Two Guys Rally

A Witness Report: Drunk Driving

So the holidays bring out the best in people. Thanks and giving, peace and goodwill towards men, and of course drinking. Unfortunately there are plenty of people who choose to get behind the wheel after drinking.

I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing the effect of a drunk driver on a stop light post right by my home. At first I heard what reminded me of clanging I-beams, then I drove around the corner and saw an econoline style van in a ditch (with significant dent/hole in its front) with a stop light attached to the side of it. So I did what any good Samaritan would do: I stopped and got out to see if everyone was okay.

Everyone was a man who stumbled up the hill/ditch on the driver’s side of the van. He was an older male with a moustache, some balding and lots of slurring (and not of the head injury variety). He said he was okay and no one else was in the car. He also asked me for a ride home (which I refused, of course). Boy was he drunk, or at least seemed it, because he fell away from my car when i locked the doors and dialed 911. Apparently he though it was a good idea to run up the street away from the accident while I was on the phone with the cops. They caught him just up the street after I gave a description to them (by the way eye witness reports suck, I claimed he had a Tan Jacket, but it was blue, however his pants were tan/khaki so that must be where I got confused)

At first I felt bad for the dude on what a shitstorm he got himself into, but then I realized: his van travelled across the point where I yield for traffic on that road and I would have yielded to that very van because of the direction he was travelling (and he only got there a minute or so before me). That would have ruined my night and car (and possibly life), so I didn’t feel bad at all about IDing the guy after they arrested him.

One interesting tidbit I learned that night: cop cars have TERRIBLE traction in the rain. Terrible. When I was in the cop car to drive by to where they arrested him in order to ID him, the officer lost traction right away and slid a bit. But it wasn’t only that cop that lost traction, every single cop that went around that corner did. I could totally out accelerate the cop car in the rain in my stock WRX. NEAT! (Observation: the cops may just be doing that for fun, since I bet they get bored just driving around all night.)

Anyway, what this reminded me of was how stupid it is to get behind the wheel of a car drunk. You already are in the, statistically speaking, most dangerous common situation. Adding alcohol will only make it even more so. So be safe out there when driving, especially around last call.

Merry Christmas!

I’m spending time with my family, hope you all are enjoying the holidays! Have a fun time.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from us here at TwoGuysRally. Whether its Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza or what have you, enjoy yourselves and be safe. This season has a spike in drunk drivers and weather related accidents so be more alert on your drives.

Last Minute Gift Ideas: RainX/IceX washer fluid. It’s good until 0 Farenheit. I could have used that on my drive back home as my washer fluid froze for the two hours the trip was below 10 degrees. Plus the rainx solution has some sort of lipid in it (wax) that makes water bead up on the windsheild.

Another idea is a Seat Belt Cutter / Window Breaker. Sometimes seat belt buckles get stuck and doors won’t open. It’s cheap and easy and may come in handy (hopefully not necessary).

Happy Holidays! Have a great time, I know I am.

Motorsports: A Sad State of Affairs

The world of motorsports is in a sad state of affairs these days. I guess the economy is picking off teams left and right. The latest casualty is Subaru as they announced their withdrawal from the WRC. Oh we must really be in a recession when Subaru withdraws from the league that put them on the map.

But Subaru isn’t the only casualty, Suzuki withdrew from WRC also. Although for them it may have just been too big of an expense for too little of a return. However other leagues aren’t immune from this economic recession. Honda recently announced their withdrawal from Formula 1 AND the AMA(motorcylce racing). Porsche and Audi both widthrew from the American Le Mans Series.

While all this is sad and upsetting to the world of motorsports, there is a silver lining: it gives the amateurs a chance. While it may seem like amateurs and privateers get struck even harder by the recession, but their income is a little more stable than the advertising budgets of the factory teams. So there is hope for us all yet! It may just be a big enough shake up to make your way into the sport.

Do you know of any other teams/pillars of the sport that have been eaten by this economic recession?

So You Think You Can Rally?

Apparently, a rally school in Florida is hosting a Rally competition akin to the succesful formula of American Idol/So You Think You Can Dance. However, there is no audience voting (or at least there isn’t yet). But for $350 + trip fees to florida gets you a shot at round 1, then if you make it to round 2 another $350, but for the following 3 rounds (if you make them) you pay nothing. 

The Prize? To compete in a NASA Rally Race with a fully prepped car and team, plus free instruction. That’s pretty appealing and makes me want to go.

Unfortunately the $350 + fare totals about $800+ for round 1.  Since round 2 is at a different date I would expect to plunk down another $800+. To get to the finals is about $400-500 for each round (even though they are free). That total is, conservatively, $2800. Sadly that is cost prohibitive for me (also it interferes with something more money is spent on: University). So maybe I’ll hear about you winning the competition, or at least participating. Either way it is a great deal if you make it to round 4.

199 Lives Out on DVD

 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story(link to Amazon) finally came out on DVD. While it is mostly about Travis’ motocross career, and barely covers his rally career, it is really entertaining/informing. It has some awesome footage of some of the crazy stuff he enjoys doing. I would really suggest this as a stocking stuffer for any rally fans out there (anyone want to buy it for me? :-D).

