Photos soon!
We just arrived at the hotel at the end of Day One. We feel pretty confident about our performance today. We know we were quite a bit (up to twenty seconds) late for the first timing control of the first TSD stage… why? We are car #12 and it seems car#13 thought we were on THEIR minute. They were yelling at us that we were late when we start, despite the fact that according to our timing we are at the correct start time. Then, he pulls out right behind us and rides my rear bumper and then passes us. I keep saying to Linda, my Navigator “run our own event, not anyone else’s!” So we press on, regardless. Sure enough a while on down the road Car #13 starts slowing down and looking confused… of course while we are on course and on time, and there is nowhere to safely pass. He almost comes to a full stop, and I honk at them. They pull off and we get around, now at least 5–10 seconds behind. Then the Rally Gods smite is with a “local hillbilly traffic control”, meaning a local, driving a green f-150 who decides they are going to make sure we keep to the speed limit. The rally route speed are actually BELOW the posted limits, but I really need to get moving for about a mile to catch up to time. Every passing zone the F-150 speeds up to not allow me to pass, but then slows back down when I’m back behind them. So infuriating! They delay us about another ten or so seconds and sure enough, a checkpoint appears within a mile. Oh well.
On the next segment the car ahead of us (#11) leaves REALLY early. Like close to two minutes early, which, combined with the previous one where #13 was shouting that we are late cast us into deep doubt. Did I set up the clocks wrong? Am I a minute off? We furiously recalculate, and double check our numbers (while on route) and come to the conclusion we reach before: Run our own event, and disregard all the other cars!
The rest of the route (which compromise eleven total TSD Regularity segments) we drive pretty clean and on at least two regularity segments we are very close to zeroes on our route controls. We fell for NO traps, and stayed on-course all day.
Since we are driving the “Ur-3-Series BMW” (an E21, 320i) we decide to “theme it up” and dressed as “Yuppies”. For anyone who lived back in those days, the 3-series was as much a social statement in the 1980s as a Prius was in the early 2000s, or a Tesla is today. It pegged the driver as a “Yuppie” back then, so Linda & I dressed in period-correct Yuppie Clothes. I was in Izod shirts (yes, two of them at once!) and pleated chinos with Boat Shoes. Linda wore a denim skirt over white aerobic shoes and a polo shirt, along with big hair.
I even shaved off my beard, but left an 80s stache.
We should have provisional results soon, and I’ll post them and pictures after dinner.