This year I let Google Video take a little more of the bandwidth hit, but I still have all the videos on-line available for download. They are all 640X480 and at least 1MBps, so if you liked what you saw on Google, you can download the hi-res versions here. I will be adding more stages soon.

Gorman Ridge Rally 2006 – Highlights – 43.6MB WMV
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Big jumps, close calls, and the DNF on SS7.

Gorman Ridge Rally 2006 – SS2 Powerline South – 66.2MB WMV
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Tight, twisty, rough stage that gets faster and faster. Finish is two large jumps and a surprise at the bottom.

Gorman Ridge Rally 2006 – SS5 Powerline North – 66.3MB WMV
Low-Res Preview
Opposite of SS2 with two huge jumps taken flat out and the stage gets rougher and tighter. Listen to Christine struggle for breath as the calls get fast over the bumpy terrain.

You’ll notice that the video keeps rolling un-interrupted for the DNF, push, and tow out. Even with electrical problems the camera and video are unaffected. This is a specially designed system that RumbleSoft put together for use with a Sony DCR recorder and long life NiMH battery. Click here for more information on the RumbleSoft Racing video system.

Click here for pictures from the Gorman Ridge Rally!

Summary: Brake fade on SS1, Rear O2 grounded on transit to SS3, got car going for SS4, flew on SS5 & 6. Started SS7 (Libre Mountain), 10 miles in – sensor circut fries the ECU, DNF on SS7.

We had an AWESOME time!
Look for the whole story later today.

The rear Bilstein struts are back together and on the car. Fresh seals and grease for all four dampers. The skidplate fought me a little bit – as when I took it off the subrame was less then straight. Now that everything is back to spec the ‘out of spec’ holes in the plate don’t line up. We’ll need to do the front brakes when we get up there. (I’m starting a tradition. That’s when we installed the Porterfield pads last year. Yes, they’re THAT good. Four rallies!)

Ze’Neon is on the dolly and we’re ‘shoving off’ around 2:00.
There be priates on the loose up in Gorman town.*

* Trash talk on Special Stage went all ‘talk like a pirate’ and I got a little too excited. You’ll see what I mean when the pictures come in. If ye’ bored – here’s how it got started.

Okay peeps… If you’re in SoCal, then this is for you. It’s an hour north of LA and a short cruise up the 5. You’ll get to see the same stages run by the X Games. You’ll get a hundred pictures of rally cars, four special stages, and two service stops. You need to roll up there for 11:00AM this Saturday (Aug 19th). Bring: $5 for parking, sunscreen, camp chairs, water, and a desire to see 30 cars tear up the Hungry Valley off road park. Print out the maps, stay 50 feet off the stage roads, listen to the marshalls, and see what this sport is all about.

Google Map to Rally HQ
Gorman maps and spectator information
Current entry list
Gorman Ridge Rally Website

Don’t forget to get crazy when you see the Dodge Rally Neon blast by!
If you’re not in the country of California – Watch the live online scores here!

“Rally with the people!”

We ordered a tire groover. It’s a giant soldering iron with a razorblade ‘U’ at the tip. It heats up to a bajillion degrees and makes quick work of cutting tread blocks. Yes – It smells exactly like that… Awesome + Cancer. We freshened a set of Silverstones and got whatever was left on our Hankooks. If you want to get another couple of runs out of $1000 worth of tires, spend $60 on a groover and start cutting. Most of my cuts just cleaned out the lower bars between the blocks. I did, however, cut one set of ‘hockey sticks’ to make two smaller sharp blocks. New tires will be ordered for Prescott.

Pictures are up in the gallery!

Is that a bit of an upgrade over stock or what? That’s a piece of 2″ box tube that’s 1/4″ thick. I spent about an hour getting both of them to sit perfectly on the bend and angle of the chassis. The subframe is tight to all four mounts and is square to the frame. No more play in the rear ‘C-clipped in’ frame bolts. No more cracked front mounts. Todd came over and welded everything up on Tuesday night. Harry ‘got bored’ and got the engine back in the car on Wednesday afternoon. It still took a whole night of finishing to get the car on the ground. New bumper, fluids, shifter cables, axles, brake bleed, etc.

I had some mad butterflies in my stomach before starting the car last night. “OMG there are 1000 things that I didn’t connect, tighten, or fix.” Once I had her on the highway I knew it was going to be all right. The car tracks straight – imagine that?!

I still have some stuff to finish up before the rally and I’m not sure how much of it I want to do before going to the X Games Super Special this Saturday. On the short list: New hood, hood pins, brakes & rotors, clean & vac, and groove tires. The car needs to be dunked at the local car wash and I need to get the muffler back on.

Without Harry’s awesome work and his garage to do it in – this would have been a chore. Todd and Mike did an awesome job with the front clip – seam welding and fabrication of the new mounts. I also want to thank the City of Costa Mesa: Your ‘code enforcement guy’ caught my car on jackstands only after 2 days! I personally aspire to drive around a CNG powered white Ford Taurus making sure nobody’s having fun. Seriously? How can I get THAT Job? No jackstands were harmed during the making of this post.