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Checkpoint Chat - February RRB News
with Rich Bireta, RRB Chair
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Annual Awards, Sanction Fees, Weekend Membership
The SCCA National Convention was held in Las Vegas over the January 19-22nd weekend. During the Convention, several Annual RoadRally Awards were announced. Here is a review of those announcements.
The Regional Achievement Award is presented in recognition of a Region’s activities in RoadRally for a new or ongoing program. This may include events, promotions, attendance, innovation in public relations, or event participation. The recipient of this Award is selected by members of the RoadRally Board.
Overall participation in the SCCA Road Rally program grew 26% in 2016 due to increased entries in many Regions. By virtue of their Regional RoadRally program growth of 280%, the 2016 Regional RoadRally Achievement Award was presented to Peter Schneider and the North Jersey Region.
The Divisional Achievement Award is presented in recognition of a division’s activities in RoadRally for a new or on-going program. This may include events, promotions, attendance, or innovation in public relations. The recipient of this award is selected by members of the RoadRally Board.
By virtue of the strong growth shown in multiple regions across the Division, the 2016 Divisional RoadRally Achievement Award was presented to the Northeast Division. Scott Beliveau accepted the award on behalf of his Division.
The Manufacturers Rally Championship is an annual competition for all automobile manufacturers, domestic and foreign, in all National Championship Rallies. The winner is the marque compiling the highest total points in these rallies. For 2016, this award was presented to Mini.
W. David Teter was a long time Road Rally organizer and competitor. The National Tour Rally of the Year award is named in his memory. This award is presented annually in recognition of the outstanding National Tour Rally. Selection is made by a vote of the competitors in each class who have competed in at least three events in that class.
The W. David Teter Award for Outstanding National Tour Rally of the Year for 2016 was presented to the Badger Trails, John Emmons, Land O Lakes Region. This is the 10th time in the last 14 years that John has won this award.
Honorable mention for the Outstanding National Tour Rally of the year went to Jay Nemeth-Johannes, Milwaukee Region for the Badger Burrow Rally, who finished second in voting by one second-place vote.
Arthur J. Gervais was a longtime Rallymaster of the Historic New York National Road Rally. An award for the Outstanding National Course Rally is made in his memory. Selection is made by a vote of the competitors in each class who have competed in at least three events.
The Arthur Gervais Award for Outstanding National Course Rally of the Year was presented to an event that was a National Rally for the first time in 2016. The Gervais Award for 2016 was presented to the Roads Scholar Rally, Jim Crittenden, Rallymaster from the Milwaukee Region.
The Ridges Award is the highest honor in the SCCA Road Rally program. Bob Ridges was the Secretary of the RoadRally Board from the inception of the road rally program in 1957 until his death in 1965. Bob was a sportsman in the truest sense of the word. His honesty, integrity, unfailing good humor and dedication to sports car activities left an indelible mark on the SCCA.
The Robert V. Ridges Memorial Award for his contributions and commitment to the sport of Road Rally is presented to Mike Thompson, Land O' Lakes Region. Mike is the long-time Rallymaster of the Oktoberally, winning the Outstanding Course Rally of the Year Award eight times. Mike is a former member of the RoadRally Board and is the current Chair of the National Events Committee. As a competitor, Mike competes for the joy of the sport and always with entertaining slogans on his shirts. Congratulations, Mike!
As always, I look forward to your comments on this or any other item of interest or concern regarding the SCCA road rally program. You may reach me at [email protected].
Rich Bireta
SCCA RRB Chairman
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SCCA Sanction Fees for 2017
Sanction and Insurance fees will be increasing effective March 1, 2017. Insurance fees will increase from $3.50 to $4.00 per car per weekend. The Road Rally Board has recommended that sanction fees for events in 2017 remain at the same level as 2016: $10/car for Nationals, $4/car for Divisionals and $2/car for Regionals.
Weekend Membership Fees
Weekend Membership fees for road rally events continue to be waived in 2017.
Event organizers are still required to submit demographic data collected from the weekend members. This information can be conveniently submitted electronically. Information on how to do this can be found here.
