Category: Road Racing

The first rally of the year is in the books. It was a very brisk and breezy morning on the 22nd, but the torrential rains that had been forecast never materialized and it turned out to be a very pleasant day for the nine teams to drive the hills and twists of Clermont County. Our rally masters, EB Lunken and Dick Krehbiel, put together a great course with a good mix of roads, allowing for the occasional stop to search for an answer, ample opportunities for restroom facilities, and “brisk” paced country roads. They did their usual creative job of sprinkling in questions that made you first scratch your head and frown, then say “aha!” Of course, there was the inevitable controversy – is that a rooster or a hen, an eagle or an owl? There were multiple places to buy farm fresh eggs, but as anyone who ran the early rallies will understand, NO egg signs were included anywhere in the instructions.

–Photo courtesy of Jeff Loewe Photography

Everyone completed the course with no complaints of getting lost; we do try to not confuse you….too much. We welcomed newcomers Gary & Brigitte Spicer and Matt & Harry Evans, who had very respectible scores for beginners at 2 and 7 ½ points, respectively. Returning from last year were Terry & Denise Challenger who finished in first position with zero deductions. Congratulations to them! Finishing second were Gordon & Teresa Benson with ½ point deduction. Gordon & Teresa put together our October rally last year and we look forward to their rally this year as well. Scott & Reghan Bitzer (and their passengers) and Brad Phelps & Gary Reckelhoff tied for third with 1 ½ points. Rounding out the field were the Spicers, Mike McKay and yours truly, the Evans team, Brian Walker & Dakota Roeder, and Tim Silver & Sue Malcome. Tim was also awarded the Rally Masters’ Choice Award for the most unusual car. I must say, Mike was at a significant disadvantage having me as his driver. In the interest of fairness, since I had safety checked the course and knew most of the answers to the questions, he was solely responsible for interpreting the route instructions and finding all the answers. But we had a very enjoyable drive.

The next rally is June 17th – Rabbit Hash Revisited. The Rally Master for this event is Lee Grimes, who doesn’t even have to get out of bed to lay out a route on the Boone County roads he is so familiar with. And it will be another winner-no double about it. Now that the general store is rebuilt we will pass by it again this year – the opposite direction. If you didn’t join us for this event last year, you missed a good drive and fun after-party. Put it on your calendar for this year. Visit the rally section of the website for a full schedule and additional information. Registration will be opening soon for Rabbit Hash on MotorsportReg (search rally). There are still opportunities to take on the Rally Master role for this year. Drop a line to cincysccarally@yahoo.com if you’re interested.

Come join us at Mid Ohio Sports Course on Friday August 4th for our 10th Annual Performance Driving Experience (PDX). You can drive your daily driver, sports car, racer, on one of the best racetracks in the country!

For the cost of $230, you will get at least 4 – 20 minutes sessions. Novice, Intermediate, advanced, and instructor groups available.

Your instructor will show you the line of the track, braking points, and passing zones. Free camping, Event T-shirt, and the BEST FUN you will ever have.

This is a great opportunity to see what you and your car can do on a real racetrack.

Registration will open on May 18th at MotorsportsReg.com or you can print a Tech and Entry Form on our PDX Page and mail them in.
You can save $50 off the cost of your entry if you help work our Todd Cholmondeley IT Spec-tacular Race Weekend on August 5th, 6th 2017.

By Jerry Cabe

The 2016 edition of the Cincinnati IT/SPEC*tacular was held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 5-7. Friday was a combined Performance Driving Experience (PDX) and daytime Test-n-Tune. Forty-six new and experienced drivers took to the course to hone their driving skills during the PDX. Another fifty Club Racers participated in the Test-n-Tune sessions to get themselves and/or their car ready for the weekend’s races. Friday evening, a Meet-n-Greet was held to allow all drivers, crew, stewards, and volunteer workers to gather for snacks and drinks along with bench racing. Memorial toasts were conducted for our recently lost Cincinnati Region members.

Saturday and Sunday’s races were conducted with 189 entries. Good weather and good racing, combined with an experienced Stewards crew allowed the races to be conducted smoothly and mostly on schedule. Saturday evening we hosted a volunteer worker/official dinner in the LEC campground. Competition on the track was tight and several new track records were set over the weekend.

All comments received from participants were very positive. This is largely a result of our dedicated volunteer workers and specialty chiefs!

As I pass the Race Chairmanship position onto Brian Walker for the 2017 season, I’d like to give everyone involved over the four years of my stewardship my sincere thanks for supporting the Cincinnati Region’s Club Racing Program. We can be proud of the races we have hosted!