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The

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2/242 Motorsport Club of Ottawa The Link Jul/Aug 2004 http://www.mco.org

Board of DirectorsPresident Ron Woltman H: (613) 831-8682 W: (613) 863-5360 [email protected]

Vice-President Bennett Leckie H: (613) 258-0348 W: (613) 822-1765 [email protected] Wheel, Public Relations Sam Mandia H: (613) 745-4227 W: (613) 228-0250 [email protected] II Charles Payne H: (613) 792-1083 W: (613) 772-7349 [email protected] Muise H: (613) 270-0982 W: (613) 765-9169 [email protected] Microys H: (613) 822-7204 W: (613) 765-5744 F: (613) 763-8312 C: (613) 761-0306 [email protected]

Appointed Officers and Executive MembersKarting Paul Swinwood H: (613) 720-3468 W: (613) 237-8551 x133 F: (613) 230-3490 [email protected] Craig Hamm H: (613) 727-3192 W: (613) 596-7107 [email protected]

Solo I Jeff Graves H: (613) 258-0497 W: (613) 843-3000 x5859 [email protected] David E. Butler H: (613) 596-5518 W: (613) 226-7755 x16 F: (613) 828-4400 [email protected] Membership Albert CohoeTreasurer Robert Benson H: (613) 837-2051 W: (613) 995-7374 [email protected] John Powell H: (613) 835-2910 F: (613) 835-3471 (call first) [email protected] Merchandise Co-ordinator Craig Hamm H: (613) 727-3192 W: (613) 596-7107 [email protected]

Web Site Manger Aleida Dikland C: (613) 298-5918 [email protected] Editor Steven Fong C: (613) 868-0476 [email protected] Editor Alan Ritchie H: (613) 745-6424 [email protected]

Associated ContactsOntario Race Committee Rep Cindy Armstrong H: (613) 489-2725 [email protected]

General meetings are held thefirst Tuesday of every month at 7pm. All are welcome. Meetings areheld at:

Louis Steakhouse1682 Cyrville RoadOttawa, Ontario

You can contact and find moreinformation about the MCO byphone, web or mail.

Hotline telephone(613)788-0525

Web Sitehttp://[email protected]

Hosted by:

MailM.C.O.P.O. Box 65006Merivale Postal OutletNepean, OntarioK2G 5Y3

RallySporOntario

Affiliated withCanadian Automobile Sport Clubs - Ontario Region (CASC-OR)

ASN Canada FIARallySport Ontario (RSO)

Canadian Association of Rally Sport (CARS)

Ontario Kart Racing

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The LINK is the official publication of the Motorsport Club of Ottawa. Theopinions expressed in the LINK do not necessarily reflect those of the LINKEditorial Staff or the Clubs Executive. Though all efforts are made to ensurethat facts stated in the articles herein are accurate, the individual contributorsshould check the accuracy of their articles prior to submission.

A new award will be presented at

this years MCO Awards Banquet inNovember. While the Golden Pen Awardgoes to the most prolific contributor ofstories to The Link, the Peoples ChoiceWriting Award will recognize the creativetalents of just one writer.

Stories from Linkissues fromNovember 2003 to October 2004 willbe eligible. As you receive each issueof The Linkthroughout the year, takenote of the stories you like the best. InOctober, choose your favourite storyand cast a vote. One member, one vote- but thats not to say you cant try toinfluence your MCO friends and family in

this matter!The purpose of this award is torecognize the best story in The Link.It might involve a motorsport memory,working an event, competing or perhapsa story of your favourite car, an incident,or a motorsport friend. It will be up toeach member to cast a vote.

So keep track of your favourite storyor, better yet, write one yourself. Youmight be the first winner of the extremelycool Peoples Choice Writing Award!

Full page with web link $150Half page with web link $75

Quarter page $35Business card size $25

Business card size for MCOmembers FREE

Web UpdateMCO Media

662 photos online23 .Mpg, 12 .Mov and 2 .rm video clips

8 slide shows

MCO Forum has2390 forum topics, with 9887 replies

621 forum members

See for yourself at:http://www.mco.org

Summer is over. Yes, admit to your-self. Only a few months left until most ofour readers hibernate their chosen motor-sport aspirations. Not to worry though,there are few more races, Solos andrallies. Check out the slew of event flyersin this issue, and of course the web site.

Speaking of the web site. Slowlybut surely there have been changes and

the addition of new features. One is thegrowing library of photos and video, kindlydonated, well maybe hunted down is abetter word (Alieda is relentless), on theweb site. On this very page is a coun-ter of the library statistics. Much morecheery than tickers of smoking deaths,car accidents or national deficits. Theother new feature is mobile access to theweb site via PocketPC or Palm PDAs. Allyou technocrati can catch MCO updatesand do data acquisition while whizzingaround the track. Ohhh, the nerdy joy!

It was a banner season for Solo 2,with the return of a regional event andour first ProSolo. Such an event, that thenormal centerfold picture spread is oc-cupied by the regional race report. Thereis also a novices journey from Toronto toparticipate in this event. The 5 hour driveis notable by itself, but the choice of caris unique. Lets just say maximum torqueat zero RPM.

Personally, it was learning summeralso. Im sure as youre probably painfullyaware that when you drive harder, you

wear out and break faster. Comes withthe territory. So, it is time to start tolearn how to do basic car maintenanceand repair. When my winter beaterrequired new brake pads and rotors, I wasall eager to learn this simple task. Well,lets just say 9 years of rust suck. And an-other weird coincidence, all three cars Imresponsible for, required brake servicingwithin the week. Practice indeed.

Until next issue, look for the prettyfalling leaves.

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Wither the Ted Powell Summer TrophyRaces? Say what? No more TPSTR?Perhaps.?

We did a great job. We organized agreat weekend. We had all of the criticalroles filled from within the club. We had,

once again, perfect weather. SMP was,as usual a great venue. We went out ofour way to be as helpful as we could.Yet, we had ~ 60 entries not counting,of course, the Honda Michelin ChallengeSeries, for which I say THANK YOU!!

The reasons: the date one week af-ter the VARAC Mosport weekend seems tosuck the enthusiasm from many regionalracers, especially the open-wheel crowd.SMP too far from the GTA and thereare already two or three SMP weekends.Too many regional weekends and notenough racers to go around! MCOs ownracers dont turn up!

What to do? Move to the bigsmoke? Yikes thats scary! Get abetter weekend? Move to a new venue?Reduce the number of regional weekends?

Pay MCO racers to come out to their ownevent?

First, a better weekend. MCO getslast pick of weekend choice because ofprecedent, provenance, and new boyson the block and other barfle-gab. Be-

lieve me when I say, I have argued force-fully these past three years to enlightenmy colleagues on the short-sightednessof this. A stone-wall.

Have fewer events? No one is willingto give up their date (s), -- even if theyhave two events, because, thats the wayit has always been. MCO, can of course,drop out. My argument to CASC-OR isMCO should be at the table if OR (On-tario Region) means anything. Otherwise,change the name to CASC-GTA.

Move the venue. Well, Mosport isout, and while Calabogie Motorsport Parkis coming on stream in 2005, will they beready or willing to host a race? If SMPis too far from the GTA, will anyone trekto Calabogie (wheres that), even for thenovelty? Maybe, at first, but.?

MCO on yourHandheld

There is a new section to the web foreveryone unable to resist checking forinfo while at the track or on the road.

MCO Mobile at:http://www.mco.org/mobile/de-

fault.asp

New Tech DisclaimerThe mobile site does not work on phones

only Ipac/Palms. Open the forums/ex-ternal sites at your own risk. The forumsdo not have a mobile component in theapplication. If you have a handheld with

4MB of memory, you may have problemsdisplaying postings. External sites do nocurrently have a mobile component. You

may have problems displaying them.

What a fantastic season weve hadso far! Attendance is up from last yearsaverage of 35 competitors per event to

53. Revenues are on the positive sidedespite the increase in operating costand the purchase of new gear. Wevebeen able to double the number of runsper event thanks to new timing softwareand an exceedingly efficient tech., regis-tration and timing crew.

