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Rally cars, the high-speed brethren to the off-roader, will regularly top 200 km/h on gravel service and forestry roads.
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Eugene Peters doing his best to mimic a rally car, lifting the front right mid-corner. Well-done Eugene!
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Calvin with co-driver Jeanne in search of errant rally cars.
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There was only one small puddle on the whole course, not sure how Robbi Hatcher and co-driver Emily Preeper got so dirty.
Story and photos by Eugene Peters
Saving Rally Cars at the Ledwidge Lookoff Rally, Nova Scotia
In the spring of 2013, a member of the Nova Scotia based Backcountry 4x4 Club asked if anyone might be interested in helping another automobile enthusiast club with an event they knew about. It was the Ledwidge Lookoff Rally featuring ‘Subaru WRX’ style cars. I used to compete in TSD (Time Speed Distance) events and was always interested in such racing so I spearheaded the call for volunteers. For 2013, the Backcountry 4x4 club fielded two vehicles driven by James Chisholm and Eugene Peters as ‘Sweep Vehicles’. These are vehicles that travel the course behind the rally racers and ‘sweep up,’ gathering any debris off the road and even recover vehicles that have left the road. We thoroughly enjoyed the event and mentioned we were interested in doing it again in 2014.
In 2014, the rally organizers asked us if we could provide four vehicles with winches! It seemed they had a significant number of unintended ‘off the road’ events during practices in the spring, and wanted to be prepared during the rally. The Backcountry club stepped up and had five vehicles committed for the big day. In true off-road 4x4 form, we suffered the attrition of one vehicle due to mechanical problems, which still left us with a race ready number.
To our surprise, when we arrived at the marshalling area we were asked to act as ‘Cars 00, 0, 99 and Sweep’. Well, we came to serve, so first we said yes, and then sheepishly asked what it meant? Well, we couldn’t have been more involved and had more fun!
Car 00 was a 2007 H2 driven by Scott Duff and co-driver Tom Woods, and with a rally navigator on board. Their job was to drive the course to make sure the route was clear. We heard stories that one year a former school bus was on the course with berry pickers, not a good mix with rally cars reaching 120+ km/h.
Because I was the ‘known’ entity from the year before I was asked to be Car 0. Well you have to understand I drive a 1984 7-ft tall Suburban that was not built for rally racing. However, my co-driver Deborah Stover and I said yes. Car 0 has a flashing light and siren and travels ‘as briskly as possible’ through the route opening the course for competition. Seeing Car 0 signals to the spectators and rally organizers the course is now open and rally cars are coming shortly. Well, this need for controlled speed in a trail-riding vehicle created just enough stress for a good adrenaline rush and a great day. We videoed one stage of the race and it’s posted on YouTube. How fast is the course and how fast did we go? Well in the Suburban, which isn’t known for its acceleration, we had a 70 km/h top speed on one stretch. Talking to the rally car drivers, they topped 120 km/h on the same stretch.
Car 99 is the opposite of Car 0 and signifies the course is now closed. It was a 2010 JK driven by Robbi Hatcher with co-driver Emily Preeper. Somehow it was the only vehicle to end up muddy. We still haven’t figured out how that happened. There was only one small puddle on the course.
The Sweep Car followed the last rally car through and swept the road of any debris. It was a 1997 Grand Cherokee driven by Calvin with co-driver Jeanne.
Well, that was the intent.
It was about the middle of a 12-stage event, just before lunch break. Car 00 and Car 0 were stationed at the finish line for the stage. Race Car 1 came up to a flying finish, then Car 2. Then a short break and a few minutes later Car 4. What had happened to Car 3? We waited and Car 99 drove up and said they didn’t see anything suspicious. Well, when the Sweep Car didn’t appear we were tasked back to search the route.
Car 3 had a very spectacular off-road adventure. They missed a curve, went over a small embankment, and sheared off some rather large vegetation on the way. You couldn’t see them from the road, but you could see the trail through the vegetation. Their safety equipment in the form of a full roll cage, safety seats and harnesses did their job and the participants were shaken but not injured.
In Car 0, I was tasked during the lunch break, along with the Sweep Car, to recover the rally car and load it back onto a trailer for removal. Having the right gear for the job, including winches and straps, made the task quick and efficient. It turned out to be a well talked about event.
The quote of the day was not all about the ‘off-the-road’ event though. If you ask the main organizer they say it was “The burble of the dual exhaust of the V-8 Suburban” as it left the Start line for each stage.
The club is looking forward to fielding six vehicles for the Aug 15, 2015 event. Cars 00, 0, 99 and three sweep vehicles. Subaru Canada is a major sponsor of the 2015 event and it promises to be bigger and better with 20-25 rally cars. With a 20-25% attrition rate, it should be exciting.