Seven 9s and 10s

How It’s Made - Rally Cars (by PanosDCC)

Combining two of my favorite things: How It’s Made and rally!

The first advice most aspiring rally racers receive is to never build your first car; instead, buy a used rally car - it’s cheaper and it teaches you a good lesson: it’s definitely going to break and it’s probably going to be your fault.

You’re less likely to be emotionally attached to a used car than to something you spent weeks designing and building - emotional attachment has no place in rallying, because…

  • If you’re focused on not breaking your car, then you’re not focused on winning.
  • If you’re not focused on winning then you’re not focused on driving.
  • If you’re not focused on driving then you’ll think you heard your codriver say “keep left over crest into short 4 right plus” when he actually said “keep left over crest into short 4 left plus” and then you’ll find yourself crying because you wrapped your car around a tree.

Anyway. Rallying is a serious goal of mine - even if it’s just a 5-day class at Team O’Neil Rally School.

High-res It’s a rare occasion that you’ll find me cheering a Ford team, but for the next three days I’ll be doing just that. After 7 consecutive championships, it’s time for Citroën and Sebastien Loeb to finally experience the bitter taste of defeat. Loeb has been so dominant for so long that it’s been extremely rare that the WRC Championship would be decided on the last rally of the year, but thanks to a few new improvements to the series (the power stage) and another driver capable of winning rallies (Loeb’s teammate: Sebastien Ogier), the WRC season can finally culminate in a thrilling finish in the year’s last event, Wales Rally GB. There’s a little corner of my heart that’s reserved for all former drivers for the Subaru World Rally Team, and this weekend Mikko Hirvonen will get his chance to win the championship. For his whole career, he’s had the misfortune of competing in the WRC at the same time as the best driver the sport has ever seen - take Loeb out of the equation and Mikko might well have a few championships on his resume by now - but hopefully by Sunday evening he’ll finally have his first.

It’s a rare occasion that you’ll find me cheering a Ford team, but for the next three days I’ll be doing just that. After 7 consecutive championships, it’s time for Citroën and Sebastien Loeb to finally experience the bitter taste of defeat. Loeb has been so dominant for so long that it’s been extremely rare that the WRC Championship would be decided on the last rally of the year, but thanks to a few new improvements to the series (the power stage) and another driver capable of winning rallies (Loeb’s teammate: Sebastien Ogier), the WRC season can finally culminate in a thrilling finish in the year’s last event, Wales Rally GB.

There’s a little corner of my heart that’s reserved for all former drivers for the Subaru World Rally Team, and this weekend Mikko Hirvonen will get his chance to win the championship. For his whole career, he’s had the misfortune of competing in the WRC at the same time as the best driver the sport has ever seen - take Loeb out of the equation and Mikko might well have a few championships on his resume by now - but hopefully by Sunday evening he’ll finally have his first.

Watch Ken Block scare the crap out of a few fellow DC athletes at the Team O’Neil Rally School. It’s only 3 minutes and it’s worth it just to see the terrified look on the faces of athletes who are themselves experts in some downright frightening sports (motocross, bmx, snowboarding).

Participating in the 5-Day Rally School program at Team O’Neil is high on my list of near-term life goals. Affording the $5,750 tuition is the only thing holding me back.

High-res I don’t closely follow the IndyCar series but, as a general supporter of all forms of auto racing, I feel this loss. Racing is inherently dangerous and no matter the circumstances there will always be the potential for tremendous tragedy. The only solace one can find at a time like this is that Dan Wheldon, one of the best drivers in the world, lost his life while doing something he loved. Godspeed, Dan.

I don’t closely follow the IndyCar series but, as a general supporter of all forms of auto racing, I feel this loss. Racing is inherently dangerous and no matter the circumstances there will always be the potential for tremendous tragedy. The only solace one can find at a time like this is that Dan Wheldon, one of the best drivers in the world, lost his life while doing something he loved.

Godspeed, Dan.

POV Rally Champion Mark Higgins Near Crash at 150 mph @ 2011 Isle of Man TT (by RoadandTrack)

This is a truly remarkable save. Crashing at 150mph on the brick-wall-lined streets of Mann would be absolutely devastating. Survival would be impressive, regardless of the amount of safety equipment in your car.

Last weekend I watched Mark’s brother David win STPR. Impressive driving ability runs in the family.

This is one of my favorite weekends annually.

We leave Friday afternoon to head down to STPR.

Prepare to be inundated by my rally photos in the coming days.

Gymkhana THREE, Part 2; Ultimate Playground; l’Autodrome, France

Do yourselves a favor and click-thru to watch this in all it’s 1080p glory.

This is the best DC/Block Gymkhana video yet mainly because it demonstrates many of his genuine rally-driving talents, rather than stupid effects and stunts.

I hate the legion of fans (I call them Blockheads) that these videos are spawning, but any attention to rally in America is good attention to rally in America.

And two more, for good measure.

Here’s in-car video from my first run: 31.3s.  Watch closesly as I honk my horn at the girl shooting video and then nearly fling my cameraman out his open window!

Autocross - July 4, 2010 - Run #1: 31.3s - In Car Camera from steelopus on Vimeo.

And here’s another external shot, this time of my sixth and final run, another 30.0 flat masterpiece.  You lose sight of me mid-video, but just know that I rolled my car 7 times and did a backflip over a 300’ pit of angry dragons shooting fire, all before re-entering the frame and finishing the run.

Autocross - July 4, 2010 - Run #6: 30.0s - Outside Camera from steelopus on Vimeo.

Here’s the in-car video from my third run at yesterday’s impromptu-autocross event.

31.5 seconds of horror in an underpowered, NA, AT, 3,700+lb car.

Lots of fun!

Notes:

  1. Yes, that’s an acoustic version of Semi-Charmed Life you hear in the background. Sometimes you’ve just got to ignore the radio.
  2. I love the sound of my unmodified engine when she opens up.  Boxers rule.
  3. Keep your eye on my keychain for a general indication of the force of the turns.
  4. I clipped a cone in that last right-hander.  My car was about a foot longer than everyone else’s, with a longer wheel base. It was a tight track.