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Regional Achievement Award
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North Jersey Region
member
Peter Schneider
, accepts the
Regional Acheivement Award
from
Eric Prill
(l) and
Lee Hill
(r).
Howard Duncan
was presenting on stage.
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Robert V. Ridges Memorial Award
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Humbled. Mike Thompson went on to say "I don't think I have heard that many words said about me without expletives!"
Back at the table, he remarked, "it is odd to get an award for your passion!"
PC: Rich Bireta as Cheryl Lynn was shooting Facebook Live! You can view Mike Thompson getting his Robert V. Ridges Memorial Award on our Facebook page, scroll down to January 21st, 735PM!
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In This Issue —
RReNews February 2017
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Road Rally Across North America
• Checkpoint Chat by RRB Bireta
• Rally Trophies and Recognition Ideas
• Snowflake LXI Rally - Metro NY PCA
• There's An App for That – The SRC is Here!
• USRRC Updates, Rallying to Preserve the SCCA Rally Archives and Fundraising!
SCCA Contributions this Month
• NEC Thompson on the 2017 Season
• SCCA Road Rally Calendar by English
• Minutes from the Vegas RRB Town Hall
• Minutes from the Vegas RRB Meeting
•
Words from the Wheel
by Mullin
• New Points Keeper Set for 2017 Events
RReNews Requests
• Please click the Update Profile at bottom of this email for your Annual Update. Thank you!
• Remember to send in your upcoming rally dates 'n details for all Clubs across North America.
• And, too, to share the post-event rally wrap-up of the events and photos too!
A reminder that RReNews succeeds through the support of contributions for our fellow Rallyists!
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Snowflake 61 Rally is in the History Books!
by Peter Schneider, Navigator
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Kamp Home Receives $12,000
Presenting the 2017 Check to Kamp Home:
Dan Fishkind – Metro PCA, Region President
Nancy Briel – Director of Kamp Hope
Mark Campisi – Metro PCA, Region Past-President Larry Goldberg – Metro PCA, Region Secretary Chuck Bernstein – Metro PCA. Region Vice President Photo by Peter Schneider
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History of the first Sixty-One Years
What a great way to record the history! Click the image below to see the Winners of the PCA Snowflake Rally going back to 1957!
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Landmark Along the Route
Home of the Long Island Duck
Photo by Jeff Becker
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Trophies of the Snowflake
Photo by Adele Portanova
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And now for the story from the Navigator Seat
This year’s New York Metro Snowflake Rally celebrated its 61st consecutive year. The Snowflake is a lightly trapped/course TSD rally and is the longest running Porsche event in the nation and one of the longest running rallies in North America. The event even predates The Porsche Club of America by one year.
I first heard about the Snowflake back in the early ‘80s, but since it is a 2+ hour drive from New Jersey to the start of the event, it was not high on my priority list. But the more I heard about it, the greater my desire to run the rally and finally in ‘85, I drove out to enter my first Snowflake. Ever since then I’ve been hooked and have run the event religiously over the past 32 years, only missing three years.
While the event has been shorted and now ends on the eastern tip of Long Island, I still feel it is worth the trip.
This year’s event was classic Snowflake; it included no less than eight Photo Clues and the famous Pause of 24-seconds at each guarded railroad crossing. The Pause at the crossings are not always used but was included this year. In the past, the Pause was at an unguarded railroad crossing, but since urban sprawl has extended past Riverhead Long Island (75 miles east of midtown Manhattan), the event had to switch to guarded crossings.
This year, my driver was Jeff Becker. Jeff began running TSD rallies in 1968 and has been competing on the Snowflake since 1973. Jeff may be better known for his success in the SCCA Pro Rally series where he was co-driver for the likes of Bruno Kreibich, John Buffum, and Paul Choiniere who together with they won eight National Pro Rally Championships driving for the factory Audi and Hyundai teams. Jeff ran several events in Europe for Opel Team Holland including the 1982 and '83 Rallye Monte Carlo World Championship events. Jeff has won the Snowflake three times in the past while driving for the current Rallymaster Richard Mooers.
