Following are results from the 12th running of the East of Indio Rally, held in Indio, California, on November 18, 1995. The weather was hot, the roads were fast and dusty and the competition was close!

Class designations:
2WD     two wheel drive open class rally cars and trucks
4WD     four wheel drive open class rally cars and trucks
P Stock Basically stock cars with manufacturers fuel injection or
        multiple cams
Stock   Basically stock cars and trucks, single cams, carbureted

Driver/Navigator                Car             Time           Class

Mike Whitman/Noble Jones        Datsun 510      1:07:28        2WD
Ray Hocker/Lynette Allison      Subaru RX       1:09:39        4WD
Lon Peterson/Bill Gutzmann      Kia Sephia      1:13:03        P Stock
Matt Sweeney/Lucinda Strub      Toyota Truck    1:14:58        2WD
George Plsek/Mark Rathsam       Saab 99         1:16:04        2WD
Tony Chavez/Ben Bradley         Mitsu Eclipse   1:16:24        2WD
Mike Marcy/Steve Scott          Plym Sapporo    1:18:37        Stock
Dan Hook/Larry Hook             Toyota Celica   1:18:40        Stock
Benedikte Webb/Tim Sardelich    Datsun 510      1:20:29        Stock
Rod Koch/Todd Bane              VW 411 Fastback 1:22:06        2WD
Dennis Chizma/John Moore        VW Rabbit       1:23:01        P Stock
Adrienne Scott/Bob Scott        Toyota Corolla  1:25:24        Stock
Chris Bradshaw/John Dillon      Plymouth Arrow  1:28:16        Stock
John Brasil/Paul Fagundes       Audi 4000       2:33:09        4WD

Bill Malik/Roine Andersson      Volvo 240       DNF            Fuel System
Ken Smith/Terry Stonecipher     Mazda 323GTX    DNF            Crash
Rui Brasil/Carlos Tavares       Audi 4000       DNF            Engine
Harris Done/Larry Scott         Mazda RX-7      DNF            Transmission
Mike Avatar/Scott Webb          Toyota Celica   DNF            Engine
Tony Tavares/K. Phillips        Toyota Celica   DNF            Crash
Kory Jahromi/Dario Jahromi      Audi 5000       DNF            Stuck

The XIIth East of Indio Pro Rally is now lodged in the books, and the record shows Mike Whitman and Noble Jones winning overall, the third time in four events that a 2 wheel drive vehicle has captured the best time. Jones normally co-drives for Jeff Hendricks, but loaned his expertise to Whitman because Hendricks was prepping for a Texas event the week following.

For the 12th straight year the Date Tree Best Western Motel accomodated the teams and officials as race headquarters, with plenty of room for all participants and their vehicles. New for '95 was the Spotlight 29 Casino, where the actual start and finish would take place. While the easterners were digging themselves out of snow banks, the rallyists basked under sunny, cloudless skies, the thermometer showing mid-80's, dropping only to the 60's after dark.

Rui Brasil and Carlos Tavares, who contributed heartily to the stunning trophy clock fund, received a different sort of award when they overcooked the motor on the first stage. They were on the throttle, then off, then back on, when suddenly they couldn't see because of all the oil on their windshield. They earned the "bomb out" award for "finishing" first.

Tony Chavez and Ben Bradley lost the brakes on the second stage at the end of a long straight. "The pedal went straight to the floor," recounted the driver, "and Ben is so calm, saying 'you might think about slowing down now' while I'm scrambling to downshift, grab the hand brake, and trying to keep the car pointed the right direction." Their crew thinks they hit a rock, which loosened a bolt on a banjo fitting just enough to weep out brake fluid.

The recent government shutdown impacted stage four since there were no rangers to secure the rally road from campers. Fortunately the stage was eventually run after an hour or so delay.

Perhaps the surprise performers at the halfway mark (stages 1 through 4) were the rookie team of Chris Bradshaw and yours truly, driving a Dave Turner Motorsports-prepared Plymouth Arrow 1600. We were running in the Stock class against four other teams. We proved fastest on every stage despite a couple of wild rides off the beaten trail.

Bradshaw has navigated for several drivers, including Bobby Webb, Paula Gibeault, and Jose, but it was his first time behind the wheel, while my only navigation experience was at Rim of the World in '94, when I rode with Michael O'Sullivan in the lead car (a bone-stock Mazda 626 rental car). Our performance amazed even us, but of course it couldn't last.

On the fifth stage we got bogged down in the sand trying to power slide through a double-caution left, while on the sixth stage we bounded through a boulder pasture after Chris realized we couldn't execute another double caution left and we couldn't go straight because Mike Avatar and Scott Webb had retired their Mazda in the runoff area, thanks to a blown motor. In both cases we managed (amazingly) to resume, though we had clearly lost any hope of taking the lead again. The cry "Rally On, Dude!" kept us chugging on towards stage 7, where we lost practically all lights and had to drive via flashlight. We recovered only the headlights for the final stage to finish the event but, since we were clearly last, we were the ones who kept the workers waiting.

Stage 7 was the site of an exciting moment for another rookie navigator, Ren Phillips. She was teamed up with Tony Tavares, whose "wild man" reputation is sometimes justified. They had just passed the flying finish line (and yump) at over 80 MPH when the car landed on a rock, which tore up the right rear wheel assembly. The car then spun around and hit a boulder, ripping the left front wheel, axle, etc. completely off the car. According to the checkpoint workers, she got out of the car unhurt and offered "If you ever need another navigator, give me a call."

When you talk about hard luck, one must remember too the story of Harris Done and Larry Scott. All they had to do was finish and they would have clinched the championship, but instead drove their RX7 the only way they knew as hard as they could. At the end of the first stage, their engine went sour and lost power; at the end of the second stage, the transmission gave up its first three gears; an oil fire thrilled them on 3, they lost a wheel on 4, the exhaust abandoned them on 5, and they were finally forced to park it on stage 6 when the clutch died.

After the event concluded, several people complimented Robert Tallini, one of the event organizers, for the excellent route book he prepared. "The directions were perfect and the course was well marked," praised Tony Chavez. At the awards ceremony, everyone complimented the organization of Roger Allison, Chris Welleff, and others, in addition to the usual thanks to sponsors and crew.

The 1996 East of Indio Rally is already in the planning stages for November 14th; mark your calendars now.