Two Guys Rally

Question: What Is Your Favorite Aspect of Rally?

I’m eager to read what interests you in Rally. Is it the competition? Is it the engineering? Does the star factor related to the top racers keep you coming back for more? What gets you going for Rally?

Personally, I find the competition and engineering the most appealing (probably a reason I love F1 too). Sure, there a whole lot of other reasons that keep me coming back but what pulls me out of the slumps is the amazing things that happen in Rally. Find any rally “highlights” video on youtube and what those cars and drivers do makes my jaw drop (competition pushes the drivers and engineers). Pure amazement.

So comment below, or throw me an email (twoguysrally gmail). I really am interested.

Some other common reasons I’ve heard in the past: offroad racing, friend/family member involved, alcohol (really), pit girls…

Question: Favorite Racing?

While I would guess that most of you favor Rally Racing I bet there are a few of you who prefer other racing. So what is your favorite type of racing? 

I’m also curious about why that’s your favorite type of racing. So go crazy in the comments or email us (   twoguysrally (ATTTTTTT) gmail    ).

While I’m asking you questions I might as well ask: What do you think would help TwoGuysRally?

Do You Enjoy Hairpins?

I think hairpins, when not the only thing on the track(ie not autocross in so many places), are one of the neatest corners to watch. They are also some of the hardest to do really well (handbrake turn much?). Here’s a video of mostly hairpins taken by WRC drivers:

Link for the RSS peeps. Once again, I love YouTube.

Do you enjoy hairpins? Driving them? Watching them? ¿Making them?

Question: What Is Your Dream Car?

Perhaps it is curiosity, or more probably writer’s block, but I’d like to know what your dream car is. Everyone usually has a different one so there are some pretty interesting answers out there. So comment below!

For me there are so many choices, but this obsession with rally narrows it down a little. Rally Prepped cars are so different to drive than your standard car, but I really do dream about driving them. I would have to say my dream car is a WRC Citroen Xsara. It just seems like such a fun car to drive, check it:

A link to the video for your RSS junkies.

So what is your dream car? An M3? Subaru WRC Car? McLaren F1? Go crazy.

I Want More From US Rally Coverage

I was perusing Rally America’s site and one thing caught my eye: air dates for rally coverage on ESPN2. Im excited to see that American rally is making it on to TB, but I’m dissapointed at the same time. STPR, which took place in early June, will not air until July 27th along with Oregon Trail(April 20th) and the Olympus Rally(May 19th). Three rallies, which happened months ago, only get one hour of coverage from 5pm - 6pm (so 42 minutes) total. I think it is a shame we only get 10-15 minutes of coverage per event on TV months after they happened.

Thank god for the X-Games Rally, which will air on ABC for much more than 15 minutes of Rally highlights. How do you guys think the coverage should be handled? During the event have daily highlights and recaps? A whole rally channel to cover every aspect of Rally 24/7? Highlights only? I’m eager to hear what you think.

Which Car Would You Choose?

If you were to make a rally car, which of these cars would you choose and why?

• VW Golf GTI (’93)
  
• Subaru Impreza STI (’08)
  
• Suzuki SX4 Crossover (’08)
  
• Mazda Protege (’00)
  

Granted they have differing price ranges, but there are some pros and cons for each of them. For the older Golf GTI I would say a big con is possible frame damage, but it is the cheapest option. The second cheapest option, the Mazda Protege would be an uncommon rally car (which could be a good thing) but I’m not sure on the frame damage again (2 accidents).

The next two options increase in price a lot. The Suzuki SX4 Crossover (w/ AWD) is a 2.0L Naturally Aspirated car that comes brand new at $15,000. However the Suzuki is the lightest of the bunch stock but it has yet to be rally proven in the US (the WRC has a Suzuki team that debuted this year). Finally we come to the most expensive option, a brand new STI coming in at $33,000. The STI is the only one in the bunch designed for rallying (with the help of Petter Solberg). However, it is also the heaviest of the bunch…stock, and the most expensive.

