one of the few rally fans in the USA since I was 6. I play lots of sims,
including GPL (-30 GPLRank btw :)) N4, and recently I started previewing
Rally Trophy. Anyway, here's a story of my first drive in a rally car that I
posted on a US Rally email list. I drove a 92 Open Class Eagle Talon TSI,
about 2500 pounds with 300hp, turbocharged, and 4wd. (very modified,
completely stripped) I have to remind you I never drove more than 100 feet
with a car in my life, and it was on my uncle's straight driveway in the
automatic family car. So here goes my tale. Oh and BTW, if you have any
questions about how it relates to sims or anything, don't hesitate to ask.
:)
Here I am at the end of the Rapadian Rally after getting a little ride
with Rohit Panjabi in the Talon and standing around with everyone else as
the winners take beer cans and have a chaimpaigne, errr beer fight on the
wood crate podium constructed from scraps just moments ago. As the
carbonation wears down, I anxiously go up to Rob Bergstrom and ask, "Is the
drive still on?" and he says "Sure". I told him I never drove stick before,
but he didn't seem to hear me.
He decides he's going to pull out, which is good, as I don't want to stall
in front of EVERYONE. Anyway, I hop into the co-drivers seat and someone in
the
crowd yells, "Let him drive!" I had a little smirk as I went into the car as
they had no idea...
Ah, but before we get to the story, how did I get the oppurtunity? Well
during the BBQ, I overheard Rob saying that a fif*** year old did a RallyX
somewhere and it was legal because it was on private property, so I say,
"Techincally it would be legal for me to drive." and Rob goes, "sure why
not? Summit! Can Alex drive your car?". Summit, as casual as ever says,
"Yeah sure, just wait until after the awards ceremony." The first thing that
goes through my head is, "Is everyone here insane?" and "I never drove
manual
before, let alone really a car, how am I going to do this!?!" I take a look
at the monterous open class Eagle Talon TSI, which was clearly stripped down
to the bone and had loads of power and start to feel butterflies in my
stomach, more than I've ever felt in my life.
Now I'm in the car with Rob, we pull out, and he tells me he'll hand
over the controls once we get to the RallyX course. We arrive, and he says
he wants to take a fun run, so we strap our belts tight, put on the helmets
in the car, and take off. The extreme take off speed wasn't a suprise as I
had already taken a run with Rohit, but it was clear to me Rob knew the
course much better. We're sliding around completely on the edge, the outside
tires on the inside of the corner, running over sapplings taller than the
car, and occasionally scaring the ***out of me thinking there could be a
stump or rock lurking beneath the tall grass and shrubs. Already, the first
run is done, where I already had a big grin on my face, and Rob says, "Okay
your turn."
We switch seats and I can't believe that I'm sitting in the DRIVER'S
seat of a fully prepped, extremely fast, rally car. I press the clutch in,
shift it to first, and rev it up twice. All I could think of was four letter
words. I don't want to stall it and look like an idiot, so I rev it up to
about 3500-4000 rpm and I let out the clutch slow. I feel it start to engage
and I quickly let off fearing I would burn up the clutch and the car takes
off, a little too fast for transiting 50 feet to the start of the rallyx
stage. Rob says go, and I take off. I shift up to second no problem (I do
have an Act Labs shifter for my racing sims and a little clutch :)). Rob
says, medium right into medium left. I turn in suddenly dabbing the brake
with my left foot expecting it to initiate some kind of slide, but it
doesn't so I understeer and go a little wide, then it screws up my rhythm
going into the medium left. Bah, Rob tells me the car is neutral under
braking so as I just drive through the first section of the course, I'm just
trying to think of how to get the thing to turn. Finally, exiting the very
long hairpin right at the tower, I have my foot down, dab the brake, the car
rotates right towards the straight, I slam the gas and have a great four
wheel drift going and take off at the exit. Ok, now right into 2nd, step on
the gas, and VROOOOM and no torque. Ah, 2nd didn't go in, press in the
clutch, push it in, take off again, then I reach 3rd for a brief second
before Rob says hairpin right, so I slow down, left foot brake in, keep the
gas on to keep the turbo spooled up, dropped the brake, slam the gas, and
the back end comes right around, points down the road, and launches me
forwards. A tiny little countersteer and Im off on my way to an off camber
square left, get through it, drift a little bit, and the run is done.
