On the weekend of October 23-24, the Texas Region held its grandest SCCA National RoadRally event – The Texas Trifecta. Our dedicated and skilled Rallymaster, Liz Witt, designed a combination of events that challenged and entertained rallyists from far and wide, in addition to our local community. The Region’s Virtual Rally Schools (via Zoom) were conducted on October 9 and 10 to help prepare for the rallies.
Saturday – ONTO Fall National Course Rally: A 165+-mile course-following rally through the countryside on the beautiful, paved roads of rural Texas. And with a grand tour of the town of Farmersville, home of Audie Murphy. Designed for the experienced rallyist, it had 19 legs fueled by traps from Liz’s Tote Bag with variable Main Road rule priorities and both numbered and lettered Route Instructions. Additionally, some of the numbered instructions had a choice of actions. The timing was by the Richta GPS Checkpoint app.
Saturday – ONTO Fall National GTA Rally: Course-following and many of the same traps as the Course Rally. Yet it had no lettered instructions, so many of the traps were implemented differently. Scored by answers to questions that were designed to determine if rallyists followed the correct course and/or applied the rules correctly. It was a Course rally without timing.
Sunday – Aftershock National Tour Rally: A 165-mile scenic tour on the best-paved roads of Collin and Grayson Counties, with fun speeds and some timing controls in challenging places. The timing was by the Richta GPS Checkpoint app.
We welcomed 14 rallyists from other Regions, competing for National Championship points. They joined another 14 Texas-based rallyists, including a team from the Houston area. On Friday evening, most entrants gathered for an enjoyable dinner at the Saltgrass Steakhouse, a great way to (re)connect, exchange stories (most of them true), and get in the mood for the weekend competition.
The weather was fine all weekend! Teams set out on Saturday morning on ONTO Fall, with the National Championship folks running the Course routes, while a handful of Texas rallyists ran the GTA event. Both groups had a lunch break in Farmersville and then navigated through some of the local streets. Most noticed Gaddy St., which is evidence of how we try to make our out-of-town visitors feel welcome (no truth to the rumors that Steve left with a couple of street signs in his luggage, but I’m wondering why the mayor keeps trying to reach me). Rallyists also reported sightings of Saskwatch, possibly a first this far south.
Post-rally, everyone gathered at Rudy’s for Texas Bar-B-Q, camaraderie, and awards. For ONTO Fall Course, the team of Bruce Gezon and Bob Morseburg took First Place honors in Class E with a score of two! Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza claimed First Place in Class L with a score of 210, while Jessica Toney and Jim Wakemen claimed the top award in Class S with a score of 339. The GTA version of ONTO Fall was won by the team of Jerry and Nancy White, with the highest score of 81 (remember, on this GTA you want points for the highest score). Congratulations to the winners and everyone who successfully endured the 7+hour long and trap-rich events.
On Sunday, 14 teams set out on the Aftershock Tour Rally on a route that stretched up to Sherman and back. Teams were scored at 88 controls, including several on a section with over 50mph average speeds.
Rallyists who didn’t have to rush to catch flights home gathered after the rally at El Fenix for authentic Tex-Mex, socializing, and awards. Top team honors in Class E went to Bruce Gezon and Bob Morseburg, with a final score of 13.2. Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza claimed First Place in Class L with a score of 57.9, while Jessica Toney and Jim Wakemen took First Place in Class S, with a score of 150.4. In the SOP (Seat of the Pants) Class, Ethan and Misty Wiseley came away with the top trophy with a score of 446.7. Kudos to the winners and all competitors in this enjoyable Tour event!
All in all, a fun and successful Rally Weekend! Thanks to all who helped Liz and me put this together: Jim Crittenden and Jack Von Kaenel, with rally design; John and Phyllis Camp and Michelle Poulos, with safety checks and pre-checks; Phil Elmore and David and Gail Quasebarth with rally day check-in and post-rally logistics. And a special thanks to Jim Crittenden for his help with scoring. We couldn’t have pulled this off without their hard work and commitment.
We’re hoping to put together another National Rally Weekend in North Texas, most likely in the Fall of 2023. Make a note in your calendars and, as they say around here, “y’all come back ya hear.” Liz’s bag of traps is filling up, so we’ll have some goodies for you.
Photo: Rallymaster Liz and her Tour creation
What ralliers said…
“We liked that the Course rally wasn’t gimmicky and had traps that were easily understood when we read the critique. And that the Tour rally was brisk and fast flowing with no time wasted standing around for restarts. The 53mph section also was unique, probably can’t be done anywhere else in the country we regularly rally!”
“Really enjoyed them!”
“This was a fun Tour rally on surprisingly good roads. This is a great model for a Tour rally.”
“Really enjoyed this year. Thanks for a great event.”
John Poulos – Rally Chair and SCCA Texas Region ARE for RoadRally
