Canadians are starting to get the motorsports bug …. however only events in Alberta are the rally’s. Rallying tends to take place in the winter, spring and fall avoiding the general population out in the forests 
March is full of rallying of all kinds …
Cochrane Rally Action!
March 6-7 … Cochrane Winter Rally, First event of the Western Canada Rally Championship. A full on stage rally using roads northwest of Cochrane. A popular season opening rally with conditions varying from dry gravel to deep snow. Volunteers and spectators are always welcome. Check the website.
March 20-21 … Stage Rally school in Calgary. See the previous post for more information.
March 27 … Trail of the GNU, a challenging and fun “time-speed-distance” rally where the scores are based on how accurate you are to the specified speed (10% below the posted limits). Anyone with a safe vehicle can enter.
March 14 … Rallycross (or Winter Autocross). Takes place in a large open gravel (or snow/ice) covered lot. A short couse is set up with pylons and cars are timed one at a time. Great fun in your everyday car!
All these events are put on by the Calgary Sports car Club.
Also, the final weekend of the NASCC Ice Racing Series takes place in Lac la Biche Alberta this weekend.
March 20th. and 21st. 2010
To register FILL AND MAIL entry form on the Vertigo Sport Website.
YOU INVESTED THOUSANDS ON YOUR CAR,
NOW INVEST A FEW HUNDREDS ON THE DRIVER AND GET MORE RESULTS
SCHOOL COSTS $495 cdn.
We will guide you on how to enter your first rally, licensing and club membership. The school fee includes a Current Rally Rules Book from C.A.R.S. so that you can have access to all rules and regulations of the sport in Canada. You will be taught techniques by previous regional and National rally champions. These techniques can help your driving and understanding of your car even for every day situations. You will be tought the principles of proper race car building by experienced builders and drivers. This school counts as a regional event if you need to upgrade your Regional Rally licence to a national one.
You don’t need a rally prepared car to enter the school. The exercises you will be doing to learn how to handle your car, can be done at relatively low speeds. If you are planning on competing in a Rally consider that; if what you learn here saves you from going into a ditch or rolling your car once due to a driving error, the school will pay for itself many times over.
Price for this two day school is $495 Cdn. Entry fee includes lunch and beverages for both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday classroom session will cover Introduction to Canadian Rally, licensing, rules and regulations. Proper car bulding and maintenance based on the three golden rules of; Safety, Reliability and Performance. Producing recce notes and theory of driving techniques such as:
DYNAMIC WEIGHT TRANSFER
Make the car do what you want
THE SIDEWAYS EFFECT
The proper lines
THE PENDULUM
How it’s done and when to use it
DRIVING LINES
Applying Racing lines
COMMON MISTAKES
Avoiding the not so obvious
READING THE ROAD
Maximize what you don’t see
CRESTS AND JUMPS
Doing it the fast way
Whether you wish to learn the techniques experienced rally drivers use to take their Rear wheel drive, Front wheel drive or All wheel drive car to the limit or just sharpen your skills for public roads with slippery conditions, this driving school is a great experience for the daily driver and a must for the Pro-Rally beginner.
Those of us itching to get out to some motorsports events may want to check out the next 3 weekends in Calgary!
Sunday, February 14, the Calgary Sports Car Club is holding the first event of the 2010 ‘Winter Autocross’ (Rallycross) series at Race City spectator parking lot.
The Calgary Sports Car Club (CSCC) Winter AutoCross program is a recreational off-road solo2 event in which participants compete individually against the clock on a temporary pylon course set-up on a gravel parking lot, (hopefully snow/ice covered). The series consists of 6 events over the next 3 month’s. Any safe vehicle is eligible to enter.
For more information, check out the CSCC website.
World Of Wheels
Next weekend is the annual start of racing and car show season withe the World of Wheels Car Show. Some 200+ show cars, race cars and others on display at the BMO Center (Round up Center).
We’ll be there with some cool racing gear and other products. Come on down and say HI!
Just saw this …. not sure what happened to 2015 …
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/story.html?id=2541535
Race City Motorsport Park
CALGARY – Race City will run for two more seasons and then shut down at its current location, after a tentative agreement was reached by its owner and the city.
“Basically it’s a compromise we proposed to them in December,” Race City owner Art MacKenzie said Tuesday morning. “It’s a shorter-term commitment from the city.
“It gave us some security and the ability to operate as a viable business, as opposed to paying a million dollars in rent, literally, so we can run economically for the next while.”
Late Monday night, city council approved a proposed settlement but details are to remain confidential until it is signed.
Race City and the city have been battling about the speedway’s southeast site following a dispute over its lease.
The track has occupied 64 hectares of city-owned land since 1985 and while the current lease expires this year, MacKenzie believed he had done the necessary work to extend it to 2015.
However, the city disputed that, arguing it needed the land back to prepare for the Shepard landfill expansion.
Last fall, in an 8-7 vote, council directed administration to go back to the table with MacKenzie to find a way for Race City to operate until 2015, despite being told it would cost the city $3 million because of additional work required on the site.
MacKenzie said the city wanted to hike the facility’s rent to more than $1 million from $37,000.
Tuesday MacKenzie said of the two-season deal, “I’m happy to be able to get some agreement. I can get on with the business of trying to run a business.”
He added he will also begin looking for a new location for Race City.
Ald. Ric McIver, who has championed the race track, said he can’t comment on details because the agreement isn’t finalized.
“Council did give instructions to administration to complete the deal that’s been negotiated,” he said. “There was strong support from council at this time. I’m optimistic we can conclude this in an amicable and successful way.”
MacKenzie said he expects to have the track open for racing in May.
kguttormson(AT)theherald.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
