A new rally here in the New England area, The Graveyard Shift Rally, is planned for Saturday October 27, 2012. I am going to be taking part in this rally as the navigator for Chris Regan in his BMW E30 sedan. This seems like a rally that should not be missed.
The Graveyard Shift Rally will begin at 6:00 PM Saturday night and finish at 6:00 AM Sunday morning. This rally is for experienced rallyists only. No beginners will be permitted. The driver will be challenged by the roads and the navigator will be challenged and kept busy with the instructions. Instructions will be tulips and due to some of the challenges involved, this rally is labeled a trap rally. The traps will lie in the navigator correctly deciphering the instructions rather than traps based on minutia of rules. The rally will traverse NH to travel some of my favorite roads. The mileage is over 250 miles, but transits and free zones will be used to get from one challenging area or road to the next.
Arrangements have been made to allow for a 1:00 PM checkout of the Landmark on Sunday. The intent is for teams to finish the rally, have breakfast, and sleep for a few hours before awards and heading home. Scores will be posted for review at 1:00, awards shortly after.
General: The Graveyard Shift will be run in compliance with the NER-SCCA Rally Regulations and the event Generals. These are available on www.ner.org . General Instructions will be posted on the event page of the NER website. Auxiliary interior and exterior lighting is strongly suggested. Lowered cars or those with low slung body kits are NOT appropriate as there is considerable unpaved mileage, including narrow mountain passes with rockadillos. No loud exhausts.
Registration: You must preregister for this event. Registration forms must be post marked by Friday, Oct 19th. There will be no ‘walk-in’ registration.
Check in: Saturday, October 27, 3:00PM-5:15PM at The Landmark Inn, Laconia, NH. The rally will not run if less than 10 entries are received. There is a 30 team limit.
Lodging: The Landmark Inn, Laconia, NH. Take exit 20 off I-93, onto Rt. 3 North for approx 8 miles, then continue straight on Rt 11A for 1.15 miles after Dunkin Donuts/Shaws Mall. Turn left at Walgreens (before the traffic lights) to enter the inn. Continental breakfast is included with lodging. There is a block of rooms reserved at a discounted rate of $69.99 double occupancy. Call 603-524-8000 and you must mention the “Graveyard Shift Rally” to receive the special deal.
Start: The Landmark Inn, downtown Laconia, NH. First car off at 6:00 PM plus car number in minutes. (tentative)
Breaks: Food, snacks, fuel will be available at breaks during the night.
Finish: Landmark Inn.
The rallymaster, Scott Beliveau, has provided a narrative with some additional information about the rally as follows:
The Graveyard Shift Rally is a fairly unique event. It is a compilation of my favorite rally roads in central and northern NH. The rally is much like a stage rally. There will be exciting and challenging roads…”the stages”. The stages will be connected by transit zones and free zones to get to the fun as quickly as possible, and have fun along the way; the monotonous connecting road rallying being avoided. 300 miles or so will be covered, and still some great roads will remain untouched for a future running. If you’ve run one of my rallies before, you know I like unpaved….enough said.
The drivers will be challenged by the roads’ twists and turns, surface changes, and elevation changes, not to mention visibility. The navigators will have challenges of their own to keep them awake by way of varying instruction formats. Straight forward tulip instructions will be used to start, but then instructions styles
such as “I Spy”, “Dizzy Tulips”, and “Look at those Curves” will kick in. Team work will be required to do well. Come well rested.
The rally will start at 6:00 PM and run until 6:00 AM, so both interior and exterior auxiliary lighting is strongly recommended. At least one team member should have a cell phone in their possession during the rally. At least one safety triangle is required. A tow strap or rope is required. This rally is not suited for all cars. Many single lane mountain pass roads are used, complete with sharp crests and rockadillos which will cause issues with dropped cars or cars with low
ground effects. Extensive unpaved roads will be encountered. All roads are public roads and speeds are appropriate; this is not a race!
Due to the many challenges this rally presents, all entries must be experienced teams = no beginners. All teams will be expected to work “run-work” checkpoint(s) if the situation presents itself, which it may very well do. A training session on “run-work” will be presented before the rally for those needing instruction.
Additional information: Call the Rallymaster: Scott Beliveau 603-455-2791 (after 6 PM) , E-mail questions to beliveau@aavid.com
This all sounds like a great rally and I look forward to it. See you there! An entry form can be obtained by clicking on the following file:
stevemckelvie.wordpress.com 