Saturday September 20th, 2014

Well, a week and a bit of racing around this beautiful island is over.
The Hume bunch had a very successful adventure this year to be sure.
Through thick and thin, all three car crews, service crews and film crews came through in flying colours.

John Jr and Justin (car #9) finished 2nd in Modern Division.
Nicole and Cody (car #1334) finished 2nd in GT Equipped. Incredible considering Nicole is totally new to this event.
John Sr and Craig (car#1333) finished first in GT Equipped with a mere 13 penalty seconds. That is an extremely low score to manage over such a difficult range of race legs!

The partying continued on through the night Friday. I expect to see a few red eyed travelers at the airport later today….the price of success!

The event was well managed this year. With no canceled races due to delays etc., although there were plenty of course changes to cope with before the event began. In fact John and Craig managed to get lost transiting more than once through the week. However, still managed to get to race start on time.

In conclusion a successful year. We raised $23,000 for MS research in the bargain, with a million thanks to all our very generous donors.

And a final special heart felt thanks to Michael, Calvin, Rein and Garrett who worked tirelessly 24/7 all week, with virtually no sleep, to keep our cars working, shoot the targanewfoundlandnews.com updates and upload to the web each day.

Until next year, signing off,

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Thursday September 18th, 2014

Weather today…sunny, warm, too nice really. Hardly a breath of wind either. The early morning drive to our first race was done in and through and sometimes under a blanket of fog. If Apple stores it’s clients files in the “cloud” we were in it.

In total 9 races were run. And as expected all teams earned penalty points. The courses were fast and for GT the penalty free window was a mere four seconds per race.

John Jr. and Justin, car#9, racked up 3:22 in penalty minutes. Behind Oldford and Oldford, car #715, with 1:48 in penalty time. So the M3 is now in second place in Modern division.
In GT we ran nine very fast races. In fact our times in Bonavista were virtually the same as the Targa cars. However, end if day it looks like John Sr and Craig, car #1333, are holding fast in first place, with Cody and Nicole car #1334 holding onto third overall in GT.
There was some excitement in car #1334 when the brakes failed in the last race through Bona Vista. Some quick thinking and “McGivering” by our resident mechanic Garret saved the day. He managed to do a road side quickie brake bleed, with parts he borrowed off our service rental van. Nicole and Cody were then able to finish the last two races and lost zero penalty points in the bargain.

Friday will be the last day of the event. We have six races to complete. Then we will see who finishes where.

All in all a very exciting week of rallying with lots of drama.
All for now.

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Wednesday September 17th, 2014

First the weather report…sun with more sun and sunny again today.
Yes, picture perfect weather, with temperatures in the mid teens Celsius.

We drove through the Bona-vista Peninsula today. And what sights to behold. Mountains, forests, even Birch forests, beautiful villages and a few ports of call.

The perfect setting for nine gruelling races, long and fast. One race start had a warning sign put out to watch for Moose of all things. I also suspect there is a large market for pot holes in the area, as most roads we raced on were strewn with them, large and small.

Most teams earned penalty points today. However, John Jr. and Justin Crant car #9 are still tied for first in Modern Division with two other cars. They have so far zero penalty points! Very impressive to say the least.

Meantime back in Grand Touring, Nicole and Cody car #1334 burned through 27 penalty points through the course of the day and have slipped to 3rd place in GT.
However, john Sr and Craig, car # 1333, picked up only one penalty second and so remain in first place in GT.

The third last race of the day was very fast and treacherous. Average speed was close to 100kph through twisty, pot holed, and pebble strewn hilly road. I found this to be the toughest race yet to run. However, we are all safe and sound now, thank goodness.

Weather here for tomorrow is supposed to be same as today…but Friday, looks like rain…..
All for now.

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Tuesday September 16th, 2014

The weather here today was perfect, with a mix of sun and cloud and temperatures averaging about 16 C . A beautiful, late summer’s day on the Rock. There were plenty of native Newfoundlanders out to watch the races.

All three cars ran beautifully. Thanks to Garret our mechanic, who worked late into night yesterday to fix a broken shock mount on the M3 and raise the front suspension on the 2013 MINI GP. Garret has been indispensable so far this week, not only fixing our cars, but also assisting with repairs on some of the other competitor’s broken vehicles.

End of day, Hume car #9 Hume Jr. and Crant is tied for first with two others in Modern Targa. Car #1333 Hume Sr and MacMullen, sits atop the GT board with only 4 penalty seconds and car #1334 Troster and Morch in 2nd spot with 14 penalty seconds.

There were no cars wrecks or booboos today. Thank goodness.

We are looking forward to Wednesday. It promises to be the most challenging day of rallying yet.

All for now

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Monday September 15th, 2014

Our first full day of rallying is behind us now.
Weather was sun, rain, mist, fog and mid teens Celsius.
Perfect Newfoundland weather.

John Sr. tried co-piloting for the first two races, which he and Craig managed to zero out! However, motion sickness got the better of John, so he had to drive the last three races.

End of day standings: John Jr. and Justin, car #9, first overall, tied with four others. John Sr. and Craig, 2nd in GT and Nicole and Cody 4th in GT.

The Minis were bashed around a bit but held up to beating. The M3 however, lost a rear shock absorber strut support in the 2nd last race. A friendly local supplied tools. Then along with the Rittenhouse team, he and Justin were able to cobble it back together temporarily and well enough to finish the last race within the minimum required time line.

Team spirits are high. And everyone is enjoying the experience on the Rock so far.

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