Overview map + APRS maps for Rally New York

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APRS Maps for Rally New York 2008
A surveyor, cartographer, or map maker – I am not. I am, however, pretty handy with Photoshop, aprs.fi, and Google Maps. When I got the 3 course maps for Rally New York, I had some trouble correlating their locations. I also needed to make a downloadable (local) APRS map for the team. So I got to work (a 22″ screen helps) on some maps. The first one shows where the locations of the 3 course maps provided by Rally New York are. A handy overview for crews or spectators. The APRS maps get a little interesting. There are 2 included in the zip file. The first one is about 800K and is just the Google Map area overview. Great for a quick tactical view and slow laptops. The second map with the _extra extension is at a higher resolution 1.53MB and includes the 3 course maps layered on top, giving you stage info, radio locations, etc. The lineup is not perfect due to inconsistencies in the way these maps were made, but it’s close enough. The maps have been tested with AGWTracker and should work with other APRS mapping programs that take the associative .inf files. Enjoy!

2008 Rally New York Overview Map .jpg
Download this and it’s ready to print 8X10. The 3 maps that it refers to are located here: RNY2008 Course Maps

2008 Rally New York APRS + extra .zip
Includes a low and high res version and the coordinates in .inf files.

Ze’Neon has landed!

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Christine’s Dad just called and reported that there was a rally car in his driveway. – w00t!
In an almost unbelievable coincidence, I got this report from Michael Taylor (President of the USRC) via email earlier today:

Kris,
Have you shipped the Rally Neon back to New York yet?
I was passing through Amarillo, Texas last Saturday and could’ve sworn I saw it on a transport truck.

Michael Taylor

:eek: Don’t think about the odds of that.
I can’t confirm it 100%, but if the truck left Southern California on Thursday and arrived in NJ today – it was probably in Texas on Saturday.
Good stuff. It’s all coming together now!

For those of you going to Rally New York

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Spectator maps for Rally NY
I believe in spectators. I think they are essential for the growth of the sport and as a long time spectator the key to success is information. It was not so long ago I was leading 20+ Subarus around the woods of Rumford, Maine with a copy of a hand drawn map of the stages that looked as though it was written on the back of a Dunkin Donuts napkin, scanned, and posted online. “Squiggle, route 17, Fish Pond Road” – we’re done here. Thankfully, Rally New York embraces spectators openly and has lots of information and great maps online.

Tips for spectating: 1. Don’t be a chode. 2. Be aware. 3. Stay safe. 4. Have fun!
Driving like you’re IN the rally will get people hurt and could screw up the event for everyone. Trying to follow lost people ruins the weekend. Know when and where the cars are going to arrive. Print out maps! Pack some extra clothes for the weather along with water, food, and some folding chairs. If you’re going “out of bounds” prepare to hike (good boots) and keep a reasonable distance off the road on an INSIDE corner. Stay off the road when the stage is hot. If a marshal tells you to move – MOVE. Bring cameras and video and take a ton of pictures!

International Rally New York
Check out the main site at: www.rallynewyork.com
2008 Rally New York Spectator Guide
2008 Rally New York Course Maps
There. Now you have the tools you need to successfully spectate a rally. I expect you to be a good ambassador for the sport while in NY. :D

We are looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting long time fans for the first time, making new friends, and having a fantastic rally with all of you. Ze’Neon was loaded onto a car trailer last Thursday and is on its way across the country right now. We will be flying in to rendezvous with it shortly before the event. We’ll see you in New York!

FAST ALL WEEKEND, RALLYNOTES FINISH PRESCOTT IN TENTH!

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Dodge Rally Neon winning Production 2WD at the 2008 Prescott Rally in Arizona.On October 3rd and 4th, the Rallynotes.com team pushed the envelope of speed in their stock powered Production 2WD Dodge Neon at the 2008 Prescott Rally. Keeping up with faster Group 2 class cars, they were able to slide into tenth overall and third in 2WD for the event! Adding to their USRC points with a 1st in Production 2WD, and winning the California Rally Series ‘Performance Stock’ Championship in the process!

