Mt. Washington, Sanborn's crash

["Andrew M. Steere" <merkur@ttlc.net>]

>As for Chris Sanborn....his car was not as bad looking at the >bottom as 
it was when one saw it in the trees.....yes, he is quite >lucky and yes, it 
is totalled, but he can salvage a ton of stuff.

Totalled?  Don't count out the junkyard dawg Ur-q until Chris yanks it 
apart and sees exactly how tweaked it is!  OK, the split in the roof isn't 
a good sign...but any car that's had flammable coolant engine fires, lost 
its brakes on the way TO a rally, and had as many heart transplants as this 
car has had (I think this 20V is its fifth engine), isn't going to let 
something as silly as a 60+ mph impact with a TREE  and resulting multiple 
rollovers end its illustrious career.

But seriously, I was greatly relieved to hear that Chris was OK over the 
radio, and there's one thing for sure -- when I put together a rally car 
(be it a Merkur, or Audi...ok likely a Merkur as I have one ready to put a 
cage in), the person who did Chris's cage will do mine. The front end bent 
in around the radiator several inches and the passenger door was crunched 
in a little bit, but the cage took the hit and didn't wince. And I'll 
definitely get the high-zoot Corbeau seats that are probably the other half 
of why Chris was able to kick out a window and walk away from the crash. 
They may be junk after you crash, but good safety equipment is always 
cheaper than hospital bills or a funeral.

Sorry I missed most of the Quattro stuff, I hiked up to Cragway and spent 
the day there. Definitely the place to watch the race! Unfortunately, 
there's nearly six hours of hiking involved, which does not make for being 
able to see much at the base before or after the festivities.

Special thanks to Glen, Jackie (hope I got that right, brain fade, you 
know) and Zachary Powell for making my late afternoon/early evening around 
the paddock very enjoyable!

--Andrew Steere
Dover, NH
88 XR4Ti "Fiasco" (80q in the family)