RE: S2 Rally car

["Mark Nelson" <tahoe@msn.com>]

> FYI, you need two divisionals under the belt for national
> license.

'98 rule book sez:

7.3.B.1.   All competitors applying for their initial NPR licenses are
required to successfully complete a NPR licensing school (not a Divisional
seminar); have finished either one Coefficient 2 or 3 DPR; or have finished
a Canadian Regional stage rally event within the past two years.  Initial
licenses are considered to be those who have not held a NPR license of those
who have not competed in the two previous years.

> Higher seeding shouldn't be too much of a problem, considering on some of
the
> straights he was well into the 130mph.

Divisional Seeding is:

Seed 6 - Drivers who have not yet competed in a PRO Rally
Seed 5 - Driveres yet to finish a DPR
Seed 4 - Drivers with an 11th overall or lower finish at a DPR. (this is
where John is now w/the 12th place)
Seed 3 - Drivers listed on the NPR Seeding list in Seeds 5 or drivers with
at least one top ten finish at a DPR.
Seed 2 - Drivers listed on the NPR Seeding List in Seeds Three and Four or
drivers with a top three finish at a DPR
Seed 1 - Drivers listed on the NPR Seeding List in Seeds FIA (Rallysprints,
RallyCross, Coefficient 3 only), One and Two.

Having a fast car ain't gonna necessarily get a top seed.  There are some
DARN fast 2 wheel drive cars running out there, in addition to the 4WO cars,
that regularly beat the 4WO cars; Dave White in a Gr. 2 VW GTI, regularly
runs in the top 5 overall at National Events (he's getting out of PRO
Rally), and there's a blazing fast RX-3 in the NW, driven by Vance Walker
that has won a couple of events in DPR's, but will be running in the NPR
series next year...watch out! =).  These are just a couple of cars that give
the 4WO cars some big headaches, and there are many more where they came
from =).  It's amazing how fast a lot of the competitors are, and how
consistent they are...130 MPH is nice on the flats, but getting through
those corners as quickly and smoothly as possible helps too =).  Best of
luck in your goal.

> Those cars are not always running well, at least not this year.
> DNF's are for
> a variety of problems, most of them mechanical.  Given Libras
> solid record of
> winning teams, I think the problem is with the car, not the team.

This year has been very abnormal...they've had some suspension and brake
problems, then some minor things like this alternator problem and the water
pump failure earlier.  Just FYI, there ain't one Hyundai part on the car,
besides maybe the dash.  The engine is actaully a Mitsu 2.0L Turbo motor
(Mitsubishi owns Hyundai) and the drivetrain is Mitsu Lancer Gr. A stuff,
from what I hear.  It's all VERY first class parts, but also VERY simple to
work on...which is what I like about John's cars.  Make no mistake...these
aren't yer average Hyundai's =).  It's fun to go to dealers that happen to
sell Hyundai's and ask where their 2.0L Turbo AWD Tiburon's are...usually
followed by a dumbfounded look on the poor salesperson's face ;-).

>  For those
> who haven't been to a ProRally, Rally legend JB is hard to
> distinguish from
> the crowd, he's usually in blue jeans and a sweat shirt with no logos.

Yep, that's JB =).

> He also drives a pretty beat up chebby van too.  Libra can't be too
> happy with Hyundai, nor they with them.  I'm betting on someone stepping
up
> and getting them a better ride....  Hmmm....  Now that subaru sponsors the
TAP rally
> school...

I'm not too sure about that...they've won the Championship for Hyundai every
year since 1996.  I wouldn't doubt that Hyundai might pull out because
they've proved their point winning the manufacturer's title for 3 years in a
row, but certainly not because they're unhappy with Libra's performance.
Look at how much attention they give to Thumper on the factory web page at
http://www.hyundai-usa.com .  On top of that, Hyundai is heavily involved in
F2 in the WRC, and that team is very well aware of the Libra effort.

> Looking forward to John and
> Sprongl duking
> it out in the woods next year.

That's quite a goal...wish ya 'all luck!

> Get your car running Mark.

We're entered for the International Rally (http://rallyusa.com) ...will be
my first rally as a driver (been co-driving for different people the last
couple of years), but fortunately not my first race I've ever driven =).

cya!
-mark nelson
mailto:tahoe@msn.com
http://www.quattrosport.com