Friday, September 24, 2004
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Approaching the finish line in Marystown. As it turns out blown head gasket and all
Speed, Speed, Speed, this car just hugs the road!
While Geoff and Peter took care of the easy work there was media to address. I got all of the dirty jobs!
Getting a little help from our friends. Never hurt to make friends with the pros!
A cool picture taken by a spectator and posted on the web!
Day 5 - The Last Leg
Well we made it! Through many trials and tribulations here we are at the final day. Lots of challenges but in the end we are here.
We had a GREAT day!
We started the morning strong and got the competitive juices flowing. We were disappointed that the first stage was cancelled due to fog. See the pictures above. We followed that with a great long high speed stage. As a result of the repairs we had very little turbo boost left. We were following a hughe horsepower Firebird and thanks to Geoff's amazing driving skills we caught and passed the muscle car. Great cornering skills hitting every apex and carrying maximum speed throught the corners to the finish line. We smoked all of the special stages up until the last stage. This was the most interesting and probably closest to the line we ever came. Approximately half way through, compression! We made it to the finish line which we took executing the coolest power slide you could ever hope for. Unfortunately we had a gushing hole in the rad again. A little oatmeal and stop leak later we drove the final kilometre to the race finish only to be met by a large group of competitors cheering our arrival. Our good friends from Gander, Bruce and Andy were there to great us and celebrate our arrival as they had done all week. It was a feeling like no other.
Unfortunately we had nothing left. The car could not continue and we had to tow her downtown for the final parade. We stopped around the corner from the final ceremonial finish, fired her up and drove in. It was a fitting conclusion to our week.
We don't know what else to say other than it was an amazing ride, a life experience to savour....
Thanks for coming along for the virtual ride.
We had a GREAT day!
We started the morning strong and got the competitive juices flowing. We were disappointed that the first stage was cancelled due to fog. See the pictures above. We followed that with a great long high speed stage. As a result of the repairs we had very little turbo boost left. We were following a hughe horsepower Firebird and thanks to Geoff's amazing driving skills we caught and passed the muscle car. Great cornering skills hitting every apex and carrying maximum speed throught the corners to the finish line. We smoked all of the special stages up until the last stage. This was the most interesting and probably closest to the line we ever came. Approximately half way through, compression! We made it to the finish line which we took executing the coolest power slide you could ever hope for. Unfortunately we had a gushing hole in the rad again. A little oatmeal and stop leak later we drove the final kilometre to the race finish only to be met by a large group of competitors cheering our arrival. Our good friends from Gander, Bruce and Andy were there to great us and celebrate our arrival as they had done all week. It was a feeling like no other.
Unfortunately we had nothing left. The car could not continue and we had to tow her downtown for the final parade. We stopped around the corner from the final ceremonial finish, fired her up and drove in. It was a fitting conclusion to our week.
We don't know what else to say other than it was an amazing ride, a life experience to savour....
Thanks for coming along for the virtual ride.
The Saga Continues
Well the amazing alignment lasted into the first special stage, one tough corner compression and out it went! Luckily later in the day we banged her again and low and behold the alignment was better!
We had a great day racing, beating all of our targa times and having a ball. Lunch was in a small community called Burin that was by the sea and a beautiful little cove. The community had all come out and put together a great lunch and show. We had a little extra time here and were able to do some shopping and even visited the local museum. There was alot of history here including material on a tidal wave that destroyed the village early in the 1900's. Upon leaving Burin we ran another special stage, collected some weeds (the road seemed to go left and we went straight! - damned welded diff!) On our way to our next special stage, the damn overheating problem resurfaced. We pulled over on the highway and proceeded to contact our support team and begin working on the car. I went to get water from the neighbours while Geoff worked on the car. Luckily a local resident was out watering his garden and was more than willing to lend a hand. In the end we had to fashion a couple of "corks" to bypass the problem and Basil, the local gentlemen sacrificed a perfectly good wooden handled shovel so that we could cut off pieces to act as corks. We tried to pay him but he was having nothing of it. He was proud to have helped fix a "Targa" car in front of his house. We signed a BMW Racing sticker and left it with him as a momento. We missed two more stages but took a shortcut cross country and picked up the final two stages. Even with our limping machine we still managed to make our times and even kicked some ass in Marystown.
