My first experience in the best motorsport in the world*. Now featuring Dusty Ventures!

"Haimatox" (haimatox)
10/05/2014 at 12:46 • Filed to: Rally

Reposted for the day crowd. Since the Rally America Championship is coming to a close in a few weeks, (congrats David/Craig!) I thought I would take some time to share my first experience in rally (also, some of you guys wanted to hear it). Let's start from the beginning, or at least as close to the beginning as is relevant. A word of warning- this is a rather long-winded article. Read on at your own risk.

David Higgins/Craig Drew doing what they do best: Going fast.

As far as rallying goes, my interest was sparked by a YouTube video. It was onboard footage from the 2001 Rally GB. The driver: Colin McRae. When I first watched that video, something clicked in my brain. That something gave me an indescribable feeling, a feeling that told me "This is something you will love for the rest of your life." It just felt right. I also knew that I wanted to be a co-driver, almost more than anything in the world.

Jump forward several years, to May of 2012. I had been talking my head off about rallying for the past few months, as I tend to do when I get extremely interested in something. I'm sure that my family, friends, and even my fish had enough of my enthusiastic chattering. Anyways, it was my birthday, and after dinner my dad handed me his iPad, and told me to turn it on. The web browser was open to the New England Forest Rally website. I turned to him, confused by the meaning of this enigmatic action. He told me that we would attend the 2012 NEFR, held in Newry, ME and Errol, NH. I was ecstatic, as my first spectated rally would be one of the most technically-demanding on the Rally America calendar.

The flyer given out by the rally, which now resides on my bedroom wall.

That July, I prepped for the rally. Not entirely knowing what to expect, I brought a camera to record my experience. After a five-odd hour drive, I arrived at the Sunday River resort, which also served as Rally HQ. Inside the lobby I saw posters for the rally on the wall, as well as drivers, co-drivers, crew members, and spectators chatting amongst each other. It was that moment that I finally understood the social aspect of rally. The average Joe talking about his car with a world-class driver? You don't get that in Formula 1.

Sunday River Resort, which is gorgeous. Obviously.

The next morning, I woke up early and got ready for parc expose. I ate breakfast in the resort cafe, right next to the mechanics of Subaru Rally Team USA. No big deal. After breakfast, I left the resort as I chatted with Tingwu Song, the driver of GuiZhou BaiLing Rally Team's #123 Mitsubishi Evo X. Also no big deal.

Tingwu Song/Martin Brady at the 2012 Oregon Trail Rally.

I arrived at the parc expose location well before it started, and I was able to watch the mechanics work their magic on the cars. I stood next to David Higgin's WRX STi as the mechanics tested the engine, revving it up and down. (I recorded the audio with my old phone, but unfortunately that phone fell into a creek and died the next day.) The anti-lag and the raw, mechanical sound of a rally car must be heard in person to fully appreciate. It gave me goosebumps.

Subaru Rally Team USA's morning service area.

Sparco Rally xD service area.

Crazy Leo's service area.

Dillon Van Way's Ford Fiesta

When the parc expose started proper, I was amazed by the aural and visual beauty of the scene that lay before me. A dirt parking lot filled with cars may not seem that exciting to a non-enthusiast, but for a rally fan, it is heaven. Where else do you get to see world-class driving machines up-close? Where else do you get to talk to the drivers and co-drivers? (Besides in the lobby, of course.)

Parc expose at the Sunday River Resort.

The best (or one of the best) part of parc expose? Meeting and socializing with the teams. I got to converse with some of my heroes, including David Higgins, Craig Drew, Antoine L'Estage, and Crazy Leo. It was a very special day for me. I got advice on how to start co-driving, how I can get involved with rallying, and other random conversations. Yes, I was wearing an Angry Birds shirt. Yes, I had a terrible haircut. Yes, I look very awkward.

With Craig Drew. He's a cool guy, and one of my co-driving idols.

With Antoine L'Estage.

Edit: Guys, I found Dusty Ventures...

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Craig: "Where did he go? He was right here a second ago..."

After parc expose, it was time to head out for the on-stage action. I screwed up, but I don't remember the exact details of what happened. The gist of it is that I didn't properly study the itinerary for the day, and we were only able to watch one stage worth of racing. That bothered me at first, but I got over it quickly and set out to just enjoy the action from the one stage.

Even though I only got to watch one stage, it was pretty damn amazing. The sound is, as I said earlier, raw and mechanical. The whole experience is extremely visceral, and it stirs the emotions. At least it does to me, as I might be a bit weird. Here are two videos I took of L'Estage and Higgins.

After I watched all the cars (total elapsed time: ~5 minutes) go through the spectator section, I bought a Rally America t-shirt and called it a day. It may not seem like a big deal here, but I simply can't describe how much that day meant to me. It basically solidified my passion for rallying. Did I mention that I want to be a co-driver really badly?

*I may be biased, so don't shout at me.

DISCUSSION (51)

Brian Silvestro > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 10:59

This makes me want to buy a Fiesta for ~$10k, cage/skidplate/mudflaps/fire extignuisher/seats/belts and rally the shit out of it with you.

I hate being poor.

Haimatox > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 11:00

It doesn't even need to be a Fiesta haha. Any POS beater will do in rally, as Mr. Caswell has shown us.

Brian Silvestro > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 11:02

But Fiestas are awesome rally cars! Hmmm...what's a cheap FWD reliable manual car?

Haimatox > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 11:03

An old Focus, old GTI, civic, etc.

Brian Silvestro > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 11:06

Those make sense. I just want to go to Team O'Neil's rally school.