Weve had very successful eventsthat offer excellent value to Solo compet-itors. At one of our less attended events27 competitors got 15 runs each! Wevecelebrated our 2nd largest Solo II with atotal of 96 drivers! The MCO hosted itsfirst ProSolo and arguably the best 04Regional all in one weekend! We hostedtwo CADL/ MCO officially scored events,a first for the two clubs! Thats a lot ofexclamation points in one paragraph!

There were disappointing events andIm speaking of the ProSolo on August14th. It was our first, so Im not going todwell on what could have been. How-ever, one thing should be noted. Therewere only 35 drivers in attendance, andonly 13 of them were from our club.

And, MCO will need more peopleto stage a race at CMP, and more mar-shals, which mean more cost. Also, SMPhas been MCOs home for the past fewyears.

So, where does that leave us? As

the President, ORO representative, andas a member, I believe MCO should be arace organizer. We are one of the largest,successful and most diverse clubs, inToronto, oops, Ontario Region.

I believe MCO needs to better heardat the ORO table if we are to continueorganizing one of the best regional raceweekends around.

My time as President, however, hasrun short of sand. I will not be standingfor election in the club in November. Ibelieve it is in the best interests of MCOto have new leadership. I will continue tosit as Past President, and provide what-ever counsel and help is sought. I willalso continue to sit on ORO and organizeMCOs race weekend if that is in the bestinterests of the Club and new executive.

Where were the MCO guys? Granted Ishould have done a better job advertis-ing the event and making the rules more

clear, but only 13 MCO drivers showingup to any club event is very disappoint-ing, let alone something as specialas the ProSolo! I saw the same thinghappen with the MCO road racers at, orshould I say not at, the Ted Powell RaceWeekend. It frustrated me then too. Wetook a bath on Saturdays event. LuckilySundays event evened things out, muchlike the Honda Michelin Series did for theTed Powell. WE NEED TO SUPPORT OURCLUB EVENTS, especially the big ones!Thats all I have to say about that (hold-ing a box of chocolates).

Its been said weve raised the baron MCO Solo II events, and to that I re-spond our volunteers have raised the baron their commitment! We have an excel-lent crew of organizers and workers thisseason. Im so thankful for their depth ofknowledge and support for our series!When I took this position almost a yearago I only hoped to organize satisfactoryseries and not look like a fool doing it.Theyve made me, the series and the

club look good and for that I extend mydeepest thanks!

See you at the next event.

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BEMC Spring Trophy Races May 15 -16 Mosport

The second regional Weekend was atleast dry. Twenty-eight cars took the gridin the Formula Ford races, and competi-tion was intense.

Race #1 Lew MacKenzie fin-ished 2nd, just .748 ahead of 3rd placedriver Jonathan Hirst. Nigel Mortimerfinished 5th, Stefany Malanka 11th, RobPeters had a DNF. In class B Jean-Guy Fournier completed the race in 4thplace.

Race #2 Lew MacKenzie onceagain ran second, Nigel Mortimer 4th,Stefany Malanka 12th, and Rob PetersDNFd. Jean-Guy Fournier took 3rd placein Class B

Victoria Day Sprints - May 22- 23 Mosport

The weather was almost as bad asthe BARC weekend, but warmer. SamMandia running in the Isseco F1200class finished 11th and 8th in the 2 sched-uled races.

CRDA Shootout June 5 - 6 Shannonville

The Formula Ford grid contained 21

cars. The races were divided into twoseparate events with a qualifying sessionand race on consecutive days.

Race #1 Saturday Lew MacKenziefinished 5th, Nigel Mortimer 6th, RobPeters 10th, and Stefany Malanka 11th.

Race #3 Sunday Nigel Mor-timer 6th, Lew MacKenzie 7th, StefanyMalanka 11th, and Rob Peters 12th. Didyou happen to notice the reverse orderfor the Sunday races?

Making his debut was DominiqueLeBreton in Formula First, an entirely

new car for this driver, finishing all threeevents in 3rd place. Times were veryrespectable.

Another debut of sorts was GeorgeRau, in a car he built himself. Teethingproblems Im sure caused George to DNFthe first race, but he went on to post avery good time and a 3rd place finish inrace 2.

CASCAR June 19-20 Mosport

Competing in the ISSECO 1200Series, Sam Mandia soon discoveredjust how much oil 2 V-8 engines can carryand loose through a large hole in thecrankcase between turns one and four onthe racing line. So much for qualifying.

In race #1 Sam was able to finish 7thand after 40 minutes of racing in race #2he finished 9th.

VARAC June 26 27 Mosport

Race # 1 of the weekend had wetconditions for the start. Pier Bortotcrashed coming out of corner 10, andAdam Mortimer spun on the front

straight, doing a complete 360 and keptgoing. Lew Mackenzie finished 5th, Ni-gel Mortimer 7th, Jean-Guy Fournier17th andAdam Mortimer 3rd in Bclass.

Race # 2 Sunday. Lew Macken-zie finished 4th, while Nigel Mortimermade a three car pass on the last lap tofinish 7th. Jean-Guy Fournier finished17th, and after Saturdays mishap, PierBortot came home 19th. Adam Mor-timer in class B finished 6th.

To mark the 35th anniversary of for-mula ford a photo was taken on the groupof A & B cars near the exit of corner 10.The series has become very successfuland more competitors are on the way.

MCO Weekend July 3 4 Shannonville

A very small turnout of open wheelcars, run as winged and non-winged carshad groups of 5 & 6 respectively. Race #1 Sam Mandia finished first in f1200,but cracked the transmission in a corner

2 off-road incident. Dominic LeBretonfinished third in formula first. Sams dam-aged caused the weekend to end early forhim, while Dominic finished third in thefinal two races and won the InsideTrackaward as well.

DAC July 17-18 ShannonvilleA large turnout of open-wheel cars

was a pleasant surprise. Formula Fordhad 22, FV1200 had 14, and Libre had7 cars.

Saturdays races took place under adark and threatening sky all day. Resultsfrom the FV1200 race had Sam Mandiafinishing 6th, while in the Formula Fordcontest

Lew MacKenzie finished 4th, Nigel

Mortimer 5th, Stefany Malanka 8th, andDrew Wilcox had a DNF after 10 laps inGroup B.

A large storm front moved through onSaturday evening, with torrential rain andvery high winds, enough to overturn andflip a rather large canopy onto some hy-dro lines and :short out the entire track.

Sunday morningSunday morning, I lost my friend

BARC August 14-15

MosportAll the competitors appreciated greatweather over the two days. A large turn-out for the F1600 Challenge with 25 cars,divided into 15 class A (1985 to present),7 in class B (1973 to 1974), and 3 inclass C (1968 to 1972).

Race #1 on Saturday had NigelMortimer finishing second, with a train of5 cars right behind him. Lew MacKenziewas 8th, Pier Bortot 15th, and StefanyMalanka 20th.

In the B class Jean-Guy Fournier

was 3rd and Drew Wilcox 15th.Race #2 Sunday Lew MacKenzie

was 3rd, Nigel Mortimer 4th, StefanyMalanka 9th, Pier Bortot 13th. In B classagain Jean-Guy Fournier was 3rd, andunfortunately

DrewWilcox was a DNS.In the ISSECO 1200 Series, Sam

Mandia finished 5th, 6th, and 7th respec-tively in the weekend races. The differ-ences in time for all 3 races was .952seconds between Sam and Geoff Daviesof Toronto.

With only one race remaining in bothseries, the MCO drivers are well placed:

ISSECO 1200 5thSam MandiaOntario F1600 Challenge Class ALew MacKenzie 2nd

Nigel Mortimer 4th

Stefany Malanka 11th

Rob Peters 15th

Pier Bortot 18th

Ontario F1600 Challenge Class BJean-Guy Fournier 5th

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Whoa! How long has it been since thelast report? Sometime after the last reportyours truly snagged a jet to South Wales for10 days, followed by a week in Cyprus towatch the World Rally Championship roundthere, capped off with a few days in London.

I guess Ill have to write an article about wetWales and sunny Cyprus sometime. Suffice itto say for now that both are immensely beau-tiful countries with friendly people and percapita, a decent passion for motorsports.

