Annual BMW Seattle Classic Motorcar Rally 2000.
This Rally is a TSD (Time, Speed, Distance) rally; something I had heard of but never competed in. This particular event attracted participants from as far away as Belgium. The entry fee of $500US ($400US for Canadian entrants) ensures that the people in this Rally are serious about TSD events. The prize? Braggin' Rights! The proceeds of the event go to charity. The event was held over 4 days and included 8 meals with champagne on the 1st night. When one takes into account the time and effort to create this event and all the costs outside volunteered time, it is realized that the entry fee for this event is quite reasonable.
One of the members of the BMW Car Club of BC, Sultan, asked me to help restore a 1958 BMW 507 to be ready for this event last year. Due to unfortunate circumstances the car was still under restoration which is a story for another day. I digress! Wanting to be involved in an event that promised an atmosphere of Vintage machines and old time rally grandeur, I volunteered my services as a Support Vehicle to the Rally. Within a half hour of volunteering an Email was sent out to all the Rally participants thanking our Club and myself for providing a Support Vehicle. Within an hour of that I had a call from Sultan, "I thought you were going to be my navigator???" Not realizing his regular navigator wasn't participating and that I was second choice, I had just put myself in two places at the same time.
"Of course I'll be navigator!", not wanting to miss out on this privilege. I knew I would find someone willing to drive the Support Vehicle. Calling on BMW Club members and other friends, I was fortunate to find Guljit Randhawa to drive support on the Friday and Steve Coulter to drive on the Saturday. Thank you, Gentlemen.
The Preparation:
Not having the 507, the next car of choice was a 1937 BMW 327/28. After some routine maintenance the trip meter was added allowing us to calculate our distance to 1/100th of a mile. We were ready; or so we thought.
The Rally start was Monroe Wa. Before we crossed the border our trip meter stopped working. Not long after that the car was running short on engine power. After a quick stop we tightened some loose spark plug wires, convinced ourselves that the engine was running much better and continued to Monroe.
The Cars:
Wow! Talk about nice machinery. To name a few there were vintage Jag's, Aston Martin's, Alfa's, Vette's, Porsche’s, Benz's, Austin's, Triumph's, Ferraris', Bimmer's and a really nice example of a rusty Suburban (The support Vehicle). Of the BMW's a very rare '68 Glas, 2 1937 327's, a 1953 503, a '78 B7 Alpina and a couple of nice E9 Coupes.
The First Day:
Never navigated before, huh Dave! "I wouldn't turn at this light, it is too close. Turn at the next."..... When we regained navigational consciousness; I had us nearly 25 minutes off course. Even the chase vehicle was 10 minutes ahead. "Forget the checkpoints, let's try to make the beginning of stage 2. There is a 10 minute break before stages. If we go quick we can do it."
Those of you who know Sultan are also aware of his ability to pilot vintage cars. Vintage cars with such standard equipment as skinny tyres, drum brakes, no power steering and "hang on 'cuz there ain't no seatbelts mate!" seating. Always check to make sure the door is latched as that is what keeps the navigator in the car on left hand bends when he is too busy making calculations to hang on.
We round the uphill right-hander under the full power of a sick engine to find a sharp downhill left over the crest of the first apex. I become aware of the familiar sensation of oversteer accompanied by the grunting sounds unique to the vintage Avon's sliding as I desperately try to calculate how far back we are while learning how to read TSD intructions. "Sorry!", is quickly heard from the driver. I momentarily look up, we are only slightly sideways and travelling parallel to the shoulder at about 2 feet distance. "No problem, I am use to oversteer", I calmly reply. If it was anyone else at the wheel I might be concerned but this is one driver who certainly knows his motorcar.
Soon we catch #26 (The Support/Chase Vehicle). Now we are only 11 minutes out to our position of #15. Slowly we work our way through the pack. We know we can make our start time for Stage 2 now. We do so with 3 minutes to spare.
The second stage is going well. I even think I know how to read TSD instructions now. Triumph! Literally. Coming out of that turn up ahead. A white Triumph that is suppose to be ahead of us. "Hey! Isn't that our turn? No! Don't turn! It's a trap! I bet this is a loop road." Sure enough it is. Not only did we make the correct turn avoiding the trap, but we aced the check point. The first time we have been recorded on time all day. "Hey, I can do this navigating thing!" We're going to do alright; or are we?
"What is your guess?" 'Sounds like the ping is coming from the exhaust.' "Maybe the engine isn't breathing. How does the power feel?" 'Like #@$%!' We stop and pull the air filter hoping that perhaps the engine will breath better. We check the chokes on the carbs. The car continues to run poorer and poorer. We have now fallen badly behind again. We are waving others past as we nurse the dying engine. The ping is quite loud now. We pull over next to the Triumph that looks like it has stopped due to a flat tyre. Wrong again. They are waiting for the Support Vehicle & Trailer as they have blown a differential.
With the Support Trailer in use we now decide to head straight for home and forgo the afternoon stages. Being just on the South side of Bellingham we figure we can limp home to change cars. It would be too risky to continue on the long road with the car as it is.