Into the diagnostic mode, we determined that we likely blew a head gasket. We decided that we had to replace it and to our relief this was in fact the problem and at 3:30am, thanks to the herculian efforts of Peter and Dennis we were back in the game. Many thanks to Jack of Marystown who knew everyone and even let us use his home garage that came loaded with tools and even a four post hoist.
This meant we were set to race the final day.
We had a great day racing, beating all of our targa times and having a ball. Lunch was in a small community called Burin that was by the sea and a beautiful little cove. The community had all come out and put together a great lunch and show. We had a little extra time here and were able to do some shopping and even visited the local museum. There was alot of history here including material on a tidal wave that destroyed the village early in the 1900's. Upon leaving Burin we ran another special stage, collected some weeds (the road seemed to go left and we went straight! - damned welded diff!) On our way to our next special stage, the damn overheating problem resurfaced. We pulled over on the highway and proceeded to contact our support team and begin working on the car. I went to get water from the neighbours while Geoff worked on the car. Luckily a local resident was out watering his garden and was more than willing to lend a hand. In the end we had to fashion a couple of "corks" to bypass the problem and Basil, the local gentlemen sacrificed a perfectly good wooden handled shovel so that we could cut off pieces to act as corks. We tried to pay him but he was having nothing of it. He was proud to have helped fix a "Targa" car in front of his house. We signed a BMW Racing sticker and left it with him as a momento. We missed two more stages but took a shortcut cross country and picked up the final two stages. Even with our limping machine we still managed to make our times and even kicked some ass in Marystown.
Into the diagnostic mode, we determined that we likely blew a head gasket. We decided that we had to replace it and to our relief this was in fact the problem and at 3:30am, thanks to the herculian efforts of Peter and Dennis we were back in the game. Many thanks to Jack of Marystown who knew everyone and even let us use his home garage that came loaded with tools and even a four post hoist.
This meant we were set to race the final day.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Here we go again!
Sorry for the delay in posting but we have been going from 6am to 1am with everything. We have had a great couple of days with highs and lows and everything in between.
We are currently on a 4 hour "free" transit, meaning the start of today's stages begin 4 hours away from where we finished last night.
A brief recap.
Wednesday - This was our first day with the "poor mans posi" the welded solid rear end. The first stage was a little interesting with higher speeds and a few elevation changes. The car felt a little light but in no time we were feeling very comfortable. We beat all of the Targa times throughout the day. On the second last stage of the day we blew our rad at the finish line. We pulled over to find coolant spewing out. A quick panic call to our great support crew, Peter and Sandi, brought them to rescue. A little Stop-Leak later and we were good to go. However we lost half an hour and we had an hour to get to the final stage in Gander. With a little creative driving, (of course well within all legal driving limits) we made it back only 37 seconds late. We then went into one of the most fun sections to date in residential Gander with a ton of turns and huge crowds. We smoked the course and ended a very long day, with a long night of repairs ahead of us. We pulled in to the service parking lot and got busy. The radiator got pulled and Peter quickly soldered the affected areas. A few clamps and colourful words later, we were good to go. Tires checked, windows cleaned and ready to review course notes for tomorrow.
In the end we finished the day with the second fastest time for all competitors, not bad for a bulldozer operator and a bean counter!
Thursday - We got the in car video camera going today and got some great footage. Today's stages had some fun short runs as well as some long fast runs. Lunch was held in Leading Tickles by the community and so far was the best yet. Great beautiful location by the ocean on a sunny day.
