SCCA Alabama Region made history last weekend by hosting its first known Road Rally, the Pine Mountain Trek. Not to scare anyone away after their first rally, it was sanctioned as a Trek, a lead-follow event that was not officially scored and thus not a competition. Saturday dawned chilly with beautiful clear skies. Thirty-eight participants (19 cars), eight leaders (4 cars), and our photographer enjoyed a leisurely drive from the Barber Museum to Trussville, then north in Blount County and over Pine Mountain to Homestead Hollow and Springville, finishing with a tour at the Mustang Museum in Odenville, and then onto lunch at Charlies BBQ.
Almost half of the total participants were new to the ALSCCA. The others were members from autocross, time trials, Teen Driver Clinic Instructors, and event organizers who came out to try something new and have a good time together. There were high excitement and curiosity levels, with some pent-up adrenaline (which could have been caffeine) thrown in.
In preparation for future time-speed-distance rallies, we practiced computing odometer correction factors. We used the GPS-based Competitor – Richta GPS Checkpoints App to identify six time-scorable legs for practice. The scores ranged from 2 minutes 27 seconds to 8 minutes 1-second deviation at five checkpoints over an hour and 49 minutes covering 53 miles.
Some of the comments overheard were: “Where have you guys been hiding? I haven’t seen this much car enthusiasm in some time. These people are really nice. When can we do this again? Is there any way to make up that time? Is that cheating, hitting those buttons, and taking a time allowance when you take a wrong turn and have to backtrack? I can see how trying to lower your score could become addictive! How much did you have to pay your Navigator to ride with you today? Are you still married to each other? What else does the Region do that is [#funwith cars].”
Keep your eyes and ears open for more Rally-related activities late this summer or early fall.
