Ledwidge Lookoff Rally Spectator Stage

Only a few days till we take off for the Ledwidge Lookoff Rally in Nova Scotia.  Its not much but the entry list is up to six entries.  Three 2WD and three AWD.  Hopefully there will be one or two last minute entries to bump this up a bit but regardless we're going to have a good time, see some new roads and meet some great people.  The first day's spectator stage is unique in that it takes place entirely within a quarry and the roads on which it takes place are nice and wide and flat.  These little sprint stages aren't favorable to the NISMO Stuff Frontier sponsored by Bedard Pharmacy, particularly when they appear so smooth.  We'll do our best and look forward to the longer stages of Saturday.

Nissan Micra Coming to North America!! But Not The US...

To Canada in fact.

The little Micra sold all over the world will be coming to Canada in early '14 as a 2015 model.  It will be motivated by a 1.6L, 4 cyl. engine that is also found on the Versa Note.  Elsewhere in the world it is powered by a supercharged 3 cylinder engine and often known as the Nissan March.  The Canadian version will put out a whopping 107 HP vs. the "world" version at 97 HP.

The Versa Note goes for $13,500 in Canada and the Micra is intended to undercut that, targeting the urban dweller in need of cheap and gas frugal transportation.  Which is why it is NOT coming to the US.  The Versa here in the States is already one of the two (I think there is a Mitsubishi that is a tad cheaper) cheapest vehicles available and Americans evidently are not expected to embrace an even smaller vehicle.

The Micra has been popular in the world of Rally around the world and was driven by veteran Swedish rally driver Per Eklund to the 21st position in the 1988 RAC Rally and a 10th place finish at the Acropolis Rally Greece in 1989.  Head to Great Britain or Europe and you will see the Mirca/March rallied competitively all the time.  So maybe there's hope a Canadian driver might put this little mini-mobile to good use in the near future!

Heck, give this TFL video a perusal...they test the 3 cylinder engine version....but it should be fairly close to the Canadian version...and hey, look!! A stickshift!

Martin Walter and 20+ Year Old Nissan Take Tall Pines Rally Win

This was cool to see.

Last weekend at the Rally of the Tall Pines out in Ontario, Martin Walter and his codriver Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff were able to traverse the tricky conditions that straddled fall/winter with snow and ice on some roads and dirt/gravel on others to take a win in their 2WD class.  Finishing 7th overall out of 30+ competitors the Nissan 240SX bested numerous newer vehicles showing just how good a driver Martin is.  Martin and his Nissan are some of most active rally efforts around and don't keep their efforts restrained to the dirt having competed at Targa Newfoundland in prior years.

Congrats to the team!

Rally of the Tall Pines website...

Lac-aux-Sables Rallye 2013 Results...

 Once again, its been a few weeks since the event and I'm just now getting around to recapping it.  Its not that I wanted to avoid writing about it, its a combination of wanting (hoping?) some more photos and video might come out of the event and also just trying to let it all sink in.  Honestly when I get back from a rally it takes me a bit to decompress and figure out the good and bad.

For Lac-aux-Sables 2013 I would be partnering with a new co-driver, one Anthony Burden who I had come to know through other rally events.  Traditionally a driver only, Lac-aux-Sables would be a new experience for Anthony as well who was looking to see things from the silly seat side of things.

The truck was in great shape having actually taken it out for an extended shakedown just one week prior to the event and all systems seemed to be operating as normal.  We actually got a good start on the trip mid morning on Friday, go the truck loaded and were on our way.  The rain New England had been seeing for about a week tapered off as we headed north and Anthony's big Ford van towed everything with ease.  We arrived in the early evening in the tiny town where tech and the start of the event would take place (several hours North of the St. Lawrence seaway and way out in the middle of nowhere), got tech'd with no problem and then headed off for our "hotel".

Our "hotel" (graciously set up for us by the organize of Lac-aux-Sables) turned out to be someones house which had been turned into a bed & breakfast of sorts.  Beds (or should I say "bed") were provided while breakfast was not.  Fortunately the hardwood floor of the bedroom was clean for Anthony to lie upon (as were the sheets where I, the driver!!, slept) and the hosts were friendly.  Still, it was a bit odd for me--we rally people are generally smelly, dirty, and prone to drip vehicle fluids wherever we go--staying in a place with doilies on the bureau and a decor like my grandmother's.