Due to our times on the previous day we were placed with the big boys. Two competitors approached us to suggest we let them go ahead, since obviously there was a mistake and they would have to pass us. We responded politely that they were welcomed to pass us, if they could. We earned our spot and we were holding it. Another competitor came and asked us "do you really want to get passed?" Again we politely suggested that they were welcomed to try. We then proceeded to show them we belonged and show them we did. After two stages, I think we earned their respect and had a great time the balance of the day.
Now for the damage report. On the second stage we experienced a little alignment issue. We were able to finish the day, but off to the garage for an alignment job. Dinner at 9:30 and off to bed. Another good day were we beat all of the Targa times again. Each day the times are shortened and it gets tougher and tougher. We are looking forward to today's runs.
Pictures to come.
We are currently on a 4 hour "free" transit, meaning the start of today's stages begin 4 hours away from where we finished last night.
A brief recap.
Wednesday - This was our first day with the "poor mans posi" the welded solid rear end. The first stage was a little interesting with higher speeds and a few elevation changes. The car felt a little light but in no time we were feeling very comfortable. We beat all of the Targa times throughout the day. On the second last stage of the day we blew our rad at the finish line. We pulled over to find coolant spewing out. A quick panic call to our great support crew, Peter and Sandi, brought them to rescue. A little Stop-Leak later and we were good to go. However we lost half an hour and we had an hour to get to the final stage in Gander. With a little creative driving, (of course well within all legal driving limits) we made it back only 37 seconds late. We then went into one of the most fun sections to date in residential Gander with a ton of turns and huge crowds. We smoked the course and ended a very long day, with a long night of repairs ahead of us. We pulled in to the service parking lot and got busy. The radiator got pulled and Peter quickly soldered the affected areas. A few clamps and colourful words later, we were good to go. Tires checked, windows cleaned and ready to review course notes for tomorrow.
In the end we finished the day with the second fastest time for all competitors, not bad for a bulldozer operator and a bean counter!
Thursday - We got the in car video camera going today and got some great footage. Today's stages had some fun short runs as well as some long fast runs. Lunch was held in Leading Tickles by the community and so far was the best yet. Great beautiful location by the ocean on a sunny day.
Due to our times on the previous day we were placed with the big boys. Two competitors approached us to suggest we let them go ahead, since obviously there was a mistake and they would have to pass us. We responded politely that they were welcomed to pass us, if they could. We earned our spot and we were holding it. Another competitor came and asked us "do you really want to get passed?" Again we politely suggested that they were welcomed to try. We then proceeded to show them we belonged and show them we did. After two stages, I think we earned their respect and had a great time the balance of the day.
Now for the damage report. On the second stage we experienced a little alignment issue. We were able to finish the day, but off to the garage for an alignment job. Dinner at 9:30 and off to bed. Another good day were we beat all of the Targa times again. Each day the times are shortened and it gets tougher and tougher. We are looking forward to today's runs.
Pictures to come.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
This was the remnants of what once were gears. The items on the left are steel gear pieces that should be on the gears
Offloading the broken car into TJ's Auto Repair
Geoff taking the corner at speed...just moments before our fateful encounter with the mechanical gods!
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
A quick pit stop to visit with locals along the route
We took a moment to take in some great scenery. This certainly is a beautiful part of Canada
We stopped at this school for lunch and the kids were there to greet us. We took along some balloons to give out. That certainly made us popular!
Leaving Mile One Stadium at the start of the Prologue
Geoff mentally going over the route instructions
This is a shot of Mile One Stadium with all of the cars parked
They Said it Wouldn't Be Easy...
Well we had a great day yesterday in our first full day of driving. It was the Prologue Day which is essentially a practice day to establish seedings. We had a lot of fun and learned a little more as well. The car handled great.
