Final Results are in!

Hi All,
Final results are in !
JohnJ r Justin Crant 2004 M3 car #9 – 2nd place Modern
Craig MacMullen Nicole Troster 2013 MINI GP – 2nd place GTE
Norm Haas Christina Kroner 2006 MINI GP car #1334 – 3rd place GTE
John Hume Sr Ron Bartleet 2002 M3 car #333 – 5th place Modern

Last day from the Rock

We had reasonable weather today just a tich of drizzle and generally overcast all day. Temp was pleasant, not too cold. High drama for John Jr & Justin in #9, the blue M3 . Their car died and would not restart first thing. They banged a few places on the dash and it finally got going. Then on the transit to the first race it quit again. Garret and Alex to the rescue. Turns out the kill switch solenoid was bad and cut off all power to everything. Garrett to the rescue! He managed to salvage a piece off the mini van he was driving and put it into the M3. Just in time for the boys to make the first race.
So, first race fast and flowing, wand what did Norm and Christina manage to do? Hit a pot hole and get a blow out! Well, that costs them the first three races. They had to wait for the in and out of races one and two to rejoin the group then just missed the third race.
Then… The brakes on my car in the first race decided to develop a severe shimmy. This was a very fast leg with lots of heavy braking required. It was very scary to be braking hard and having the steering wheel vibrate violently in my hands each time.
After the in and out of the first two races. Garrett checked over the car. He discovered a hot spot or two on one front rotor. With his instruction I was able to wear it off on the transit to race number three. At least well enough to finish the day. Shimmy was still there but manageable.
The rest of the day went were well for the team. We have short. Fast town races. Boy were they fun to run Cupids and Brigus. I even managed to run Cupids in less time than required so zeroed it twice!
End of day and end of week provisionally (as final results are not official until this PM) John Jr and Justin in the 2004 M3 placed 2nd in Modern.
Craig and Nicole in the 2013 MINI GP placed 2nd by only about two seconds
And Norm and Christina in the 2006 MINI GP placed 3rd! Remarkable considering they missed three races!
There was one roll over unfortunately. The  old 1965 Ford Mustang took a turn in Whitburn too fast caught the corner and rolled over. Driver and Co-pilot were shaken but not too stirred.
All week a total of eleven  cars suffered broken parts or crashes and all but two got back into the fray. Without Garrett and Alex on our team we would not even have come close to being able to complete this rally this year. And one or two other teams same thing!
Thank you Centennial College from the bottom of my heart.
We will send a post blog once official results are in end of day today.
Thanks all,
John Hume.

Day 4 of Targa Newfoundland 2015

Hi from sunny windy Newfoundland
Yes, we found the sun today!
Although, the air was cold and damp most of the day.
Results to date.
Targa officials sorted out the GT results and car #1333 Craig and Nicole are in first place, Norm and Christina are in third place as of end of Wednesday. Mean time john Jr. and  Justin Crant in car #9 over in Modern Division are just barely holding onto third place.
And Ron and myself in #333 moved up to 6th place in Modern Division. That is 6 out of 8… Still leading from behind if course! I am having a riot here this year.
Had a great day today all around. Looking forward to tomorrow.
All for now.
Hey staff thanks for the fabulous picture too!
John

Chinese Water Torture at Targa Newfoundland 2015

Rain, rain, rain, rain, and today add to that….
Wind, wind, wind ,wind – 50 kph with gusts up to 65 kph….
Add to that a temperature drop from 18 C to 10 C……
And you have our rally weather today….
Lots of excitement on the roads too. Norm and Christina in MINI #1334 were victimized by the wind, in that the yellow tape was ripped from its post and was flying across the road in front if them. They thought it was a no go zone, so promptly turned around and drove back into oncoming rally traffic, just averting a head on collision. They did get turned around but lost mega penalty seconds while doing so. The front runners in GT class in Trinity Simon  and Steward in their VW a Golf #1006 decided to show boat to the crowd and tried an E brake turn on a hairpin up hill,  only Simon missed the turn and drove straight into some rocks. Car OK, Ego dead!
Ron and myself in # 333 are now leading the modern division from …..Behind, yes we are wiping up the rear. It can only get better for us. We hit hard on one long fast straightaway and managed to dislodge one of our head light lenses. Garrett and Alex will make it right tonight however. John Jr and Justin in car #9 are fighting for third place in Modern division with Mr. Kenzie in #114 – That Is bound to be a close battle.
Finally Craig and Nicole in MINI #1333 are fighting for a third or better position in GT E class. Unfortunately not all scores are uploaded yet, so we will not know until tomorrow where everyone stands. Except Ron and I, we are definitely wiping up….and leading from behind…

Anyway, we are all in good spirits and having a blast. If only the freaking rain would just quit already even!
All for now from the Chinese water torture chamber……Otherwise known as Newfoundland….

P.S. Rumour has it no rain tomorrow just freezing cold high winds….

John

Beautiful Newfoundland

A view on the way to Harbour Mille

Beauty everywhere in Newfoundland