Brief update.
First. Beware, Gander-bound traveler. ‘Tis a beautiful place, but there ‘tis little internet here, matey, arrrrgh!
I typed the previous entry and this one in my room and put them on my thumb drive and took them downstairs to the lobby computer since there is only dial-up in my room and that’s the equivalent of semaphore or possibly even as archaic as regular mail, I don’t know which. It’s bad, that’s all I know.
Also, if you have a cell phone, the chances of it working here are about as good as the chances of your seeing a moose. Remember what I said about the moose population before responding.
So, we had the trusty crew pick up some Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go phones for us today so we can possibly communicate in the remainder of the stages. Nothing goes with rallying like being completely incommunicado.
Anyway, this will be a short update. I know no one believes that, but it’s true. It’s late and I’m tired. We’ve been doing these marathon days and then eating dinner at 9:30 and then going over the routebook for the next day, so it gets pretty late and we always have early mornings.
The first bit of news that is probably less believable than the one above. We’re not losing. No, wait, it’s true! After two full days of Targa Newfoundland, we’re actually placed fourth overall and we’re winning our class by a comfortable 1:13. We picked up 17 seconds of penalties today, in the first stage and the last, neatly book-ending our midday run of clean stages. However, nearly everyone took points on the first stage, and absolutely everyone took points on the final stage, so we managed to make up 3 places in the overall standings today. So there. I don’t believe it myself.
Second, the car broke. It had to happen, we knew it would. But, the good news is, we didn’t even notice. Actually, all that happened was the “dog-bone” link came off one end of the rear swaybar and Greg noticed it when checking under the car. There may or may not be some good dings in our skid plate, but the car is solid and really working well.
Third, I’m sorry to report that one of the other E30 M3s, the Pippy car from Pittsburgh is probably out after rolling over on the penultimate stage yesterday. We had come to know them somewhat and enjoyed hanging out with them, but there was a wooden bridge toward the end of stage 1-5 that was absolutely treacherous in the wet, and it caught them out apparently. They are okay by all accounts, but we haven’t seen them yet. The other M3 of Steve Levesque is running fine though, and he's moving right along.
They are not the only incident by a long stretch either, there has been quite a bit of damage done, but all the people are intact and unhurt, so all of this safety gear we carry is doing its job. Luckily we haven’t really had any moments and for the most part we’ve been clearing stages with plenty of time in hand, meaning we don’t have to push unnecessarily.
The day two verdict is that this whole thing was probably a terrible idea, a complete and life-changing folly, if you will. By that I mean, of course, it’s fun. Too much fun.
Gotta go to bed now, but we’re off to Clarenville tomorrow night, so maybe I’ll be able to post more regularly.
Cheers, and good night.
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5 comments:
You're still alive! woo hoo!
I managed to find the scrap of paper you wrote your blog address at lunch in Gooseberry. I imagine monday was a *long* day. Sadly I'm back in Boston but it was great fun seeing monday live.
Best of luck! glad the wood bridge did not grab you (sorry to hear abuot the Pippy's). Hope the roads are dry now. Remember - day 4 is when your mind goes; stay sharp...
(and maybe next year you can ditch
that beemer for a 911 :-)
-brad
Guys, great results! Keep up the good work. I had read where several cars had some nasty offs and happy (and relieved) that you're still on all fours.
Keep your wits and look ahead!
All the best from all of us in FW.
-Bill
You're alive! Actually I knew that as I have become quite fluent in rally scoring charts. Great success! Happy Times! Congratulations to both of you. I look forward to your proximity to a cellular tower.
- A
You're not losing? Paul Newman's gonna have my legs broke. Actually, I would have posted a bet in your favor if Vegas did indeed carry such a line. I just figured the car would be much lighter once one of you snapped and threw the other out.
Keep up the good driving!
It sounds like I spoke too soon yesterday. "Mechanical glitches" aren't reserved for Arlington,TX and Texarkana, TX/AR. "Canadian soil" has now proven that it too can be unkind to your car. Does September have "Ides"? I began my day with a flat tire. Another gesture of solidarity, perhaps?!?!?
I'm impressed! Congratulations on besting the bridges and beating some of the best. Hopefully, today's experience also pleased you.
It may not be a great deal of consolation to the drivers of the cars involved; but if bridges and ditches have to break something, I'm glad that it's car bodies and not people's bodies that don't fare so well. "Beware of the fourth day" was the wisdom offered by one Blogger. Hopefully, you've made it through today none the worse for wear and still in the lead.
It didn't come as a surprise that I didn't know anything about a "close ratio gearbox." It's apparently a good thing that "everyone took points in the first stage," and I can guess why.
However, I'll need some help with "So far ahead of our base time that we had to slow down in order to be not too early." How can someone be "too early" in a race?
"This whole thing is probably a terrible idea, a complete and life-changing folly if you will. By that I mean, of course, it's fun.
Too much fun." At this very moment, all sorts of history's most revered Sages are thinking, "Wish I'd said that!"
Drive safely, drive wisely, drive quickly; and whatever the day brings, enjoy it.
Bill
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