Race day dawned bright and pleasant and we scrounged up some food at a local grocery store (one thing I think my co-drivers have come to realize is that on race day I generally live on a meager amount of food consisting of a couple granola bars and that's about it beyond a one gallon jug of water) and we were off for recce.  I've come to wish more and more for a second vehicle in which to do recce as I hate using the race truck for "practice" on race day--gods forbid something goes wrong to a perfectly running vehicle while we're just trundling around making notes, but we completed the run through and prepared to begin.

Of the 32 entries in the event we were relegated toward the back given my relative slow finishes at the first two events of the year.  This doesn't have much impact on us as we're not concerned about debris being stirred up or anyone needing to "sweep" the road in front of us.  It was evident early on that this event would suit the NISMO Stuff Frontier more so than the prior two events in '13 with two vehicles dropping out on the first stage and a third on the second stage--in fact (though we didn't know this at the time) the first three cars to DNF on the day were all ahead of us in the standings for the year).

Vehicles continued to drop out all day long with 2WD cars taking an especially hard beating.  We offered assistance where we could, spotting a vehicle on fire at the end of one stage and Anthony leaped into action using both of our vehicle's fire extinguishers to put it out (no one was hurt fortunately) and coped well with the roughest terrain I've seen so far in the Quebec series (I love it!!!).  Some sections reminded me of a Baja style goat trail with lots of softball size rocks littering the course and a section where the cars had to route around a particularly rough area while we just pinned it and straightlined it up the hill.  Perhaps not my favorite "roads" thus far in Quebec, but by far my favorite terrain.

This is not to say we escaped unscathed.  On that particular rough section, one of the aforementioned rocks is thought to have been kicked up and clipped the right, rear brake line.  I would have thought the stainless steel braided line to be able to fend off such a blow but I was soon smelling what we first thought was an overheating engine.  Shortly we realized that we would only smell this odor immediately after pressing on the brakes and theorized that a line was squirting the brake fluid onto the hot rear brake area where it was being cooked off.  A full push on the brakes confirmed that we had lost pressure and would be challenged to bring the truck to a reasonable stop.

Finishing the stage at about 70% normal speed I was generally comfortable with pumping the brakes multiple times to create pressure as a similar experience when a banjo fitting had come loose at Rally West Virgina had prepared me.  This time however we (Anthony really) was able to cobble together a solution via some borrowed vice grips and some zip ties by which he pinched off the line and mounted the grips securely underneath the truck.  We would have three points of brakes for the remainder of the event but at least we were still running!

We also ran into some timing issues of our own creation that would turn out to bite us harder than we would have first imagined.  Suffering two minutes of penalties by the end of the event due to checking in early on one stage in combination with becoming lost in our notes and running most of the stages for long sections without their benefit didn't keep us from finishing but did keep us from finishing on the podium.

Perhaps the most unique stages of the event came right at the end of the day were, as dusk is rushing on, the event runs a kind of "super special" down a fast, two mile section of road with multiple train track crossings at which the whole town seemingly turns out to watch the vehicles jump.  Having spectators this close to the race course was a new experience and hard to ignore.  I am not sure the tracks were abrupt enough, nor the speeds obtained, high enough to overcome the trucks near 18"s of suspension travel but we sure did try!

The NISMO Stuff Racing Frontier, sponsored by BodyArmorOutlet.com would finish the event in 19th position of 32 entries and finished 4th of nine in the John Nichols Cup class.  Third place and our first podium of the year eluded us by only 32 seconds, far less than our two minutes in penalties (the team ahead of us had none).  We were so close.

Regardless, we had a good run, put in some good work and finished yet ANOTHER rally.  Most notably is that with this respectable finish and 4th place points the team moves up into a tie for third overall on the year in the John Nichols Cup standings with one event remaining in October.  Consistency is always my friend running this truck.  So in the end it was as most rallies are--a bit of good, a bit of bad, a bit of what might have been.  But when you bring the vehicle home in one piece, you had a good time and you experienced a bit of adventure that is so absent from modern life one can't really complain...

