The Route of All Evo Mud
By Karl Haltiner, Rallymaster
February 2008
Sure it's messy, but playing in the mud can be a lot of fun! And so it was for the 4th event of the Winter Rally Series, FE 9.
We really had no idea what to expect. When Mac and I set-up and miled the course in the middle of January, most of the roads were smooth and in good shape; many of the dirt roads were twisty and somewhat challenging, and many other roads, though dirt, were pretty straightforward, smooth and fast. However, we did have to throw out one of my favorite and most challenging roads because it was washed out and deeply rutted. Little did we know this would be a portent of things to come! The first half of the rally used roads I had used in previous rallies, starting in Canandaigua heading toward Naples, Prattsburgh (between Canandaigua and Keuka Lakes), taking a break at Kanona and then towards Hammondsport. From there I decided to try the area between Keuka and Seneca Lakes (which I can't remember anyone doing before) where we found some good, fun roads. However, the roads did get boring between Dundee and Penn Yan, so we did a quick transit and picked up a couple more controls in the Branchport area.
When we did the final course check on Friday before the rally, things had changed a bit to say the least. The weather over the last couple of weeks (freeze, thaw, rain) had wrecked havoc with the roads. The roads were muddy, deeply rutted and covered with slush. What had been easy roads were suddenly a challenge and the challenging ones were downright nasty! There were several times where I could not even get to A speed!! Fortunately by the next day for the rally the slush had melted off, with just a bit of snow and ice in places, but the ruts and mud remained. No problem, this resulted in a rally where just about every road had some challenge, but nothing got ridiculous. That is what the scores reflected, with no ultra-low scores, but some good ones, a fair number of TA's and only one car that dropped out due to computer glitches. There were a lot of smiles and compliments afterwards, so it seems it all worked out in the end.
Kudos to all the teams and particularly to the ones that did well. The over dogs of Novice, Jacob Peters and Matthew Rhoads prevailed once again, but by only one point over the team of Rick Hoyt and (a not so novice) Mark Laitenberger, 247 to 248. Michael Ortega and William Buck pulled out another close one over Tom and Deb Langdon, 148 to 163. In Limited, the best class of course, another tight contest in which John Werner and Amanda Kellogg prevailed over Rick Barnes and Jason Kostyshak, both teams challenged in the mud with underpowered vehicles. Incidentally, Jason's sister, Laura, unexpectedly got to ride shotgun (ballast position) in the course opening Evo which was unfettered by having to maintain an average speed (one of the perks of being rallymaster). I appreciate her company, assistance, and never showing any sign of terror or a need to regurgitate (yes, it has happened). In the Electronically Assisted Class, otherwise known as Equipped, another close one with the team of Alan Smith and Eric Hobron achieving the excellent and lowest score of 42 to the team of Gary Thomas and John Kastenhuber with 65; even with the electronic assistance, ya still gotta be able to drive. Interestingly the top 8 finishers were: Equipped 1st & 2nd, Limited 3rd & 4th, Stock 5th & 6th, and Novice 7th & 8th.
Many thanks to my assistant, Mac McCann, who also worked 2 controls. A big thanks as well to the control crews (some of whom work most of the rallies) who make the rally possible: Carl Dresie/Jamie Hayslip, Bob/Ryan VanSice, Chris/Jake Buckman, Steve Kittelberger/Barb Lissow, Craig McMaster/Alan Blood (who also did tech), John DeSeyn and a friend, and to Kurt Thiel who ran sweep. Special thanks to Curt Braun who did so much: course check, midpoint control, and scoring (Alan Smith also helped with scoring).
Remember: hear no Evo, see no Evo, and speak no Evo.
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