I've been generally aware of rally for more than 20 years, had some great videos from the Group B era, but I never took pains to go watch in person. Yes, I even missed some opportunities to attend the Olympus Rally when it was here.

Well, we've finally gotten off our duff a bit. My friend and I volunteered as road marshals at this year's SCCA Wild West ProRally in Olympia and, with factory-supported teams from Subaru and Hyundai, it probably came close to the caliber of of past Olympus events. My friend got some great video (from our control point at a great hairpin) and it inspired us to: make sure we marshal at 2002 west cost events like Wild West, Tillamook, and Prescott; travel to 1-2 WRC events for the "real deal" and; maybe even find a cast-off GTI or Subaru RX that we could campaign in SCCA Group 2/5.

Anyhow, off we go to Monte Carlo. Rest assured we will bring long underwear and wooly hats. FWIW, with a resurgence in rally popularity in the U.S., it looks like one U.S. event may get added to WRC; the bets are on Cherokee Trails in Tennessee. WRC, though, is just not suited to the litigious U.S. environment. Take this outake from Automobile Mag on the WRC (in Portugal):

"At this year's event, Ford Escort driver Juha Kankkunen came off a timed run for an inspection. Surveying the car the mechanics found, lodged in the Escort's rear wing, a spectator's finger."

Can you spell Johnnie Cochran? The WRC Victim's Network?

Well, even with the lawyers, I hope that SCCA will manage to keep a decent schedule going in the U.S., and, now that we've figured out how much fun it is, we'll keep going. Yup, "Real Cars, Real Roads, Real Fast!" SCCA ProRally's new slogan. For anybody who hasn't checked it out --- highly recommended. Volunteer, even. You'll get some of the best views.