Apple hill rallycross description

[JOSEV@samson-transport.com (Jose Vicente)]

To all rallye fans

The Apple hill rally site has grown to be a place very often 
visited by rally fans in the north east. The divisional pro rallies 
have been so succesfull there, that we decided to organize a couple of 
rallycrosses. These are small and safe rallies for those who want to  
experience the thrill of rallying, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg.
The fact that they are small and safe does not mean that they are not 
competitive, in fact, there are lots of rally drivers who usually 
run either with their street cars or their rally cars.

The actuall course consists of a 7/10 mile gravel road, ran in 
several directions. The surface is a smooth hard packed mix of dirt and 
gravel. Turns on the course range from tight 1st gear hairpins to 
flat out sweepers. The terrain is very mistake friendly due to the 
fact that there is nothing to hit, no trees on the side of the road, 
no ditches or ruts etc. The few hazards on the course are very well 
marked and drivers are allowed to walk the course prior to running.
Two new special stages are planned and currently beign worked on  
to lenghten the overall mileage of the event, as well as provide 
different surfaces and more challenging roads for the competitor.
These new stages will be first opened for the winter event in 
january. I will post it on the quattro list as soon as the date is 
decided.

The event runs the same format as a pro rally. Unlike autocrossing, 
all the stage times are accumulative and the driver with the lowest 
combined time wins the event. Cars are split in dfferent classes ranging from 
stock two wheel drive under two liters all the way up to pro rally 
cars. All vehicles must be registered and covered by liability insurance.
Helments are required and cars will have to pass a tech inspection.
The tech inspection is just to check the safety systems, like brakes, 
seatbelts, balljoints etc. The events usually last all day. Drivers 
normally get between 4 and 6 two lap runs. New roads will be used for 
upcoming events so you can expect to do a lot more driving.

The January rallycross will mark the begining of the 1997 SCCA north 
east rallycross championship. The championship will consist of 5 
events ranging from the january snow to the september leaf fall.
Points will be awarded at each event for each class as well as 
overall. It was tough to get the SCCA to sanction the events but we 
finally got it, and we are trying very hard to keep this going in the 
direcction it has been. 

About 30 drivers showed up for the first running of the event back in 
August, and the october running showed 27, all of wich had an 
absolute blast and can't wait untill the next one.
A pro rally school has been propossed and is currently in the 
works. The school will provide students with hands on experience and 
expert training on profesionally built rally cars.
 
Entry fees have not yet been decided, but I would estimate somewhere 
between $40 and $70 for each event. There is plenty of hotels in the 
area and the crowd if about as friendly and helpfull as a crowd can get.


Thank you very much for your intrest and I hope to see you all there 
soon, even if you are just spectating. 
If you need more info. or have specific questions fell free to 
contact me.

RALLY ON
Jose M. Vicente


*** Visit us on the web at http://www.samson-transport.com