Johnson Valley RallyCross - Last event of the year! Dec 9th

[Eli Gilbert]

Hi, as Event Chair for the final Johnson Valley RallyCross Series event of 2006, I'd like to personally extend you a warm invitation to our SCCA RallyCross on December 9th 2006!

In keeping with the last 4 events held at this new venue, the final race of the year promises to give you plenty of seat time, fun runs, prizes for the winners, and a free lunch to boot! This event also is the final points-paying race for both the California Rally Series Rally Cross Championship and the Johnson Valley RallyCross Championship. If you are vying for a Johnson Valley Series Championship title, this event will determine final cash payout for the year (see event page below for more details.)

The drive out to Johnson Valley is not very long, being closer than previous CRS rally cross venues such as Thunderhill, Antioch, Jean, and Blythe. The surface is relatively smooth and does not degrade. Since it is held on a BLM-maintained dry lakebed, there are plenty of places to camp (for free) and have fun in the immediate area. We will be having an end-of-the-year party Saturday night as well, and we'll will be camping overnight and making a weekend out of it - you're welcome to stay for that! Bring your quads and dirtbikes too!

We've set up a pre-registration page that will allow you to get a good discount on entry fees should you sign up before Thursday, December 7th (2 days before the event - you'll get your discount when you pay at the event). The pre-registration page is quick and easy through myautoevents.com and can be found at:

http://myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmE...88485786482541 (http://myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmEventDetail.Show?psevent_id=6267&psrnd=.93383125458531769110742688485786482541)

For more information, please go to the event website at: http://www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com/ (http://www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com/)

Pictures from the last event: http://www.socalrallyx.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=116 (http://www.socalrallyx.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=116)

Sincerely,

Eli Gilbert
Event Chair - Johnson Valley RallyCross V
SCCA SoPac Divisional Rally Steward

Jayson Woodruff
Co-Event Chair - Johnson Valley RallyCross V


http://gilbrock.smugmug.com/photos/110650521-L.jpg


http://gilbrock.smugmug.com/photos/110650525-L.jpg

[Eli Gilbert]

bump!

[Eli Gilbert]

bumpular

[NaKoRuRu]

seems like a cool run. :)

[mario]

sounds like my car won't be ready in time for the rally.


are roll-cages necessary for the rally? (not the rally cross)

[Eli Gilbert]

This is only a rallycross. There is no rally being run in addition to this event. Not sure, but you may be confused with the Laughlin Rally held a few weeks ago where there was both a rally and a 2-day rallycross.

Car's not ready? Why not? All it has to do is run! C'mon out! :)


Eli

[mario]

This is only a rallycross. There is no rally being run in addition to this event. Not sure, but you may be confused with the Laughlin Rally held a few weeks ago where there was both a rally and a 2-day rallycross.

Car's not ready? Why not? All it has to do is run! C'mon out! :)


Eli

man, i coulda sworn there was a rally being run in conjuction with this....oh well.

car runs just fine..the motor is ALL new and sounds mean....but the car has no front end, interior, safety-restraints....;)

[Eli Gilbert]

oops, that might be a problem. :)

how about Hertz? I won two CRS championships and got second in a third, all in rental cars.

[mario]

oops, that might be a problem. :)

how about Hertz? I won two CRS championships and got second in a third, all in rental cars.

yeah, last time i ran, i had a rental car...i was operating under the assumption that this was a full-fleged rally so i was pushing for the car to be done...i might rent a car again, we'll see.

[Eli Gilbert]

great, we'd love to have you out there.

eli

[Eli Gilbert]

bumptackular

[Eli Gilbert]

Tomorrow is the last day to pre-register for a discount - sign up and save!

Eli

[mario]

is there anything near there? is it a good idea to camp out or can i show the morning of and leave by late afternoon?

[Jewel]

Mario,
You can do the "arrive and drive" for rally-x events. You DO NOT want to camp unless you have a camper or trailer. We take our bikes out to this spot alot and it's cold this time of year as soon as the sun sets! We were out there over thanksgiving and it was really cold (ran the heater a bit during the night in the trailer).


