Appreciate the feedback, Carl. You make great points.

As we see it, the "canned" interview questionnaire serves 3 purposes:

1. Asking everyone the same questions means that readers get familiar with those questions and eventually begin to ask them of themselves; to internalize the discussion and (ideally) take it to their local communities.

2. Asking everyone a number of similar questions makes it easier for people to spot things they have in common with the person being interviewed. The simpler questions bridge that gap initially, but with a goal of readers internalizing the questions, the shift will be towards readers having opinions on the various topics and being able to identify with others on those grounds as well.

3. Since we have day jobs and would need to pick up some additional equipment to record conversations in the first place, then transcribe them (or find software that does so), email is the most efficient route for the process *at this time.* If all the work that goes into the interviews were to be done in one sitting, we could easily spend every evening on the phone.

That said, voice to voice is important and certainly something to which we aspire. Perhaps, as we continue to share stories in this format, we will reach a point where, when an issue comes up that everyone is talking about, we can call up a handful of people on the phone, get their take on things, and publish a special feature.

Everything has to start somewhere. Believe me when I say that, next to spending every day working on a rally car or driving a rally car or watching rally cars, spending our days talking to rallyistas and personally taking their stories would be the dream job. Unfortunately, I'm gonna need at least $2k/month to do that or I'll be *living* in my partially stripped, would-be rally car down by the river.

Sincerely, though, we appreciate the feedback.

---

Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

fiasco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Even better, get JV on the phone with them for the
> interview.

John has been kind enough to help put us in touch with some rally folks overseas who have expressed a degree of interest in what we're doing. Most people call up John to talk about parts. I always thought I would too. Instead, I spoke to John about the rally community. I dig what the man believes.

Harsh light. Soft focus. Word.

---

Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

Carl, agree. MOST of the world is more social and conversations OFTEN swirl around over decades and stuff when you ask folks to "reflechez". It's natural.

What would be really cool would be if we could get the music and screen to do the "do do dout do do dodout" like at the end of this segment:




The idea though is to eventually from the answers see if we see and if "they" see common trends, common solutions, un-common solutions etc to whatever people figure is the knot they want to unravel.

So as long as people take the questions are a "sorta departure point" it would be OK.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

If you're fucking lazy don't build a fucking car! Just buy one.

But, if you do learn how to pedal your heap of shit car around the stages and you are talented and you are getting faster and not crashing, there's gonna be a time when your car just doesn't cut it anymore. Then what???

Start over and build a new one???

Sure! Why the fuck not? Put those good driving skills you have to use! Use them to build a car... OH WAIT... That doesn't work! You can press the pedals and turn the wheel, but can you weld worth a damn? Can you think outside the box? Fix that poorly engineered thing? Can you do that with all your seat time? Probably not.

Now what? Do you PAY someone to do it? FUCK NO! if you were gonna pay someone, you'd be on the other site right now... but you're not! You're here because you like getting your fucking hands dirty. Pride, skill, BALLS, speed, focus, motivation... They can ALL be found in the garage too.

But fuck me... I would hate to be the poor bastard with natural skill and talant sitting behind the wheel of an underprepped shell, wishing to allah that more time had been given to learning to build a fucking "DISPOSABLE" rally car!

