Florida Rally x

[Heraclid]

Interestingly, there are no Subaru Bajas, Foresters, or Outbacks.

Hey, don't they usually let everyone walk and/or drive the course at slower speeds prior to doing the real deal? I think I've seen it called the "parade" in SCCA lingo.

I have an excuse to suck, but you'd better do well on your home track. :-)

[Chopper]

Small world, his name is David White. Wasn't gonna give his last name on the web, but he does. I have his office number somewhere. I gotta try to contact him. The day I saw three, blasting out Mason AV. IN DAYTONA I figured the silver was his(The black,the cop and the green must've been the one in our body shop) Dave may know them... Yeah, he is a real nice guy Spoke to him several times. If the dealership had been more flexible, he'd be driving the twin to mine instead of the silver. NO VX's cause no one wants to bang their's up. Wifey warned me two seconds after the WOO WOO not to even think of entering that car!

[Joe_Black]

You'd have to be driving REALLY BAD to hurt your car on this RallyCross course. We worked on it again all weekend and this event is going to be unreal! I can't believe all but one of the Florida VX folk have wussed out on this! I ran the course HARD today in the IronMan with the 16" wheels and then let the director have a go with it too. A VX could really dominate out there!

[Heraclid]

Joe, do not worry. If you build it, they will come. :-) I for one am deeply appreciative of what you have done.

I was concerned about damaging the VX too, but after running the makeshift course at the last meet, I knew the VX could handle it with flying colors. That layout back then was a bit too tight in the corners and I'm no expert driver, and on my most aggressive go at it the VX nearly stayed on the track the whole time anyway! I think the VX can make a bad driver look good, and a good driver look downright amazing.

I must admit I can't fathom how we're going to dominate the Subarus but I trust your judgment over mine - I guess on a tight course where they can't get into boost... hey, I'll be happy just to beat somebody... anybody... in a car on my first time out there against the clock. :-)

By the way, have you checked your headroom with helmet yet? I think you'll run into the same thing I did, so you may want to get accustomed to that.

Hey, thanks again!

[Joe_Black]

Well, maybe I should say dominate with an experienced driver! All my professional racing background was motorcycle road racing. As you know, my only rally was the '95 La Carrera Panamericana where I co-drove. So other than aggressive street-driving, this is new to me as well. But what awesome fun!

As for the helmet, checked it today and have about and inch clearance with my trusty Simpson SA SuperBandit.

Hey, my D6 was delivered Saturday while working on the course. I've got some photos up HERE for those interested. If you didn't know, one of my other hobbies is collecting and restoring antique Caterpillar tractors.

Believe me, I've got far too many hobbies!;pg;

[Heraclid]

Wow - aren't you 6'3"? I know - I'll shave some of the polystyrene out of the helmet (just kidding!). :-) I have no clearance at all with mine on. I have to lean the seat back a good bit to wear that brain bucket of mine.

Off to check out the pics...

[Joe_Black]

I'm headed down to the meet and rally-x, so will be offline till Sunday evening. Stay tuned for photos and video! For those coming in late to the thread here's a link to the event: &action=getinfo&eventid=114]Fort Meade Meet & RallyCross

See y'all there!

[Heraclid]

I will make a prediction - a VX will win overall in its class. :-)

I know, that's a real tough one. LOL

Well, I'd say I'll see ya there, but by the time you see this Joe, we'll have already cut the rug a bit with our VXs. :-)

[Maverick]

so wheres the post event report? i cant wait to hear about it.. as i pretty much expected i couldnt get away from work, busy season for me...i was grumpy all day about it....

[Heraclid]

Joe is probably going to post a full report soon, but I know he stayed and camped overnight so it could be later today or tomorrow before he gets around to posting it and updating the official website. And he certainly deserves a break - three cheers for Joe Black!

What I can tell you is that this was friggin' awesome! :-) It was a real adrenaline rush every time I pulled up to the line and waited for that tap on the roof until I stopped by the time table to get my time card. The course was great and all the hard work Joe and John put into it really paid off. Everyone made four runs - we ran one course configuration twice and then after lunch they changed the course a bit and everyone ran that twice as well. The first setup was tight in places but I wouldn't say that it was too tight overall. The second setup was pretty wide open with a few well-placed hairpins to keep us in check.

We had a great turnout despite the fact that MapQuest gives errant directions for getting to the property. I was fortunate enough to have encountered this at the previous meet there and didn't rely on MapQuest this time. I regret that I didn't think to mention this in advance so the coordinators could have put the word out, but all in all I think things ran rather well. It was a tremendous undertaking and my thanks go out to Joe, John, and everyone else that made this a reality. We had a photographer out there who took a bazillion pictures and will have them up in the next few days. We'll post a link as soon as they're up. There is also a ton of video footage but Joe probably has a better idea when we may see that. If I understood correctly, apparently we have complete footage of about every other run made throughout the day, and every driver should have at least one full run on tape. I can't wait to see the video! Joe is probably going to produce a DVD but the editing alone could be pretty intense as there's lots and lots of footage.