We also met some more helpful people who gave us tips on how this thing really works. We have also launched our first "Inquiry" with the event stewards. An inquiry is essentially an informal "protest". To make a long story short they classified our vehicle as a "modified" vehicle, which means competing at a much higher level with other modified vehicles. Basically bullsh**. This car couldn't be more stock. With the very persuasive arguments of Peter it looks like we may have succeeded. That's the good news. The bad news is that we are writing this from the back of our support vehicle as we drive to Clarenville. We had a little mishap on the fifth special stage of the day. We had been smokin the competition. We "cleaned" all of our stages and beat all "targa times". These times are set each day and in order to "win", you must beat these times. We passed several competitors on various stages and we were not anywhere near to our limits.
On a 180 degree corner, we setup and executed a perfect hand brake turn, put it in gear and no movement! The rear end differential "blew-up", basically breaking off all of the gears. We had to wait in the middle of the course for the rest of the competitors to pass (we had started fifth). A tow truck picked us up and proceeded to take us back to St. John's for help. After many phone calls and trouble shooting, we decided to have the unit welded soldid found a great welding shop (H&H Auto). Mark from H&H,(who's mom towed us in) did a great job. Dave from TJ's Auto stayed until 8pm to finish the job.
So here we are from competing to sitting on the sidelines with no alternatives, to figuring out a solution, executing and now travelling back to Clarenville to continue the race tomorrow morning. We dropped the afternoon but we are back in the race.
We also met some more helpful people who gave us tips on how this thing really works. We have also launched our first "Inquiry" with the event stewards. An inquiry is essentially an informal "protest". To make a long story short they classified our vehicle as a "modified" vehicle, which means competing at a much higher level with other modified vehicles. Basically bullsh**. This car couldn't be more stock. With the very persuasive arguments of Peter it looks like we may have succeeded. That's the good news. The bad news is that we are writing this from the back of our support vehicle as we drive to Clarenville. We had a little mishap on the fifth special stage of the day. We had been smokin the competition. We "cleaned" all of our stages and beat all "targa times". These times are set each day and in order to "win", you must beat these times. We passed several competitors on various stages and we were not anywhere near to our limits.
On a 180 degree corner, we setup and executed a perfect hand brake turn, put it in gear and no movement! The rear end differential "blew-up", basically breaking off all of the gears. We had to wait in the middle of the course for the rest of the competitors to pass (we had started fifth). A tow truck picked us up and proceeded to take us back to St. John's for help. After many phone calls and trouble shooting, we decided to have the unit welded soldid found a great welding shop (H&H Auto). Mark from H&H,(who's mom towed us in) did a great job. Dave from TJ's Auto stayed until 8pm to finish the job.
So here we are from competing to sitting on the sidelines with no alternatives, to figuring out a solution, executing and now travelling back to Clarenville to continue the race tomorrow morning. We dropped the afternoon but we are back in the race.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
The Fun Begins
After all of the preparations and challenges we finally did what we came to do...we got to drive!
Before the event during our preparations yesterday, we passed the technical inspection with flying colours, and completed several setup and configuration items. It was a long day and we were not able to get in a drive until 5:30pm. A car show was beginning at 6pm for the local people of St. John's however after some discussions with the parking officials, they let us go for a drive. The car ran great, however we found that we had a problem with our rally computer. We were getting unusual readings that made no sense. We came back and proceeded to seek help from various sources and were given various suggestions on what could be wrong.
We decided to pack it in for the night after a long day and tackle in the morning.
We re-routed the power source direct to the battery to try to get "clean" power. We took it our for a drive and it did not work. After trying a different unit from another competitor, the problem persisted. We then reconnected and removed a power inverter we had installed to power the video camera. This seemed to fix the problem and we were good to go on the demonstration event. Following a 2 hour driver/co-driver meeting, the 89 cars paraded out of the arena towards the event location.
We ran well although there was more standing around and waiting than driving. The suggested times for the lap was 2 minutes to drive 2.15kms. Our times were 1.22 (we were held up by a slower car), 1.10 and 1.12. We drove in complete control and had power in reserve. It felt good to finally get to drive.