Just prior to leaving the country Davidvan Remortel and I had Green Crewed theMangy Moose Rally, as organized by RobertRoaldi. I had also helped Robert measure itbefore that. The route was simple, not toolong, with easy navigational (navex) instruc-tions for Novices, and more tricky navexinstructions with some potential for trouble inthe Experts. The roads would have been intop notch condition, and the driving not toochallenging. The SMCC (Montreal) club hadbeen invited to participate, as the rally rannot too far from Vankleek Hill. SMCC werealso desperate to run a rally, as they hadmany event cancellations. Most unfortunate-ly only five teams (6?) ran the event, thoughsome were first timers, which is a plus. Ihave told Robert not to bother with theMoose next year if he doesnt want to. Its ashame for all the effort when the club doesnt

support the event. Maybe if it were run atnight? Another time of year? Let me know!The Totally Silly Drive did not run in June

as planned due to an organiser with othercommitments. The Waupoos Winery TourRally, which was to send some business tothat winery for their support of the 2003 TedPowell weekend ran successfully on a sunnySaturday morning, the weekend of the Mon-treal GP. Six teams came out for a non-com-petitive drive to the winery on some scenic,and sometimes very twisty, paved roads.Maybe we can run the event again in the fall

to send more bodies down to the winery.In June several MCO members (Jim

Morrow, Jeannie MacGillivray, Craig Seko andmyself) attended the RSO (RallySport Ontario)Stewards Course in Peterborough. This wasa most informative day long course. CraigSeko has already acted as a Steward at theBlack Bear Rally held in late June. The posi-tion of Steward is not easy. It became obvi-ous that while the official role of a Stewardis well defined, the reality is quite different.Youre supposed to know everything, and be

a diplomat, and final authority, and not getin the organisers way, but you have to stickyour nose in officially here and there. Itsa very fine line. My advice, be nice to theStewards!

The Maple Leaf Rally Club (MLRC)

ran the Black Bear Rally June 26. WarrenHaywood and Jodie Shay were doing great,dicing times with a quick Gr2 Nissan Sentrauntil an unfortunate incident on Stage 3. Nodamage was done to the car, but the timepenalty was massive, dropping them fromfourth overall (second in class) to last. Thewinners of this Ontario Regional event camefrom Montego Bay, Jamaica! They had pur-chased the ex-factory Open Class Subaru ofTom McGeer, and the rally was a shakedownon the purchase. They had never driven thecar until that morning. Incredible result, andreally nice guys. I guess the shakedown wassuccessful.

The SMCC Hot Dog BBQ Rally ran withonly 9 teams, quite a disappointment, asthe paved roads around Mirabel are fun fordriving. The rally was attended by three MCOteams. After the rain from hell at the start,we headed off for a simple event, just over100 km in length, ending at the organisershouse, where we had free hot dogs, snacksand condiments, and the hardcores stuckaround and watched the original Italian Job

on a big screen in the driveway, completewith big sound! Wish I had neighbours likethat!

MCO member Ryan Huber is the RSOVP Road Rally this year and hasnt been asinvolved in the regional road rally series thisyear (after winning Novice last year, andbeing promoted to Intermediate). Im pleasedto report that Ryan took the navigators seatat the Automapic Rally a few weeks ago, andwon his class with a 20 minute margin!

On very short notice we have the RSOHam Radio Course coming up. Check the

website for details if its not too late. RallyMeetings will resume in September, but ifattendance is too low I expect I will not con-tinue the practice. While we had a successfullate winter and spring with holding seminars,it has been a lot of effort to get people out.Some people in the group, oddly, dont evenknow we have meetings! Some missed theONLY co-drivers course given in Ontario thisyear, by a former National Champion (andMCO member)! Some dont come out andmeet their fellow rallyists, even when they

are going to attend the Targa. After severalyears I still have to push very hard to keepthe group busy. The rally scene in Ottawaisnt about ME, and if it is, thats wrong.Contribute, volunteer, start making a route,propose a new event format, work a check-

point, marshal a stage rally, dont wait to beasked, just do it, do something!

Speaking of doing something, JodieShay and I are busy preparing our rallies forthe autumn. This September 18, we seethe return of the Golden Pine Rally, runningout of Renfrew for the first time. This time itwill be run at night, and be about 350 km inlength. This will be a challenging drive witheasy navigation on gravel you shouldnt miss.Jodie knows the area, so he picks the bestroads. Details are on the website. On Oc-tober 30, I am running the Lanark HighlandsRally, the third last round of the Ontario RoadRally Championship (ORRC). With 29 teamsthe club event was so well received last yearthat it immediately became a hot item for theregional championship. We will draw up to40 teams this year, including perhaps someAmerican teams.

The last word goes to the Rideau Run(RR) Rally, again organized by our own verywily navigator, Robert Roaldi. The RR isbeing held August 28 out of Perth. The flyershould be in this Link issue. Expect ap-

proximately 20 teams for this Regional eventPlease come out and enjoy the roads, or helpout if you can.

Upcoming Rally events:RSQ Rallye Draveurs (Quebec Regional

performance event), August 14,Maniwaki

MCO Rideau Run Rally (club and ORRC),August 28, Perth

MCO Golden Pine Rally (club road rally),Renfrew, September 18

MCO Lanark Highlands Rally (club and ORRC)October 30, Maberly

2004 Four Star Motorsports RallycrossSeries, August 22, September19, October 17, location TBA.Series coordinator: David Paisley- [email protected]

Rallye Defi, National Performance Event,September 10-11

PMSC Galway-Cavendish Forest Rally,Regional performance event, October 2

Rally of the Tall Pines, National performanceevent, November 20
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

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COTNAMSPORT [see COTNAM-

SPORT.CA for amongst other thingsFree On-line Driver Training] hasentered a rare 75 Jensen-Healey inNorth Americas longest tarmac Rally -the fabulous Targa Newfoundland [seeTargaNewfoundland.com]. Jensen-Healeys are very rare [less than 900of the original 10,453 made from 72-75 are still left], they were a sequelto the famous Austin Healey. Power isdelivered by a Lotus Formula II engineand performance to match a Porsche911, but with near perfect weightdistribution, for more predictablehandling.

2004 is only the 3rd running ofthis event - fashioned after the TargaFlorio in Italy & most recently paral-lelled by 2 events in the SouthernHemisphere.

With considerable experiencein Formula cars, Karting, Rally-ing & endurance athletics seniorCOTNAMSPORT employee, MarkCotnam is thoroughly looking forward

to the challenge that 2,200 kms

of serpentine blacktop will provide.Co-driver/navigator Bob Clark fromMaryland is also an experienced partof the team, he is both a masterdiving instructor and pilot, we expectBob to apply his own unique style intelling Mark where to go - and takingthe helm when the Canuck tires. Itwas Bobs uncommon decisivenessthat made this years entry a certainty.due to his positiveness, it looks likeother LBCs [Little British Cars] will

join the event in 2005 [more Jensencars and hopefully an additionalproper Mini]. Our secret weapon willbe unveiled by mid July, our mechani-cal service wizard will garner hugerespect from the racing community.

Marks only living Canadian folkhero General Lewis Mackenzie [withhis old friend - middle aged NigelMortimer] will fly through the eventin a new SRT4 turbo. To enjoy thesethree mens company [competitorsand team mate] over seven days will

be unfathomable good fun. It doesnt

get any better - trust me.Support from the MCO, Motro-

sport Club of Ottawa has been hugeand this club recently celebrating its50th anniversary, may in fact sendmore teams than any other area in theworld [ no small feat] - thereby makingit eligible for the Churchill MotorsportTrophy.

The delight of this event isnt justthe 500 kms. @ up to speeds of 200kms/hr with roads closed & therefore

immunity - but scenery that is sobreathtaking even professional driversfind it distracting.

The exposure is near incalculable -not just through print media worldwide& SPEEDs coverage to 70,000,000households, the world motoring presshas huge interest in this perfect set-ting for well prepared teams ironingout public roads at a well kept secrettourist destination. But the endorse-ment doesnt end there - some friendlyrivalry between Canada and the the

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USA has spawned a twinning of theevent with the Cannonball One lap ofAmerica. Therefore interest is hugethroughout North America. There like-ly will be no other motorsport event inCanada this year with a bigger audi-ence - with the obvious exception ofour nations Grand Prix.

While entry in Targa Newfoundland

is certain, the plan includes Cannon-ball One Lap of America, GT III at Le-mans and then a surprise for Ottawa.