Movie Review: Argo

Finally got around to seeing this film.  I've liked Affleck's other directorial works including The Town and Gone Baby Gone.  Argo continues Affleck's solid directorial resume.  While none of these three films will blow you away with storytelling, editing, acting or directorial chops.  What all will do is entertain the viewer.

Argo entertains the viewer with far fewer bullets and explosions than most films of similar ilk and there is little "action" as it were, in the film.  Almost all of the suspense and action here takes place in the minds of the viewer and characters.  Tension isn't hard to develop given the circumstances (escapees from the Iranian embassy takeover in 1980 hiding in the Canadian embassy) surrounding them as the risk of instant death at the hands of religious zealots awaits any mistake.

In a case of "if it weren't true, no one would believe it" the plot revolves around an American CIA effort to extract said escapees from Iran under the guise of a Canadian science fiction movie location shoot.  That such a scheme actually worked says a lot more about the lax airport security and overall lack of intelligence oversight during that period of time and place than it does about the quality of the plan (please see my review of The Skies Belong to Us for an insight into airport security during this period).  That said, it still took someone(s) with great courage to pull off the mission that successfully extracted those six American citizens.  Doing double duty, Affleck, in addition to directing, also takes on the role of Tony Mendez, the CIA agent who leads the American extraction effort.  While saddling him with a damaged marriage falls into the realm of cliche, luckily the film does not dwell there.

In truth Argo isn't a GREAT film.  Its merely a good one.  One that tells its story without getting in the way or playing its hand too heavily.  It might even be called "restrained".  Certainly other directors would have spruced up the story with more chases, more gunplay, more "gotcha" moments (even Affleck adds in a chase scene that never happened in real life toward the end of the film), but as a bit of a throwback to older "thrillers" Argo comes off fresh compared to something like Die Hard 4 or other set pieces for demolition crews.  While not deserving of its eventual Best Picture and other Oscar nods (there is nothing here that really grips you emotionally or that blows you away artistically), Argo is a good film not for what it is, but instead for what it isn't.

Video of the 2013 Lac Aux Sables Rallye, Stage #7, Rang 3 #1

This is the only video I took from the event (which I will recap shortly).  It is of the shortest stage of the race, a stage we ran twice at the end of the day.  This is the first run down this stage and the slower of the two.  There were three train track crossings and three big jumps on the stage which had lots of spectators along the road.  I haven't seen any video of the truck going over the jumps so I don't know if it got off the ground or not.  I have a feeling on the second and faster run that it did but I am not 100% sure.  Its hard to tell with the softness of the suspension at speed.  I also need to figure out how to post these videos at a higher resolution on YouTube.  They are being filmed in 720 HD but are only going up on YouTube at 480...Here it is for your enjoyment (or not!)

Got Body Roll??: Part 2

With the temperature diving, the warmth of the Tim Horton's coffee and donuts in our bellies didn't last long.  Fortunately the NISMO Stuff Frontier requires very little maintenance or prep work on an event to event basis.  She more or less, rolls off the trailer ready to go, not requiring wheel/tire swaps or lots of electronic finagling to get her where we want her for an event.

After registration and tech inspection we were ready for some warm up laps.  The Rallye Sanair allows one to get some pre-event driving in before even recce in order to help teams get their vehicles dialed in.  Not having run the truck at speed since its swampy demise at Black River Stages last year I was a tad nervous belting in with David--would everything work correctly?  would there be any noticeable engine misses or unforeseen changes due to the crash and all the yanking and tugging the truck suffered?

First worry out of the way was when we plugged in our intercom and could communicate with one another via our headsets.  I had been worried that maybe the water had gotten into the intercom/wiring and shorted something out but the PCI Race Radio setup appeared to be in perfect working condition.  Out on the track for our warmup laps the truck ran fine--which is not to say that it ran fast but it ran no differently than it every had.  Engine seemed find all the way up to the rev limiter, shifting was clean, brakes held, steering was true.  The track at this time had only a handful of other vehicles on it and required little vision or forethought as to the traffic surrounding us, giving no indication of what the later racing would be like.