Haimatox > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 11:08

How about you go do that, and we'll go rallying after you've gotten a car. I'll brush up on my pacenote skills.

Brian Silvestro > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 11:10

I'm going to work my ass of this winter break to save up enough cash to actually make this happen, i swer on me mum

I need to brush up on my pacenote listening skills

Haimatox > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 11:12

I'll work and save up the cash for safety stuff.

Brian Silvestro > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 11:14

Rally, yay!

I'm going to my first rallycross this weekend, so yeah.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 11:19

Does the car need to be FWD?

http://theshadetree.kinja.com/the-sho-time-c…

Haimatox > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts
10/05/2014 at 11:20

Well no, but Brian gave a FWD example.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 11:23

Ah, I follow ya. Once I find enough parts to resurrect the old 2.8, this pile of rust is getting caged. Did just find a nice Offy 4 bbl intake and holley 390CFM carb for it.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 13:37

This reminds me of STPR 2011, my first (and currently only) Rally. Road trip out there (a few hours east), stand in the pouring rain the entire time, get pelted with gravel from being on the outside of a hairpin, and only get to be at that one turn.

Best time of my life. Every year I keep meaning to go back but I haven't made it since.

Haimatox > Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey
10/05/2014 at 13:38

I was hoping to go to ESPR this year, but stuff got in the way. Busy schedule=no rally, unfortunately.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 13:43

I know the feeling.

ADeleteMe > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 13:46

Festiva.

Brian Silvestro > ADeleteMe
10/05/2014 at 13:47

I just found this amazing thing on the Craigs'

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/4683022198…

Jake > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 14:26

Great write up. Makes me reminisce about this past year; between attending Dirtfish and visiting all the rallies I could. The only thing is this feeling never goes away. It's always just as exciting. Can't wait for SnoDrift.

Haimatox > Jake
10/05/2014 at 14:30

Thanks man. I'm hoping to go to some rallies during my last summer before college.

Dusty Ventures > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 15:11

Kinja'd!!!

FYI: This is (was) Dillon Van Way's Fiesta. He's not connected to Team O'Neil in any way.

Haimatox > Dusty Ventures
10/05/2014 at 15:12

Shoot. I was kind of right. I was looking through my other pictures, saw the O'Neil Fiesta in blue and white, and assumed this was it.

Dusty Ventures > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 15:18

In fairness the odds were with you. Almost all the Fiestas are O'Neil cars

Haimatox > Dusty Ventures
10/05/2014 at 15:20

This was the rally where the steering wheel came off, right?

Dusty Ventures > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 15:28

$8,000 Protege (Pretty!)

$4,300 Civic

$3,500 Ford Contour

Dusty Ventures > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 15:29

Yep!

Brian Silvestro > Dusty Ventures
10/05/2014 at 15:30

HOLY JESUS

Rusty, you're going to make me make a bad decision stahp

Susan > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 15:47

Kinja'd!!!

Yup.. just about any car will do.

Haimatox > Susan
10/05/2014 at 15:48

What about a Prius? There should be a Prius rally car. It'd give it some excitement.

Susan > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 15:55

lol.. you probably could, but it'd take more effort to make it light enough to jump.. I'd start with a 1gen if you're going to do that. lol

Jake > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 16:29

Definitely dude. This is my senior year as well, and I plan on attending every one within driving distance of NY. Let me know what you plan on making it out to, always great to meet a fellow opponaut.

Haimatox > Jake
10/05/2014 at 16:35

I will. I'll see what's on the calendar first.

TheRallyStache > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 21:57

My plans involve a B15 Sentra SE-R Spec V. Undersquare (read, good torque) 2.5l 4 cylinder, close ratio 6 speed, torsion (torque sensing) LSD, and can be had for under $3000. Brand new engine from Nissan is roughly $2000. Parts are abundant and dirt cheap.

Brian Silvestro > TheRallyStache
10/05/2014 at 21:59

Welp, now I have to get one.

TheRallyStache > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 21:59

Great story, and wonderful photo documentation! I always end up getting too caught up in the event to remember to take pictures, I'm afraid. Have you gone to any of the Rally America races this year?

TheRallyStache > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 22:02

I was hoping to attend the full Rally America calender this year, but because my job (up until a month ago) paid what Huffington Post literally called " poverty level wages " I could only afford to make the first three, and I'll be at LSPR in two weeks.

TheRallyStache > Brian Silvestro
10/05/2014 at 22:04

I've been trying to get Danny Norkus/Billy Irving to sell me this one , but he hasn't responded back to me. If I save up enough though, I might just build one from scratch.

Haimatox > TheRallyStache
10/05/2014 at 22:05

Thanks! And unfortunately I have not been able to go to any rallies at all since then... School and other activities have always gotten in the way.

TheRallyStache > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 22:07

I'll be up at LSPR in a week or two, first chance I've had since STPR to make it out. I started the year well and made it to Sno*Drift, 100AW, OTR and then STPR, but then finances crippled my goal of a full calender.

Haimatox > TheRallyStache
10/05/2014 at 22:09

I hope you enjoy it then! All of the RA events are at least five hours from my home. NASA Rally Sport, on the other hand, has two within two hours. I'm probably going to see a NASA event next.

TheRallyStache > Haimatox
10/05/2014 at 22:10

Where do you live? I'm in West Michigan, and all but Sno*Drift are an 8.5 hr drive minimum.

Haimatox > TheRallyStache
10/05/2014 at 22:12

Upstate NY. That's why NEFR was the closest event, and I can't afford to drive much more than five hours each way at the moment.

Brian Silvestro > TheRallyStache
10/05/2014 at 22:28

Damn that's a nice car. Buy it!