Index for the completed year 2000 events:

April 29, 2000 - Utica Driving School
May 7, 2000   - Spring Rally
May 21, 2000 - Warrenville Autocross
June 11, 2000 - Rally 2000
June 25, 2000 - Utica Autocross
July 8, 2000   - Utica Enduro Autocross
July 9, 2000   - Miata - MG Invitational Autocross
Aug 5, 2000   - Lucas Memorial Night Rally
Aug 19, 2000  - Abingdon Gymkhana
Sept 3, 2000  - Siemen's MG Autocross
Oct 29, 2000  - Halloween Rally

Sept 4, 2000  - POINTS STANDINGS TO DATE
Jan 30, 2001  - SEASON CHAMPIONS CERTIFIED

Utica Driving School - April 29, 2000

Instructor's report from Barney Gaylord: There were about eight students and three instructors present. All of the students showed significant improvenents in lap time.

After the event some of the participants retired to Duffy's Tavern in Utica for food, social, and a review of the days efforts. And yes, on the return trip a few of the cars did take a slight side trip along the south side of the river through the woods and the twisting rolling hills back east to Ottowa and the next bridge.

It seems that a couple of the event participants took a little side trip after the track time to visit the new J. C. Whitney "Everything Automotive" warehouse store located about 1/2 mile west of Bennet Raceway on US-6. That must have been an interresting visit, because we didn't see them again for the rest of the day.

Student's report from Mike Olsen: The driving school was a blast. We all improved our times and found the racer inside of all of us. I believe I'm a safer driver knowing what I can do and what the car can do to avoid trouble on the road. Many thanks to our instructors Scott Anderson, Barney Gaylord, and Reinout Vogt. Many Questions were answered for me at the driving school. Can an MGA top 100mph, Yes (OK this was on the way there and I was pacing Barney reading 103mph; this type of driving is dangerous I don't condone it). Also a BGT with overdrive will pull well from here on up. My limits are much lower than the cars limits, therefore I need more seat time. See you at the next event. Remember rubber side down!

Pre-Rally - Pic-1 Larger image-79K

Checkpoint - Pic-7 Larger image-90K

Trophy Time - Pic-2 Larger image-86K

Rally report from Curt Bork, rallymaster.
- - Photos above are from 1999 Spring Rally

The Spring Rally was held Sunday May 7th. 11 participants undertook the event and nine finished, with one dropping out due to an odometer malfunction and another due to personal time constraints.

The weather cooperated fairly well--a little misty rain before the event and minor showers during the rally, but nothing severe.

Event Rallymaster, Curt Bork, chose 9 checkpoints, 8 of which were Antique/Collectible stores throughout the NW suburbs and based the rally on lowest milage to visit all checkpoints. Since Curt couldn't determine which route each participant would drive, he missguessed the total milage at about 55 miles. Winner logged 80.95 miles. Highest milage turned in was 94.6 miles.

Each Checkpoint had an MG trivia answer posted, and the driver/navigator had to write a Jeopardy style question, as follows:

    1962 through 1967---
What was the production dates of the MGB Mk I?
    1-3-4-2---
What is the firing order of an MG 4 Cylinder engine?
    Sept. 24th, 1974---
What was the introduction date of the "Rubber Bumpered" MGB?
    Oct. 24, 1980---
When did the Abingdon plant close?
    101081---
What was the total production run of MGA's?
    14/28---
What was the model designation for the first "production run" MG's?
    XPAG---
What is the engine designation for the MGTD?
    Black Paint, Silver Stripes, Alloy Wheels---
What are characteristics of the US spec. MGB LE?
    8,999
What was the total production run of MGC's?

None of the entrants provided correct questions for all answers.

Rally standing:
1st Place - Roger and Shirley Goebbert
2nd Place - Kerry O'Conner/Bill McKay
3rd Place - Kevin and VickyPalmer
4th Place - Ed Polonia/Navigator
5th Place - Tom and Judy Josefek
6th Place - Geoff and Debbie Morris
7th Place - Ken Oehler/Jan Napolitone
8th Place - Parker Whitney/Brian Seguin
9th Place - Paul and Cindy Urquhart

Curt Bork

Report from one of the last place winners, Ralph Arata. Reprinted from June Driveline:
Tales of the Mongrel   “If Its Spring, It Must Be Chicken”

OK, OK…..before I get started on the Spring Chicken Rally, I will it make clear that “Team Arata” didn’t finish it! No, we didn’t have car trouble and, no, we didn’t get lost. We DID run out of time! Kirk Bork tried something a little different this year. He simply provided 9 checkpoint addresses, each with a MG trivia question to answer. Once you got the “methodology” down moving from checkpoint to check point wasn’t bad.

Susan and I showed up as part of the 11 car starting procession. It threatened some rain but nothing much really materialized. We had figured, the night before, that we had until about 2:30 to 3:00PM to finish the rally (we would miss the tradtional meal @ the end) and get home to pick up the kids from the neighbors.

The role of the navigator soon became relegated to the designated “runner” in to the gas stations to get directions and look at local phone book maps, but this was part of the discovery process. Plotting the shortest course among the 9 towns listed in the instructions was interesting. One of our course choices was suddenly changed (we had missed a route number) but in going onto the next checkpoint, we found that the one we had missed was actually in a better position to reach due to the change we had made.

Well, as we approached the 5th checkpoint it began to look as if we were not going to make them all. By the sixth checkpoint the fateful decision was made to turn home. I left Kirk a message on his cell phone and, sadly, home we went. We would have liked to finish but as Woody Allen says “showing up is half the battle”! It was a good rally, thanks Kirk!

The summer (and the rally season) is young and Susan and I will be back. When is that next rally???????