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While they were "quite nice", that didn't really grab my attention more than just to take the learing glance at them when they first arrived. After that, there was nothing.

Ok, so I am a thousand years too late to answer this, but I will anyway.

Short answer = Yes, I thought the mandatory jump was a bad idea. It was not terrible or inappropriate or wrong. But it was specifically discriminatory against people with lesser cars. (The Super-Corolla-0-Car in particular). I think that we want to be inclusive and let everybody have a good time regardless what car that are able to drive, so I don't like things that mostly just hurt the weaker cars.
But the answer is super easy: just make it optional. Maybe put a cone or two so that skipping the jump is not the preferred line, but is an acceptable alternative. If you and your car are excited about doing the jump, then Launch! Everybody will love you for it. But if you and your car are not up for it, then that is ok too.

(Yes, I know that you could just lift and not attack the jump, but that is not the spirit of the sport. We all want to drive...)

As always: I am extremely grateful for all the work that goes into the event and the use of the land and everything that everyone does. This is not critical of anyone. It is just my opinion, and it is worth exactly what you paid for it: zilch...

Cheers!

Was that the one that was hitting the optional berms (take the inside line & drive on smooth ground or go outside and bounce your car in the air several times) at the rear of the field in the afternoon? Because that was way worse than the smooth little jump I built.

I just think it's funny that people will be so afraid of something so minor, while bouncing their car in the air & breaking pieces off of it in other places - places where they shouldn't even be driving - and actually laughing about it. I just don't follow the logic.

I just get fed up because I see a lot of this out there - people who are afraid of tires, but go off course and knock down trees. People who are afraid of jumps, because "I have to drive this car to work tomorrow," but go barrelling into corners waaaayyyyy faster than I would, then slide to the outside and risk rolling the car over, but end up just stuffing dirt into the bead of their tires instead. We all make soooo many choices when we're out there on these courses. If you're really concerned about your car & need to drive it to work the following day, don't drive like a jackass. I know it's hard (that's what she said), but the driver is the one who determines how badly the car will be damaged, not the course designer - not at my house, anyway, because I wouldn't design any part of a course that I wouldn't run with my MOTHER'S Forester and then hand the keys to her to go drive it to town afterward.

I think most people just have a really skewed vision of what's dangerous and what's not.

But the jump will be optional this time... just like the ruts, the bumps, and the trees.

I appreciate your perspective, and the fact that the jump will be optional this time, for those who choose not to do it for whatever reason.

As the event chair at your venue last time, I really felt the decision was already made for me (by you) to make the jump manditory, and I really didn't want it to be manditory, but if I balked, then I would have been relegated to the category of, "Oh, that's hard, (insert sexual referance here). I did the jump on my runs, and I did it by choice, but it did not need to be manditory, and I regret going with you on that decision.

I know it's "your" course Kevin, but you have to keep in mind that not everyone "rallycrosses every day". If you are going to incorporate a jump in the course, then having an optional line for those who choose not to do the jump seems like the best way to go. In fact, not taking the jump is most likely faster. No offense to you or your course design, but I did not feel like speaking up about it then, and I do now.

I think laughing about one's chosen path comes from the ability to admit your own mistakes in the choosing of it. I think that that is an admiral characteristic, and I hope to have it for years to come.

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'76 Celica

I liked the jump. Now i know my father in law(pitch) would prefer not to have to jump. But i have learned that you do not launch with a change holder full of 10 bucks in change(it is very distracting when it open) I do have a nother 2 cars I can drive is something broke.

I might be one of the few but given the option I will jump. There is nothing like getting a heavy butt pig of a wagon off the ground!!!!!!!

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Aw Kevin,

I said it was just a comment, not a criticism.

Here is the deal: I don't like to thrash thee car beyond what is necessary for me personally to have a good time. Marcus can explain at great length that the reason is that I am both a pansy and a douche...
The fastest way through ruts and berms and holes is usually to avoid them or minimize the hit, which is coincidentally the best way to save/protect your car and tires. Me = happy.
But the mandatory jump is a car pounding that is hard to avoid. Me = sad = pansy & douche.

Our Sentra has proven to be relatively fast and durable, but it does not like to jump on stock suspension. That jump was a four-bump-stops-plus-oscillations whack that I did not enjoy.

That's all it is: I didn't like it.
Some people love it, some people are indifferent, some people get very nervous/uncomfortable about it.
It wasn't wrong to have it there, but it doesn't make everybody excited.

BTW, I have been in proper rally cars on proper suspension, and jumping them is big fun and big smiles. But sadly, our Sentra in no way resembles a proper rally car, and neither does most of the rest of the field. (Somebody needs to win the lottery and buy us all rally cars so that we can do some proper racing!)

Pansy.





You reminded me of my other rallyx pet peeve. One of the most dangerous things I see out there is people rallyxing on old, worn-out suspensions. A lot of the cars are creating jumps where there aren't supposed to be any - just a few ripples in the dirt are putting cars into the air.

And the dangerous part is when the drivers don't take this aspect of their car into account, but instead go out and drive it like it's a fully-prepared, brand new rally car. That's just crazy, imo. You don't have functional dampers, you don't have a roll cage. So you shouldn't be throwing it into every corner hoping that it sticks without rolling over and maiming the occupants.

The Foresters that I've rallyxed have been a little underdamped (and pretty high off the ground), so I modify my driving to take that into account. Brake in a straight line, avoid big bumps while cornering, run really tight corner lines, get on the gas asap out of corners, and barely use any drift angle at all. We should discuss this kind of stuff more at our rallyx schools.

And no, this is not aimed at you, Eric. You drive the way I do from what I've seen - smooth, controlled, avoid the stuff that's going to hurt the car, push for speed when it's safe, etc. You just need to get a real car with a real suspension.