The Team has already investedapproximately $21,000 in the car.With budget finalized & sponsorshipsolicitation near full swing - space isavailable on the car for corporate,institutional and private sponsorshipmessages.

Be part of a first class Ottawabased Team as we take on the worldin 2004s Targa Newfoundland. We

are soliciting sponsorship with up to5 spaces available. If you prefer to

just view or spectate, both the SPEEDchannel and Global cover the event, aswell the organizers easily navigatedweb site. Please wish us good luckand Gods Speed. Safe motoring toall.

a

bb

b c

ed

fa) cap....................................................$15b) windbreaker and track pants.............$40c) travel mug.........................................$6d) pen....................................................$7

case..................................................$8pen and case ................ ............... .....$15

e) 2 diameter MCO badge ...................$3f) key chain............ ................ ...............$5

Special thanks to sponsorOttawa Clutch for their contri-

bution to the team.

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If people had told me, a mere twomonths ago, that I would drive for fivehours to dodge pylons, Id have laughedin their faces. The idea just seemed,well, ludicrous. How much fun could this

Autocross thing possibly be especial-ly for a girl whose idea of fun was seeingif she could make the fuel consumptionlevels drop below 3.8L/100 km (yes,you read that right) on her Insight?

The answer: its so much fun itshould be illegal. What is it that makesAutocross in general, and Regional event#7 in specific, so great? Well, lets recapthe weekend from a newbie, H-Stockpoint of view.

Saturday

04:00Bolt awake in bed and realizeyoure too excited to sleep. Debatethe pathetic nature of this, but getout of bed anyway. You can kill thethree hours before you have toleave, right?

04:30Get sucked into the Solo IIforum after making a cup of tea.

06:30Curse Solo II forum andscramble for the shower.

08:35Bust a gut on the 401 watchinga silver VW turn construction pylonsinto a slalom in 40 km/h traffic.

Fast-forward a few hours.11:00The 401 north of Toronto is

moving well. Its sunny. Its warm.The conversation is good... well getback to that last point.

14:00Arrive at the Corel Centre towatch the remainder of the ProSoloevent. Make a mental note not toskip the ProSolo event next time itlooks like fun!

Listen to competitors talk about theirrespective wins and losses - some

at louder volumes than others.17:00Tag along for the awards dinner.Person A to Insight drivers: So, whogot the better fuel economy gettinghere? Insight drivers: [exchangeraised eyebrows] Opal: Uh, actually,I came up in Guillermos car... hesletting me co-drive. Guillermo:4.4L/100km at an average speedof [deleted to protect the innocent]!Person A: Waitaminute... the Insightdrivers carpooled? The occupants ofthree tables dissolve in fits of laughter.

19:00Check in to campground. Pitchtent. Discover that you can, indeed,make grown men blush by makingbad jokes about blowing [up] an airmattress.

20:30Realize that youre definitelynot in Kansas anymore... you justwatched not 1, but 3, men walkright by Linux Journal in Chapterswithout so much as blinking. Oh,right: the automotive section is thenext aisle. Never mind.

21:00Drink beer while crowdingaround a racing magazine in an Irishpub.

Sunday05:45Wake up for the Nth time to

highway noise. Understand why thecampground was so cheap.

07:30Arrive at the Corel Centre. Helpprep car, register... you know thedrill.

08:30Walk the course.

09:15Still walking... have I mentionedthat the course was really big?

10:00First run of the day. Gawk openlyat first few cars through the course.

10:25Make first attempt at course. Itwas slow as hell, but on course anddidnt involve any cones. This mightturn out okay.

10:30Report for marshaling andget assigned to whiteboard duty:recording drivers times as they areannounced to the crowd, so driversdont have to wait for the end of therun printout. Brilliant idea? Definitely.

11:00Go on as many runs as apassenger as you can. Discoverthat some people think 100 lbs ofpassenger is too much on a Regionalevent day.

12:00Field questions about the Insight.Yes, it is fast for a hybrid, isnt it? No,the car looks really dumb withoutthe wheel skirts, they are stayingon. Yes, Im recharging the batterybetween runs.

13:00Its nearly time for run five;tired and hot, run times stoppedimproving. So, call in a favour. JasonDrummond takes shotgun in theInsight and screams instructions

through the entire course: Faster,faster! Brake! Apex now! Accelerate!And hey, the run was faster.13:30Run six, repeat the performance

from run five. Participate in adifference of opinion:

Jason: You didnt brake in that lastsweeper, like I told you to.

Opal: Why do you keep telling me tobrake? I dont need to brake! Im

accelerating in that corner!Jason: What?14:00The first six runs are done. Now,

the organizers are promising eightruns.

14:20Dodge dirty looks as Drummondshaves nearly a second off of his

best time and cheers loudly enoughthat half of the parking lot hears him.

Opal: Uh, sorry?15:00The sky clouds up and the

temperature drops a little. Driversperk up and run times drop somemore.

15:15Watch a Mazda spin out in anamazing display. Wish your cameradidnt have dead batteries.

15:50Realize that Subaru envy has nocure.

16:00Last car.16:20Drivers meeting. Cross fingers,

toes, and eyes with vain hopes ofwinning some Williams Performancebrake pads.

16:30Ponder how many pylons Andrewcan fit in that VW during cleanup.

17:00Begin the long trek back toSouthern Ontario.

Was the trip to Ottawa worth it?Hell yesbut you had that figured outalready.

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CASC-OR 2004 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship SeriesSponsored by Williams Performance Friction,

Event # 7 Directors Report

The next event in the CASC-OR 2004 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship Series Sponsored by Williams

Performance Friction season was on August 15. Event # 7, in the Ontario wide series, took place at the CorelCentre in Kanata. A venue located just outside of our Nations Capitol and the hosting club was the Motorsport

Club of Ottawa.

Williams Performance Frictions Top Scoring Competitor David

Sibbitt in his Mazda Protg Photo by Sonia Tanney

The weather was perfect and the course fast. 68 competitor

including about 45 regular regional people made the trip to

Ottawa to get eight runs on the 55 second course. 18 classeswere represented with 11 being filled (3 competitors or

more). There were a couple of classes being represented forthe first time in the season.

The Corel Centre parking lot is one of the biggest, if no thebiggest lot the series runs on and for most competitors that

open and fast course was welcomed. The course seemed tofavour medium horse powered cars with handling. It was also an interesting change, with a number of MCOcompetitors that have not run a regional series event, so the regulars got to compete against some new blood.

Timing is an important part of Autoslalom Photo by Sonia Tanney

The winner of the Williams Performance Friction Top Competitor Awardfor the top competitor on the day, was David Sibbitt, in his F-Super-Stock

Mazda Protg. The fastest time of the day again went to Bill Rogerson inhis 1985 Toyota MR2.

A huge thanks goes out to the series registrar, Tony Kloosterman, whoagain was the first person on site, making sure that registration goes as

smooth as possible. And of course, thanks to our series sponsors; Mobil 1,Williams Performance Friction, Tsunami Technologies Group

Inc./Reaction Grafix, Mad Macs Communications, Wheel and Tire Zone,

Both Feet In Performance Driving Interactive CD, and CG-Lock.

