The following are results and a short story on the Gorman Ridge Divisional PRO Rally, a California Rally Series event.
Rui Brasil/Carlos Tavares Audi 4000 1:59:25 1st 4WD Open
Ray Hocker/Lynette Allison Subaru RX 2:03:16 2nd 4WD
Tony Tavares/Al Nunes Toyota Celica 2:07:03 3rd 4WD
Vartan Samuelian/Ara Manoukian Eclipse 2:07:49 4th 4WD
George Plsek/Mark Rathsam Saab 99 2:08:34 1st 2WD Open
Matt Sweeney/Lucinda Strub Toyota P/U 2:11:37 2nd 2WD
Garnet Baril/Pamela Baril VW Rabbit 2:13:39 1st Perf. Stock
Dan Hook/Larry Hook Toyota Celica 2:16:36 1st Stock Class
Mike Whitman/Bobby Webb Datsun 510 2:16:55 3rd 2WD
Mike Marcy/Steve Scott Sapporo 2:16:58 2nd Stock
Bill Malik/Roine Andersson Volvo 240 2:17:21 4th 2WD
Adrienne Scott/Bob Scott Toyota Corolla 2:31:12 3rd Stock
Scott Jernigan/Tyler Rhodes Ford Mustang 2:51:07 5th 2WD
Jose Soares/Luis Romero Toyota MR2 3:14:31 2nd Perf Stock
Lon Peterson/Bill Gutzmann Kia Sephia DNF (See story)
Chris Weleff/Brian Paul Toyota Celica DNF Suspension
Dave Turner/Ben Bradley Mitsubishi P/U DNF Rollover
Tony Chavez/John Elkin Mitsu Eclipse DNF Electronics
Cable Rhodes/Mike Taylor Mazda RX 7 DNF Rollover
Robert Tallini/Terry StonecipherCorolla GTS DNF Tie Rod
Gordon Swenson/Tom Carter Toyota Celica DNF Suspension
Bob Pendergrass/Jon Weigley Chevy Blazer DNF Rollover
California Rally Series Class Descriptions:
**4WD Open- Anything with four wheel drive from a wild Group B to a
GT Class car
**2WD Open- Same, but with just two wheel drive
**Performance Stock- An essentially stock vehicle with twin cams, fuel
injection or rotaries
**Stock- An essentially stock vehicle with a carburetor and two valves
per cylinder
The rally was held out of the Flying J Truck Stop in Gorman, California, on September 23rd. Weather was warm and pleasant with a nice breeze. While attrition was a factor in this event as many early leaders and those battling for the lead fell by the wayside it was Rui Brasil and Carlos Tavares who literally outfixed the competition to notch the win by patching the Audi at every opportunity and easing a bad turbocharger through the rally. Two wheel drive open was lead early by Tony Chavez/John Elkin until electronic engine control gremlins won out and timebarred the pair. Bill Malik looked to be the easy leader until he too had a myriad of troubles that dropped him back. Cable Rhodes looked very good until he rolled the Mazda RX7 into a tight little ball. thus the rookie team of George Plsek and Mark Rathsam emerged the winners with very good stage times that would have had them battling for the lead with or without the attrition.
Performance Stock was a Lon Peterson and Bill Gutzmann affair as the pair won 11 of the 12 stages until just into the final 12 mile stage a tire went flat. The jack in the Kia failed and the pair tried to drive the car out of the stage but the flapping tires carcass took out the lower ball joint a mile and a half from the finish. Garnet and Pam Baril survived a near rollover and a flat tire to outlast the competition and take their first class win.
Stock class looked like Dan and Larry Hooks from the start until stage eight when a flat tire put them a 2.5 minute behind the Sapporo of Marcy/Scott, Hook hauled the Toyota hard over the next couple of stages to regain his lead on the final stage.
Notes:
The Mike Whitman/Bobby Webb Datsun 510 was found to be illegal for stock
class when the transmission was found to be a five speed, unavailable in
510's of that vintage. She and her co-driver/boyfriend Mike Whitman were
moved to Open Class before the start, so with nothing to gain points-wise
the pair traded driving every other stage and enjoyed the ride. The Matt
Sweeney/Lucinda Strub Toyota was a switch also; Lucinda started the rally as
driver until a big hole that caught most the field hurt her hand. She handed
the truck off to Matt and she moved to the navigator seat and let him finish
the rally. The Cable Rhodes rollover was the worst of the day, over at
least three times, but he and Mike are fine, the car is a write-off.
The other two rollovers were fairly uneventful except that the Turner/Bradley
roll was Ben Bradley's third this year (two navigating, one driving) putting
him at six career rollovers, tying him with your humble scribe for career
rollovers, probably only second among active CRS navigators behind Bill
Gutzmann, who was rolling rally cars back in 1977.