[MINI Cuda]

Hello Everyone.

In November the final race of the Canadian Rally Championships is being held in Bancroft Ontario. This proves to be one of the best events of the season and will also give everybody the chance to see some really skilled drivers because we all know that Rallying is the closest form of racing to what most of us do every day. Feel free to disagree, we are all entitled to our own opinions.
If we can get as many MINI drivers as possible to go to this event as a group, it will not only be a blast but will also show anyone who is out there putting together a MINI rally team that they've got the right idea.

The event takes place on the 22nd and 23rd of November so mark it off on your calenders. For more info you can get to the event website throug www.rallysport.on.ca. If somebody hase the direct link please post it.

[HarryHBMCC]

http://www.tallpinesrally.com/ is the direct link.

I'd love to go but my company's Xmas party is on the 22nd so I don't know if I'll be able to make it.

Harry

[ezrally]

We were the only MINI at Lake Superior Rally last weekend, but it got more attention than I can tell you!
Good luck finding a couple of MINIs up there and put your on etc.

[MINI Cuda]

ezrally- how was the Lake Superior Rally. Lake Superior is kind of my home turf and I always wanted to attend but have never made it. During the Rally of the Voyageurs here there was only one MINI in attendance as well. It was certainly recieving a lot of attention however.

[ezrally]

MINI Cuda, well it fun- when Friday stages started it was rain/snow which soaked everyone. Subaru brought in more drivers to try and win the manufacturers title but failed, as Hyundai was 1st & 3rd. Prodrives a little much with their tactics so people were happy.
On the way outa town on Sunday a WRX pulls up next to us waving his camera to pull over so we did and he explained "we don't see many of these in the UP." That sums up the reaction to are car the whole weekend.
Wonder how much MINI would help to rally one...

[HarryHBMCC]

..."we don't see many of these in the UP." Pardon my ignorance but what is 'the UP'?

Harry

[pbeirne]

Quote:

Originally posted by HarryIndiBlue
Pardon my ignorance but what is 'the UP'?

I believe he is referring to the Upper Penninsula - the part of Michigan that is not attached to the other part of Michigan.

[ezrally]

UP= upper peninsula, Michigan

Home of the worlds tallest snow measuring stick-300+ inches/year lake snow
Old copper mining towns
Now mostly tourism etc.

[HarryHBMCC]

Alright, it looks like I'm cancelling the work xmas party but I'm going to the Rally of the Tall Pines! My wife and son will visit relatives in Peterborough so I'll just drive up from there instead of coming all the way from Guelph.

Anyone else coming up? My Dunlop Wintersport shod MINI is goin' on up!

Harry

[ezrally]

Harry, you will love it!

I ran it in 88/89 and was running 3rd o/a (Mazda 323GTX) until I went off in the ice!
They call it "winter roads/summer ditches" because it's usally snow & ice covered stages but with no banks- very dangerous and FAST roads.
Be prepared w woolies and alot of attn with your MINI!
Also the Subes WRXs & Lancers have more power (400+hp) than WRC cars since rules are more lax...
It will be a rally I'd love to do again!

[HarryHBMCC]

I'm not just going as a spectator, I'm going to be there as a course worker doing crowd control. Best seats (err, standing room ) in the house. I'll have my ushanka on... It should be a lot of fun and I hope to get some looks with the MINI -- too bad I'm not the end of stage marshall as I'd get to drive my car through the stage before even car 00 which would be cool...

You're right about the open-class vehicles. No restrictor plates like WRC so pretty much sky's the limit.

Harry

[HarryHBMCC]

Tall Pines was a blast! Sorry to see the Sprongl's go off on the 2nd corner of the event -- the first, early stage was pretty exciting, too bad many chose to sleep in and arrive for the afternoon stuff. Those drivers are crazy, some of them doing over 100km/h at the single-lane Iron Bridge! Just crazy. I drove, at legal and reasonable speeds, part of the Iron Bridge stage (including the bridge) before stage 1 to get to my post and the rest of it after stage 3 when they were done with that section and boy, did they ever cut up that gravel road. I can't believe they were still going that fast in the quagmire that was left.

The fast WRXs and EVOs were fun but man, the guys in the little '80s and '90s Golfs, GTIs and Sciroccos really go fast for the cars. The slower cars were fun too though they don't/can't power slide with that much less power.

