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Jealous. Good job Nicky! Paul, eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Sounds like a great damn time. Glad you guys had a good time out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Awesome! That's friggin insane I didn't realize you car pulled like that from a roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 i want to do this in the camaro next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD93R1 Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Man, that was really cool. Glad I checked this thread out. That must have been a good time. I would love to do something like that but I have a hard time bringin myself to go outside 270. That was really killer though, thanks for sharing. Heck I though I was doin great w/this pic DOC. http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a473/KD93R1PB/Thead%20pics/MinePaulsFDsnexttoDOCsRALLYCARJuly2011-1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksrt4 Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Thats great DOC! I think i will have to plan a come back in 2012. I am glad you guys had a blast! wish i wouldnt have missed out this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrodh Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 HAHAHA Farkas "I think we redlighted" Doc "Nope don't think we did" ... awesome rally I'd love to come on the next one ya'll do. The Evo is begging for a fun run. End of run.... " i think we did... " :lolguy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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