NEW ENGLAND REGION OF THE SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA

RallyCross…Fun outside the paved lines!What is RallyCross?RallyCross is a timed competition pitting a driver and his/hervehicle against a defined course. The course is delineated bytraffic cones, similar to Solo or Autocross. Unlike its pavedcousins however, RallyCrosses run on a surfaces such as dirt,grass, gravel, mud or snow. Participants attempt to complete thecourse as fast as possible without hitting any markers. Coursesare designed to keep speeds below 45 MPH and yet feel muchfaster through challenging maneuvers that keep both driver andmachine at the very limits of control. The entry fee and equipmentrequirements are considerably less than most other forms ofmotorsports.RallyCross for some, is the first step towards performance rallying;to others, it’s a weekend hobby. It’s a cost effective way to measureinterest and skill at “doing it in the dirt”. This is also a great wayto practice your car control skills legally. Because the course is laidout with cones, a driver can make a mistake and not suffer thedamage to their vehicle that they would if they hit a rock or treepracticing on back roads.FAQsDo I need a special license?A valid driver’s license from your home state is all that is required.Must I be a member of SCCAto enter a RallyCross?While membership is not required, it has its privileges. Entryfees are less for members at all SCCA events. Over the courseof a year, you will likely save more than your membership feesin membership discounts. Check out www.scca.org for othermembership advantages.A combination of Off-Road, Rally and Solo make up theexcitement of Rallycross. Photo: Scott DowdFor additional information, contact Chris Regan, RallyXChairman, chregan@aol.com 203-979-3196.Can I drive my daily street car?Yes! You can drive your own car! Most contestants drive theirdaily car. The car must be mechanically sound and have workingseat belts and a hard top. All loose items from the interior andtrunk need to be removed for safety reasons. One restriction thatmay be imposed is on high center of gravity vehicles. Lifted trucksand jeeps are usually not allowed due to the roll-over danger.Check with the event organizer in advance if you fall in this group.A tech inspection is done to all vehicles to make sure they aremechanically sound before the event starts.What safety devices are required?Entrants must have a Snell 95 or newer helmet and it must be freeof cracks and other significant damage. The label showing theSnell rating is in the inside, often tucked under the edge of thepadding. Working stock seat belts or harnesses are required.While roll cages are not required at this level, there is no penaltyfor this safety improvement.Who will I compete against?There are different classes, based on the car and improvements,if any. Suspension, tires, and engine performance items are thedifferentiating factors between classes. The classes are stock,prepped, and modified, in both 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drivegroups. You will be competing against vehicles similar to yourown.What is checked at Tech Inspection?The vehicle is checked for mechanical soundness. It is expectedthat an entrant has pre-checked his ride before the event. Some ofthe checks made by the Tech Crew include: throttle linkage mustreturn to idle position freely, no excessive fluid leaks, a solid brakepedal, battery firmly mounted, all loose items removed, hubcapsand trim rings removed, no loose suspension mounts or joints, andfunctional seatbelts or harnesses.What should I expect to happen at a RallyCross?The typical schedule of events is this:7:00-8:45 AM Registration and Tech Inspection, course set-up8:45-9:00 AM Workers and Drivers meetings9:00 AM First car starts12:00 ish lunch break, listen for announcement of when tobe ready for afternoon.4:00 PM Event ends, course and equipment tear down.4:30 PM AwardsEveryone participating in a RallyCross is expected to help out.There are many jobs required to run an event. Flagging cornersand resetting cones is the most common position, but timing, tech,start and finish position are important and must be filled as well.How hard is this going to hit my wallet?For members, the entry fee is usually $35-50 dollars. Nonmembersare $10 more.What else should I bring to the RallyCross?Like the Boy Scout motto, always be prepared. Events runregardless of weather, so you’ll need to check the forecast andbring appropriate clothing, including sun, rain, mud, or snow gearas the season dictates. Bug repellant or sunscreen are importantseasonal items as well. Bring snacks and beverages (no alcohol)and sometimes lunch; the site may not be near any civilization orfast food joints.How is scoring done?Each run around the course is timed and recorded. At the endof the event, all of a driver’s times are added together. The timesof each driver within the class are compared. The driver in eachclass with the lowest cumulative time wins. Awards are presentedat each event for the top finishers in each class. There is even anannual series, spanning all season that crowns champions at theend of the year.Where can I get more information?Schedules, rules, and more can be found on the New EnglandRegion website www.ner.org The national SCCA RallyCross rulesare posted on the www.scca.com website.EngravingAwardsGifts.com Rally X—continued from page 11course, and the finish was near Saturday’s start. A totally newlayout occurred in between. The start created a minor problem inthat it was down in a gully and the starter could not see the courseto know when to release cars from the starting line. No problem,the grid person set the cars at the start line and called them in toscoring. The starter was a hundred yards away, in a position tosee both the starting line and the course. With a wave of a flag,he started each car.Three morning runs on Sunday, completed the National Challenge(NC) event with a total of 6 runs. NER members won all classes.Subaru drivers cleaned up in the contingency program sweepingthe podium in Stock AWD and Prepared AWD. Surprisingly,however, they were shut out in Modified 4.Sunday’s weather was unpredictable. Snow varied from light toheavy off and on throughout the day. The temperature hoverednear freezing so accumulation was minimal. There was justenough to add one more degree of difficulty to the slippy coursewhich polished as the day went on. The Mod 4 and Stock AWDclasses had the dubious distinction of running last and havingto practice patience on the polished course as many racers slidthrough corners hoping for some grip.Following a lunch catered by the Dennis family, racers logged twomore runs to close out the EngravingAwardsGifts.com RallyCrossII. The Dennis clan cocked a hot lunch, complete with soups, maincourse, vegetarian options, and cookies, both days. It is great tohave them involved in out sport as they provide the meal a fewtimes a year.When the racing was finally done, a survey of the results showedthat only one racer had pulled the triple-play, winning all threeevents. Chang Ho Kim , constantly banging the Honda off therev limiter in the Modified 2wd class, topped the results sheet forall three events. Nick Nemchuk came close, winning Saturdayand the NC, but was beaten by less than a second by AntonioSirabella on Sunday in the Prepared AWD class.Goodhearted rivalry and smack talk was plentiful in the Modified4 class. Warren Elliott, “The Lord of the Rings” opened theweekend by actions, rather than words. His Audi showed up ina hauler that sported a lounge and kitchen. Warren shares hisride with Justin Baltrucki. Chris Regan, Toyota Celica All-trac, andArthur Chabot, Mitsu Gallant, are all good spirited competitorswith the Audi boys. Regan won Saturday’s event. Baltrucki wonSunday’s event, and Elliott managed to scratch out a win in theNC event. Chabot, a perennial winner, surprisingly was left out inthe cold this particular weekend.The organizing team did an outstanding job considering thenumber of entries, the scoring challenges of the NC event overlap,scoring 3 and 4 cars on course at a time, the new paperwork,contingency paperwork, and course maintenance, etc.12 PIT TALK PIT TALK February/March 2008 13