Eli,

Do you have dates for 2007 in Lucerne? We have just had scheduling conflicts on all 3 of these! = ( Please keep our members here informed!!!

[mario]

well, if i can get someone to come out with me i'll come out...

[Eli Gilbert]

Arrive and drive is fine. Hell, if you're running modified class you don't have to be there until 10 or so.

Also, some preliminary dates are available for 2007 - check out www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com (http://www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com) for more details. Scheduling conflicts are bound to happen - we have a hard enough time getting them to not be on the same weekends as stage rallies and autocrosses!

Hope to see some of you out there this weekend - we wont be camping (because of the cold temps) and the after-party may not happen for the same reason. But the racing is ON!

Eli

[Eli Gilbert]

Well, everyone's back home, the dust has settled, and the last CRS and Johnson Valley Rallycross of the year is over.

I think everyone had fun and I wanted to thank everyone for coming out! First off, I'd like to thank my girlfriend Mindy who did so much behind the scenes work for the event. She made the lunches, worked the course, helped set up, and most importantly, designed the course with me. Together we tried to make it flowing enough to get up to speed and hang it out plenty, but still technical enough in some places so driver skill and precision were what pulled you through, not horsepower. My desire was to put in some areas where drivers could absolutely go balls out in a sweeping corner yet still maintain enough control to make it through tough gates. In this I think I succeeded.

Now a few thanks: Thanks to Leon and Lisa and the entire Laengworks crew for making the trek and supporting rallycross. Thanks to Mike in the rental who let me and Mindy run the car as well - hope cleaning it up was manageable. And of course, thanks to Jayson Woodruff without whose infrastructure (cones, radios, etc) NONE of this would be possible. Big ups to the guys who didn't even run but worked two run groups AND helped clean up!!! And to everyone else who helped out above and beyond their work group, it's people like you who make this endeavor easier for the organizer.

There were some unfortunate situations which resulted in a bit of a delay and frustrations for drivers. A few notes about issues we had:

1. The wind, for one thing, was - for the first time ever in all the times I've been out there - not blowing at 30 mph, so the dust created by the cars hung over the course resulting in a lot of waiting around. Slowing the rally group to 2 minute intervals was for everyone's safety so I hope no one got too steamed about such a long time between runs. I apologize for the rally and mod guys not getting all 6 runs.

2. The rally class had a TON of entries - something the pre-reg did not suggest, so the run group ended up being almost 3 hours. I apologize to the course workers who had to stay out there that long. Next time we will review the entry list more closely at the start of the day and split the groups up if necessary.

3. The course, which a few people pointed out, was not built optimally for the conditions (no wind), so there were some places where drivers had to slow considerably to see where the cones were. Though I tried in advance through my course design to minimize the chances of dust being an issue (by making the course a "W" shape so the wind would blow dust out of your way) , some of my course elements compounded the problem (the loop, the two turnaround "Y's". Next time we will try our best to ensure this is not an issue.

4. No porta potties. The people who were supposed to deliver them didn't and by the time we figured it out, it was too late as they are closed on the weekends. Luckily there was a bathroom not too far away.

5. Results not ready. We were really scrambling to get everything done before sundown and were, again, a victim of our own success. With so many more entries - many of whom were walk-ups, it didn't give us enough time to compile results and year end series championship points. Rest assured that final results are available now at http://www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com (http://www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com/) and medals and cash payouts will be sent to you in the mail. If we don't have your mailing address and you placed, shoot Jayson an email at woodrufj@jaycomservices.com (woodrufj@jaycomservices.com) and let him know. He's handling the awards and payouts.

All in all it was a successful event and I hope ya'll will come out next time - the next event is January 28th I believe. Check www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com (http://www.johnsonvalleyrallyx.com/) for more details.

Eli Gilbert
Event Organizer
Johnson Valley RallyCross 5