Very Close scores on Winding River Roads Rally!
Saturday August 13, 2011
| Place_Driver/Navigator____Leg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7_Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAVIGATIONAL CLASS | |||||||||
| 1st | Bob DeMeritt/Marianne DeMeritt Subaru Forester |
0 | 3 | 12 | 100 | 1 | 100 | 12 | 228 |
| SEAT OF PANTS CLASS | |||||||||
| 1st | Mike Blackwelder/Jim Hamilton Ford Focus |
21 | 66 | 25 | 43 | 65 | 13 | 2 | 235 |
| 2nd | Brian Grable/Sandy Grable Ford Explorer |
19 | 0 | 13 | 68 | 26 | 78 | 33 | 237 |
| 3rd | Jerry White/Brian Ford Plymouth Van |
24 | 24 | 24 | 70 | 40 | 55 | 18 | 255 |
Only 27 points separated the first place and the last place teams on the rally. Bob and Marianne Demerit barely eked out a first place overall victory on this scenic drive through Champaign, Douglas and Coles counties. Taking a wrong turn cost them a max on leg four and a tactical error cost them another max on leg six after deciding to assign themselves an early out time, thus beating the checkpoint crew to the control.
Blackwelder and Hamilton missed seeing a “DEAD END” sign and found themselves at the end of the road and had to turn around in a farmers driveway to return to the course, but using a time delay slip, they remained in the hunt. and earned a first place finish.
No other teams got lost, and the scores were quite close. It was a near perfect day for a rally after getting a break from the hot weather. Three checkpoint crews kept the event moving. Brisk speeds through a variety of interesting roads kept the teams on their toes.
A cookout with brats and drinks followed, with some wonderful dishes prepared by Karen.
Rallymaster: Bob Townsend
Cold run: Bill Wagner
Control Workers: Mike Sage, Jannsen Sage, Jennifer Lauher, Karen Townsend, Bill Wagner