2001 Rim Of The World ProRally

May 4-5, 2001 - Palmdale, California

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Rim of the World SCCA Pro Rally. May 4-5 2001.

Rally Headquarters: Palmdale California. The Holiday Inn.

Our objective:

Scope out the process of SCCA Pro Rally, and get a feel for rally spectating here in the U.S. Our interest in rally stems back to watching the film coverage of Group B rally events around the world. Watching highly modified yet still identifiable cars blast across familiar tarmac two lane roads, gravel, dirt and sand at unbelievable speeds has had us hooked for years, yet until last year I had never seen the process in person. After catching parts of the Rally of Great Britain last year in Wales, I was eager to look into the counterpart here in the states.

One main difference between US and European rally is the pace note process. In the World Rally Championship, extensive pace notes are made (detailing nearly every corner and hazard) by pre-running the routes and making notes. In SCCA Pro Rally, the organizers provide competitors with a set of notes that outlines directional instructions and hazards by distance.

Competitors travel on public roads (at legal speeds) to Special Stages, where they are released on a closed road (usually dirt, gravel, ice/snow, etc.) at intervals and race flat out against the clock. Over the course of an event, the cars will travel on average 150 - 300 miles.

The Autoscene rally exploration team (myself and Serg) wisely decided to attend the event in a white semi-generic sedan owned by a major rental car company. This proved to be a good choice for the dirt access roads, and several vehicular experiments. Enough said.

We rolled into town, visited the Rally Headquarters, picked up the program and maps and caught the start of the event. The 2001 Rim of the World Rally kicked off with a special spectator stage across from the Palmdale Holiday Inn headquarters hotel in a field - much like an off road auto-x course. This was the first special stage on each day of the rally. The cars were released at one minute intervals starting at 7:00pm Friday.

Friday night special stages 4 and 6 were also open for spectating. Luckily the moonlight helped us find our way through the desert. The viewing area was a reasonably straight section with a significant bump. The road was pure powder, and with no wind, it was downright dusty. The first cars came through sometime around 9:05, and then again for the sixth stage after 11:00pm. It was so dusty that most of the cars had to dip their lights just to cut through the dust. It was exciting hearing a faint drone, and then seeing the dust light up in the distance. The light got brighter as the cars crested a hill, then blinded the small crowd (75?) had positioned itself only a few feet away from the road. As quickly as they had arrived, the cars flashed by and turned into a pair of taillights before disappearing around a bend. Flames popped from exhausts, as the crowd chattered in their native tongues. French, German and British accents seemed to be much more common than at any road racing SCCA event I have seen. After the stages (well into the morning) the cars returned to the impromptu paddock set up in the hotel parking lot. Many cars were up on stands and being looked over at 2:00am.

Saturday's schedule had the cars on display while the teams finished their prep - work in the morning. Charity rides were given on an abbreviated Spectator Stage course. Both Subaru and Mitsubishi were present with booths and promotions during the event. At noon the first car restarted on the spectator stage (run the opposite direction) reached the forest by 12:30pm.

We headed out into the Angeles National Forest to take a look at the "press only" stages 8 and 9 before the cars arrived. We decided against taking a shuttle up the road, (which would have stranded us for 4+ hours) and instead hiked up to the start line and turned around. We decided to catch the spectator viewing stage 10 across "Leona Ridge" The wind was blowing the perfect speed and direction to keep the dust to a minimum on the west side of the road. It was a decent spot, with several hairpins and a short straight before climbing up a hill to the north. The crowd was larger than the night stage - 150-200?

From this stage, we went and visited the last service break at Lake Hughes, where the teams prepared the cars for their final evening and night stages of the rally. The first of the rally cars returned to the headquarters in Palmdale for the finish ramp. For the finish, they have the last car arrive first, so that the overall winner drives over the ramps last.