We came back and made some minor modifications. We have notice a minor vacuum leak that we will address tomorrow. It should not affect us though out the Prologue Stage (a stage designed to seed the teams). Incorporated into this years events are various stops at local community halls, schools and seniors residences to visit with the local people and give them a first hand chance to see the cars. Tomorrow we stop at Cape St. Francis Elementary School for lunch in Pouch Cove, a brief stop at Flat Rock Community Centre, St. Francis Assisi School (there seems to be alot of "St. Francis" places) and Caribou Legion Manors where we are to enjoy and partake in refreshments with the seniors.
Off to bed to rest for our first full day of racing. More pictures and updates tomorrow.
Before the event during our preparations yesterday, we passed the technical inspection with flying colours, and completed several setup and configuration items. It was a long day and we were not able to get in a drive until 5:30pm. A car show was beginning at 6pm for the local people of St. John's however after some discussions with the parking officials, they let us go for a drive. The car ran great, however we found that we had a problem with our rally computer. We were getting unusual readings that made no sense. We came back and proceeded to seek help from various sources and were given various suggestions on what could be wrong.
We decided to pack it in for the night after a long day and tackle in the morning.
We re-routed the power source direct to the battery to try to get "clean" power. We took it our for a drive and it did not work. After trying a different unit from another competitor, the problem persisted. We then reconnected and removed a power inverter we had installed to power the video camera. This seemed to fix the problem and we were good to go on the demonstration event. Following a 2 hour driver/co-driver meeting, the 89 cars paraded out of the arena towards the event location.
We ran well although there was more standing around and waiting than driving. The suggested times for the lap was 2 minutes to drive 2.15kms. Our times were 1.22 (we were held up by a slower car), 1.10 and 1.12. We drove in complete control and had power in reserve. It felt good to finally get to drive.
We came back and made some minor modifications. We have notice a minor vacuum leak that we will address tomorrow. It should not affect us though out the Prologue Stage (a stage designed to seed the teams). Incorporated into this years events are various stops at local community halls, schools and seniors residences to visit with the local people and give them a first hand chance to see the cars. Tomorrow we stop at Cape St. Francis Elementary School for lunch in Pouch Cove, a brief stop at Flat Rock Community Centre, St. Francis Assisi School (there seems to be alot of "St. Francis" places) and Caribou Legion Manors where we are to enjoy and partake in refreshments with the seniors.
Off to bed to rest for our first full day of racing. More pictures and updates tomorrow.
Waiting between demonstration runs at Confederation Park in St. John's
Preparing for one of our demonstration runs at the Confederation Buildings in St. John's
Friday, September 10, 2004
We're on the Rock!
We finally made it. After many months of planning and wondering if this all would happen and come together, we are here. It's hard to believe. The weather is as expected in St. John's, wet and windy. The temperature is not bad and it is supposed to warm up and be sunny over the next couple of days.
Peter and Sandi, our support crew, are on the ferry and enjoying the company of other competitors! We are very much looking forward to the car arriving to make some final preparations and actually get to drive the thing!
Tomorrow will include test driving the car, having it pass technical inspection and the entire registration process. Lot's of administrative crap!
We have surveyed four local taxi drivers about the availability of high octane gas, no conclusions, one would think they would notice this sort of thing when buying gas six times a day?!
We went for dinner in downtown St. John's, beautiful old buildings with lots of character. The best part of the evening (outside the wonderful conversations!) was the cab ride home. The local driver, who appeared to have had many years experience behind the wheel of his cab, managed to drive around 80KM/HR through the tight residential streets! The only limiting factor appeared to be the BMW 5 series that was holding him back! The only thing missing were helmets.
Well we sign off for the night and look forward to a long but enjoyable day preparing the car for our first official drive on Sunday. There is a parade of vehicles into Mile One Stadium from the ferry and we will try to post some pictures of the parade.
Type at everyone tommorrow...