We made it. The last hill was 5mph in first gear but the old girl got us home without any compression on the first 2 cylinders and the remaining cylinders down on compression.
Not to be discouraged, we hopped into my 1972 E3 Alpina and headed to Harrison for the second day of the Rally. After all, we were only running last with 55 out of a possible 60 demerit points. We could redeem ourselves yet.
Day two:
I'm serious now. We are on our home turf of British Columbia and I don't intend on being last. The Rally instructions are received and I start to make our calculations immediately. Sultan declines the driver's seat at the pole and takes charge of navigation. The beautiful red Aston Martin DB4 pulls out at 14mins past. During the next minute before we are waved forth I learn that my seasoned rally partner is navigating this event for the first time. This is going to be something new for both of us I think as we pull away leaving car #16, a Jag E type, behind at the pole.
With a stop watch as our guide and error corrections for the stock odometer we are confident that we are on track and on time. Today's route doubles back on itself and we find ourselves playing for road space with other competitors. Everyone is well aware of the importance of the time position on the route so passing is graciously allowed by others where it would normally be impossible.
"Check out these railway tracks! I don’t know why I bothered to stop. I doubt a train has been through here in a long time with all the grass between the tracks. Better pick up the speed a tad to allow for the stop and go at the tracks." 45 seconds later we hear the familiar two horn blow of a train. Sure enough, we just missed being taken off schedule by a C.N. freight. Too bad for car #16 and the others behind them.
Sultan informs me that my calculations just gained about 10 minutes from nowhere. Must have forgot to carry a 1 somewhere. "Quick recalculate!" I am assured that we have plenty of time to pull over and redo our calculations as we have just entered a Free Zone of 30kms. We have no choice. Our accuracy depends on those calculations. I madly punch the calculator keys as data is called out. We watch #16, #17, #18, #19 and #20 pass by. After what seems like eternity we have our new calculations. Sultan says, "Drive!"? We are off. We pass the Support Vehicle that had pulled over up the road. Perhaps they thought we had a breakdown. They hear the howl of a red line gear change into 4 as we accelerate to recover our lost time over the next 30kms. The other drivers know we are behind and that we will be trying to recover our position so they gracefully move over as we come up behind them. The balance of driving legally and safely to recover our position is a fine one. Finally we spot #16, the Jag E Type. We are suppose to be 1 minute ahead of them. As luck would have it, they have no traffic in front and we plunge to where we think we should be. Seconds later we leave the Free Zone and pass a marker that we can verify our time at. "5 seconds fast!", exclaims my navigator, "See I, told you we could make it!" A moment later we pass a check point.
"Do you see what I see? Not another train! Count the engines; it is a long one. I guess we won't be so lucky this time." But as luck would have it, the route turned to the left just before the tracks. As the train along side went East and we went West, we wondered if this road would cross the tracks before the end of the train. Our answer came quickly. Up ahead what do we see? Cars #7 through #14 waiting at the crossing. Luck was with us. Just before we reached the others, the train cleared the crossing. The cars ahead left in a fury to recover from the delay. We crossed the tracks on time and proceeded past a check point. I turned to Sultan, grinned and said, "Well that evens things up a bit for yesterday."
The rain began as we started the confusing portion of the Rally. It wasn't long before we noticed #14, the red DB4, taking a wrong turn up ahead. We were now ahead of them. They had at least 1.5 minutes to make up. Sure enough the red beast appeared in the mirror, the beautiful sound of the British big block engine doing its job could be heard. The twin air horns burst out a warning of the impending pass as I moved to the side to let them by. This is what I came to be part of.
Before long we made an incorrect turn. My fault. Should have listened to my navigator. Needless to say we needed to gain 30 seconds before the next check point. With the rain I changed my driving style to the days of ice and snow from Northern B.C. Without thinking I slipped the car through a left hand 90 degree by inducing oversteer prior to the turn itself. Suddenly I remembered I had a passenger. In a moment of deja-vu I looked at Sultan, "Sorry!" The calm answer returned was, "2 seconds fast!"
The rest of the Rally went without a hitch until the Monte Carlo stage. We stopped on the far side of the finish to ask how it worked. It was then we discovered that we had to cross the bridge in front of us in about 2 minutes for our car position. That's not hard, except we had to cross it from the other side. Imagine finding your way through the town of Harrison with a sketchy map to guide you. Obstacles such as little old ladies crossing the street and Telus Vans at 4-way stops became frustrations. Needless to say we didn't make it. We were close at 12 seconds late, but in a Monte Carlo stage you compete for bonus points in a 10 second window.
Overall Saturday was a great day. We finished 3rd for Saturday with only 5 demerit points putting us 20th overall in a rally of 26. Not bad for first time navigators, a breakdown and no rally trip meter on board.
In conclusion to this adventure I would like to thank the BMW Club members not mentioned by name who volunteered their time to help in this event.
I know the Rally organizers appreciated your help. The 327/28 blew a head gasket and is now back on the road.
Dave Beddows