Some people, most in fact, don't understand my obsession with rallying. They wonder why I dedicate so much of my time to it. Not to mention money. I'm constantly answering rally questions from my family, friends and girlfriend. Even Sport Compact Car's new editor, Scott Oldham, doesn't fully understand my preoccupation with it.
And honestly I'm tired of it. So, for the last time, I'll attempt to express what goes on out there in the world of rallying and why, without question, it's the coolest motorsport in existence.
Reason number one: It's not for sissies.
The general lack of knowledge about how rallying works leaves most folks confused about how and where it happens, the distance a race can cover and what goes on inside (or outside) the car. Unlike road racing or drag racing, rallying takes place in the most remote regions of the country. This places demands on competitors, spectators and organizers alike, which are unique to the sport. First, it requires that competitors and their crews remain completely self-sufficient. Ever try to find a distributor cap for a 30-year-old Datsun at 9:45 p.m. on a Thursday in Bullhead City, Ariz?
Take, for example, last year's Ramada Express Hotel and Casino International Rally-which is an FIA-listed event. This race put its competitors through three days of the most rigorous rally/clean/sleep schedule we've experienced. How about this scenario: Wake up the first day at 5:45 a.m. to finish prepping the car for the 8:00 a.m. start. Rally all day, covering the car in 3 inches of dried muck, only to return to rally headquarters by 6:30 p.m. and begin cleaning. Clean and prep the car until midnight. Then spend an hour in your hotel room readying the next day's route book. Repeat that schedule for two and a half days while fighting muddy or snow-covered roads and meeting the time constraints designed around perfect weather conditions. It's fun, but it's not easy.
Even spectating can be serious work. Keeping ahead of a rally requires precise timing, a sharp sense of direction, good map-reading skills and lots of persistence. Watching rally cars day and night in all weather requires either a true passion for the sport or a serious mental glitch. Either way, I still like it.
Reason number two: The cars.
Unlike cars in almost all other racing series, rally cars have to be street legal. This rule is certainly open to interpretation, but all rally cars must be registered and driven on the street in transit between special stages.
These production car roots make them relatable to new enthusiasts who know nothing about the sport. There are no tube-frames or hand-built one-offs. Every car began life on an assembly line surrounded by hundreds of other chassis just like it. Nor is there a profound amount of exotic materials-at least in American rallying.
Reason number three: The roads.
Guess what? Those real cars also compete on real roads. And they do it, in this country at least, without ever practicing the route. Not roads designed by a number-crunching traffic engineer, either. Nope, they do it on roads that line cliffs and on roads surrounded by trees, water or people. The roads force drivers to be sharp, versatile and adaptive. Otherworldly car-control skills are a must.
The bottom line here is that I enjoy the test of abilities and resources rallying demands of drivers, cars and crews. It requires physical fitness, mental sharpness and stamina like few other motorsports.
Besides, during the last year or so, there has been a huge increase in the popularity and manufacturer backing of American rallying. Fact is, the sport is taking off and we're going to be there.