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Web Log

Our frequently-updated log of happenings and events, shown in reverse order. Upcoming events are noted in the calendar.

Sun 14 Oct 2007

Today Ken and John took the car to one of sponsors garage to remove the skid pan, change the oil and drain the water from the cooling system and add some antifreeze, given cooler temperatures are ahead.

For those that are wondering why the car did not have antifreeze well that's because regular glycol based coolant is very slippery on pavement. So if you get a leak, you and anyone following get a chance for a quick and violent slide, not a good thing when you are in the heat of competition!

As previously mentioned we felt that the skid pan had saved the car and with its removal there is no doubt. It was very bent and scraped not to mention the mounting points that were also badly bent. It did its job and the car looks in very good shape even taking into consideration the dents in the shock towers!! Another story for another day.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors and crew who made our success this year happen.

The team paid particular care and attention to making sure every piece of the car not only worked properly but all components were checked and rechecked before our departure, every day of the Targa. This attention to detail, needless to say, paid off and without our sponsors we could not have been as well equipped.

Also, a thank-you goes out to Andrew at Eurojap for his assistance in making this endeavour possible.

 

Thank you.

Our Crew:
George Hachfeld
Brian Simmons
Randy Weston

Our sponsors:
General Tire
Concepts on Wheels
Focus on Foods
The Saab Owners' Club of Canada Inc.
Computer Ease
Eurotech

If you want to see all our pictures and get first hand details join us at the Saab Club meeting on November 21st, Katz's Deli, 3300 Dufferin St, just south of Hwy. 401. Visit saabclub.ca for details.

 

Sun 13 Oct 2007

More photos provided for web site.

Fri 5 Oct 2007

Car shown and driven at the SOCCI enhanced driving school at Shannonville Motorsport Park. Many guests and visitors given rides.

Sun 23 Sep 2007

The weekend was spent clearing out the car, cleaning it, unpacking spares, boxes, etc.

Wed 19 Sep 2007

Brian, George, truck, trailer and T-car arrived safe and sound in Toronto.

Tue 18 Sep 2007

The truck was ready for pickup when Brian and George arrived in North Sydney from Argentia.

Ken and Blake went to the Saab club meeting at Aktive Motors. Ken briefly discussed Targa adventures and showed off the bling bling medals received. Blake received 1 billion photos on a CD...

Mon 17 Sep 2007 - 7:00 PM

Ken and John are back in Toronto. Ken phoned Blake to say he has many, many photos. Rendezvous planned Tuesday evening at the Saab club meeting to receive CD of images...

Sun 16 Sep 2007 - 9:55 AM

Ken and John are on their way home, by plane, with Randal.

George and Brian are preparing to drive the car to Argentia. They will cross with the ferry. The truck should be fixed by now. They'll pick up the truck and then tow the car back on the trailer.

The good news from the banquet... We finished first in class—8 small modified. Received an award for that! A special treat for us. Everything else was just wonderful. A good banquet.

More news when we get home...

Sat 15 Sep 2007

The Gala.

Fri 14 Sep 2007 - 6:35 PM EDT

Ken took a 30 minute shower.

Drained, but really happy.

John didn't put a mark on the car. Ken scratched the mirror ever so slightly apexing an oil barrel.

We did not win Targa trophy. We were 15 seconds plus 30 seconds behind on a couple of stages, in an event where the top competitors are tenths of seconds apart.

We thank everyone for their support!

Fri 14 Sep 2007 - 5:45 PM EDT

Ken phoned in the daily report--he sounded really tired... They had completed the South Avalon Leg 5, travelling through Marystown, Osprey East, Spaniards Bay/Bishop's Cove, Upper Island Cove, Brigus, Marysvale, Colliers/Conception, Torbay, and Torbay North. Finished in St. John's, Newfoundland.

"It's Friday, whatever date it is, September something, I think it's the 14th. [Ken broke his watch a couple of days ago.] We've completed the Targa, every stage!

"Car is still running but a little worse for wear. The last couple of stages were really, really rough on the car. The underside of the car got banged around a lot! One bump was so violent that it popped out one of John's contact lenses. Even some of the transit stages were rough!

