Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/118157
YOU'RE SURE IT'S "NO GPS ALLOWED"? Oregon's backroads are an exercise in frustration: a maze of doublebacks and dead-ends guaranteed to confound the most experienced navigator, let alone our newbie (below). determined not to let my driver down. Still, Cohen's wife, his usual sidekick in the role, has given ample warning: whatever is said in the car doesn't count. Things can get heated when the pressure's on and the smallest navigator error can send our car plunging down the rankings. There's even a tongue-in-cheek award for such falls from grace: the Flying Clipboard awaits the team most noticeably cracking at the seams. moving pearls on a string. Drivers trade war stories about the potholed corruption of South American rallies, including the infamous Dakar, while locals inevitably gather to gawk as owners show off their latest pride and joy and perhaps even barter for new acquisitions. Laurie and Verna Fraser of Langley, for example, already own a dozen collector cars. "I got my first MG when I was 21; it was all downhill from there," admits Laurie. Another racer, from Coquitlam, advises how there are two events he never misses: the t Northwest Classic and B.C.'s Spring Thaw. He refers to both with the reverence accorded beloved family Christmas traditions. f NEXT DAY, WE'RE AT STAGE SIX, just outside Corvallis, when Cohen says exactly the same thing after I confuse the race direction "toward" with "onto" and lead us straight into a trap. He remains remarkably Zen about my screw-up even as we plunge downward in the rankings to cross the finish line back at the Salishan Spa and Golf Resort 31st overall. I console myself with the knowledge that at least we're not getting the Hook that's awarded to the team whose car has to be towed over the finish line. That honour belongs to the rally's other Porsche 356; obviously, one not quite as reliable as our Silver Bullet. So, yes, I admit: it will likely be some time before I race as a driver. But after the Monte Shelton's blitz of splitsecond decision-making, big personalities and Cohen's stellar stickhandling, I feel like I'm off to a stellar start. Robin Esrock is a Vancouver-based travel writer/ TV host. Chase him down at robinesrock.com While vintage rallies are first and foremost about the cars, the drivers and the communities they forge are equally important – with enthusiasts from all walks of life parading aging Alfa Romeos, MGs, Fords, Mercs, Saabs, Porsches and other classics. Entrance fees range from $600 for the Northwest Classic to $2,900 for the ALCAN 5000 (the longest endurance rally in North America crosses B.C., Alaska, the Yukon and NWT). One doesn't have to be a millionaire to participate, either – or even a competitor, given that many rallies now feature touring groups with no rules or time trials. All that's required is a qualifying car and driver's license to enter dozens of rallies across the continent (some competitive, others more social). That said, the average car in an event like this runs $30,000 to $50,000. This time around there are also such standouts as a 1963 AC Cobra, worth a cool half-a-million. Our goal: to pass a series of hidden checkpoints at exactly the right time, then regroup between each "regularity," or mini-race, usually in a parking lot. Here, we can relax for a few minutes and watch the cars roll in like 28 W E S T W O R L D p26-37_Summer101.indd 28 >> SUMMER 2012 I 've nicknamed Cohen's Porsche the Silver Bullet because its classic, capsuleshaped chassis could probably kill a werewolf; though with its 1600cc, 90-horsepower engine, the car's no speed demon. But then, that's why Cohen likes it. Without computers, air conditioning or cruise control, we sit low to the ground on butter-soft leather, feeling the growl of the engine. Fifty miles per hour never felt so cool. Scooting around Oregon's farm roads, I tick off checkpoints, calculate regularity times, watch for booby traps and further familiarize myself with the terminology. As in, CAST: Change Average Speed To __ Km/h (fill in the blank); SAP: Straight As Possible; ITIS: If There Is Such. By close of day one, I figure we're only two minutes off pace, placing us 16 out of a field of 113. Climbing out of the car at Gleneden Beach, seven hours of racing behind us and aching for a good shower, I feel like a rally virgin kicking butt. But nobody's too impressed. "Last year we got totally lost," laughs Jeff Gretz, racing a 1958 Jaguar from Hillsboro, Oregon. "It was great. You can't take any of it too seriously." Prep It's all about the driver-navigator dynamic – and communication skills. Test-drive team fit with trial runs before forking over rally entry fees. • Inspiration Peruse video of classic-car rallies closer to home: the annual Spring Thaw, Classic Rag Run and Sea-to-Sky Thanksgiving Run (classiccaradventures.com). • Gear Cars older than 1980 are required for July 2012's Monte Shelton in Bend, Oregon. • Cost U.S.$575 to U.S.$650. • Sign-up nwclassicrally.org Newbie Robin Esrock in action: bcaa.com/rally Y Member savings and benefits for B.C. travel: bcaa.com/bc RALLY RACING 101 LOOKING FOR a classic car rally? Check out rallybc.com for details on these upcoming events, and more: • Cascade Classic Rally and Tour Annual time-speed-distance and touring event in Washington's Skagit Valley. June 7 to 10, 2012 • Sea-to-Sky Thanksgiving Run A casual classic-car run on B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky Highway. October 8, 2012 • Pacific Forest Rally Part of the professional Canadian Rally Championships in Merritt, B.C. October 12 to 13, 2012 • Thunderbird A B.C. Interior winterdriving adventure – suitable for "ordinary" vehicles. February 2013 • Spring Thaw Non-competitive, budgetminded B.C. jaunt, navigating 1,200 km over three days. April 2013 Robin Esrock, (map) DT Graphix 4/26/12 11:28:57 AM