I left New Jersey early in the morning to avoid fighting Mid-town New York traffic to pick up Jeff in Manhattan; we arrived about an hour early at the start to get settled in and have breakfast.
As always, once we receive a copy of the Route Instructions, we sit down to read through instructions and check to make sure that all the Route Instructions are in correct numeric order. In the past, the Rallymaster has reversed a few to keep you on your toes, while the out-of-order instructions would not get you lost, they might have you execute a speed change at the wrong mileage which would cause you to be late at the next checkpoint. We also check to see if there are any route following traps on the 2017 route instructions that had been used in the past.
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I use colored markers to highlight all the speed changes, Pauses, beginning and ending locations of all Free and Transits Zones and Special Photo Clues. Also, I review all ‘car zero’ restart times and write down my adjusted restart time based on my car number. You cannot do well if you start in the wrong minute. I make a note on the photo pages as to what action needs to be taken once we locate the scene in the Photo Clue. A couple of years back, I failed to highlight a one-minute Pause on the instruction sheet, and we did not catch the error while running the event, which caused us to come in early at a checkpoint which added 100 points to our score.
Just prior the start of the event the Board of Metro PCA presented a check of $12,000 to Kamp Hope. This local charity provides children impacted by a parent's cancer with a supportive camp experience with year-round activities within a community that recognizes and understands the unique and sensitive needs of each child. The Region has raised funds over the past 12 months.
If you have the patience to keep reading, I’ll try to explain some of the tricks/traps that the Rallymaster used on this year's Snowflake.
Section I of the event was a Tire Warm-up Leg. This leg was designed to warm-up/expand your tires to 'running temperature" (this is left over from the old ply-belted tire days). This leg was about five miles and lets you conduct a preliminary calibration of your odometer against the Rallymaster’s.
Section II was a combination of the Odometer Leg and the first TSD section. This Section had two rally timing traps. The first was an overlap trap; the route instructions had you calculate your average speed, assuming it would take you exactly 32 minutes to complete the first 34 instructions. Since route instruction #34 was a Photo Clue at 13.926 miles used to calculate your odometer factor, but it also stated to ‘End Free Zone in the next half mile’, the instruction was not complete until after you traveled the additional half mile. If you failed to notice this, your calculation of the average speed would have given you an average speed of 26.11 mph (incorrect) instead of 27.05 mph (correct). This seemingly small difference over 14.426 miles, which was the length of the leg, would have resulted in you arriving over one minute late at the first checkpoint, adding 100+ points to your score (the idea is to accumulate the fewest points).
The second trap in Section II was tricky Photo Clue; it was a photo of a large "STOP AHEAD" sign. You passed six "STOP AHEAD" signs before finding the exact sign that appeared in the photo. If you failed to select the correct sign, you would not have reduced your average speed.... click to read more
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T
here's an APP for That! – Simple Rally Computer
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In January, a new road rally computer app for smartphone and tablet devices was released. We caught up with the author, Rich Bireta, and sat down for a Q&A session.
RReNews: I was under the impression that you already offer the Richta Rally Computer. Why did you release this new app?
Rich Bireta: I wrote the Richta Rally Computer for the style of navigation I use. While it is good enough for me, it was not easy to explain to a new user how to use it. It was anything but simple. It was time for a new design based on a clean sheet of paper.
(RReN): Where did the idea for the Simple Rally Computer come from?
(RB): This started as an idea from Clarence Westberg. About a year ago, Clarence suggested that we needed a new app for his control zone rallys. In these events, the competitors are given an ideal time just a few miles from a checkpoint. They then have a single speed to CAST for just a few miles. After the checkpoint, there is a transit to the start of the next control zone. This method is a good way to introduce beginners to time keeping and rally calculations. Clarence wanted his new competitors to have an inexpensive app for these events: one speed, limited function, easy to use.
I thought this was a great idea, but it could be expanded easily. Instead of having a single-speed rally computer, with a few additional functions it could be used in any TSD event. I also thought the price should be low.
I
had this app coded a year ago, and I showed it to some competitors who liked the basic concept but found the app to be awkward on the road. It needed more work in the "ease of use" department, and it went on the back burner for a year.
(RReN): What happened this past winter?