"We received our Targa Completion Medal which was very nice. It was satisfying to complete it after last year. It was good.

"Lots of compliments on the car, lots of compliments on our driving. The whole thing felt good.

"John drove 4 stages in the morning; I drove 4 in the afternoon. The stages today were much tougher than before. I suppose this is when they try to sort out the true competitors.

"We still don't know who the overall winners are. As of this morning, it was being led by Adrienne Hughes and Roy Hopkins in the "Sponge Bob" BMW 2002 tii. Next one was a Porsche, after then that an E30 M3... Then a couple of Subarus, and a Mitsubishi EVO, all rally cars, all done up for exactly this kind of thing. So they were all laughing...

"It was nice to complete. We feel good. And tired. We're gonna wash up and go for dinner..."

Fri 14 Sep 2007 - 6:45 AM EDT

We've been really tired in the evenings. By the time we get back to the room it's really late at night...

It's Friday morning. We're on a transit stage right now. 189 km to go on the transit...

John will be doing the morning stint; Ken will be doing will be doing the afternoon.

We've got tons of photographs in the camera. Haven't had a chance to hook up and download. So haven't looked at them yet. Will be doing that over the weekend...

Thu 13 Sep 2007

Beautiful sunny day. Wind was a little strong. Some very, very long stages during the Heritage Leg 4.

Travelled through Clarenville, Little Bay East, Harbour Mille, Mooring Cove, Marystown, Garnish, Fortune, and Frenchman's Cove.

We started off in the stage where we had gone off last year, in Harbour Mille. Got that off our back, which was really good. We realised why we went off. After we completed the stage, we walked the route. We saw the off camber road. It's a very narrow road, uphill. At the crest, it cambers the opposite way. That's where we must have dropped a wheel or hit gravel and spun out.

The Marystown section was very interesting. A lot of gravel at the corners. It almost looked as though the locals had tossed gravel onto the road to make it interesting. And it was interesting. Really good stages. Really having fun.

The tires, the front two, after 4 days, were completely bald. So we put on the two spares.

Car's working extremely well. No problems at all. Handling is good. The car is much more stable than last year. The height is good. We've hit a few pot holes. The aluminum undertray has saved the underside of the car. We've hit it quite a few times.

Wed 12 Sep 2007 - 6:00 PM EDT

Complete the Kittiwake Leg 3. Travelled through Gander, Main Point/Davidsville, Frederickton/Carmanville, Musgrave Harbour, New-Wes-Valley, Newtown, Greenspond, Eastport, Port Blandford, and Clarenville.

Raining all day. Really rough conditions. We completed every single stage on time, within the trophy time.

It was a good day for us.

It was scary a few times; there were wild moments. In one stage we got passed by 5 cars and 3 of them in the same stage ended up in the ditch. We were being a little bit conservative but still made trophy time so that was good.

Wed 12 Sep 2007 - 5:20 AM EDT

Learned of a web site, FOC, that reports on rally events throughout North America. Visit them for results, reports, and photos.

Tue 11 Sep 2007 - 5:30 PM EDT

We're in Gander tonight. Very tiring day, completed Exploits Leg 2. We were out in Gander yesterday. Went all the way to Leading Tickles, a very long stage, and then all the way back, travelling through Glenwood, Lewisporte, Point Leamington, Botwood, and Appleton. John drove it in; Ken drove it out. Drove 3 stages each.

Completed all of the stages each under Targa time. So that means we're still up for the Targa trophy!

The car is beautiful. No complaints at all. Nothing's wrong.

Rotating the tires today, front to back. Fronts are worn just over half. They are wearing... Especially in the tight city sections. The last stage, in Gander, was very, very tight, very quick. 6½ km long. Basically twists and turns all the way through.

Very few mishaps today. No one in the ditch (that we know of).

Today was cloudy but no rain, which was surprising. Tomorrow, again, we're expecting rain—a lot of rain. It's coming up from Ontario. It should be an interesting day...

Off to Clarenville tomorrow, and stages in between.

Basically, everything is working well. The car is good. The boys have been working on it every night tearing apart suspension pieces and brakes to make sure everything is fine for the next day.