So which would you choose?

Summertime

Summertime is here in Arlington, Virginia. The days are longer now, the nights are warmer and there is beautiful weather to drive in.

Hopefully you all are enjoying stellar driving weather (which is pretty much anything to me). Let us look forward to a wonderful summer.

Mark just moved to a new apartment so he won’t be writing again until he has his internet up. There is a rumor kicking around that he is working on the technical details of his next Turbocharger article. If you haven’t already read the first two articles: Part One and Two are here on TwoGuysRally.

I am fully distracted by TwoGuysRally, Family&Friends and a small company I am working on. I am trying to figure out how to make this site easier to navigate for you. I feel like my past articles are ignored by new readers (Google Analytics feels that way too).

If you are new to the site check out some previously popular articles including: How To J-Turn and its Video. How To Double Clutch and its Video.

Otherwise, does anyone have any suggestions as to how the site should look and feel and navigate?

Why Is NASCAR Dominant?

When there are such awesome things like Rally in the world, why is NASCAR the dominant motorsport in the United States? That is a question I’ve been asking myself, along with “What made NASCAR become so popular in the first place?”.

I’ve found a few points that make it so popular:

It is easy to spectate. Hillclimbs and Rally Races are hard to spectate. You have to go out to the middle of nowhere and bring a seat and your own beverages. NASCAR lets you come to a stadium where you can park, buy tickets and sit in a stadium style seat where you can easily order beverages or pick them up.

Many times people will go to a NASCAR race to support their favorite driver (and have a nice day out). They get to watch their favorite driver go around every corner and crash if that happens. Stage races only allow a spectator at glimpses of the driver throughout the stages. So spectators may be disappointed with the amount of time they see their favorite driver(s).

Alcohol. So many of the NASCAR sponsors are alcohol related. Even a whole series was named after a shit beer. Alcohol is the biggest reason I think NASCAR is watched. It is an excuse to sit around, drink beer, eat some food and hang out with some buddies. This makes me wonder why many Rally races in the US remain alcohol free. I get the safety part of it, but at least push for alcohol in some areas if it will make the sport more popular. The rallies in Europe have some trouble with alcohol, but then again, look at how popular they are.

Marketing. NASCAR was almost tailor built for advertising and sponsorships. This resulted in a positive feedback loop between the sponsors and NASCAR. Promote NASCAR and your stuff gets promoted too. So the marketing teams of many many companies worked with NASCAR to help promote NASCAR and themselves. Really, it is an excellent business strategy where if NASCAR got huge, any sponsor would also get a ton more coverage. I am quite sure this is what Rally America is hoping to do with Rally. It has achieved a ton of coverage thanks to the X-Games, and Rally America is hugely responsible for that.

I’ve got some more ideas kicking around in my head, but most of them are infants. I’ll post some more about why NASCAR is so popular later.

But now I would like to hear what you think about what makes NASCAR the dominant race league in the US.

What Should I Use To Make a Mudflap

Since I am a poor college student I can’t afford things like predesigned, cut and tested mud flaps,I have to make my own. I’m curious if you have any insight into what I should use to make mud flaps with. Some current ideas have included: Old T-Shirts, Thick Vinyl (melt some records?), UHMW, Roommate’s toenail clippings with resin, rubber bands, cement, aluminum foil (layered duh) and, of course, cardboard.

Please comment with your ideas.

Suggest Us A Car

Hey, so Mark and I have been looking for cars we can afford (<$1000) to turn into a rally car. We need your suggestions but there are some rules:

1. 2WD - Most rally leagues dont let you start in an AWD
2. Less than 2.5L Displacement please
3. Car must be running
4. Street Legal (or workable into Street Legality)
5. Must be a Car, that means 4 wheels (no 3 wheelers or motorcycles)

Also we would like any suggestions as to the type of car you suggest we rally, even dream rally cars.