Monday, Sept. 15, 2003

Jim Kenzie aboard a new Mini greets kids at Beachy Cove Elementary School

When one thinks of Newfoundland in September, one thinks of cool days and chilly nights, possibly rain and fog. Bright sun and high temperatures are unheard of... until this year. The Time and Temp clock on a local bank read 33 degrees, and that's in Celsius, my son. (I've only been here a couple of days and I'm already picking up Newf chatter). That same clock registered 93F.

Today there were two stages, both considered "non-competitive", but more like qualifying to establish position on the road. The slower cars start first, and the start intervals are only 30 seconds in order to keep the field bunched up.

The first was a short dash (less than 5 km) in a semi-rural area called Flat Rock. No big incidents, some spinning of tires, a few missed calls.

Lunch was a two hour break at Beachy Cove Elementary School. The students were given a reprieve from their studies to take a look at the fifty or so cars parked in the school's front parking lot, while drivers and crews grabbed a bite in the gymnasium. As teams wandered back to their cars they were beseiged with requests for autograhs. Many came prepared with hero cards and decals (pronouced "DECK-els" in these parts, as opposed to the U.S. pronounciation of "DEE-kals").

John and Clarke Paynter of the Subaru Canada Rally Team signed a lot of autographs at every Parc Expose.

Then it was off for the other stage, a 7 km affair along Marine Drive. Several teams erred on this tight and twisting stage, including the favored Mustang of Formula Atlantic race driver Jeremy Hill and car owner Lennox McNeely. A front brake pad became dislodged as the car entered a right-hander and it left the road, eventually stranded with tail in the air and nose in the ditch. It is hoped the car can be repaired for Tuesday's start, but the extent of damage had not been determined as of this writing.

John and Clark Paynter quickly established themselves as the front runners in the Subaru Canada Rally Team WRX wagon, setting fastest times on both Prologues. Bill Arnold was quickest in the Classic category in his BMW Bavaria, which hides a much newer "M" six cylinder under the hood. Daily results are posted at RallyScoring.com

The real competition begins on Tuesday, with seven stages. The longest - Osprey Trail West - is 33.19 km, the shortest - Traytown West - is 3.84 km. Totals for the day: 360.80 km Transit, 77.46 km Stage. total 438.26 km.