Wes TanneyCASC-OR Solo 2 Director

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Fastest Time of the Day went to Bill Rogerson Photo by Sonia Tanney

TOP 10 COMPETITORS FOR EVENT 7

Name Novice Club Vehicle Class Best Time (Backup%) Points

1 David Sibbitt TAC 91 Mazda Protege GT RFSS 57.862 ( 57.878) 100.000

2 Daniel Fryer WOSCA 02 Subaru WRX RESS 54.750 ( 54.790) 100.000

3 Doug Logan PMSC 03 Mazda MazdaSpeed RDSS 54.970 ( 55.025) 100.000

4 Jay Watson MSOC 01 Mazda Miata RCSS 53.155 ( 53.220) 100.000

5 Jason Drummond HADA 93 Honda Civic SHS 57.994 ( 58.087) 100.000

6 Brian Sibbitt N TAC 03 Mazdaspeed Protege SDS 55.426 ( 55.520) 100.000

7 Ralph O'Brien WOSCA 99 Honda Prelude SGS 57.011 ( 57.123) 100.000

8 Andrew Cordeiro TLMC 01 VW GTi PDSP 53.538 ( 53.686) 100.000

9 Robert Tuck N TAC 00 Mazda Miata SCS 55.905 ( 56.083) 100.000

10 Jeff Johnson 90 Mazda Miata SES 57.924 ( 58.257) 100.000

TOP 10 NOVICES FOR EVENT 7


1 Brian Sibbitt N TAC 03 Mazdaspeed Protege SDS 55.426 ( 55.520) 100.000

2 Robert Tuck N TAC 00 Mazda Miata SCS 55.905 ( 56.083) 100.000

3 Ivano Di Pietro N WOSCA 00 Subaru Legacy SHS 58.493 ( 58.723) 99.146

4 Trung Do N WOSCA 04 Subaru Impreza STI SAS 55.208 ( 56.125) 98.637

5 Rhys Hayes N WOSCA 02 Subaru WRX RESS 56.843 ( 57.897) 96.317

6 Tashko Sarakinov N MLRC 91 Mitsubishi Talon TSi PESP 57.693 ( 58.225) 91.843

FASTEST 10 COMPETITORS FOR EVENT 7


1 Bill Rogerson St.Lac. 85 Toyota MR2 MCM 52.569 ( 53.446) 100.000

2 Peter Lejbjuk WOSCA 02 Subaru WRX PESP 52.987 ( 53.312) 100.000

3 Patrick Yorke HADA 93 Honda Civic Si MCM 52.995 ( 53.008) 99.196

4 Jay Watson MSOC 01 Mazda Miata RCSS 53.155 ( 53.220) 100.000

5 Andrew Cordeiro TLMC 01 VW GTi PDSP 53.538 ( 53.686) 100.000

6 Tony Kloosterman WOSCA 02 Subaru WRX PESP 53.611 ( 54.285) 98.836

7 Mike Aversa WOSCA 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS PDSP 53.725 ( 54.289) 99.651

8 Luca Perin WOSCA 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS PDSP 53.747 ( 53.778) 99.611

9 David Taira MSOC 91 Mazda Miata PCSP 53.791 ( 54.316) 97.994

10 Bill Reid St.Lac. 85 Toyota MR2 MCM 54.353 ( 54.932) 96.717

CASC-OR 2004 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship Series Overall Standings (Top Ten)Name Status Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4 Event 5 Event 6 Event 7 Total

1 Brian Sibbitt NQ 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 600.000

2 Joe Trinidad Q 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 99.497 99.521 599.018

3 Tony Kloosterman Q 96.277 100.000 100.000 99.915 100.000 100.000 98.836 598.751

4 Trung Do NQ 97.632 99.629 100.000 100.000 98.567 99.270 98.637 596.103

5 Peter Lejbjuk Q 100.000 96.124 100.000 99.932 99.017 100.000 595.073

6 Marshall McLean Q 97.128 97.109 100.000 100.000 99.186 99.047 99.361 594.722

7 Robert Tuck NQ 99.812 100.000 96.476 98.012 100.000 100.000 594.300

8 Wes Tanney Q 100.000 100.000 97.036 97.393 96.236 100.000 99.724 594.153

9 Mike Aversa Q 96.536 100.000 100.000 100.000 97.237 96.883 99.651 593.771

10 Ralph O'Brien Q 93.468 100.000 Org 100.000 100.000 100.000 593.468

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The 2004 Mangy Moose car rallywas held last May 8th, starting andfinishing at Herbs Restaurant just offthe 417 south of Vankleek Hill. It was acloudy but warm afternoon but the entrywas only 5 cars. The route wound its

way along the gravel backroads westand south from Herbs, turning backeast near Maxville, wound its way backnorth of Alexandria then through Dalkeithbefore heading back to the finish. It wasabout 140 km long, or about 2.5 hoursdriving time.

The terrain east of Ottawa consistsmainly of flat farmland broken up by

2004 Mangy Moose Results

Driver NavigatorCar#Class CP1 CP2 CP3 CP4 CP5 CP6 CP7 Finish Total Position

Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff Christoph Trauttmansdorff 2E 0 0.0 0.4 0.3 1.2 0.1 0.6e 0 2.6 1

Ryan Huber Matt Barnes 1E 0 0.7e 1.2e 0.5e 1.7e 0.2e 0.5e 1 5.8 2

Matthieu Brazeau Patrick Yelle 3N 1e 0.7 0.4 1.3 0.1 0.4e 0.5 1e 5.4 1

Scott MacDonald Brian MacDonald 4N 4e 3.8 0.1 0.1 2.5 1.3e 0.4 1 13.2 2

Jeff Dale Angela Mann 5N 1e 0.7 2.4 20.0 20.0 7.8 1.4e 5e 58.3 3

e = Early penalty

Time Allowances

The scores above include the following TAs.

Car # CP:TA

1 5:11.5

2 5:5.5

3 5:4.5

4 1:1.5

Many thanks to the following workers

Jim Morrow Registration + CP 1 & 6

David Van CP 2 & 7

Dave Butler CP 3Jaak Laan CP 5

Robert Roaldi Org & CP 4

Craig Hamm/David Van Green-Crew

Special Thanks to these HAM operators from the Prescott-Russell A.R.E.S. Group

Norm Pitre VA3 NHK

Henry VA3 OV

Michael Hickey VE3 IPC

the occasional stream or river and itsdifficult to find hidden CP locations.Few of the 7 check points were zeroed,and only one team missed as coupleof checkpoints, before getting back onroute, so the level of difficulty of both

sets of instructions was fair.The check point by check point

results are given below. At scored to thetenth controls, penalties are assignedas 0.1 point for every tenth of a minuteearly or late; the indication e indicatesearly. At timed to the minute controls,penalties of 1 point per minute, eitherearly or late, apply. Check points 1 and

the finish were timed to the whole minuteand the rest were scored to the tenth ofa minute.

Congratulations to the classwinners, Ferdinand/Christoff Trautt-

mansdorff in Expert class, and to Mat-thieu Brazeau/ Patrick Yelle in Noviceclass. Workers are identified in thetable below with special thanks to CraigHamm for driving when laying out theroute and then driving it again to green-crew. Special thanks to Jim Morrow forhis triple yeoman duty at Registration aswell as manning two check points.

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What?- A brisk night time event on a verygood gravel surface!

- Another great MCO drivex!- A gravel tune up for Lanark Highlands

perhaps!- 1 level of instruction, but all drivex(distance-to-turn).

- 1 Leg (1 rest stop on route), lengthabout 250 km.

- FreeTime Allowances (email me ifyou have any questions).

Where?- Start at Shell service station, Egan-ville. Finish Irving Restaurant, Pem-broke. Near, and just a little East ofGolden Lake.

- Yes, its far, but we want the FANTAS-TIC ROADS!

When?- Saturday night, September 18, 2004.- Approximate times: Car 0 leaves at10 pm. Car 0 finishes at 3 am.

How do I enter?STEP 1. Complete the online pre-registration. Registration for thosenot pre-registered online (HIGHLY

recommended) from 7-9 PM.STEP 2. Show up on rally night, signthe waiver, etc. Your done!

How Much?- Cost: $35 if at least one on the team isan MCO member, $45 otherwise.

- Special offer, SMCC members get MCO rate.A thank you for the Hot Dog BBQ Rally!

- Online pre-registration for workers andcompetitors.- Plaques for 1st place in each class.Any other things I should know?- Yeah, the organiser knows the areaextremely well. He picks only the mostripe, well seasoned, roads.

- Bring the usual paperwork (driverslicense, proof of insurance, valid vehicleregistration)

- SELF SUPPORTING RETRO-REFLECTIVESAFETY TRIANGLE REQUIRED. Entry

denied otherwise.- Cars creating a negative impression ofthe sport (e.g. excessively loud) neednot apply (RSO RR 22.2).

- Auxilliary forward lighting shall be wiredthrough the High/Low beam switch(RSO RR 21.8).

- There are few Quiet Zones, but QuietZone violations are strictly enforced: 10minute penalty for first offence, exclu-sion thereafter.

- We have FANTASTIC roads. When werun this event top teams travel fromMontreal, Peterborough and the GTA forthis event. Dont miss out again!

