by Tim Winker
Photos © 2000 by Steve Irwin
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Friday evening before the GRRR, there is a display of vintage sports cars on Kellogg Blvd. in downtown St. Paul.
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The Great River Road Rally remains one of the undiscovered gems among the vintage car crowd. In the tradition of the classic Monte Carlo Rallye, the GRRR starts from two locations - St. Paul, Minnesota, and Madison, Wisconsin - and converges on La Crosse, Wisconsin. Rallymaster Ed Solstad has found some of the most fun roads in the country, all paved and winding up and down the hills and valleys of western Wisconsin. The St. Paul course roughly parallels the Mississippi River on the way to LaCrosse, along the Great River Road, with vistas of the Father of Waters above Lake Pepin and the bluffs overlooking the river from both shores. The route from Madison uses similarly twisty roads in the vicinity of U.S. 14 and along the Wisconsin River.
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Peter Griffin's Jaguar XKE Coupe.
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Designed to give vintage sports car owners an opportunity to get their cars out of the garage and drive them like their creators intended, only three of this years participants could truly be called "vintage" – Peter Griffin’s 1969 Jaguar XKE, Jim Childress’ 1973 Saab Sonett III and the Mercedes-Benz 450SL of Diana and Jim Quinn. There were a couple of last minute substitutions when the entered vintage vehicle - a Volvo 544 for Rob Edwards and Brad Anderson, and a Porsche 356 for the son and mother team of Ben and Marsha Robertaccio - were unable to make the start. All other entries were certainly interesting, but did not meet the 25 year cutoff date. Of particular interest were three Ferraris starting from Madison: a 355 driven by the Swartzels, a 308GTS driven by the Winingers, and a 246 Dino driven by the Obreys. Carousel Porsche Audi of the Twin Cities entered three cars, the Porsche Boxster driven by the above mentioned Robertaccios; a 966 Carrera for Ursula Platteler and John Steinmetz; and a new Audi TT Roadster with the husband and wife team of Brett and Laura Dahlgren aboard.
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Saab Sonett III of Jim Childress.
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The overall entry was down this year as well, attributed to running the rally on Memorial Day weekend, a traditional family holiday in the Upper Midwest, instead of in early June as in past years. The 1999 GRRR had 30 entries, but the list was down to only 14 starters for 2000. Of those, 9 started from St. Paul, with the other five opting for a Madison start.
Unlike most time/speed/distance rallies (known as Regularity Trials in Europe) where teams are given an average speed and must arrive at hidden checkpoints on time, GRRR uses a Monte Carlo style format in which the checkpoint locations and arrival time are given, and the team must cross the timing line at the correct in-time. No creeping is allowed, so the teams must cross the line at a reasonable speed. Most wait about ½ mile before the checkpoint, then travel at 30 mph for 1 minute in hopes that the timing line will be where it is shown in the Route Instructions.
Intermittent rain kept the day from being perfect, but the droptop cars did get some open air time. Included in the entry fee from the St. Paul start was a gourmet lunch at one of two restaurants in the Durand area - Easy Creek Café in Arkansaw or the Café Mozart in downtown Durand. Then it was on the road again, exploring the hill country in the area of the Chippewa River.
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Franco Magozzi's Alfa Romeo GTV6 at speed.
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The first day’s run is always fairly easy, with points scored at a rate of 1 per 1/10th of a minute (6 seconds). Consequently the scores were close at the end of Saturday’s run. Two teams, the XKE of Peter Griffin/Dave Fuss and the Alfa Romeo GTV6 of Franco Magozzi/Tim Winker, were tied with a perfect "0" score. Holding a solid third was the father/daughter team of Bruce and Rachel Bengtson in an Alfa Milano with only 1 point. The Obreys’ Dino dropped out after only two legs, not due to any mechanical problem, but to navigator illness, ending up as the day’s only DNF.
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| Mercedes-Benz 450SL of Jim and Diane Quinn. |
Evening festivities are always a big hit, as the teams gather for a dinner cruise aboard the Island Girl on the Mississippi River. For several captive hours, the rallyists socialize on board, admiring the views from the railing as the sun sets over Minnesota. The rain visited again intermittently, but that didn’t keep people from enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the Mississippi from the open deck of the Island Girl.
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The winning Griffin/Fuss Jaguar negotiates the Mindoro Cut, a twisting section of road north of La Crosse.
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The scoring gets tougher on Day Two, when the penalties add up at 1 per 1/100th minute. All teams run the same course, traveling the winding roads atop the ridges and down the coulees near LaCrosse. Several teams resumed the rhythm established on Saturday, and came up with a string of low scores, while others seemed to fall apart under the added pressure. No matter, everyone seemed to having a good time driving the wonderful roads of Monroe, Vernon and La Crosse Counties.
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| Norskedalen Thrune Center |
Lunchtime brought everyone to Norskedalen Thrune Center, a restored Norwegian/American farm museum near Coon Valley. Lunch consisted of Scandinavian open face sandwiches and pastries, prepared by local women of Norwegian ancestry. After allowing competitors a bit of time to explore the grounds, the cars were off again, for an opportunity to pick up a few more points. The rally ended a the Radisson in La Crosse with an awards banquet.
First overall went to the Griffin/Fuss XKE, who collected only 14 points on the Sunday run. Bruce and Rachel Bengtson were second overall and first in the stock class with a total of 21 in an Alfa Romeo Milano. First time rallyists Mark and Kathryn Brewer took their Alfa Romeo 164 to the Novice class trophy.
Since the following day was Memorial Day, most teams spent the extra night to visit other attractions in the Mississippi River Valley between Wisconsin and Minnesota. Most everyone promised to make the effort to come back again, for the great roads, for the great food, for the great camaraderie, for the Great River Road Rally.
More photos from GRRR 2000
Results of this year’s GRRR
Entry details for 2001 will be posted at www.GRRRally.com
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