Twenty-one teams entered Cascade Sports Car Club’s second event in the 2024 Saturday Rally Series on April 20.  The No Foolin’ rally was a fun cruise across Willamette Valley farmland into the foothills of the Cascades ending in Estacada. The 100-mile course took a bit over three hours to complete, including a mid-rally break in Hubbard.

The odometer calibration started at Milwaukie Lowe’s and ended at the historic Butteville Store. Extra time was provided for visiting the store for their famous ice cream, a coffee drink or a breakfast item.  David Gattman, driver of Car #1, reported that he found out from his mom on the morning of the rally that his grandfather went to Butteville School. He appreciated the warm fuzzy feeling of visiting the store where his grandfather likely got school supplies as a child around 1911.

Rallymasters Monte and Victoria Saager planned to hand out snacks and bottles of water at the mid-rally break at the Rivenes Park in Hubbard. However, due to a miscalculation in the drive time from their home in Hillsboro to the park in Hubbard, instead of arriving before teams arrived at the park, they got there just as the first teams were leaving at the end of their break. Oops! Most of the teams were able to grab a bag of chips and a bottle of water before rushing off to the restart.

To add more consternation, a couple of teams were delayed by a train on their short drive to the restart, affording an appropriate use of a time allowance.

Challenges

The April rally was mostly a tour-rally with just a few simple challenges - No Foolin'!

The first challenge was an ITIS (if there is such) instruction directing a 15-second pause at a yield sign. On course teams recognized that although the road they were on made a sweeping curve to the left, there was a straight off that led to the referenced yield sign at which they should correctly pause. Teams that missed the yield sign were just a bit early at Checkpoint 8.

The next challenge was another ITIS instruction directing a 15-second pause at a STOP. The first opportunity was at a stop sign at a railroad crossing.  However, since STOP is defined in the rally rules as an intersection controlled by a stop sign at which you must legally stop, and since there is no intersection at a railroad crossing, the instruction could not be done there. In fact there was no opportunity to execute that instruction prior to the next route instruction, so the ITIS instruction should have been skipped. Teams that paused at the railroad crossing earned some penalty points on Checkpoint 10.

Soon after, a note was introduced directing a 15-second pause at each LAKE. In short succession, four sideroads were encountered, each with LAKE in their name. A fifth sideroad named LAKEVIEW didn’t count, so teams that paused a total of one minute correctly executed the note. Teams that also paused at LAKEVIEW earned 15 penalty points on Checkpoint 11.

The next challenge was a mileage trap. An instruction directed you to CAST 43 (average 43 mph) for 1.5 miles then CAST 37. The next instruction directed you to go right. Teams that did this correctly completed the 1.5 miles before going right. Teams that didn’t wait the full 1.5 miles took the first right and earned penalty points on Checkpoint 14.

The final challenge was a main road trap. You are looking for the first opportunity to go right. You come to a T intersection at which you could go either left or right. If you decide to use the right first opportunity at this T,  then you’ll use the next instruction which is to go right on a road named Skinner ITIS (if there is such) with a 30-second pause. However, if you happen to notice that the road to the left at that T has a back-facing stop sign but the road to the right does not, then you know the main road goes right by protection so you can’t use the right first opportunity instruction at the T. You correctly follow the main road to the right and use the right first opportunity to go right on Skinner. Teams that used the Skinner ITIS instruction earned penalty points on Checkpoint 20. 

Congratulate the winners

First overall and first in the Equipped Category was the team of Bob Morseburg and Cheri Eddy in Car #25 with a total of 16 points over 17 scored legs. They zeroed eight legs, and all their leg scores were single digit. Another outstanding run for this team.

Second overall and first in the SOP Class was the team of Russ and Kate Sherrell in Car #2 Christmas tree farm with view of Mount Hood near Estacada with a score of 127. They had twelve single digit scores and no leg score over half a minute. Excellent performance for this SOP team.

There was a tie for third overall and second SOP. With a total of 132 points, just 5 points out of second place, were the teams of David and Joann Gattman in Car #1 and Alex Casteneda and Eric Hanson in Car #4. Very impressive.

Finishing first in the Novice class was the first-timer team of Bjorn and Duncan Roberts in Car #19. Second Novice was Sean Pitman and Grant Heizenrader in Car #17. Third Novice was Michael and Cheryl Knight in Car #15.

Finishing second in the Equipped Category was Car #8,  the team of Robert Paxman and Chris Lane.

Congratulations to all!

Click here for the complete rundown

Click here for Rally Results

Current Series Standings

Seventeen teams entered Cascade Sports Car Club’s first event in the 2024 Saturday Rally Series on March 23.  Rallymasters Cody and Sabrina Garvin’s second rallymaster endeavor – River Run – gave us a scenic drive along rivers and waterways in Clark and Skamania counties, ending in Woodland, Washington. The 110-mile route took about three and a half hours to complete.

The odometer calibration ended at Steamboat Landing Park on the Columbia River in Washougal. The first break was at Salmon Falls Park & Ride / Cape Horn Trailhead. The second break was at Lucia Falls Park. Each break provided a 15-minute opportunity to stretch your legs, clear your mind, and enjoy a truly beautiful encounter with nature.

Challenges

The March rally was mostly a tour-style rally, meaning there were only a couple of simple challenges (tricks and traps). Both were ITIS (if there is such) instructions, meaning the instruction could be skipped if the instruction following it could be executed first. All teams went in the same direction, but they had to decide whether they could use the ITIS instruction – and its 15-second pause – or not.

The first challenge – R on 212th ITIS, PAUSE 15 seconds – occurred at what appeared to be a T intersection. However, the road to left was signed dead end. So there really was no intersection so the R could not be executed there. The correct action was to skip this ITIS instruction and its 15-second penalty pause.

The second challenge – L on 58th ITIS, PAUSE 15 seconds – occurred where 58th is a sideroad on the left. However, the road straight ahead has a back-facing stop sign (RRR 3.3 – PROTECTION). Arrows at the intersection and paint on the roadway all indicate the main road goes left here. The correct action was to skip this ITIS instruction and its 15-second penalty pause.

What ralliers said

We had a great time as always!

We are slowly getting the hang of it, definitely a better understanding than the 1st time. However, a

lot more to perfect.

Appreciate all of your hard work on putting these on and being so welcoming and helpful!

Anybody else see the pot belly pig roaming in a yard? I believe it was in the last section at 30 mph for 8 miles looking for last two CPs.

Congratulate the winners

First overall and first in the Equipped Category is the team of Bob Morseburg and Cheri Eddy in Car #25 with a score of 17. They zeroed eight legs, and all their leg scores were single digit. We don’t expect less from this team.

Second overall and first in the SOP Class is the team of David and Joann Gattman in Car #1 with a score of 48. In addition to a couple of zeroes, all but one of their leg scores were single digit. Very good performance for an SOP team!

Tied for third overall and Second Place in the SOP Class are the teams of Alex Casteneda and Eric Hanson in Car #4 and Joel and Aksel Bristol in Car #14. Both teams had 104 points. This was a particularly special finish for Car #14 as this was their first run as SOP.

Finishing first in the Novice class is the team of Bill Kayser and Bjorn Freeman-Benson in Car #11. Second Novice is Barbara Jacobs and Jamie Anderson in Car # 9. Third Novice is Dan and Cindy Kuenzi in Car # 15.

Finishing second in the Equpped Category is the team of Gary David and Gabe Stephens in Car #6.

The top three teams in each class received a car wash coupon, a coffee card and candy bars. As always, the taste of victory is sweet.

Congratulations to all!

Click here for the complete rundown

Click here for Rally Results

Current Series Standings