Mini Rally Anyone?

[Perry45]

Hi all,
Perhaps this has been suggested before, in which case forgive me.

Have any of you ever participated in a Street Legal, City wide Rally before? These things are a BLAST and perfect for the Mini. We were participant in several of these events years ago when we owned a Ford Fiesta and loved it.

For those that have not participated, let me explain what it is, and how it works:

First everyovne assembles at a "starting point" where you must sign in, and regester your team/Car. The team consists of two people (Driver and Co-Pilot)
There is a manditory "Drivers Meeting", and cars are checked for safety issues.
Each Team then draws a number from the bowl. This will become your team number. It's all very random, so no one has an advantage over another.
Cars/Teams are lined up by their car number at the "Starting line", and prepared to start the rally. At T-.30(sec) the first team is given a sealed envelope, and staged. Each set of instructions are a combination of Directions, vague hints and actual Maps. At T-0 The teams "Time card is punched and the car released to follow the map to several "waypoints, where they MUST A) Switch Drivers/Co-Pilots B) Have their Team card Punched for time, C) Pick up a new envelope for the next "waypoint" there are a minimum of 6 waypoints, and a final destination.

Ok...Your asking, How does this work then?
The routes are set up with a specific "perfect time" to complete. The ONLY way to win is to follow ALL speed limits, and local traffic laws. For each stage the Team will have a transistion time. AT the end of the race we aill all meet at the Final destination and the Stamped times will be recorded from each Teams timecard and posted on a status board. The team with the time closest to the perfect will win.
So you see, driving FAST will be BAD, as will driving Slow. EVERY car/Team has the SAME chance of winning.

The more agressive of you will say "where's the challenge?" Easy. The directions are not always crystal clear, Local traffic may hinder your progress, Traffic control devices can slow your route (The routes are set up based on distance/Time, and no allowance for traffic lights) The course can be quite challenging.
As a way of increasing interest, we would have a $10.00 entry fee, and a prize (cash) based on the final finishing position.
If there are not enough Mini Participants, we could co-ordinate this with Mini of Orlando (dealership for promotions) and extend invitations to other clubs.
SO...Is there any interest in this?

[MUNGO]

Soudns like fun!

[JCWRocket]

We did a scavenger hunt style rally in Orlando last February. Orlando MINI was our starting point, and they donated quite a few prizes for us. We are planning on this being an annual event, but it will likley be in April next year because of my work travel schedule. We opted not to do a time/speed/distance rally, which is what you seem to be describing, as we wanted to make it a simpler beginners level rally.

I competed with my dad in SCCA sanctioned TSD rally's from the ages of 9-18. I know how to navigate one but have not done it in long enough that I don't feel confident in putting one together.

If this is something that you want to do in the Orlando area I would recommend posting it in the MOO section.

[MINI_Marc]

My Dad and I put together Cooper Quest back in 2007 which sounds somewhat similar to what you're describing. All but two participants got hopelessly lost...

~MM

[Sarag]

I'd be up for something like that!