The driver's meeting was all in French so neither David nor I really had any idea of what was being said and for all we knew they were making fun of the silly Americans and their slow, waddling, dinosaur of a truck.  The organizers very nicely provided a recap of the driver's meeting to the handful of non-French speakers after the French portion wrapped up and we were good to go--nothing unusual, just that during the race we should use our signal lights to indicate on which side we would like a closing vehicle to pass on and that even though the race took place on a closed track we were still required to put out triangles and such as if this were a "typical" stage rally.

Starting 25th of 28 (of the 29 vehicles entered one blew an engine during warmup) vehicles on the day put us near the tail end which was good as it would mean fewer vehicles entering and exiting and racing on the track during our time, leaving us with less to worry about.  The stages themselves were laid out over the various portions of the facility including a tri-oval track and its infield, a dragstrip with chicanes, access roads, pit lanes, etc. making for quite a number of different configurations with each stage some 10+ kms in length and some 120 kms on the day.

The day would unfold without drama for the NISMO Stuff Frontier and its crew.  As has been typical, we had minimal service to perform during the day's three service periods.  At the first service we increased our tire pressure significantly as we had underestimated the degree to which the sidewalls would slough over upon cornering.  Though not nimble by any means this improvement did lead to more confidence behind the wheel.  Which is really what ended up being the most beneficial aspect of the day.  Not only did I regain the confidence in the vehicle that was lost at the last event but the lack of need for true "stage notes" allowed my codriver to impart his driving knowledge upon me during the course of the day.  A far better driver himself than I am, David Dennis was able to provide feedback in terms of when to shift for better vehicle control and proper corner entry points for example.  Additionally I felt our communication skills improved as we were operating with our heads on a swivel all day with the truck taking on the role of a Gloster Gladiator while our competition flew by in FW 190s.

Though the track had few elevation changes it did present a number of other challenges.  Foremost amongst these was the narrowness of the chicanes.  Even after the course workers widened them a tad after viewing the truck attempting to get through them they were still only marginally wider that the truck and its mirrors.  Additionally during two stages there was a "gap" through a cement wall that had to be negotiated that was itself not much wider than the truck.  This caused a severe slowing of the vehicle to prevent massive damage or to navigate the chicane which, if hit, would result in a 30 second penalty.  The frequent 90+ degree turns didn't help speed much either (as evidenced by the pictures here) with swift changes in direction not advisable.  Lastly, the truck itself is not exactly a high horsepower machine.  While its lack of power keeps all its innards nicely encased within their metal housings, it does not make for brisk acceleration.

All that being said we finished 25th of 29 entries on the day.  We were the last of the vehicles that did not DNF to finish the event.  Which is perfectly OK by me.  I take a lot of positives away from the event including the fact that David and I had a great deal of fun, got to go to a different country and culture, hang out and meet some great people, run in a new and different series, brought the truck home in one piece, got lots of seat time and built upon what rally skills I possess.  Not bad for a couple days effort.

Since we plan on running the entire Rallye Quebec series, we'll be seeing these cars again in the near future and on terrain much more suited to the truck.  We won't be fastest in those events either but it will be a more level playing field for sure and should help us close the points gap between ourselves and the frontrunners in the Jon Nichols Cup class.  We'll see...

Thanks for this event of course go out to David Dennis (my codriver) for his help, advice and directions all throughout the weekend, to BTF Fabrication for the incredibly durable suspension design which has never had a moment's failure in the ten significant events the truck has been run at (8 stage rallies, 2 hillclimbs), to www.bodyarmoroutlet.com for their support as team sponsor and for providing items such as a handy emergency knife ready to cut my harness or punch out the window should I dunk the truck in a pond again and to Nissan itself for crafting this durable and versitle machine which has NEVER suffered a mechanical issue or breakdown during any event, no matter what has been thrown at it.

I hope that some pictures and video exist out there that show the truck with OTHER vehicles as I was certainly not alone out there!!  And still pictures would be best as in those you won't be able to tell who is passing who!!

Got Body Roll??

Why, yes, yes I do thank you...