REMEMBER? they are disposable... throw them away... but, if you aren't learning to build better as you do it, you'd better be editing some damn entertaining Gymicanna Video to pay the nearest shop to build you a car that matches your tallent, cuz dammit, the faster you get, the more your gonna need a well prepped car.

~~~~~

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about the the folks who go out with eleventy billion horse-powaw, and $70,000 suspension with hiem joints in a suspension pickups. That different.

But shit, I'm getting hell for seam welding my car. Fucking seam welding! When I started, my welds looked like dead catapillars or I blew holes in my shell big enought to pass a hammer through. I'd fucking scream if I was doing that with my next shell, the shell that may NEED to be seam welded to handle the abuse that it will see.

And don't forget folks, to all of you who like to say to all the beginners out there "forget it, you're not Pat Richard. And you never will be", I can't wait until one of you says it to the next Pat Richard! Because one of these days some little shit is going to be faster than all the rest, there will be another generation of fast drivers...

Preach on Brother...

Daniel Buehler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're here
> because you like getting your fucking hands dirty.
> Pride, skill, BALLS, speed, focus, motivation...
> They can ALL be found in the garage too.

QFT.

---

Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

Hey Brian, what's QFT mean?

And I have a questionnaire back from a guy....Should i just forward the whole thing to you?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

john vanlandingham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Brian, what's QFT mean?
>
> And I have a questionnaire back from a
> guy....Should i just forward the whole thing to
> you?
>

QFT = Quoted For Truth. :shrug I'm a nerd.

Please do shoot the interview over! That's WAY cool, John! editor @ gearboxmagazine.com if you please.

This post made my freakin day.

---

Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

Does that mean a Janvanvurpa interview on gearbox?

YES!!!

I'll be eagerly anticipating its immediate release!

---

Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

DR1665 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> fiasco Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Even better, get JV on the phone with them
> for the
> > interview.
>
> John has been kind enough to help put us in touch
> with some rally folks overseas who have expressed
> a degree of interest in what we're doing. Most
> people call up John to talk about parts. I always
> thought I would too. Instead, I spoke to John
> about the rally community. I dig what the man
> believes.
>
> Harsh light. Soft focus. Word.
>
>
>
>
> Brian DR1665 | Phoenix, AZ
> 92 GVR4 - daily | 91 GVR4 - endless rally project

Yeah, if you want parts, you have to learn some stories first. Not uncommon when people dole out the good stuff.

fiasco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does that mean a Janvanvurpa interview on gearbox?
>
>
> YES!!!
>
> I'll be eagerly anticipating its immediate
> release!
>

Believe me, John *will* be interviewed. ASAP.

---

Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

DR1665 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> john vanlandingham Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hey Brian, what's QFT mean?
> >
> > And I have a questionnaire back from a
> > guy....Should i just forward the whole thing
> to
> > you?
> >
>
> QFT = Quoted For Truth. :shrug I'm a nerd.
>


OHHHHHH....RALLY? I always thought it was for 'Quite Fucking True'


lol

---

Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Jon Burke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DR1665 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > john vanlandingham Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Hey Brian, what's QFT mean?
> > >
> > > And I have a questionnaire back from a
> > > guy....Should i just forward the whole
> thing
> > to
> > > you?
> > >
> >
> > QFT = Quoted For Truth. :shrug I'm a nerd.
> >
>
>
> OHHHHHH....RALLY? I always thought it was for
> 'Quite Fucking True'
>
>
> lol
>

ORLLY?

Could mean Quintessentially Flawed Topic, among other things.

---

Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

It was a good read, and very informative.

Anders really hit on many of the key points that are effecting rally in the US.

We need more competitors at the grassroots level to keep the sport healthy and growing.

Congrats on Sandblast having 68 entries this year. Great news.

B-

---

Build the car, race the car, crash the car, fix the car..Repeat

Daniel Buehler Wrote:
-
> And don't forget folks, to all of you who like to
> say to all the beginners out there "forget it,
> you're not Pat Richard. And you never will be", I
> can't wait until one of you says it to the next
> Pat Richard! Because one of these days some little
> shit is going to be faster than all the rest,
> there will be another generation of fast
> drivers...

I disagree with the main point of your post. Anders was not saying that you should not run a fully prepared car. But if most new competitors only run 1-2 events and then decide it is not for them, why do they need to spend all the time learning to weld and doing a bunch of custom fabrication in order to try the sport. Most newer cars will go through 3-10 events with a very mild level or prep. If they get hooked then they can always go back and up the level of their car. Grant is doing something similar with his Merkur, build the car, race the car, make the car better.

Look at Simon Wright's spec focus build. They car has completed 20 of 22 rallies that is has entered with no seam welding and only plating on the tops of the front strut towers. He has a simple straight forward cage. that does not penetrate the firewall. He spent money on good seats, but is running Hotbits now which is an affordable rally suspension option.

If you are able to control your emotions in the car which the top drivers can do, then having an under prepared low power car will make you faster since you have to learn how to drive within your equipment. All rally cars are disposable, if they are not a sane person would not be rallying them or at least would not be fast in them.