Slow but sentimental favorites for me were the 1980 Volvo 242 GT (came in 2nd-last in national classifications but hey, they finished and I learned to drive in a '76 242 so it was fun to see it); a 92 Suzuki Swift GT who honked on their way through the first corner, lost 3rd thru 5th gears on the 2nd stage but kept going until they lost the tranny entirely and lost some tires along the way; and the Nissan pickup truck.

Spectator control was fun, people come up and talk to you (and assume you have a clue, which I occasionally did) including industry and media folks, you get to borrow a geeky looking orange vest so I hope no pictures of me exist -- blue track pants, big hat, orange vest, not cool at all! Oh well, at least I didn't freeze my cajones off I spoke to MINI Cuda there so he can tell you how goofy I looked (though I must say that snowpants were on many a person there and they looked happy to have them).

My MINI is dirty as heck from the salty drive up and then driving around the gravel roads. It almost looks like it ran the rally...

Next one is in February in Quebec, then May in Orillia. We should really try to get a bunch of MINIs out for Orillia.

Harry

[ezrally]

Glad you had a good time.
Was there any snow or ice on the stages as usual? In any case I bet you were glad you had the winter tires & wheels on to drive thru those stages.
Were people and the rally exicted to see a MINI like they were for us at LSPR?
Oh, thanks for working the rally. Workers/timers and stuff don't get enough credit at events and in general!

[HarryHBMCC]

There wasn't much snow on the roads near the spectator zones as those roads are used by the locals. The organizers were wishing for some fresh deposits but storms seemed to be to the north and to the south (myself and other helpers drove through snow to get there but Bancroft was passed over). Still glad to have the M+S snows on as soft dirt and gravel probably wouldn't be much fun on summers.

Actually, I was thanked by many people while working there and they mentioned that it was a well run event so some people do appreciate our help. Some don't, hiding their beer bottles and cans as we walk by, but we left those problems to the police.

Yes, people were excited to see the MINI -- got lots of thumbs up, "cool car", and waving on the way back after the rally. I'm hoping that there will be a MINI entry or two next year.

Harry

[Jayomatic]

Hey Harry!

How are the roads going up to Bancroft? I will be heading up there to meet with some friends sometime around new years and I will be driving up there. Are the roads pretty clear and safe? or are there plenty of skinny roads, blind corners and large ditches.

THanks! Sounds wicked!

[HarryHBMCC]

The roads up to Peterborough are quite civilized but once you get onto Highway #134 North and then onto Highway #28 North, things get fun: curves, long sweepers, uphill turns, downhill turns, the odd blind one, passing zones on every straightaway, etc. It is a fun road at night, and scenic during the day, but if there is any snow at all (and there quite likely will be by New Year's) then I think your sport package performance tires will be a liability.

Ditches? What ditches? Highway #28 is often surrounded by swamp (can be quite foggy) and ravines. You don't want to go off-road there... See the bottom of http://members.rogers.com/paseoracin...ronbridge1.htm for where the poor Sprongl brothers ended up. Now, that isn't exactly Highway #28 but that's what most of the roads around Bancroft look like.

Harry

[mblotto]

How are the roads going up to Bancroft?

I went up to the Tall Pines Rally as well. My MCS was the only Mini I saw in the lot full of cars at the Iron Bridge. Harry must've had some VIP parking so I didn't see his Cooper.

I must say, the stretch of road, hwy 28, between Peterborough and Bancroft is a gorgeous route. On my way up there, there was almost zero traffic and lots of hills and curves to really wind out the S. Let's just say that I hit a new personal speed record.

Lots of nice cliffs of rock and some beautiful tall tress, hence the rally's title. Fall is the time to be up there.

Hope for some nice weather, because I don't think the drive would be as much fun with snow-covered roads. But still well worth the trip.

[HarryHBMCC]

VIP Parking? My MINI Cooper was parked right off the Iron Bridge stage! If you'd looked down the little road opposite the concession area you'd have seen it parked ahead of a few other vehicles. I drove part of the Iron Bridge stage's roads, including the bridge itself, in to my 'VIP parking spot' and then drove the rest of the way out of the stage's road to get out, which was kind of fun in the dirt&gravel quagmire left by having 55 rally cars go through a stage 3 times. I was only driving on the right side of the road of course...

The only other MINI owner up there I know of was a co-driver in the event so his car was likely in the service or scrutineering area. While getting gas on the 135 I heard from another driver that a red/white S had just gone by which was probably him.

Harry