I saw it with Mark when it came to select theaters for one day only. It just happened to come to the theater nearest us, so that was convenient. However I was sick and popping Pseudoephedrine like there was no tomorrow, so I ought to see it again. But from what I remember it was really fun to watch, regardless of sinus pain.

If you really have no idea what 199 Lives is or who Travis Pastrana is here is a trailer:

Link for you RSS Peeps.

Thanks to Patrick for the heads up on the release date! Oh and it really did take forever for it to come out on DVD didn’t it? (~6 Months).

Ruh Roh! What is the FIA Doing?

So the FIA is figuring that it should standarize F1 engines and transmissions (or at least provide an advantagous reason to choose that option). The reason? Cost. Apparently development costs have been rising so much they’re pushing big name teams out (see Honda). The low cost Cosworth engine and XTRAC  transmission will run a cool $2.44 million upfront then about $8 million per season after that. Amazingly that is cheaper than what all the teams are working with now. Although they teams will still have the option to use their current engine (including development freeze). However the transmission will be the standard XR transmission. In contrast WRC cars cost about one million buckaroos. 

Now why do I bring up something that has to do with F1? The FIA is also the governing body of the most watched Rally series: the WRC. This concerns me a bit, as the FIA is considering a very similar thing for Rally (super 2000 ruleset). Sure it makes it cheaper and all that, but the WRC and F1 are the premiere competition platforms for their styles of racing. They’re going to be hugely expensive, but think about the trickle-down (technology wise) that occurs. While I may be preaching to the choir, the WRX would be no where near what it is now or not even exist (STI especially). The Ferrari Enzo would not exist if it were not for F1 trickle down. Infact, Quattro would not exist if it weren’t for Rally (nor would most of the awesome AWD systems out there).

Barring supercars and budget ‘performance’ cars, F1 has advanced the software world! The driver’s practice on “almost” perfect simulators developed by their respective teams, that contain track surface data within +/-2mm of actual. Hell, they even use the internet to reduce the massive number of people they have to ship around the world. Check out some more technology trickle down that gets pushed by F1.

Either way, the FIA is maybe messing with a decent working formula and I hope they don’t push standard engines/transmissions too much in both F1 and the WRC. Technology freezes remind me too much of NASCAR (while sure they have some advacement, Carbs are a thing of the past and are sharing less and less in common with most street cars daily), and I really do not want Rally to be like NASCAR. Let’s hope for the best.

Rally GB 08: Not Surprising

Sordo defended his 3rd place position for the season with a 3rd place position at Rally Great Britain. While there was little chance of him being depodiumed, I would’ve enjoyed to see it.

The “big” news regarding Rally GB is that Loeb finally won the Rally. While Loeb winning may not be that surprising, he has never won Rally GB before. I guess congrats are in order for Loeb. All of his winning makes me wonder: How does Loeb perceive a win? Is it as exciting/relieving as it used to be? Or does he just have to win in order to be happy with his performance? Hrmm…

Anyhoo, Valentino Rossi made it through the rally but didn’t score any points. Oh well! There’s always next season for the Doctor.

I Love YouTube:

Link for you RSS Peeps. Unfortunately the sound sucks on this video. Oh well.

BMW: A Pretty Awesome Rally Car

While I’m sure it is largely due to the driver, this BMW E30 Rally Car is real fun to watch (and apparently fast!):

Link for you RSS peeps.

What I really like about a BMW as a rally car is that it is different. I like to see cars other than the standard WRX/EVO/Focus/etc… I dont particularly like Saabs, but it is neat to see them out in a Rally. The 911 Rally car was also another neat sight. So that brings up the question, what is the weirdest/most unusual car you have seen compete in a rally?

Oh and to anyone who thinks BMWs only raced on tarmac, here is a link proving otherwise, although it is a different team and slower. Still, its an E30 in dirt/gravel/snow. Mmmmm.

Rally GB Fast Approaching

The WRC’s final race of the season, Rally Great Britain, is right around the corner. The race is this weekend (Dec 5th-7th) but the recce has already started. Sebastian Loeb proved why recce cars should have roll cages by rolling his, get this, Mitsubishi recce car and ending up in a ditch.

Really? Loeb drives a Mitsubishi as a recce car? That seems weird considering a factory team could probably afford their own car as a recce car. I wonder why they do that. If you know why please enlighten me in comments or an email.

Anyhoo, regardless of troubles for the recce, the weather could be treacherous as temperatures are hovering around freezing (1 to 2 celcius lows predicted). Friday it is supposed to rain, which if the weather takes a turn for the worse it could be snow. Although Weather.com predicts that by Sunday everything will be clear and, at least, warmer than freezing. I don’t recall when it has snowed during Rally GB and that would sure be a neat sight (fingers crossed).

I’m quite excited to see the highlights from this rally, even though Loeb has secured the championship. The fight for the podium is still on, but most likely Sordo will secure 3rd (if he gets 2+ points). Latvala or Atkinson could prove to upset Sordo (especially if Sordo has an off or three) and steal the podium iff they steal the event’s first spot.