The car and crew were in top form all weekend. Finding the speed early on Friday night, the team set 10th fastest times on the first two stages. Service only required a small lighting adjustment for the encountered dust. This helped keep the car fast for SS3 and SS4. An overnight tire change was all that was needed to ready the Dodge Rally Neon for the next day, and Saturday only saw some minor rim damage after hitting a large rock.

The weather played a factor as it started to rain on Saturday afternoon. This kept the dust away, soaked the crews waiting in the service area, and made the last 3 miles of ‘First View’ treacherous. Driver Kristopher Marciniak explains: “We were flat out for the first five miles. It’s uphill, so we can’t afford to slow down and lose momentum. A few miles from the end, we chose to take it easy after a hard left put us sliding sideways towards the mountain. It got real slippery up there.” We would like to congratulate Brian Scott and John Dillon for their Open AWD win, Jimmy and Melissa Keeney for their Production AWD win, and George Doganis and Tom Smith for their fast Open 2WD win. The Rallynotes.com team celebrated their Production 2WD win with these teams during the champagne ceremony immediately following the rally.

At the award ceremony later that night the team was honored with the Carl Merrill Award. Organizer Michael Taylor explained why Kristopher and Christine were the recipients this year. “These two exemplify Carl’s spirit and commitment to rally and sportsmanship.” The team would like to once again thank Michael Taylor for the recognition and thank all of the organizers, workers, volunteers and competitors of the 2008 Prescott Rally. Special thanks to our volunteer crew of Vanessa & Brian Driggs, Dan Green, Jake Caler, Jared Sivinski, and Kyle Johnson. Not only helping the Rallynotes team, they offered assistance to three other teams, and the rally itself by driving the CRS scoring trailer back to the hotel while the final scores were computed.

With help from Brian Scott’s crew, the team’s tools, tires, and spares will be in New York for the final round of the United States Rally Championship. The Dodge Rally Neon is being privately shipped and the team will be flying in shortly before the event. Will the Rallynotes.com team have the speed and stamina necessary to beat the leading Eastern Production 2WD team of Hampton Bridwell and Josh Katinger in their SVT Focus? Who will be the 2008 USRC Production Class Champions? All will be decided in the final round at the 2008 International Rally New York. See you there!

Mega Media Roundup

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Pictures:
Yuji – http://photos.mediaspigot.com/Events
Pamela – http://picasaweb.google.com/astrofizkid/PrescottRally#
Dave Sewell – http://www.prescottrally.com/images/2008/taylor/index.html
Bob Rosevear – http://www.prescottrally.com/images/2008/rosevear/index.html
James Ellzey – http://www.prescottrally.com/images/2008/ellzeyj/index.html
Bill Rogers – http://www.motorsportmemories.com/Prescott-08/index.htm
Michael Slygh – http://www.mslygh.com/Prescott/
Jason – http://flickr.com/photos/jshultz/sets/72157607741704543/
TurnDriverSide’s – http://flickr.com/photos/samuraiaz/

Video:
Rallynotes.com YouTube Channel
Jason – Video 1 is close up shots
Jason – Video 2 is overhead shots

Told you it was ‘mega’ – more to be added, no doubt.
Thanks to ALL the photographers out there!

Prescott – Quick Post

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Back from Prescott! Had a great time! We came in 10th overall! We won the CRS P-Stock Championship! As we’re flying off to the East Coast for a family event this week, I want to devote my time to getting the in-car edited and on-line. Tons of time to write posts and stories on the plane.

Thank you crew, fans, friends, and family!
There are a TON of media sites out there with pics and video I’ll update as soon as I get a chance.
– Kris

Can’t make the event? Watch the 2008 Prescott Rally from the web!

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rallynotes.com Rally Car Tracking APRS

Once again, we are really excited to have our APRS tracker up and running for the Prescott Rally. This has the best native APRS coverage of any rally out west. What this means simply is: Friends, fans, and family can watch our progress in real time on the internet! Updates should be around every 5 minutes. The map interface is Google Maps, so it’s very easy to use and navigate. If you click on the dots on the tracked route you will be able to see the following:

APRS Tag
KI6IUC-9 – Is my Amateur Radio call sign.
(The -9 is to indicate the rally car.)
Date and time in 24 hour UTC
speed in MPH, direction, altitude in feet
/Short message that will indicate our status.
[how that packet got to you]