Finally feeling I know somewhat what to do, I beg Rob for another run. He
reluctantly says, "Ok, ONE more, but that's it."
Ok, 2nd run, rev the car up, launch off the line, go to 2nd, come to
that medium left, medium right and butcher it again, but not as bad. Come to
the hairpin left, lfb in, power out, get one wheel in the grass, slide
around and launch down the next section. He calls long medium right
tightens. I remember this corner from last time too as I locked up the
brakes here not listening (still drove it through though, no reverse) so I
come into the corner, see the tires that I almost hit, dab the brakes with
my left foot, the car rotates slightly, grips, then launches down the next
short straight until having to shift to first for a hairpin left. I try a
little pendulum turn, but I realized how much harder it is to throw the
weight around in a real car unlike a video game. It helps a little, the car
turns, slam on the gas after lfb'ing in, the car rotates, and then flies
down the next straight. I shift into 2nd, the road banks left, then Rob
yells, "easy right into easy left" I drag the brake a little bit with the
gas on to slow it down a little for the turns and 4 wheel drift a little,
then he yells, while in the easy left, "off camber medium right" so I carry
my momentum from the easy left and try to throw it into the medium right,
Rob tells me to aim for the sappling, so I do and just barely miss it with a
4 wheel drift I was happy with, then he yells, "hard left into long hairpin
right" so I hop my feet over to right foot brake and shift down to first
while going through the hard left, and then I swing into the hairpin right,
slam the gas, drift towards the outside, realize I won't make the end of the
corner so I give the brakes a little dab, it rotates more, then I just slam
the gas. The wheels grip right away and it launches me down the straight,
but before I'm even out of the corner, I have to shift into 2nd, this time,
the gear grabs, then 3rd and the revs start going pretty high and the field
feels like it's going by pretty fast, but I wouldn't dare to life. I keep my
foot down and reach an estimated 60mph, and Rob calls, "hairpin left" so I
shift down two gears, maybe to 1st a bit early, hop my feet over to lfb, and
then I do a little pendulum turn, this time a little bit bigger, and it
nicely carries into the hairpin, then I slam the gas and the car comes
roaring out sideways and I struggle to move my arms fast enough to
countersteer, but I don't have to too much and almost over correct, but keep
it on the road. Then I shift up to 3rd again for a brief moment, before
going back to first for the final, off camber square left. I try to go for
broke here and turn left, then turn as hard as I can right with a hard dab
of the brakes, and then just when I start to turn left, I slam the gas and
go through sideways and hear a little, "whoo!" from Rob, power down the
straight, then slow down because I know it's over.
I stop the car and catch my breath. I know realize I'm drenched in sweat
with a huge grin on my face. I asked Rob, "How was it?" and he said, "Well
you did better than a lot of people I rode with and you have massive
potential, keep with it." (got about the same quote in a personal email a
day later, heh)
Now, after pushing the car to it's limits, I easily and casually drove
back to the awards ceromeny on the other part of the farm, and pull in like
I've driven 1000 times before. Driving on the way back, I was a little upset
that I couldn't get a good big pendulum turn in and that I butchered a lot
of corners my first run, and then I thought, "My god, I never drove manual,
let alone really a car!" and I say it out loud accidently, and Rob goes,
"Really? Well you didn't seem to have a problem with it" So I drive back to
service pull in, get out, with the biggest smile on my face and Rob says,
"Well you might as well quit now as all your rally careers are over."
Well, Rob's words to everyone when I got out of the car might have been
*slightly* exaggerated, ;) but I can only wonder what it will be like WHEN I
drive next time. :)
Thanks,
Alex