Many Autospeed readers drive modified cars... maybe mild, maybe extreme. The essence of the modifications is to improve speed, handling, and performance. But rather than making your road car into a racy car, there is another alternative - make a road car into a real racecar.... specifically a rally car.
The WRC cars driven by the likes of Possum Bourne and Neil Bates are probably beyond most people's budgets. There are cheaper options however. The Gemini series (running in both New South Wales and Queensland) is a bit more practical for an individual, both in terms of cost and competition.
The Cars
The Geminis that are raced are essentially stock. The only mods are a camshaft, springs, shocks, exhaust (standard manifold) and a few other minor pieces. There is no porting, polishing, bigger carbys, extractors, forced induction, locked diffs or other expensive options. The cars are remarkably tough, and parts are cheap for when you push it that bit too hard!
You can find Geminis by the dozen in the paper for about $200 each. The most expensive modification is the rollcage, which has to meet CAMS and FIA specifications. The motor generally only needs freshening-up before being recombined with the gearbox and diff that the car came with. The only other additions are safety items like 4/5/6 point harnesses, race seats, intercom, Terratrip rally computer and fire extinguishers.
What this means is that you can build a car for under $10,000 with mostly new parts, or under $5,000 if you scrounge. As everyone out there has a similar car, they aren't going to beat you because they have a bigger budget, but because they can drive faster than you. Surprisingly, a well-driven Gemini will only be 60 seconds behind a 4WD turbo WRX in a 10 minute stage.
The Stages
Some of the roads you race on are the same as those of the ARC cars; some are worse! These are all forestry tracks that range from wide dirt roads, to two-wheel tracks through head-high scrub. There are first-gear twisting hill climbs, water crossings, cliff edges, gullies, grass, sand and dirt... lots of dirt. Under all these conditions you have to pilot a 66hp one-wheel drive "shitbox" (the season winner's description of his car) at speeds up to 160 km/h. Oh, and half of the rally is at night! You can also expect dust, trees that jump out, corners that tighten halfway round, big rocks, bigger holes, animals and regular broken-down rally cars - most of which aren't Gemini's though! The compensation is the chance to get your car airborne at regular intervals. This combines to be much more fun that your average traffic lights drag...
Pace Notes
Now to help you in this little endeavour, your navigator has a set of pace notes he or she was given 2 hours before the start. Contrary to popular belief, most stages do not have a reconnaissance before the race. In fact most of the time you have never seen the course before. The pace notes supplied contain information about what is classed as being 'out of character' with the stage. 'Out of character' is a term that is very open to interpretation! At 120 km/h on the dirt, 100 metre drop on your right, heading towards yet another blind left hander that is not in the notes, you can only hope that the corner is what you think, and not one that is 'out of character'. This places a lot of emphasis on the driver making good judgement calls, and the navigator getting his information to you clearly.
There are some rallies where pace noting is carried out, and while not as common, they are an interesting change. The pace notes that you write yourself are much more detailed, and often less useful. Too much information, inaccurate information or incorrect distances are worse than the 'out of character' information normally supplied, as you tend to rely on it being correct. This is where experience helps.
Navigators - Crazy or Stupid?
There is also the little factor of Navigators to take into account. These guys climb into a car, knowing that their life depends on your skill (they must be nuts!). Unfortunately this mental instability also makes them slightly unreliable. The famous comments like, "umm, I think we should have gone left back there" or "oh, that was a triple caution" are the ones you'll remember most. After a while you start working together as a team. This increases your ability to communicate with each other, abuse each other, criticize each other, and scream together as you jointly disappear over the cliff.
The Other Competitors
Here is the good bit. On the track you might be competitors, but in the pits everyone lends a hand where needed. There is no animosity off the track, and everyone is ready to help when you run into trouble. Advice is freely available, and given when needed. The atmosphere before and after the race is one of support and suggestion. This is useful as things do go wrong - regularly. Being a fairly simple car, the Geminis are at least reliable, though there have been some cars that didn't finish some stages in the 2000 season. Problems covered faults like: no brakes, no sump plug (must tighten these!), missing gears, hole in side of engine, unusually shaped suspension (modifications done at high speed by solid object), head gasket, smashed rims, bent panels and lots of dented sump guards. Luckily there is always help on hand if things don't go right, and hopefully your team is willing to do the same for others.
A number of the competitors also camp overnight at some of the rallies, so there are plenty of people to have a yarn to over the campfire while you describe your misadventures of the day, and just how big that hole/rock/ditch really was.
The OTHER cars
There is also the rest of the field to consider. With 10-15 Geminis racing there are plenty of other cars out there. These range from Ladas (I feel ill) to new EVO Lancers, WRXs and whatever else happens to be around. The odd scattering of Datsun 1600s will probably surprise most people with times often quicker than the turbo 4wd cars. Most races have around 50 cars, so it's not just Geminis in the field that you can try to beat. And if you think a stock Gemini doesn't have a chance, speak to some of the drivers and check the times - you'll be surprised. Before I started racing I spoke to Neil Bates and even he said it's more driver/codriver than car... I don't know if he ever tried rallying a Gemini though!
The Pit Crew
This generally consists of:
- Girlfriend / wife / significant other
- Gullible parents and other relatives
- Insane mates and friends (suckers) of other varieties
- A full-time mechanic, suspension specialist, tuner, detailer, chef, manager, PR officer and a radio/comms operator (I WISH! - see www.rally.com.au for teams with money)
These people, real and imagined, come together to rapidly repair and check your mangled wreck... umm, pride and joy. Service time is limited and the car has to be made ready for the next stage. This might cover cleaning the windscreen and getting a drink, or rushed mechanical patch-ups and panel beating. Usually it only consists of a check for obvious damage, oil and fluids top-up and fuel. The pit crew are great supporters of the sport and also make up part of your fan club, that way, as well as getting greasy working on the car, they can also get dusty at the spectator points. It is interesting though when you come back to service and find your crew is still off somewhere watching the other cars race!
If all this sounds like your cup of tea then get up and do something about it. You can buy or build your first car and run a season for just under $10,000 if you do it right. I have just done it, no accidents, minimal repairs, cutting costs and getting second overall in Queensland. The best people to contact are your local car clubs. If they don't run rallies, they will know who does. Failing that, contact CAMS in the nearest capital city for further information.
If it all sounds beyond your budget, then consider volunteering to be roadblock crews or spectator marshals in some of the State races. The car clubs are always after help, and you get some of the best spectator spots available. The atmosphere is friendly and you get to talk to the crews. There is also the opportunity to get some ideas for your road car off guys who really know what makes a difference.
Rallying is a great sport and there are cheap alternatives like the Gemini series to start in. If you think you can drive well, then use something to like this to prove it. Anyone can go fast between traffic lights - that only depends on your budget. Rallying takes real driving skill!