Having never done this before, I did not expect too much from myself. I know I did not always brake properly, probably didn't stay on the throttle as much as I could have, and just focused on staying inside the cones more than taking the best lines, but I was happy with my day's efforts. My goal was to just try to run progressively faster times, and I did. On the first run I was pretty lousy (second to last) and didn't maintain my momentum, but I shaved 15 seconds off that time on the following run and beat a few Subarus. Which was cool because Joe said he was hoping to see me make a 15 second improvement but I don't think either of us thought I would. :-) In the second course configuration the track became faster, and I still beat a few cars on the first run when there were less radical turns and more places to just floor it. I told my wife that as long as I wasn't dead last I'd be happy since it's my first time doing it, and I did that. It was a real blast, particularly when I kicked the rear end out some on one run - probably looked like I knew what I was doing there because it helped with the turn, but it was completely unintentional. LOL! I was leaned back a good bit for head clearance with the helmet and could've sworn I took out a cone or two on two of my runs, but I checked and I didn't take out a cone all day, though it must have been real close. Woo hoo!

You also have to consider that Joe and I were the last to run the course - because of our vehicle weight they put us last so we wouldn't chew up the course too bad for everyone else. They ran the 2WD cars first, then the 4WD under 2.5 or 3 liters (forgot which), then the modified (read turbocharged) 4WD cars. We got tossed into the latter group for simplicity's sake and ran last. The result was that it was pretty chewed up for us with some 30 cars having a go at it first, and we would have racked up better times in the VXs had we run earlier in each rotation. Joe ran faster than I did (but I was close once LOL), and had he really wanted to and had made all four runs, he would have made quite a showing. As it was, he had his hands plenty full just running this thing and just made a couple runs.

This event was definitely a great success in my opinion and there should be more to follow before too long. Everyone was very appreciative of the opportunity Joe provided and I think the SCCA folks have been trying to get a rallycross setup in the area for some time and finally they have a good venue.

All eyes were on the VXs - I had so many people tell me I had a nice ride and I think the VXs got some respect out there. I heard guys talking about how they were a lot of fun to watch, and was amused by the incredulous looks we got when they heard what they weigh. I had a guy running my time card to me after my last run tell me that my time wasn't bad for a tank. I had another one say it sounded "friggin' awesome", and overheard someone else say they sounded pretty mean too. So the PV2 was a hit as well. :-)

[Joe_Black]

Wow! What a ride! Too wiped out to write too much of review, but will link to the rally site when I've got results and a recap up. Till then, here are some teaser photos from the NASIOC forums: FMR Photos

As for Heraclids driving, after looking over some of the raw video footage all I can say is, dude, I think you've found your calling! For a rallycross newbie you were nailing those turns and did nothing but improve each run. We worked all day today maintenancing the track and I saw the tell-tale signs of where your MT's had been!;pg; Good job!

Stay tuned...

[Heraclid]

Lucky you! I'm dying to see video and pics of the VXs on the track!!! At least in the link there is one pic of you carving it up out there. :-) Because of how we ran back-to-back each time, I never got to see you run because when you got far enough along they cut me loose or I was already out there when they sent you.

Sorry, I hadn't really thought much about track maintenance afterward - if I hadn't been stupid and got myself sunburned I could have planned to stick around and help. I would have helped more with the cleanup right afterward with cones and stuff but Amanda was urging to keep me out of the sun because I was so red. :-)

I think you're just being nice. LOL! You were faster on your runs, and I had that big oops on my first run (must be a hoot on video). I still have a hard time believing I didn't hit any cones. They told me I didn't, but it had to be really close. Sitting in a more reclined position than usual must have made it look even closer than it was. Being my first time and all, I was just trying hard just to stay on track and not run over anyone, so I didn't try particularly hard to pick good lines and I didn't bother to do any left foot braking. Basically wasn't sure enough of myself to do any of that, I suppose. I also had momentary hesitation on where to go in the more rutted sections, even though in hindsight I don't think there would have been a problem with any line I took through them. But each time was more comfortable than the time before and I pushed a little harder and got away with it. I did lose the rear end a little on the fourth run. Now that I'm a bit more sure of myself and what the VX will do, I'll be out there trying some new things next time. :-)

[Joe_Black]

Results are up: FMR March 6th Results

[Cyrk]

Very Cool...

Joe what is that on your hood?





-Dave

[Heraclid]

That is his antenna for his Sirius satellite radio (or as he likes to say, his phaser emitter). :-)