This may have been the most appropriate question of the weekend...though you could throw "got squishy tires?" or "got a squishy suspension?" or "why on earth don't you have an anti-roll bar?" to the list as well.

As is evidenced by these pictures at Rallye Sanair 2013 (the first round of the Quebec Rally Championship) the NISMO Stuff Racing truck was perhaps not the most nimble of competitors at the event.  OK...to be honest...a water buffalo is more nimble on a tarmac event like this than the wallowing monstrosity that is the NISMO Stuff Frontier.  A HMMV might be more inappropriate for this type of tarmac rally--but only just barely.

Leaving Friday under wonderful conditions--in the 70s, first real shorts and tshirt weather of the year--the weekend appeared off to a good start.  We (myself and my intrepid codriver, David Dennis) left EXACTLY on time (amazing how infrequently that happens in motorsports) had zero traffic and a very smooth ride some 4+ hours to the North to a town about 30 minutes Southeast of Montreal.  The border crossing was backed up a tad as the border patrol was stopping and talking to everyone crossing due to the ongoing situation in Boston.  Nevertheless, we crossed in a matter of moments into Canada and began converting kilometers to miles in our heads.

At the Hotel Bienvenue (which I have now renamed Hotel Au Revoir--as in...I'm happy to say goodbye!!) I was snookered into upgrading to the "suite" room for $30 more a night than I had intended when the neither French, nor English speaking woman behind the counter made it seem to me that the "suite" room was the only one available when in fact I don't think there were more than three other rooms taken during the whole weekend...Ahhhh, the enjoyment of travel!!

Forgoing the 30 minute ride into Montreal and an evening of strippers and Ste. Catherine St., we ran over to La Cage Aux Sports some ten minutes away, your typical Quebec sports bar for some typical sports bar food and beers.  We were only the 4th English speaking guests our waiter had ever served and his English was not much better than my French, but hey, burgers are burgers and beer is pretty much beer wherever you go so we all got on fine.  The whole town we were staying in smells permanently of brownies...as in...roll down your windows and you think you are swimming in the batter bowl of your mom's just baked fudge brownies on a cool fall day.  Its heavenly--until it seems they burn all the residue from their ovens and the town smells like your mom got too wrapped up in watching "Day of Our Lives" and left them in far too long...

Anywho...early to bed, early to rise makes a rally team healthy, wealthy and wise (OK these three things do NOT describe any rally teams I've made friends with!!) and we were at the Sanair track early the next morning for our 7AM inspection which was completed in short order with about 1/2 the event staff speaking English and willing to translate for those who did not.  No issues with the truck were found and it was passed quickly and moved back to its pit stall.  One nice thing the Quebec Rally series does is provide yellow with red lettering 2x2 stickers to affix to your vehicle pointing to where your fire extinguishers and first aid kit are located.  For this event the staff also installed a transponder in the truck in order to facilitate the tracking of your various laps.  As David and I went and parked our race vehicle it garnered a ton of attention from the 200 some spectators who had showed up from the surrounding communities to take in the event--Oh, and did I mention that the lovely 70 degree temps of the day before had now dropped to the low 40s's and the wind had come up to a "brisk" 20-30 mph blow?

end part one...

2013 Coupe Rallye Promo Video

I'm super bummed not to be at the Sandblast 2013 rally in South Carolina this year playing in the sand. This is my favorite rally of those I've race in so far.  Time, money and family take precedence (to a degree!!) however and instead I'm looking forward to a new challenge in running the entire regional Quebec Rally series.

The first of the Quebec events comes up in about seven weeks.  Can't wait.  Here is the Quebec series' promotional video to peruse.  They seem to run a real professional and high end operation there for being "only " a regional series.



240SX at Perce Neige...

Once again it is Martin Walter blazing a trail for Nissans.  The long running 240SX of Mr. Walter and his codriver Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff were at it once again.

This time they were up in their Canadian homeland running on the snow and ice of the Perce Neige rally.  Walter finished the event in 18th out of 20 National entries in the event.  Which might not sound so good until you realize that he was the only RWD entry in the event.  Walter usually makes at least one or two visits South of the border each year so I'm hoping to see him at a warmer event later this year.

Perce Neige website...