The clock is _always_ running. So yes, when I was pulling out the guy who was leading my class, I was getting later and later. I lost about 1.5 minutes with that, between the pulling and then some dust we got stuck in, which would have put me 6th overall. But everyone else there has "what if" stories too.
But, no, I don't have even the smallest amount of regret about it. Actually, it's one of the things that I'm most proud of with this rally. There is rally karma, and it comes around and goes around without question. I've been pulled out before, and it's usually a racer friend that will make that sacrifice. I'm racing in class, and I won. Absolutely no regrets there. It's quite likely that after I went by, there would be no other cars that even _could_ pull Randy out. His rally would have been over.
The and it has its upsides: the more your fellow competitors respect you as a good sportsman, the more likely they will pull you out, or give you spares at service, let you switch in front of them inside a control, have their spectating crew push you off a berm... One time at Sandblast a competing crew's team was at a corner I messed up; about six of them lifted up the entire rear end of the truck and moved it over to get me out!
Actually, for the second half of the rally, the strategy was "Don't lose time. Go slow. Take no chances." The rally was mine to lose at that point. The eighth overall finish was delicious icing on a cake I didn't even know was in the refridgerator.
You have to stragegize an endurance race... there's no trophy for 6th overall or "used to be first before he crashed".
Anders
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After watching you wrestle with the wiring harness, it's great to know there really isn't a replacement for displacement!
G5 seems to always have a lot of DNF's. We had only one 'interesting' moment. On stage 2 Kent got caught out by a right 5 over crest and looped the car when it got loose after the crest. We ended up backwards about 1" from the edge of a huge dropoff and had to back down the stage about 100 yards to a spot that was wide enough to turn around. Thankfully the next car was well back and we didn't get crunched.
