Nothing says winter like a white Volvo... right?
Credit: Jeremy
Walking in a white Volvo wonderland
Because I am completely out of the loop, today's daily post will be a thank you to my friend Pete, the owner of the Volvo rally car above.
Lucky for me, while competing in motorkhana and khanacross events sometime last century, Pete recognised my lack of driving talents and decided to let me be his navigator in actual rallies :) Years of learning, and several types of car later, in 2002 we were crowned Australian Capital Territory 2WD Champions!
Winning the two wheel drive championship in a Datsun cost approx $20,000. This figure doesn't include the cost of buying/building the car, and we were very lucky to not have any expensive disasters that year. The prize money and press coverage of club level rallying is practically nonexistent so most of the cost was covered by the two of us!
If you are interested in getting into any form of Motorsport, I suggest joining a car club. You'll meet like minded people and have the best chance of being in the right place at the right time.
A few weekends ago, I was fortunate to navigate for Pete while acting as an official - he was running his Volvo as the 'zero' car. Basically this means we were the last course car to check the competitive and transport stages before car number 1 went through at full racing speed. We got to go through at very close to flat out (to make sure it is safe) but it doesn't look good if you crash doing this job so we didn't set any stage winning times :)
It had been far too long between races but I'm pleased to report that it instantly felt natural. I did an excellent job and have been asked to seriously consider a full season in 2011. This will not happen for various reasons, but it was very flattering to be asked. My greatest joy came from rediscovering the connection we have inside the car and I can only liken the feeling to the way a driver feels when they are 'at one' with the car. Except it's with a person...
Well that's my little story of the feeling of connection from shared achievements. Have you felt what I've experienced? Do tell! Don't be shy :)
As always, Go Lewis!