Tue 11 Sep 2007 - 5:21 AM EDT

Very busy day yesterday. Drove 540 kms. And 6 Targa stages. No major events (for us) through a wet day. 8 cars were heavily damaged or in ditches. Will give you all the details later. Car is behaving beautifully.

Mon 10 Sep 2007

New photos, of car 802, some at speed, uploaded to gallery!

Completed South Avalon Leg 1. Travelled through St. John's, Argentia, Placentia, Normans Cove, Northwest Brook, Gooseberry Cove, Adeytown/Deep Bight, Eastport Junction, and Gander.

Sun 9 Sep 2007

Prologue day. Officially started is at 12:00 PM. Travelled through Pouch Cove, Torbay, and St. John's.

Sat 8 Sep 2007 - 8:40 PM EDT

Registration day in St. John's, Newfoundland. George and Brian arrived in Argentia by Atlantic Ferries and Randy arrived by Westjet. We have set the odometer on the Terratrip rally computer and got it accurate to 0.01 km. Had a good day, checked the car and took it through scrutineering, with no problems. We have a driver's meeting at 9 tomorrow and 2 qualifying (prologue) stages. Forecast for rain is still holding for Monday through to Thursday. We feel we have an advantage over a lot of competitors with the awesome General Exclaim UHPs. The ones on 'R' compound tires are going to find it hard.

Sat 8 Sep 2007 - 6:59 AM EDT

Car arrived 'safely' of the ferry. Lots to do today.

Fri 7 Sep 2007 - 10:53 AM EDT

John and Ken have arrived on the Rock. Car is on the Ferry with all the "stuff" on a rented Pontiac something. It's packed......no elbow room. Plates for car being transported from St. John's to Argentia to meet the ferry. Arrived at noon and completed registration.

Thu 6 Sep 2007 - 5:25 PM EDT

Backup helmet communicator system picked up from Blake. Randy picked up his flight voucher.

Thu 6 Sep 2007 - 5:05 PM EDT

Rental SUV found (at a great rate to boot)! Gear, tools, etc. being transferred to the SUV.

Original truck going to hospital to be operated on...

John and Ken put under strict orders to not crash or roll the race car!

Thu 6 Sep 2007 - 1:30 PM EDT

Cell phone not lost by Ken. Testament to smooth driving.

Thu 6 Sep 2007 - 12:30 PM EDT

Truck broke 2 km from ferry! The transmission has failed in some way and won't come out of 5th gear. A local shop can affect repairs but not until next week. So the current plan is to leave the truck in Sidney and get a rental. U-Haul is an option being explored. If they don't have a truck, another option is to get a van for just the cargo and crew and drive the car. The only problem with that scenario is the plates were removed from the car... So, you wanted some excitement?!

Wed 5 Sep 2007

Car left on time at 12:30 PM from Toronto with George and Brian. The ferry crossing at North Sidney, Nova Scotia is at 10:00 AM. They zoomed! The truck drivers said the single-car trailer felt like it was a toothpick being pulled (compared to the large covered trailer last year).

Photos of the engine coming soon.

Mon 3 Sep 2007

Trailer finished today. Lights working. Car washed and waxed and on the trailer. Photos shot.

Gallery updated with many photos!

Wed 29 Aug 2007

The web site got a major upgrade thanks to Blake! One of the things we did was change the web address URL to used mixed case. It's a little easier to read. So, when you get a chance, adjust your browser's bookmarks or favourites. Pass it on! Changed from http://computer-ease.com/blindanddeafmotorsport/ to http://computer-ease.com/BlindAndDeafMotorsport/ (with upper and lower case letters).

We also sent in some more photos to Blake. They'll show up soon in the gallery...

Finally... All items for car's preparation are completed!

Wed 22 Aug 2007

Trailer painted and new side marker lights installed.

Mon 20 Aug 2007

Trailer sandblasted to keep up with the ‘George factor’ level of beauty and preparedness.

Sat 18 Aug 2007

Last item on the car completed... Gae and Chris completed the design and installation of the Helmet net, placed behind the drivers’s seats.

Mon 13 Aug 2007

We rolled out our web site for the 2007 season. Blake Nancarrow of Computer Ease is graciously providing his web development skills and time and server space for our site.