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mothra
This list is akin to a child's list wanting a unicorn for their birthday.

I read the line above while sitting in a prep meeting for a belligerent customer who was throwing a hissy fit because they couldn't read a CMM report.


10 thumbs up!


BTW, JB Niday's comments on that thread are spot on.


To save rally, the funding needs to come from additional sources. Not just competitors and organizers pockets.

Free spectating (and the attraction of MORE) only costs us all more, it doesn't solve ANY problems.

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Owner, Driver, Head Mechanic, and Janitor at Tower City Race Team, headquartered near L'Anse. Michigan.
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To save rally, the funding needs to come from additional sources. Not just competitors and organizers pockets.

Or rally in the USA needs to stop "spending tomorrow's cash today."

I'll buy this $200k tow rig and then I'll look professional and it will pay for itself when we start hauling in sponsors by the butt load!

If there's one thing I respect the current RA administration it is that they set the operating fees based on the actual cost of operation. Operating at a loss in the hopes of attracting future revenue is a bad business plan.

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Grant Hughes

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Dante
I

Free spectating (and the attraction of MORE) only costs us all more, it doesn't solve ANY problems.

Sorry but while it's loadsa fun playing rally, the show is not something you can charge much for...

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

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CALL +1 206 431-9696
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Grassroots rally. It's what I think about.

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Anders Green
I don't know if it's even possible to "work on" all the items on that list.

We could all reproduce like mad rabbits and hope that one of our kids is that 1 in a million super talented kid..

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mothra

This list is akin to a child's list wanting a unicorn for their birthday.

Are you trying to prepare me for some bad news on my birthday? you still have 8 months to find one so don't give up yet...

I have noticed that the first episode of the RA tv show had the same lame subie pulling out a cop car comercial. The last few have had many different comercials. The Rally content is only so so but you have to admit the network is selling commercials in those time slots. I know RA doesnt see this directly but who knows what the network is thinking.

Ive said this a thousand times before and will say it again because its 10 pages back. There needs to be a class for the middle class racer. I dont mean money directly but more of car prep.

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First rally 2013
Rally car type AWD subaru
Total rallies as driver 6
Total rally cars built 2
Total rally cars caged 3
Total rally cars repaired from offs 4
Total years racing exp other then rally 19 yrs
Like 31motorsports on FB!
Check out 31motor sales on ebay for used Subaru parts

Jeff,
So what would you think be a middle class car ..prep wise? Different safety rules or performance rules?


Personally I would like to see the current Open class be reworked so that SP was the top class. We have plenty of guys running that have decent money and cars but not anywhere near the corporate Sube funding of VSC or Blocks camp. Forget the sequential gear boxes, only stock intakes and other easy to enforce performance caps. I say caps rather than restrictions. Suspension no more expensive than say $4k , make driving to save the car rather than all out. Basically if it newer than 10 years it should be pretty friggin stockish. Older than that allow a bit more relaxed attitude due to parts availability. Drop the engine origin rules from 2wd. There are things to be done to reduce cost at the upper end, not so much in the middle. Twould be nice of the guy starting 5th or 6th OA had a shot at winning without the top two guys dnfing.

exactly! I think performance rules. We all hate the big initial saftey cost. After being in rallies ive found its really the cheapest part when your looking at over all costs. Even 60 mph is plenty fast to flip you 2.5 times I know this I just did it at STPR.

I like the competition of sp I dont like the rules package. Crazy you have to have a stock shift knob but can bolt on over 8k of susp and brakes in 1 corner. You can build an open car that potentialy is faster then an sp for less money. Only problem with open is that its totaly open. I like the class but its way to far between even Yeom and the next slower cars. SP with some tweeks and I think you would have a winner.

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First rally 2013
Rally car type AWD subaru
Total rallies as driver 6
Total rally cars built 2
Total rally cars caged 3
Total rally cars repaired from offs 4
Total years racing exp other then rally 19 yrs
Like 31motorsports on FB!
Check out 31motor sales on ebay for used Subaru parts

Even if you put Higgins/Block/Lestage in SP cars. They are still going to run away with it, and going to kill everyone else, and the only way to get on podium will be if one of them has a problem. It's not the lack of equipment everyone else has, it's that they are just world class drivers! Everyone seems to forget this point.

Like JVL has harped before, the only way to be a champion like that, is a LOT of practice and a LOT of hard work, something Block/Higgins/Pastrana/Lestage do through racing as much as they can. You really cannot expect to have a legitimate championship where 90% of the drivers race 2-4 times a year and hardly any test in between.

Thanks Matt, you said it a lot more politely than I was going to....

Can't help myself...

What is wrong with Light?
I used that car in Open before they made that class and:
I got to have fun driving the stages
didn't go broke
sometimes, did pretty good,
not that it made any difference in prize money because
THERE ISN'T ANY!!
and won't ever be because there's no way to monitise it.
Selling spectator guides, parking space and VIP busses/VIP viewing
isn't enough to attact a promotor to do the work.

Have fun sliding around and just stop being serious on this thread.
Nobody is going to pay you to have fun.

I would never deny any of the fast guys talent and agree with the time needed to stay sharp. However..not so long ago there were a few other guys running up front and either winning or swapping fast stage. Pinker, Ramana and ACP and now LeStage. The current cost to run up there AND the talent required makes it a pretty exclusive club. None of that changes the mid pack guys lives tho. Open lite is a good route and seems both popular and fun. On a regional level I see good competition up front but we have lost a few competitors that might have outspent themselves, hard to know why they left without research.

I really hate the fact we've literally had to double our entry fees in the last few years mostly due to road use fees. Cheap roads might save rally...

How much are good tires these days? How long do they last a fast regional guy?

Back in the 70's and early 80's when I did most of my rallying we all knew Buffum was going to win. Sure... maybe Rod Millen or Jim Walker, but that was rare.

The rest of us (middle or back pack) raced against each other and did so with great fun and little cost.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2014 10:32AM by Jens.

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heymagic
How much are good tires these days? How long do they last a fast regional guy?

I use a set of BFG 185 mediums, and those have lasted me about 2 years. I bought a new set of 195 softs (since cannot get 185's anymore) for $850 from Buffum at 100AW, used them for 4 stages, and expect to use them for LSPR or 100AW. My mediums have lasted me since I started racing 3 years ago. I got a pair of slightly less used BFG's from the Huebbe brothers for $150 for STPR to use on the fronts. Pretty well chewed, but still good enough for the rears on another race I think.

So I'd say if I was doing 3-4 races, at the pace I'm running now, I'd expect to fully use up a good set of medium tires once a year, so $900-1000.

Absolutely true Jens. We never worried about Buffum or Millen..it was pretty much a given. We chased Shepard, Kelsey, Light and a few others. It was fun. I think that era all started downhill with the friggen GTX and then Talon cars. Guys started trying to buy their way up the field. The WRX really took it over the top. People spend more and then maybe expect more? As Randy mentioned the prize money hasn't changed. I did win a total of $1700 from BFG and Toyota back in the day tho....actually a fair amount considering.