(RB): A couple of things. There is a new Facebook Group called Road Rally Tech Talk. Clarence posted an observation there. His Timewise computer needed repair so he mounted up his old Zeron 880 and commented how easy and intuitive its user interface is and suggested it may be a good model for rally apps.
That inspired me to dust off the Winter 2015 project. I gave it a Timewise organization to the layout and controls, and I made it easier to use. I had three main goals:
1) Easy to use, suitable for those new to the sport
2) Functionally rich enough that I would use the app on an event, and
3) Inexpensive. I completed the project over the holiday break.
(RReN):What kind of device will this run on?
(RB): It will run on a phone with 320 x 480 pixels on the screen, but it looks better on a seven-inch tablet.
(RReN): Aren’t tablets expensive?
(RB): I don't think so. A Samsung Tab 3 can be had for $70 or less on eBay. I like the quality of the Samsung devices, and the Tab 3 models have a micro USB power port that matches my phone.
(RReN): Price for the app?
(RB): I set the price at $5.99.
(RReN): Per event?
(RB): No, there is no limit on the number of events. Upgrades are included.
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(RReN): That's not what I would call an expensive app. Why is it priced so low? Is it worth it?
(RB): You’re the third person to suggest that the app is underpriced, so my conclusion is that I priced it right. I set the price based on the scenario of a beginning rallyist who just registered for their first event. They just paid $20 or $30 to enter, and they learn they can get an accurate clock and a correctable 0.01 odometer that will do some calculations for under $6 and it will run on the hardware they already have in their pocket. I wanted the decision to purchase the app to be a "no-brainer" at this point.
I'm not in the app business to make money. I'm in it to make it easier and more fun to run road rallys.
(RReN): What upgrades to the app are planned?
(RB): Upgrades will include fixes for any reported defects. I also plan to add the ability to log and review the actions that have been performed. I also have this wild idea that the app could also replace manned checkpoints. It would log the time at the checkpoints in a database and send the info to the organizers. Imagine a rally with no checkpoint workers and no scoring workers. Your score would be displayed on your device and reported to the organizers.
(RReN): (Looking at my Phone), Hey, I don’t see this available in the Apple iTunes store...
(RB): My version is Android only at this point. I am hoping Michael Young or someone else will produce a similar product for Apple devices.
(RReN): Will this app work with the Dual 160 or Garmin Glo external GPS receivers?
(RB): Yes.
(RReN): One common complaint about apps is that there is no documentation. Is that true here?
(RReN): How is this app classified on SCCA events?
(RB): On National or Divisional events this app places the competitors in the Equipped Class because the mileage measurement is directly connected to the calculating component. That is not to say it is competitive there. Apps with GPS odometers are not competitive with Timewise or Alfa E boxes. These apps are competitive with other methods in the SCCA Limited Class. I wrote this app without regard to how it fit within current SCCA classification rules.
Regional events are not bound to use the SCCA Championship classes. I've heard that the SCCA South Jersey Region is experimenting with a Tech class for apps such as this. The Twin Cities Rally Club (MN) is thinking about an App Class this year.
I am hopeful that we'll see other SCCA Regions experiment with different class structures. Perhaps a common model can emerge with enough widespread participation that adjusting the National classifications will be justified.
(RReN): Where can folks send questions and suggestions for improvements?
(RB): The best place for those comments is the Road Rally Tech Talk forum on Facebook, or an email direct to me would be fine.
(RReN): Thanks for your time.
(RB): No, thank you for the opportunity to discuss this obsession of mine.
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Rally Awards and Recognition
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The definition of the word rally is "a gathering." Here in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), we would like to see “rallye” at the Regional level as more of a social gathering. Still, the excuse to gather is some form of competition, and that seems to lead to the need for trophies.
The first instinct is to run over to the local trophy shop and throw money at these things. You will soon discover how little you get for your money. Expect to pay over $20 for your typical wall plaque or that bowling trophy with the random American sedan sitting on top. Surely we can do better.
I have been putting together trophies for local events for several years now. A little imagination and you too can come up with ideas for awards that fit the theme of your event, provide something folks will want to display and save some money to boot.