- Strongly recommend NOT using allseason tires. Think gravel.

Golden Pine RallyCant play, want to help?- HAM radio coverage at most con-trols.

- Non-radio helpers needed too!- All workers will receive a token of our

appreciation.Want More?- Information updates on MCO GoldenPine Rally forum topic.

- Organiser and Routemaster: JodieShay (email: [email protected] event info)

- Chief Marshal, Craig Hamm (email:[email protected] for volunteering inquir-ies)

Other MCO RalliesRideau Run Rally, Aug 28, Perth, ONLanark Highlands Rally, Oct 30, Mab-erly, ON

Third event in the MCO 2004 Road Rally ChampionshipEganville, ON18-19 September 2004

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After seeing an advertisementin a recent issue of the Ottawa AutoMart magazine, I test rode an elec-tric bicycle. A used car dealership,Auto-Choice on Cyrille Road, hasbegun selling re-chargeable electricbicycles that they acquire from asupplier in Montreal, where the littlescooters are already very popular.My brother, who lives in Montreal,attests to the fact that he sees

them zipping around town all thetime. Mr. Carl Baker of Auto-Choiceinforms me that they are alreadyvery popular in many areas in theU.S., especially Florida.

They are imported from Chinaand there are several models avail-able, ranging from something thatlooks very much like a traditionalupright bicycle with spoke wheelsto more modern looking designswith alloy wheels and sleek fair-

ings. Except for a tiny model thatsintended for use on factory floorsor in similar confines, they all haveregular bicycle pedals that can beused to assist the electric motoras human-powered backup. Pricesrange from about $1000 to $1500Cdn plus tax. The smaller pedal-lessrunabout I mentioned above sellsfor about half of that.

They are propelled by a rear

hub-mounted 300 watt DC electricmotor that is powered by a 36volt re-chargeable sealed lead-acidbattery. The battery housing on allmodels is locked with a key andthe battery module can be eas-ily removed and carried inside forre-charging. Top speed is about 25kph on level ground with a maxi-mum distance from a full charge of40-60 kilometers. A full re-chargetakes from 4-6 hours. Mr. Baker told

me that the motor will struggle onan uphill grade however, and in thatcase you will need to use those pedals. The front brakes look similarto those found on regular bicyclesconsisting of rubberized padsthat grab the wheels outer rims.The rear brake is an enclosed unitplaced next to the read wheel hub.The models also have cargo holdsof varying sizes.

I test rode a newly introducedmodel around the dealers lot andthe bicycle is eerily quiet. The motorexhibits good torque off line, whichis expected for an electric motor.Speed is controlled by twisting theright handle in much the same waythat one controls the throttle on amotorcycle. In the center of the han-dlebar is a small instrument clusterwith a voltmeter and speedometer.There are electrically powered

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horns and lights, and some mod-els have signal lights as well. Themodel I rode also had cruise con-trol. If the battery runs out of power,the action of pedaling will generate

enough watts to power the horn andlights and will also re-charge thebattery but not to any great extent.Similarly, coasting downhill will alsocharge the battery. The rubber tireson all the models that I saw werefairly wide and perfectly usable onany road or gravel path that youwould use a bicycle but there are nooff-road mountain bike-like mod-els, or at least not yet. They weighabout 50 kilos, heavier than mostmodern bicycles but light enough to

allow easy handling and control.I asked about licensing andinsurance requirements. Whenthey were originally approachedfor a ruling, the Ontario Ministry ofTransport classified them as bicy-cles, which resulted in brisk sales.The dealership recently received a

newer ruling from the Ministry clas-sifying them in the same categoryas gas-powered mopeds, which im-plies some licensing and insuranceobligations. The rules do appear to

be in flux however and it is best toconsult the Ministry directly for pre-

cise requirements. The Province of

Quebec classifies them as bicyclesand not motorized vehicles.The ideal market for such a

vehicle would seem to be peoplewho enjoy the feeling of being ona bicycle but who may have somephysical impediments that makeit difficult to do so. But there is

probably a larger market of poten-tial riders who simply would enjoythe convenience of a whisper quietpollution-free ride for running sim-ple errands around town. Riding a

bicycle is quite unlike other formsof transportation, in my opinion,

and I spent the better part of my

youth riding bicycles of one form oranother. I can no longer easily coverthe long distances on a bicycle thatI did when I was a young adult andcan see that an electrically pro-pelled version would be a nice wayto capture that feeling again.

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What?- A brisk overnight event on good gravel roadsprimarily in the Lanark Highlands.

- Many roads were used on the WRC 1974Rideau Lakes. (30 years ago!)

- Low percentage of paved road sections.- 1 level of instruction, but all drivex (distance-to-turn).

- 2 Legs (1 gas stop), approximately 350-400 km.- FreeTime Allowances for Novices andIntermediates.

- Official Supplemental Regulations.- Subaru is providing PRIZE MONEY!

Where?- Start and Finish at Silver Seven Restaurant andGas Bar, Highway 7

- From Toronto: Approximately 9 km north onHighway 7 past the County Rd 38 (Sharbot Lake)

junction.- From Ottawa: Approximately 25 km south ofPerth on Highway 7.

When?- Saturday night, October 30, 2004.- Registration for those not pre-registered online

(HIGHLY recommended) from 8-9 PM.- Approximate times: Car 0 leaves at 10 pm. Car0 finishes at 6 am.

How do I enter?- MCO Rally Group is committed to supportingthe community where we rally. Each competitorMUST bring at least TWO non-perishable fooditems for the benefit of the Lanark County FoodBank. A $5 penalty is levied without food! Letsget 400 lbs of food this year! (202 lbs last yearwith 29 entries).

STEP 1. Wait until Sept 15. Complete the onlinepre-registration for competitors.

STEP 2. Competitors send cheque:Recd up to October 22: $70 if both teammembers are CARS or SCCA affiliated (bringyour membership cards); $80 otherwise. Spacepermitting, cheques or cash recd after October22 the fee is $85 (flat fee).

Make cheque payable to Motorsport Club of

Ottawa, and mail to

LHR Registrar c/oJ. MacGillivrayRR 2Lanark, ONK0G 1K0

STEP 3. Buy food for the food bank.

STEP 4. Show up on rally night, give us the food,sign the waiver, etc. Your done!- Cheques are cashed AFTER the event.- Fees includes a commemorative Lanark Highlandsand Rally of the Rideau Lakes 30th Anniversaryitem (TBD), and breakfast for each team member!!

- No guarantee of refund for any withdrawals lessthan 48 hours prior to the start of the event.Withdrawals Requests received prior to 48 hoursto the start of the event will be refunded 100%.

Any other things I should know?- Entries cut off at 40 teams.- Bring the usual paperwork (drivers license, proofof insurance, valid vehicle registration)

- SELF SUPPORTING RETRO-REFLECTIVE SAFETYTRIANGLE REQUIRED. Entry denied otherwise.

- Cars creating a negative impression of the sport(e.g. excessively loud) need not apply (RSO RR22.2).

- Auxilliary forward lighting shall be wired throughthe High/Low beam switch (RSO RR 21.8).

- Quiet Zone violations strictly enforced: 10 minutepenalty for first offence, exclusion thereafter.

- No passengers.- We have FANTASTIC roads. Navigator may wantanti-nauseate for this event (trust me on this one).

- Strongly recommend NOT using all season tires.Think gravel.

Sponsored by:

Cant play, want to help?- HAM radio coverage at most controls (contact meif interested in volunteering).

- Non-radio helpers needed too!!!- All workers will receive a token of ourappreciation.

Want More?!- Information updates on MCO Lanark HighlandsRally forum topic.

- The official Supplemental Regulations contact:- Organiser and Routemaster: Craig HammLast year co-driving ace Brian Maxwell won theLanark Highlands Rally, then went on to win theRally of the Tall Pines. Coincidence? I think not!!!