Itinerary for the Prescott Rally 2008 Times are all PST
Thursday – October 2nd: Drive out from California to Phoenix, AZ (10:00AM – 7:00PM)
Friday – October 3rd: Reconnaissance (6:00AM – 10:00AM)
Friday – October 4th: Rally day one (4:00PM – 10:30PM)
Saturday – October 5th: Rally day two (8:00AM – 3:00PM)
Sunday – October 6th: Drive back to California (10:00AM – 7:00PM)

** Don’t miss Friday and Saturday, these are the days to watch. We will be in the rally car racing at speed on the roads around Prescott!
Times are LOCAL – Pacific Standard Time or GMT -7:00
This may help…

Live scores and results of the Prescott Rally will be available here!
Check out other APRS data from the Prescott area here! You should be able to see other rally cars, sweep vehicles, etc.

BRING ON THE COMPETITION! RALLYNOTES READY FOR PRESCOTT.

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Dodge Rally Neon at Gorman RidgeNext weekend, the 21st Annual Prescott Rally, held in beautiful Arizona will be the location for some great NASA Rallying. With an impressive 35 teams on the entry list, six USRC Production 2WD entries, and seven total teams battling for top California Rally Series P-Stock honors, this will be an exciting final event for the USRC Pacific and CRS regional championships. The team will be pushing hard for USRC points and a top spot in order to win the CRS P-Stock class championship for 2008.

The Dodge Rally Neon is in great shape after the grueling Gorman Ridge Rally. No major damage was incurred and the car has been thoroughly looked over. Updated Bilstein rear struts will keep the team in control for the speed and jumps seen on these long stages. The new Tuff Rims continue to impress and will be tested on the large imbedded rocks known to dot the course.

The team is excited about the competition and the course this year. The rally will be running two 22 mile stages which will test the entire field. “Our Gorman strategy was to go slow and save the car. At Prescott – I want to be setting the pace for the Production cars all weekend. The last time the 22 mile stage was run we set 7th fastest overall. I would like to do better then that this year.” exclaimed driver Kristopher Marciniak.

The team is charged up for the penultimate round of the United States Rally Championship. They are ready to tackle the roads and competition at the Prescott Rally!

Action Stations: Rally New York Planning

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The Neon blends in on a cross country trip.The Current Plan:
We drop the car off at a reputable transport company after Prescott. They then get the lowest price on getting the rally car to Newark, NJ by the 24th. ($1400 to $1600 one way BTW) We have flights booked to get us to NJ a day before the rally and back on the following Monday. When we arrive we’ll need to rent a trailer for the weekend from U-Haul and borrow someones (yet to find) truck for service. We’ll need to borrow tools and we’ll only have some light spares for the rally, as the car can’t be crammed full of stuff for shipping. We can then pay to ship it back, or drive it back ourselves after Christmas. These Christmas plans have yet to be made – and YES – I did say we’d drive the rally car back. It’s been done before. :p This couldn’t be done with an open class, dog box, monster turbo, rally car. As you can see to the right – we can make it blend right in!

This plan is rough because we won’t have our tow dolly or service vehicle. We’re super limited on spares and tires. It’s also very expensive.

Other Ideas:
We calculated the cost of driving the Blazer & Rally Neon. With gas and $80 a night hotel rooms we’re looking at a $2300 round trip. Much closer to the $2000 tow fund budget. :) The problem is – I don’t get paid time off, and my schedule is already booked. I know I can drive it back, but not both ways. We’re now looking for friends, fellow rallyists, long lost acquaintances, to drive the whole rig from Southern California to Newark, NJ. We would even be willing to fly them out (or back) here for such a trip.

The ideal solution would be to get with a team already going from the West that can step a 1 car trailer up to a 2 car trailer. A little more fuel – but the total cost of the trip for them would be less. We can then take spares and tools and team up for Rally New York. We would be willing to spend $2300 for the round trip. One team has already come and gone, and we need to find others interested.

We’ve posted and emailed and called. If you can help us out, or have a suggestion that I haven’t thought of yet, email or post a comment!
Prescott will be here before you know it. I’m heading down to the shop tomorrow to maintain and prepare the car. Hopefully a plan will arise in the next week.
For even MORE granular detail on the subject – check out my Rally New York post on Special Stage.