A key part of my trophies is a laminator. Amazon sells a very serviceable one for around $20, the AmazonBasics Thermal Laminator
Trophies can be made economically, with
Sparco 5-mil Clear Letter Sized Laminate Pouches
costing $15 for 50 letter-size sheets.
One of my tricks is to create laminated designs that include the award plaque (ie: 1st Novice). That way we can create extras economically and adjust which Class gets more trophies, based on who starts the event.
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Some examples of trophies we have used in the past. One year, I gave out Lego cars along with a laminated road and grass base. We didn't assemble the cars but gave them out as a trophy kit. It was successful. People didn't leave after getting their awards, but hung around and built their cars. Even those who didn't win stayed to watch them being built! Total cost was about $8 per trophy.
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Another idea we used for our Badger Burrow National was to give out plush badger dolls with the place plaque tied around the neck with a ribbon. Total cost was $13 per trophy.
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In addition to the trophies, we always give out refrigerator magnets as Participation Awards. We print roughly 20 copies of the design on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, laminate them, and then cut them apart with a paper cutter. We then attach a magnetic rubber strip on the back, and we are done. We use the ProMAG 2 x 3-1/2 Inches Adhesive Business Card Magnets and cut them in thirds.
The result is something folks seem to like, and I have seen them everywhere after the event. These things take me about two hours to make for 60 plaques and cost around $0.15 each.
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We recently created a smaller refrigerator magnet called the Zero Hero Award. We give these out to any non-computer car that gets at least one zero on an event. So, even if the team is dead last, they can still get this award for one good leg.
A zero by a novice is not common. They may not know how they did it, but them seem to feel 10-feet tall when we give these out.
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These ideas may seem silly for the old hardened National folks, but this stuff is part of what works for building our Milwaukee Region Road Rally program. These ideas are easy to put together, and the result is exciting.
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Words from the Wheel
RReNews Welcomes Jamie Mullin
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Greetings from the National Office!
My name is Jamie Mullin. I am an Administrative Assistant to Howard Duncan and the entire Program Operations Department. I also serve as the Liaison between the RoadRally Board and the SCCA National Office. I am approaching my one-year Anniversary with the SCCA and can honestly say it is an excellent place to work! I look forward to providing you with Words from the Wheel moving forward.
I attended the SCCA National Convention in Las Vegas, NV, January 19-22nd, where I had the pleasure of meeting the RoadRally Board members face-to-face, as well as other highly involved members of the RoadRally Community. I gained a lot of valuable knowledge from the sessions I attended. It was encouraging to see the interest in building RoadRally programs from Regions, which supports the trend of increased awareness and participation in RoadRally in 2016.I am excited to see what 2017 holds!
At this (my first) writing, we have a total of 30 SCCA-sanctioned RoadRally Events in 2017. As we start the new year, it is timely to remind everyone that Weekend Memberships need to be filled out for both Driver and Navigator — for all SCCA-sanctioned RoadRally events from Social, Charity, GTA, Course and Tour. While there is no payment for these Weekend Memberships, they must be submitted to the National Office within a week following the Event.
You can purchase RoadRally Checkpoint Signs and SCCA Car Number Decals from the SCCA National Office. I will provide details next month. Please contact me should you need to order either of these items in the meantime.
Should you have any general RoadRally questions, I invite you to check out the newly revamped RoadRally section on our website here or contact me via e-mail or telephone M-F 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CDT at 800-770-2055 x371. Please continue to direct any Event, Sanction, and Insurance related items or inquiries to Deena Rowland 800-770-2055 x 331 M-F 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. CDT.
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On the National Scene
with NEC Chairman Mike Thompson
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National / Divisional Schedule
I’d like to offer a big THANK YOU to organizers for calendaring their events this early in the Championship season! I don’t believe this had ever happened before.
Scheduling events this early in a Championship season helps our customers with their travel plans for the upcoming season. If there is anyone out there still planning a National or Divisional Championship event in 2017, please calendar that event as soon as possible. It doesn't cost a cent.