Other MCO Rallies:Rideau Run Rally, Aug 28, Perth, ONGolden Pine Rally, Sept 18, Golden Lake, ON

An annual benefitfor the community

Maberly, ON - 30-31 October 2004

Final event in the MCO 2004 Road Rally Championship12th event in the 2004 Ontario Road Rally CupOfficially Sanctioned by CARS and RallySport Ontario30th Anniversary of the 1974 Rideau Lakes Rally

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July 2004

photo by : Flair Photo

Birthins, Marryins and Dyins(again), and as a bonus,Dimwit Tuts (read on)

Well, as requested, I attended thefamily wedding on the July 3rd weekend.Those of you who read this column in thelast issue of The Link will know that thiswasnt my first preference for the useof my time, but there are some areas

in which, when the wife dictates, thehusband accommodates (if he wishesto maintain domestic tranquillity). In allhonesty, though, I must add that it wasnta bad weekend, and Im not saying thatunder duress.

The groom was one of Susansnephews, and despite a few misgivingson my part, the wedding itself went onwithout any major hitches. Why the ap-prehension? Well it was to be an open-air ceremony at the family cottage onMargaret Lake, just off Highway 35 a fewmiles south of Dorset, with the receptionshortly after at the arena in Huntsville,about 40 miles to the north-west. Therewere to be 100 or so guests (it waspartly a Polish wedding), access to thecottage is only by water, there are justtwo small boats in the family fleet, thereare only about 15 parking spots at thelakes community dock, and this time ofyear there are loads of dawdling touristvehicles and Winnebago Monsters on theroads between the lake and Huntsville.

And if it rained ...?Well, the weather turned out nice,some neighbouring cottagers providedwater transport (and a shoreline flotillaat the ceremony, with horns and all),parking was arranged at the Leslie FrostNatural Resources Centre on Hwy. 35with a shuttle service to the dock, andthe only major traffic problems were intown in Huntsville. So the wedding wasnice, the food was great, and lots of it(see above re Polish wedding), I had acouple of days visiting with Susans rela-

tives, and the pick-up got us there andme back (Susans staying at the lake fora couple of weeks) with no issues. Andthat was a pleasant surprise!

There were some items of incon-venience, however. I didnt get home asearly as I wished due to the visiting, asoften happens with relatives, having to fixa recalcitrant outboard motor at the cot-tage before I left, and a traffic problemon Hwy. 17 just north of Arnprior. Itsnot that the volume was extra heavy; I

got on to Hwy. 17 at Renfrew by about9:30 p.m., and traffic flowed well fromthere up to the last passing zone beforethe Prior, where it stopped - dead! Afew minutes later we got up to walkingspeed, and after fifteen minutes or so ofthis I considered ducking off to find analternate route, but I stayed with it outof curiosity about what sort of highway

disaster would cause such a mess. Halfan hour later, after clearing the last ofthe three sets of traffic lights at Arnprior,we were up to about 90 kliks again, and had my answer. No disaster, no crum-pled vehicles and torn human flesh,justpoorly engineered traffic control!

Then there were some of the driversThere were the usual types who speedby on the straights only to slow you upwhen they got to the corners, especiallyon some of the really interesting partsof Highways 60 and 35, and on Highway

118 from Carnarvon over to Denbigh, butthe worst moments were going throughAlgonquin Park due to the wildlife activityNot the four-footed, winged or similardenizens of the wilds, mind, but those ofthe species Dimwit Rubber-necked Two-legged Urban Tourist.

About half way through the park Irounded a corner, following a vehicle inwhich it transpired there were severalof said species, and lo and behold therewas a whole gaggle of them gatheredat the side of the road. Seeing the

gathering, the Dimwit Rubber-necked Tut(or Dimwit Tut, for such is the commonterm for these members of the Animalkingdom) immediately brought his vehicleto a screeching halt, joining those of hisfellows which were parked at various an-gles partly on or adjacent to the travelledportion of the highway. His vehicle thendisgorging himself and the rest of hisbrood onto the roadway, and with nary alook in either direction, they rushed overto join the clucking and clicking gaggle,along with more of their breed who hadalighted in a similar fashion while ap-proaching from the other direction.

Now the Dimwit Tut is a peculiarspecies, whos curiosity is frequentlysatisfied without regard for the safety ofhimself or others. I have seen them infarming country gathered at a roadsidefence waving, yelling, and otherwisedistracting domesticated cattle beasts,thinking that they would react in thesame manner as household pets. Inone instance, I observed two adolescent

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Dimwit Tuts taunting a rather large cowwho had a broad face, stocky legs,deep shoulders and ribs, massive hindquarters, and two large round objectsdangling between his hind legs, and allthat was between them and a severelypainful experience were a deep ditchand two strands of electric fence. Itwas their good fortune that the bull was

mine, and he was more interested in mebanging on his grain bucket than in killingannoying pests.

And so, back to the incident in ques-tion, which was somewhat similar to thatimmediately preceding, except that therewas no ditch, electric fence, or grainbucket, and the object of their attentionwas a fairly large Moose. Knowing fromprevious experience what a Moose lookslike, and preoccupied with avoiding thefluttering Dimwits crossing the road, Imerely gave it a passing glance. What

I saw concerned me a little, as from itssize and its rack, it could have beena young bull, and some of the Dimwitswere only about twenty feet away, cluck-ing, clicking, and moving about errati-cally, seemingly unaware that they wereonly seconds away from possible injuryor death. How the Dimwit Tut survivesis subject to some conjecture amongst

natural scientists, but most think it is thatbecause they are so numerous, periodi-cally losing one or two of their numberdoes not unduly hinder the species fromproducing successive generations. Whythey exist at all, however, is still a com-plete mystery, as they seem to have nouseful function in the world of nature.

A horses ass is important ...This gem was provided to me by JeffGraves a few weeks back via e-mail:

Does the statement, Weve alwaysdone it that way ring any bells...? TheUS standard railroad gauge (distancebetween the rails) is 4 feet 8.5 inches.Thats an exceedingly odd number. Whywas that gauge used? Because thats theway they built them in England, and Eng-lish expatriates built the US Railroads.

Why did the English build them likethat? Because the first rail lines were

built by the same people who built thepre-railroad tramways, and thats thegauge they used. Why did they usethat gauge then? Because the peoplewho built the tramways used the same

jigs and tools that they used for buildingwagons, which used that wheel spacing.Okay! Why did the wagons have thatparticular odd wheel spacing? Well, if

they tried to use any other spacing, thewagon wheels would break on some ofthe old, long distance roads in England,because thats the spacing of the wheelruts.

So who built those old rutted roads?Imperial Rome built the first long distanceroads in Europe (and England) for theirlegions. The roads have been used ever

since. And the ruts in the roads? Romanwar chariots formed the initial ruts, whicheveryone else had to match for fear ofdestroying their wagon wheels. Sincethe chariots were made for ImperialRome, they were all alike in the matter ofwheel spacing. The United States stand-ard railroad gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inchesis derived from the original specificationsfor an Imperial Roman war chariot. Andbureaucracies live forever. So the nexttime you are handed a spec and told wehave always done it that way and wonder

what horses ass came up with that, youmay be exactly right, because the Impe-rial Roman war chariots were made justwide enough to accommodate the backends of two war horses.

Now the twist to the story...

When you see a Space Shuttle sit-

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ting on its launch pad, there are two bigbooster rockets attached to the sides ofthe main fuel tank. These are solid rocketboosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are madeby Thiokol at their factory in Utah. Theengineers who designed the SRBs wouldhave preferred to make them a bit fatter,but the SRBs had to be shipped by trainfrom the factory to the launch site. The

railroad line from the factory happens torun through a tunnel in the mountains.The SRBs had to fit through that tun-nel. The tunnel is slightly wider than therailroad track, and the railroad track,as you now know, is about as wide astwo horses behinds. So, a major SpaceShuttle design feature of what is arguablythe worlds most advanced transporta-tion system was determined over twothousand years ago by the width of ahorses ass.

And you thought being a horses ass

wasnt important.

Rocketship RX7 (Sorry,couldnt resist that one.)

I started to write this on theWednesday fallowing the Ted Powell raceweekend, which I was unable to attendeven as a worker (see 1. above), andthe car is currently sitting at RX7 Heavenwith the suspension and other stuff allin pieces. Oh, sorry, Im getting a littleahead of where we were after the brief

mention of my state of affairs in theMay/June column.With a budget determined by mid

April, although somewhat limited for thereasons mention in that last column, Idecided to do some suspension up-grades and enter only four or so races,making this essentially a testing year.In my research over the winter I discov-ered that Jim Susko of G-Force Engineer-ing in Findlay Ohio, who has raced 1stgeneration RX7s for about twenty years,has produced a manual outlining the

deficiencies in their suspension design,and offers some solutions. The work isentitled Setup and Tuning of the EarlyRX-7 Suspension from A to Z, the cost is$75.00 US plus shipping and GST, etc.,and its well worth the price for anyonewho wants to improve the handling oftheir 1st Gen.. And as an added bonus,Jim Susko offers unlimited free con-sultation for anyone who purchases hisproducts.

