I totally agree with what you have said.
I was not there and therefore can't comment.
Unfortunately, I left my email open at a place where others could access it.
Apparently one of my (non-rally) friends thought this would be funny.
I have informed them that they are no longer welcome at any events I attend.

I apologize sincerely if I have offended anyone.
I would never intend to take advantage of any volunteer that helps make it possible for us to rally.

Nicola Narini

First of all, I must say that I am very disappointed with the initial post in this string. It is highly uncharacteristic of what I would have come to expect from the writer, so I am going to let it go as a once only situation of poor judgement. Mud-slinging is uncalled for.

Let's get the facts straight. The idea of adding a jump in the Golton stage was 100% mine. I thought that it would add some excitement for the spectators. It is not made primarily for the competitors. The typical best photos of rally cars show them in the air. Anyone who knows the Pines route knows that there are countless much bigger jumps out there on the stages where the competitors can get their thrills, but the spectators don't get to see those. So I wanted to add a jump, but it had to be a 'friendly' jump that would not be a car-breaker. On the Test Day we determined that the jump was fine the way we had built it for a fast car driven aggressively; however a slower car or one driven less aggressively tended to land heavily on the nose. So on Sunday we extended the flat 'table top' of the jump a bit to eliminate that problem, then tested it with about six cars that were at the RallyCross. It worked. All landed pretty evenly on four wheels with no damage.

The entry ramp to the jump was not changed at all, except that the top of the jump is actually a few inches higher, not lower as suggested. A fast car driven enthusiastically i.e. without lifting, will fly just as high and far as Nick did in the photo on the front page of the Pines website. Such cars will in no way be affected by the change we made, as they will not even touch the flat table top. However a slower car will have a smoother landing. So to suggest that the jump has been 'neutered' is absolutely incorrect.

A good spectator stage must be created so that all cars can go hard and put on a good show without fear of damaging the car. That is what we have tried to do with this jump.

I have no interest to get involved in what you guys are talking about (rally family will always be a rally family), but I would like to voice my huge thanks to Ross for thinking like this:

rosswood wrote on 10/01/10 at 07:30:54:


with people like that Canadian rallying is safe!