2017 Road Rally Rules
Have you ordered you 2017 Rulebook yet? If not, you can find them on Amazon for $5.95 + shipping (and free shipping for those with Amazon Prime). SCCA even gets a royalty for each copy sold. Just do a search for SCCA Road Rally Rulebook. A big THANK YOU to
Jim Crittenden making this possible.
2018 Road Rally Rules
Yeah, we just have the 2017 RRRs in hand, and here I am talking about 2018 RRRs. I just want to give everyone a
heads up that next year's
rule season begins April 1. There were a lot of RRR changes in 2017 as we transitioned for counting all rallies into counting only Nationals and Divisionals for the Championship. I don't foresee a lot of changes coming in 2018 yet if anyone has any suggestions don't hesitate to bring them up.
Classes
The line between Class L and Class S has become blurred due to the proliferation of low-cost apps. And then there are those apps that serve as a full rally computer!
Is there a better way to determine classes? How about an "entry level" class for the National Championship? Just asking, and should you have any thought on this, please free to
email me.
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SCCA Matters —
Minutes, Planning Calendar, Championship Points
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SCCA Road Rally Board Minutes
by Jeanne English, RRB Secretary
This month we present December 7, 2016, RoadRally Board Minutes.
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SCCA National Championship Standings
The RoadRally Competition Season is now a calendar year – January to December. Congratulations to those who traveled across America — be it in their Region, Division or across the Country in their quest of a National Championship.
RReNews will have standings presented with our March edition as the seasons are just beginning!
Bruce Gezon will be
the 2017 Points Keeper for the SCCA National Championship. We look forward to working with him to get the Standings in a timely manner for your perusal.
The official Excel spreadsheet will be sent by Deena Rowland when a Sanction number is issued. You may also find the spreadsheet to report National and Divisional RoadRally results in the Rules and Documents section of the www.scca.com website!
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SCCA 2017 Road Rally Planning Calendar
All SCCA Regions are encouraged to Sanction their events through the National Office as soon as the date is known – it will get it out on the planning calendar, a listing in SportsCar and let fellow Rallymasters know that date is already taken. And, perhaps most important, it helps Rallyists plan their travels to your Rally!
Jeanne English
maintains this calendar, with input from
Deena Rowland of the National Office as sanctions come in from Organizers. Seek out the latest calendar off the www.scca.com website! And while there — checkout the new RoadRally page layout for our programs downloads and information!
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From the Home Office —
Road Rally eNews
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No, these fine folk are not part of the
RReNews Crew, yet they are certainly friends of Road Rally and many of them have chosen to be supportive to the efforts of
RReNews through their contributions to our "pages".
These were my dining companions at the final evening of the 2017 Convention for the Awards and the Hall of Fame Ceremony! L/R:
Peter Schneider (NJ),
Bob Sonntag (IN),
Michael Thompson (WI),
Jim Crittenden (WI),
Sasha Lanz (TX),
Clyde Heckler (NJ),
Cheryl Lynn (AK),
Rich Bireta (KS), and
Jeanne English (CA).
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I want to know! Have you seen this photo, with the letters USRRC emblazoned across the top, in your Facebook feed or in a side ad? This is actually a scene that you will see on the North to Alaska Road Rally Adventure September 15-17th! Well, if you are on course that is, ha!
I have heard from a few Road Rally friends across America who have seen it on their Facebook page! Please drop us a line if you have or it should pop-up in the next few weeks too!
Time has been put in, seemingly daily, on the USRRC. We are grappling with the same question we started with last March and one asked by numerous SCCA Members in Las Vegas two weeks ago! How many teams are you expecting?
We can share that we have booked an initial thirty rooms in Seward and Homer. Much effort is being put in to reach those of you who have expressed rallying is your sport, hobby, passion, and nemesis! And that, at this time, we have four registered teams and four dedicated Checkpoint Crews for the weekend!
The Rallymaster and Safety Steward head out in April to finish and mileage the route. Our Pre-Checker will be arriving June 1st, so our deadline is set! We'll need to have a potential "final run copy" for Peter Schneider when he arrives!