After some discussions with Jim, I

decided on the following fixes for my car:- G-Force Turn In spacers for the

front struts to lower the outer end ofthe lower control arm and re-align thesteering arms. These are intended toraise the front roll centre back to moreeffective height, restore the Ackermangeometry, and reduce bump steer, all ofwhich are negatively affected by lowering

the car.- Spherical bearings for the frontstrut tension rods (he calls them fronttrailing arms) instead of the stock rubberor aftermarket delrin bushings. Theseeliminate compliance in the location ofthe bottom of the strut/outer end of thelower control arms, and, as they rotatefreely, without adding to the effectivefront spring rate, as do rubber and solidbushings.

- The G-Force Tri-Link upper rearcontrol arm kit. This is an adjustable

centre-mounted upper control arm withrod-end bearings, which replaces thetwo outboard stock upper links as theyhave a tendency to bind under roll whenthe car is lowered, producing snapoversteer. Also, as the link is longerand mounted at a shallower angle, italso raises the instant rear roll centre ofa lowered car back to a more effectiveheight.

- A G-Force adjustable Panhard rodinstead of the stock off centre unequallength Watts link system. The Panhard

rod eliminates the out-of-plane bindingof the stock Watts link, especially oneequipped with rod-ends on the laterallinks, and has some height adjustmentfor fine-tuning understeer/oversteer byslightly raising or lowering the rear rollcentre.

- Stiffer (250 lb/in) rear springs tobetter match the 350 lb/in front springs.I had been told that the rear springs inthe car were 275 lb springs, but whenI investigated this at Jims suggestion,they turned out to be from an Eibach/Ground Control kit, and were actually only175 lb/in. Jims opinion was that theywere a poor match, and would not giveenough rear roll stiffness.

With the parts ordered, the car wasoff to RX7 Heaven, where I could workon a cement floor and without a roof thatleaked when it rained, and in the firstweekend in May I finally got a wrench onthe car!

I then started on the work thatshould have been done over the winter,

still with some task interference issuescaused by household affairs. One ofthese involves grass - the green stuffthat grows around the house, not thestuff grown inside under grow lights. Ihave about 3/4 of an acre of grass tomow, and its not all straight up anddown. The lawn winds its way aroundvarious and sundry objects; buildings,

trees, roadside ditches, a hedge, hydropole and stays, the remains of old turkeypen, a few pieces of machinery left overfrom my farming days, an old Volvo thatI was going to restore, and the 79 GMCone-ton flat-bed waiting to be put back onthe road again. In other words, a rightold pain in the arse that takes about aday and a half to do a half decent job ofcutting it, even with my basic (i.e. cheap)riding mower. And from late April tomid-July it needs to be cut at least oncea week, so the spring growing season

is not really an ideal time to catch up oncar preparation that should have beendone over the winter. But as is my wont,I digress. So back to the car.

As a result of all the householdstuff Im only getting about 2 1/2 daysa week to work on the car, so progressis slower than I would like. And doingwhat is in effect a winter tear down, weare finding problems that one wouldnormally encounter at such time, butwhich could then have been dealt with atsome degree of leisure. For example,

we removed the gas tank to install a newfuel gauge sending unit, and in clean-ing it up prior to re-coating it with rockguard, we found some pinhole leaks thathave to be fixed. With the tank out I alsodecided to check the fuel pump rubbermounts. I found someone had buggeredup the threads on the studs, and had tofabricate new ones, which took sometime. Then there were the various nutsand bolts to be removed, mainly on thesuspension bits.

Ideally, the suspension should betorn down and inspected after each fullseason. With one part-season each ofSolo I and sprint racing on the car, plusMosport test days, I figured last fall thata tear down was due, plus which I wasthinking about making changes anyway.So in my winter tear down in the spring,off came all the bits. Right! I dont thinkthat the previous owner(s) had everheard of never-seize, as there wasnt onesuspension fastener that came off with

just a wrench or socket and plain old

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muscle power, except the few that I hadpreviously had cause to remove. Therest, even after soaking in penetrating oilfor two or three days, required an impactgun, or an impact gun plus heat. And foone on the right rear upper control arm,we had to cut of the head of the bolt anddrive the shank out with lots of heat,which resulted in the rubber bushing

melting all over the place. What a mess!Anyway, to cut a long story short,we are now, on the 9th of July, almostready to start putting stuff back on thecar. The modified front struts and ten-sion rods and rear lower control armswill be ready to install in the next day orso, the new rear springs will be next,and the Panhard rod and Tri-Link kits willbe ready for a trial fitting. Well have tobook some time with Martin Walter tohave the chassis and axle mounts weldedup, and then its on to corner weighting

and alignment. There also remains moreroutine stuff, such as new front and reardiscs and pads, new tires to be bought,shaved, mounted and balanced, and therest of the stuff on the pre-race checklist done. Oh yeah, and the tow vehicleneeds some work too, but if all goes wel(here say one Our Father and three HailMarys and make the Sign of the Cross),the car should be ready by the end ofthe month. Well see.

Oh, I almost forgot. Once we get thenew suspension dialled in, my sponsor,

RX7 Heaven, is talking about replacingthe 450 cfm Mikuni carburetor with a600 or 650 cfm centre-pivot double-pumper Holley. This should give us asoupcon more power, and thats a goodthing!

Parting ShotIf you ever wondered where some

SUV drivers get their Im all right Jackso bugger you attitude, perhaps youshould look no further than the guys who

sell them. I was driving along Innes Roadthe other day and came up behind a mid-sized Hyundai SUV, which was probablya dealer company vehicle or customershuttle. How do I know? Because ithad two big opaque plastic dealer signsin the windows behind the C pillarson each side, and one square in thecentre of the rear window! I guess hefigured he didnt need to see behind him,as nobody ever bloody well passes anSUV now, do they?

- A tarmac (paved road) event for classic cars 1975 and older.- Separate class for substitute (newer) cars.- The roads on the route will be scenic and interesting for the driver and

navigator.- Approx. 130 miles in length.- Entry fee of $ 40 Cdn (30 US) will include morning coffee, post rally dinner

and dash plaques for both crew members.- Trophies for 1st, 2nd & 3rd- 1st Team (3 cars, same marquee or club)- 1st Coupe des Dames (Ladies)- 1st Substitute Class (not included in the above).- Special navigating equipment not essential.

This rally is part of a two-day vintage sports car theme of events in andaround the town of Gananoque on the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend. Alsofeatured are a car show, poker run and autocross. An awards dinner follows.Details will be available on the St. LAC web site: stlac.kos.net

Applications received after 30th Sept. are considered late entries

For further information & entry forms please contact:tel.: (613) 389-3566 email:[email protected]

tel.: (613) 376-1538 email: [email protected]

Te St. Lawrence Auto Clubpresents the 2nd Annual

1000 Islands Vintage Rally

Saturday, 9th Oct. 04Gananoque Town Hall

Registration begins at08:30AM

First car away at10:00AM
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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TSW wheels, 15 x 7 JJ. Complete

with lug cover and decorative lockingring.Fit Mazda Protege and ?? Good

condition, used two summers only.$450

Pair of used Piaa 70 lamps with foglenses and covers. $75.

Mike [email protected]

All the left over photos that fell from the centerfold

Looks better than most bachelor pads.Toronto racers lunching at the first MCO ProSolo.

What does the Rally Directordo on vacation? Obviously,stock WRC driver SebastienLoeb. Picture taken by CraigHamm Cypress.

Solo2 Director CharlesPayne balancing out thetwo ProSolo courses.

IT CAME FROMTHE WEB!!!

What do you dowith a spare engineblock? Why ofcourse make aswanky new coffeetable - wine rack.The rotary enginetable has a built inlazy-Susan.

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