Rally in the U.S. is a spectator friendly and very low key, highly interactive sport to watch. What makes it appealing (to some and probably not so appealing to others) is the fact that the spectator has to actively seek out the cars, using maps, roads, and hiking in to a spot to see the cars flash by sliding sideways at speed. As for the "autoscene" team, the goal is to put together our own effort.

back to autoscene

	Rim of the World SCCA Pro Rally. May 4-5 2001. Rally Headquarters: Palmdale California. The Holiday Inn. Our objective: Scope out the process of SCCA Pro Rally, and get a feel for rally spectating here in the U.S. Our interest in rally stems back to watching the film coverage of Group B rally events around the world. Watching highly modified yet still identifiable cars blast across familiar tarmac two lane roads, gravel, dirt and sand at unbelievable speeds has had us hooked for years, yet until last year I had never seen the process in person. After catching parts of the Rally of Great Britain last year in Wales, I was eager to look into the counterpart here in the states. One main difference between US and European rally is the pace note process. In the World Rally Championship, extensive pace notes are made (detailing nearly every corner and hazard) by pre-running the routes and making notes. In SCCA Pro Rally, the organizers provide competitors with a set of notes that outlines directional instructions and hazards by distance.
	Competitors travel on public roads (at legal speeds) to Special Stages, where they are released on a closed road (usually dirt, gravel, ice/snow, etc.) at intervals and race flat out against the clock. Over the course of an event, the cars will travel on average 150 - 300 miles. The Autoscene rally exploration team (myself and Serg) wisely decided to attend the event in a white semi-generic sedan owned by a major rental car company. This proved to be a good choice for the dirt access roads, and several vehicular experiments. Enough said.
	We rolled into town, visited the Rally Headquarters, picked up the program and maps and caught the start of the event. The 2001 Rim of the World Rally kicked off with a special spectator stage across from the Palmdale Holiday Inn headquarters hotel in a field - much like an off road auto-x course. This was the first special stage on each day of the rally. The cars were released at one minute intervals starting at 7:00pm Friday.
	Friday night special stages 4 and 6 were also open for spectating. Luckily the moonlight helped us find our way through the desert. The viewing area was a reasonably straight section with a significant bump. The road was pure powder, and with no wind, it was downright dusty. The first cars came through sometime around 9:05, and then again for the sixth stage after 11:00pm. It was so dusty that most of the cars had to dip their lights just to cut through the dust. It was exciting hearing a faint drone, and then seeing the dust light up in the distance. The light got brighter as the cars crested a hill, then blinded the small crowd (75?) had positioned itself only a few feet away from the road. As quickly as they had arrived, the cars flashed by and turned into a pair of taillights before disappearing around a bend. Flames popped from exhausts, as the crowd chattered in their native tongues. French, German and British accents seemed to be much more common than at any road racing SCCA event I have seen. After the stages (well into the morning) the cars returned to the impromptu paddock set up in the hotel parking lot. Many cars were up on stands and being looked over at 2:00am.
	Saturday's schedule had the cars on display while the teams finished their prep - work in the morning. Charity rides were given on an abbreviated Spectator Stage course. Both Subaru and Mitsubishi were present with booths and promotions during the event. At noon the first car restarted on the spectator stage (run the opposite direction) reached the forest by 12:30pm.
	We headed out into the Angeles National Forest to take a look at the "press only" stages 8 and 9 before the cars arrived. We decided against taking a shuttle up the road, (which would have stranded us for 4+ hours) and instead hiked up to the start line and turned around. We decided to catch the spectator viewing stage 10 across "Leona Ridge" The wind was blowing the perfect speed and direction to keep the dust to a minimum on the west side of the road. It was a decent spot, with several hairpins and a short straight before climbing up a hill to the north. The crowd was larger than the night stage - 150-200? From this stage, we went and visited the last service break at Lake Hughes, where the teams prepared the cars for their final evening and night stages of the rally. The first of the rally cars returned to the headquarters in Palmdale for the finish ramp. For the finish, they have the last car arrive first, so that the overall winner drives over the ramps last. Rally in the U.S. is a spectator friendly and very low key, highly interactive sport to watch. What makes it appealing (to some and probably not so appealing to others) is the fact that the spectator has to actively seek out the cars, using maps, roads, and hiking in to a spot to see the cars flash by sliding sideways at speed. As for the "autoscene" team, the goal is to put together our own effort.