Kevin on the TPC forum asked me some great questions, so I'm going to post the answers here to help resolve any doubts:
Thank you again for your interest, Kevin! Everything I'm saying here is for the First Frost rally on December 5th.
1. The road conditions seem quite moderate and should be negotiable quite easily as long you have a set of Winter tires.Yes. We're starting northwest of Brampton on December 5th, so I don't EXPECT any snow there. We are going to take you a fair distance away from there (possibly north) before bringing you back, so there's a chance you might find some snow on route. But even good condition all seasons with good tread depth should be more than fine. I'm more worried about someone showing up on four non-matching, bald, seven year old all season tires.
2. This sporting event seems to take place on public rural roads which means all traffic signals and traffic regulations still apply.Very much so!! All of the average speeds are set below the speed limits by at least 5% on tarmac, 10% on gravel. (e.g.: 54 in a 60) If there is a particularly difficult combination of roads to go through, we've lowered the average speed even more. We ALWAYS tell people to drive within their limits, and I don't think that will be a problem for anyone.
If you DO have to drive slower or if you get lost and find your way back, you can take a "Time Allowance" at the next Checkpoint. I'll explain those the morning of the rally, but basically if you know you're about 10 minutes behind, ask for a 10 minute time allowance. Your first one carries no penalties, and you get it "free". We do this so that no one has to speed recklessly to make up time if they're stuck, caught behind a slow tractor for 5 km, etc.
3. We do not have to complete the entire course and we can drop out at any time during the course as long as we inform you. Yes, if you need to stop early that's no problem, just call my cellphone number and let me know! If you stop showing up at check points, we still keep them open as long as we can, waiting for you. If you've just gone home, we waste time having the CP crew out there. It causes real headaches for the organizers and CP volunteers.
From some of the comments of other people interested in the Touring class, I'm thinking of officially ending the "Touring" class after 4 hours (2 legs of the rally), and letting Novice, Intermediate and Expert continue on for the last leg. Any touring competitors who WANT to continue on for the third 2 hour leg can do so, but we may hand out trophies after 4 hours (roughly 3:30 pm if the scoring goes well!!) We'll see what the Touring folks are interested in.
4. The main puzzle to figure for the navigator is to anticipate when the next upcoming turn is given the last turn and distance between turns (hence the calculator, stopwatch and odometer readings)Yes, this is for the Novice class or above. The instructions for Touring will have NO puzzles to figure out whatsoever. We will give Touring distances and street names, and it should be very easy to follow the route, and just enjoy the drive. You'll still stop at checkpoints and be scored for Touring class.
Questions:
1. Can the navigator and driver switch places at check points? The rules don't allow this for scoring in the Championship in Novice, Intermediate or Expert. But we encourage you to do so if that's what it takes to finish the rally. (e.g.: Navigator struggles with notes.) Let us know at the end that you had to switch, and we'll still score you, but not list that score in the championship.
Anything goes for Touring Class though. We'll still calculate your timing scores. Whatever it takes for you to have fun!
2. What is in the "Oh Shoot" enveloppe?If people entering Novice class find that the instructions are too difficult for them to figure out, the "Oh Shoot" envelope will have the Touring instructions in it which have NO PUZZLES OR TRICKS. That way, they don't get overly flustered, and still get to enjoy the rest of the route. If you enter Novice and DON'T open this envelope, you score in the championship in Novice. If you DO open it, we move you down to the Touring class scoring without any penalty.
3. Can you provide an example or sample of Novice Instructions? The Novice note styles that you will encounter in First Frost are covered in the "BASIC INSTRUCTIONS" ONLY on this page. Don't look at Advanced Instructions!
http://www.torontoautosportclub.ca/articles/RallyMaster/index.htmlIf you arrive at the start of registration (9:30am), we'll have a 20 minute session reviewing the all of the novice instruction styles you will see during the rally. It's still easier to have a look at the above link in advance though, and use the pre-rally session as reinforcement.
I've attached the instructions from last weekends rally that I navigated in Novice class. Also available here:
http://spda-online.ca/modules/newbb/dl_attachment.php?attachid=1256491119&post_i...You can see my notes on the pages written in pen or marker. You would get just the printed text portion and your navigator might make notes similar to mine. The CAS or speeds you see are for timing, which you don't need to worry about your first time out. My "tie togethers" of two notes is something that I do for an instruction that is <0.5km from the next one so I know I have to look quickly at the next instruction as well.
The difficulty level of these instructions would be considered "Easy Novice".
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