Ever tempted to test your keen driving skills but not so keen to buy a helmet, extra brake pads and tires required for racing or a DE event? How about a Rally? This year, Mobil 1 is once again sponsoring the Parade’s “TSD” or Time Distance Speed Rally here in St. Charles. 135 cars, each with a driver and navigator, will embark on a challenging 4 hour drive through scenic Illinois roads.
Armed with their course instructions (given only 20 minutes before their start time) and a copy of the PCR (Parade Competition Rules) entrants do their best to complete each stage within mere hundredth of seconds of the ideal prescribed times.
None of this make sense? Well, you are not alone. Thankfully Jessica & J. Toney, a multiple Rally winning father-daughter team, taught a Rally school class today at the Pheasant Run Theater here at the Parade resort. One of the first things they point out is to think of this as a “Think, Stop, Decide” rally. Here is a list of practice Rally instructions and you will know why;
| Mileage | RI# | Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 1 | Left onto Main St. |
| 1.23 | 2 | Right at Stop (still on Main St.) |
| 2.57 | 3 | “Cubs” |
| 4.73 | 4 | “White Sox” |
| 6.18 | 5 | Left on 86 |
| 6.99 | 6 | “Fox River” |
| 10.91 | 7 | Right on Winding Way |
| 12.10 | 8 | Odometer Check at “Home of Stanley Cup” Do not block this sign, the .1 miles are a free zone (park safely in this area) CAST 30 |
| 9 | Right onto IL 25, CAST 36. A Right onto Prarie. Pause .50 minutes | |
| 10 | CAST 30 at “SPEED LIMIT 35” | |
| 11 | CAST 40 at “SPEED LIMIT 40” |
Translation
On line 1 mileage on your freshly zeroed odometer your first Rally Instruction is to turn left onto Main St., then 1.23 miles right at stop (still on main street) then at 2.57 you should see something that says “Cubs” then at 4.73 miles you should see “white sox” and so fourth for the first 8 Rally Instructions. This serves as your warm up and as a way to calibrate your speedometer and odometer as it should take you about 30 minutes and you will have covered the distance they have previously calculated.
Then, beginning at the end of Rally Instruction 8, CAST 30 or “Change Average Speed To” the Rally takes off as you are now integrating your Time, Distance, and Speed into the Rally. Tricks like pause .50 minutes or 30 seconds for those of you who already figured out are thrown in there to make sure you are paying attention. Rally Instructions 10 and 11 are instructing you to change your speed at road signs that you will see on your rally, previous winners suggest averaging about 4-5 mph higher to account for traffic, deer crossing and stop lights. Also times are calculated with instantaneous acceleration – which none of us, not even new GT3s, have.
Sound like fun? More to follow as the Porsche Purist Team will participate in and cover the Mobil 1 TSD Rally later in the Parade.
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[FlatSixes.com is attending and reporting on the PCA Parade Courtesy of Mobil 1 Oil]