2013 Rally of the Tall Pines - Bancroft, ON

http://www.tallpinesrally.com/

Last event of the 2013 Canadian Rally Championship- for our neighbours to the south, Bancroft is about a 2 1/2 hour drive north of the end of I-81 at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing.

38 entries so far.

Antoine L'Estage leads Pat Richard by a pretty commanding 15 points (22 for the win) for the 2013 Championship, but it is still up for grabs.

Bring your woolies - Nov. 30 forecast shows a high of about -2 C and a low of -11 C

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/14-day-weather-trend/canada/ontario/bancroft

David Cotie
2013 Rally of the Tall Pines
Chief Safety Officer

It's a great event, I highly encourage everyone to come on up if you can make it.

The Pat/Antoine battle has a little extra interest this year as Nathalie Richard, Pat's sister, is back co-driving for him after being Antoine's co driver for several seasons. Nathalie gets a ton of credit for being a great co-driver that can get the best out of any driver. She and Pat have won the CARS and RA championships together as a team in the past.

The Rally of the Tall Pines (29-30 Nov. 2013)

I've gone twice (2009 and 2010) and it remains my most favorite motorsports event I've ever attended.

Where are the best spectator spots?

ZOO wrote: Where are the best spectator spots?

The best spot for the day - in my opinion, is the official spectator spot at Iron Bridge. There are 3 diiferent spots at that location:

http://www.tallpinesrally.com/spectate/directions/to_daytime_spectator

1. At the bridge - you get to see the cars slow for a 90 right and come on to a single lane bridge (if running northbound)

2. Main area - lower corner - it is about a 45 right, heavily cambered on the inside, but off-camber on the outside. Cars will quite often have some nice slides here.

3. Main area - upper corner - it is a nice smooth (approx 75 degree) left sweeper heading for the finish. The cars will be hard on the gas and sliding. They sometimes ditch hook, but viewing area is elevated about 6 - 10 ft above the road.

Nice thing is the area is set-up with Porta-potties, nice parking area etc. You are not far from HQ, so if you want you can see Parc Expose and Service during breaks.

Since I am the Safety Officer, I will allow others to comment on the non-official areas, but please STAY SAFE! If you are in an area that we decide is not safe - you will either have to move or we will have to cancel the stage.

One year they got permission to sit on private property right by a pretty big jump. My friend and I sat there and got to see Pat Richard travel about 90 feet in the air. He didn't come by nearly that fast the other times.

Other than that, the Service Area/HQ was up there for me for enjoying myself. Walking around, seeing the car up close, watching people scramble to get them back out. That was always a high point for me.

I second the iron bridge spectator area as a great place to watch. I worked that area last year. Great views of the cars running it in both directions. Even had a roll happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlO6HgOEn_I

And yes, stay safe, listen to the marshals, and have fun.

The Iron bridge area is good because you're close to service, and you can split a fair bit of your day between 3 or 4 good spots, and use up some of the wait time by walking between them.

Working this year. Can't make it.

I miss pines. Done it 4 times at the national level, only ever finished the first time. Got progressively farther the next 3 years (2nd or 3rd stage, then 12th stage, then something like the 15th stage ) lol.

I love the event, but it hasn't been kind to me. First time rolled down a cliff, second time hit a water splash so hard as to fold the skidplate into a giant plow under the car, third time blew the motor on a water splash. :(

HiTempguy wrote: I miss pines. Done it 4 times at the national level, only ever finished the first time. Got progressively farther the next 3 years (2nd or 3rd stage, then 12th stage, then something like the 15th stage ) lol. I love the event, but it hasn't been kind to me. First time rolled down a cliff, second time hit a water splash so hard as to fold the skidplate into a giant plow under the car, third time blew the motor on a water splash. :(

The roll down the cliff did enable me to meet Adam as he came up the cliff with a triangle! I was marshalling about 100 ft. from where they went off.

The skidplate incident enabled a bunch of competitors to understand what Force Majuere means.

Too bad you can't make it back this year.

North Bay and Bancroft get similar weather. Let's hope so!!!

I would like to go to one of these.

In reply to kanaric: If the location in your profile is correct, you have a couple in your area, just across the border in California. Find a way to go, it'll change your life.

Oh - BTW

Bancroft, ON

Alert Details

Winter Storm watch

Issued at 3:41 PM EST Monday 25 November 2013

Summary

First winter storm of the season Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Details

A low pressure system over the Gulf of Mexico will bring the first significant snowfall of the season to much of Eastern Ontario Tuesday night and Wednesday. Snow is expected to rapidly overspread the regions Tuesday evening, and then taper off from west to east on Wednesday. Total snowfall amounts of 15 cm or more are expected in most places with up to 25 cm possible in the Ottawa area. An exception is in the St Lawrence Valley where warmer air could cause the snow to change to rain for a period, reducing amounts. There will also be the risk of freezing rain in easternmost sections. Furthermore, some areas will see blowing snow on Wednesday. Poor travel conditions are expected to develop Tuesday evening and continue into Wednesday. Please refer to your local public forecast for further details.