Peter and Sandi, our support crew, are on the ferry and enjoying the company of other competitors! We are very much looking forward to the car arriving to make some final preparations and actually get to drive the thing!
Tomorrow will include test driving the car, having it pass technical inspection and the entire registration process. Lot's of administrative crap!
We have surveyed four local taxi drivers about the availability of high octane gas, no conclusions, one would think they would notice this sort of thing when buying gas six times a day?!
We went for dinner in downtown St. John's, beautiful old buildings with lots of character. The best part of the evening (outside the wonderful conversations!) was the cab ride home. The local driver, who appeared to have had many years experience behind the wheel of his cab, managed to drive around 80KM/HR through the tight residential streets! The only limiting factor appeared to be the BMW 5 series that was holding him back! The only thing missing were helmets.
Well we sign off for the night and look forward to a long but enjoyable day preparing the car for our first official drive on Sunday. There is a parade of vehicles into Mile One Stadium from the ferry and we will try to post some pictures of the parade.
Type at everyone tommorrow...
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Down to the wire
Well anything that we have left to do will have to be done in NFLD. The vehicle will be leaving on Wednesday...without Geoff. He needed to travel to FLA to survey the damage from Hurricane Frances, we all hope they were spared serious damage. It certainly puts the race in perspective. Now we just have to arrange a flight for him...
Things were "par for the course" during our trip to test the car on Sunday...during our first trip around the block, we blew the turbo! Big clouds of white smoke! Luckily the good people at Autotech jumped on the job and worked all weekend to get the problem fixed. Other than that, the only other minor issue was that neither Geoff or myself fit in the car. With helmets our heads were the highest point in the car - not technically the best situation if we ended upside down! So we changed our focus and ripped out the seats to have the bases stripped and re-fastened. That was happening today.
Thanks to all of our sponsors in helping so far, the decals look great and we will have more pictures for you to see. We will try to do you proud and if the moon aligns with the sun and the stars disappear from the sky we may be lucky and have a car to drive....
That's all for now
Things were "par for the course" during our trip to test the car on Sunday...during our first trip around the block, we blew the turbo! Big clouds of white smoke! Luckily the good people at Autotech jumped on the job and worked all weekend to get the problem fixed. Other than that, the only other minor issue was that neither Geoff or myself fit in the car. With helmets our heads were the highest point in the car - not technically the best situation if we ended upside down! So we changed our focus and ripped out the seats to have the bases stripped and re-fastened. That was happening today.
Thanks to all of our sponsors in helping so far, the decals look great and we will have more pictures for you to see. We will try to do you proud and if the moon aligns with the sun and the stars disappear from the sky we may be lucky and have a car to drive....
That's all for now
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
This is what the car looks like right now!! Any problems with this state??
This is the car we were going to use - can you say Steve McQueen?!
Event Fast Approaching
While we would like the horizon to be the only thing fast approaching, the reality is that we have all of the pre-race preparation that has to be done.
The list is not getting shorter, but longer and given we don't know what we are doing(!!) this provides for some interesting days in the next week.
We only have "minor" issues with the car. We cutting bait on the 66 Mustang GT350 when we were concerned with converting from track setup to road setup.
Now we are neck deep into the 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo (sweet car - one of only 1672 made in the world!? that as of today had no engine, seats or interior - minor points. The good news is the good people at Autotech will have us in good shape by next week...we hope!
I am trying to figure out how to post pictures wish me luck...Later
The list is not getting shorter, but longer and given we don't know what we are doing(!!) this provides for some interesting days in the next week.
We only have "minor" issues with the car. We cutting bait on the 66 Mustang GT350 when we were concerned with converting from track setup to road setup.
Now we are neck deep into the 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo (sweet car - one of only 1672 made in the world!? that as of today had no engine, seats or interior - minor points. The good news is the good people at Autotech will have us in good shape by next week...we hope!
I am trying to figure out how to post pictures wish me luck...Later