We have a $100 discount in place for early-registration and will base our room reservations on that number come April 28th. Should you have the USRRC on your calendar and planning to attend – please head over to www.msreg.com/usrrc2017 today and register. Yes! It is going to change format this week, yet RReNews has to hit the streets today!
We have heard from some motorsport enthusiasts who are considering the SCCA Foundation's work with the International Motor Racing Research Center as a place for their rally archives!
For those unable to enter the North to Alaska Road Rally Adventure, I hope you will choose to make a donation to help secure the conservation of our SCCA Rally Archives: www.usrrc2017.causevox.com!
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Does your Club, Region, Chamber of Commerce or a neighbor town have events planned this year?
Please send RReNews the date, the event details, and the contact information. Email them to [email protected] for our North American Road Rally calendar. This online calendar is for all marque clubs, independent car clubs and SCCA Regions, as well as community events in your hometowns!
We want to help you bring awareness to your events and the sport of Road Rally across North America. We are trying to make your initial input smoother too. Send your pre-event and/or post-event write-ups of your rallies to promote them and special events? Send the event photo(s) to us for sharing the event with fellow Rallyists as well.
Share your enthusiasm and success!
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Wow! As I was heading to the SCCA Convention, it was pointed out to me that the Year was 1/24-over! We are now 1/12 down and there is much on my schedules these next eleven months!
I realize not all of you are SCCA Members, and I am glad that you are with us. In 2017, our fifth year, we are going to be doing some Spring Cleaning so to speak. We would like each of you to update your profile (two steps and easily less than four minutes of your time) by clicking the Update Profile link at the bottom of this RReNews.
We are seeking increased awareness of our efforts to bulid community with RReNews, and we'll see what the year brings. We very much appreciate the support from those who are awaiting our decals and tee shirts to cover the costs of RReNews too!
Do you have your calendar filled with a rally (or six) across these next ten months? Got the USRRC on your calendar for September 15-17th? We have booked lodging for thirty-rooms in Seward and Homer — will one have you and your teammates name on the reservation?
Questions Asked About Tickets –
Where do we fly into? Anchorage and Fairbanks are the two airports with service to America. Some have expressed landing in Fairbanks and driving down or taking the Alaska Railroad down to Anchorage.
Lodging is set for Friday and Saturday in the entry fee, what about Thursday? We will have two options, both near the Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) in Anchorage. Yet at this time, we only have one entry from "outside" and they are coming in from Florida! While excited we had an entry from Minnesota, they have found need to cancel.
Schnikes, I heard the rally ends and we will have a four-hour drive to the airport! Is that true? We made the decision that most rallyists would prefer not to be on a transit of three hours just to end near an airport. It is an easy drive from the Kenai Peninsula to Anchorage, and most flights depart at 12A-130A Sunday eve/Monday morning. We call them "red-eye" flights as they drop us into SEA/PDX or O'Hare at 5-6AM to catch flights across America.
And, what was the deal on “free“ tickts? A former rallyist has donated 100K miles, which will be used to purchase the tickets of the first four individuals who raise $2500 for the Rallying to Preserve our Historic SCCA Rally Archives
by March 28th, 2017. That date was established to be assured good availabilty of seats!
Further, we addressed that Alaska Airlines has a credit card that upon being approved – gets you 30K miles, a free checked bag, and a Companion Fare which allows you to bring the second person for $121 (or so)! Many Alaskans carry the card and split the fare with family and friends, making travel more affordable! With the two options of free or credit card, we have removed the "ticket is too costly" option for those that truly wish to support the United States Road Rally Challenge in Alaska!
We know of some who have talked of using miles, one Region approached us about sponsoring a Team from their Region! We were stunned! We quickly shared the www.usrrc2017.causevox.com
site with them, and encouraged their Region – strong supporters of Road Rally – to raise funds for the SCCA Rally Archives at the International Motor Racing Research Center and get two tickets for their Members to head the North to Alaska! The site allows for peer-to-peer fundraising, so you can promote your efforts via social media to family, friends, and co-workers. Come Join Us!
Safe travels and I'll see you down the road,
Cheryl Lynn and Crew, RReNews
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Road Rally eNews is produced in association with the Sports Car Club of America
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