THSCC Forums

This was a great event and the hard work showed. I loved both courses and as always, how well things ran. That isn't an accident either. We have talented and dedicated people who make it happen.
Yes it was dusty, especially where Sebastian and I worked. We got dust from both sides of the course. BUT, dust is way better than the mud that I expected!
There were several good decision made during the event. It was right to move us SO2 guys to even out the run groups. It was right to move the start for the second run group in the afternoon. Could we make the start a little wider when we have to run with the AWD cars? In the afternoon we had trouble getting going through the holes/ruts they dug at the start. I went before Bernie and that is the only reason I beat him.
Thanks again to Christine for lunch.

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Rubbin' is Racin'

That brings back a brief discussion that Vincent and I had at the start line. Why the Hell are people lining up in other people's ruts? (and yes, I know it wasn't possible to avoid them in the first PM group - unless you ran when the early birds did) And why are people not lining up to take the straightest line possible through the first gate? Also, why did I have to run 3 times nearly back to back in the afternoon to keep a car at the start line while people were standing around their cars over in the "grid" area?

Pay attention at the schools, people. Then you'll know what to do in these situations. If it's going to rut, get to the front of the line. Don't line up in other people's ruts at the start. Take the shortest line possible everywhere, including the start.

After the first pm run group, I suggested that some of the SU2 guys politely demand that the start line be moved over and widened to keep it from rutting as horribly as it did with our group. I'd suggest we continue that in the future when these conditions are present. I've never seen a start area get so bad, so I'm sure nobody could've anticipated it, but now that we've seen it, we should look out for it.

Good points. A few comments to anyone who chairs an event at BMW farm on that field -- There are 2 types of soil there -- bad sand and good clay. You can tell what soil is under the grass by the color and type of grass. Brown and scraggly == sand. Green and tall == clay.

Basically the whole area where the bus was parked and start/finish was the worst area. The "west" side of the course was awesome except for the high corner (back left or southwest) with the sandy sweeper.

Unfortunately, Bret and Kelly prefer for us to tear up their "crappy" grass which is all on sand. But we want to run on the clay which tears up more of their nice grass. It would be great if we could just avoid the section where most of the sand is and open up a new field or 2 to the west, but that's probably asking for too much from Bret and Kelly.

Unless we all start buying more of their beef and car parts maybe

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Thanks to everyone who put the event together. I had lot's of fun and really enjoyed driving both courses.

I did have some problems with navigation on the morning course with a DNF and a u-turn to avoid a second one. If I had left at lunch, I would have probably gotten lost on the way home.

Mo really enjoyed the day as well. I only finished 5 places behind her.

Mo's sister Liz drove her first rallycross and is probably still laughing.

Charlie

I had the same problem. I just could not remember the course. I need to start writing down the route.
Sorry, to any one that pushed my POS out of the way only to watch it fire right up as soon as it was out of the way. The SciRocco has never done this before, but I beleive a big ass battery will stop it from happening again, well that and going the right direction in the first place.

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RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"

My apologies about the all the DNFs on the morning course. Ask Todd, he was sitting next to me in T&S and I was really wringing my hands about that. Sure, the course was simple, but since we went with an "as few cones as possible" mentality, it made some of those offsets tricky to look forward into, ESPECIALLY with all the dust! That really compounded problems -- when driving I had a really tough time looking ahead and being able to SPOT the cones, especially on the AM couurse!

In retrospect, I really wish we had done more rows of pointer cones for assistance on the most visually demanding sections. That's one big recommendation I'd make for future event chairs at this site. At Four Oaks, since the "path" is usually mowed around the course it's much harder to get lost. But we need to respect the dust and the elevation changes at BMW farm and do a LOT more pointer "walls".

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Wait, you mean I could've just mowed a path for the course instead of all those fields???!!!


Seriously, if you want me to do it that way next time (or any time), just let me know- it'll save me alot of seat time in the tractor.



Bret

A wider starting line would go a long way to keep from rutting so badly,with so many multi driver cars its impossible for everyone to even have a chance to get to the front. Given the choice I would have gladly driven off line at the start to avoid the ruts. But I still had a good time even if I was slow. Good job guys and gals.

I thought the course was VERY easy to memorize, and very easy to see while driving it, except for the dust obscuring the finish in the afternoon. I did one course walk/run in the morning to memorize, then the other was to just look at the dirt and other stuff to see what I needed to do with the car. I walked it once in the afternoon.

I don't know, maybe it needs to be said again...

IF YOU CAN'T DRIVE THE ENTIRE COURSE IN YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED, YOU NEED TO WALK IT AGAIN.

ahhh for the days when i didn't have "Acute CRS Disorder".

Just an update for those awaiting videos for this event...

I am using a different video editing software for the final movies this time, and regretfully, as a result, I will not be uploading videos to the web this time due to an incompatible file format. I will however, have DVD's available at the June 23rd RallyX at the BMW farm, if not sooner. Please PM me or e-mail me at ashleighnelson@earthlink.net to reserve a DVD, so I can guarantee that I have enough on hand for everybody that is interested. Thanks!

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~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
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'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

Ash - can you share some info on the file format problem? I'd like to help or see if others can if possible. Having videos on Youtube or Google Video is great for sharing with co-workers or friends and family online!

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

.AVI files are what I am working with ( Adobe Premiere ) in order to import the movies directly into the DVD authoring software. I would have to save a separate copy of each movie in .mov or something Google will allow, and I am running out of hard drive space with a quickness.

I started with 71G free on an 80G drive, now, after the Momma RallyX I have 40G of raw footage and a few finished movies and their related project files, leaving me with about 25G free and I haven't even started the DVD process yet. Any time you are working with resource hog softwares like video editing stuff, you should have at least 15% of free disc space in order to keep the computer from freezing up. Having yet another version of each movie will eat up more space.

I may be getting a portable drive later this week to expand my useable storage. If I have the time I will try to convert the finished movies and upload them.

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~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
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'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

I've found that Google tends to compress the sh!t out of any video with real resolution anyhow, so I've started dumbing down what I export out for upload. Then just delete it after I've uploaded it to Google.

I still have the master available for whatever else I want to export to (DVD, tape, etc.)

Failing that, I'm pretty certain I could convert AVIs to any other format via Final Cut Pro. But the issue is getting them to me and getting them back to you.

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Not spectacular just decent.
I'm not sure what I'm driving.
Maybe an ITR in DS.
Or half-assed STX prepped 330.

Thanks for the offer David. I can convert them to anything I want, I just have to store them somewhere, even if temporarily. Although, if you get the chance to e-mail me the dash plaque art I can add it to the highlight vid. I can use any kind of image file, photo shop format or .pdf.

I have recived word this morning that my 300G portable drive has shipped, so that will give me plenty of room. I was thinking it would take longer to get here, but since it is on the way I should be able to upload video very shortly. I'll post links once I get them updated.

As a side note though, if anyone has a song they would like featured in their video intro, drop me a note. If you have the music file send it too, that will help! I can use most music formats also.

Thanks again for the offers to help!

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~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'92 Prelude
'76 Celica