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Not too long ago, the Sports Car Club of America made an announcement that, to an extent, shocked the rally community. The SCCA announced it was discontinuing its ClubRally and ProRally programs in 2005. That’s right - they announced they were no longer going to offer their performance program. Still, the drop of rally support wasn’t completely unexpected...

Rally, in general, has always seemed to take a backseat on the SCCA’s agenda. There were some plans made in the late 90s to grow the SCCA rally program into something larger, however the marketing never really took off and the sport didn’t quite get the benefits or attention it needed. The rally program always seemed to be the red-headed stepchild of the group.

Part of this could be demonstrated simply by the way the decision was made to end the rally program. Seeing all the information dispersed, it was clear this was a business decision, with little to no interaction with the key people who dedicate and donate their time (and whose efforts we dearly appreciate), whether acting as stewards or members of the board of directors for the rally program.

Perhaps I am dumb, but what exactly is a club? I don’t recall clubs acting as businesses except to cover the costs of the activities they hold. The SCCA is a Car Club - says so right in the name. Heck, I can even look in their bylaws and cite the SCCA’s purpose: “To promote interest in sports cars and other fine automobiles and to encourage their safe and skillful operation, by developing, arranging, and regulating closed circuit road racing, rallying, and other forms of automotive competition, by dissemination of information through news releases and Club publications, and through related social and recreation activities for the instruction and enjoyment of its members.”

So I guess they’re going to remove Rally from their program since they cannot promote the safe environment. At least, from examining the information out there, that is the opinion of the insurance companies. The SCCA is dropping the program because it costs too much and they can’t hurt their other members, or offer the choice to its existing base to accept the increased costs.

For those of you that aren’t that familiar with the US rally scene, 2003 proved to be a sobering year. Tragedy struck 2003. Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman, two great rallyists, were fatally injured at the Oregon Trails Pro Rally. Martin Reidy and Peter Smith were also fatally injured last year while spectating at Sawmill. Our condolences still go out to the families and friends of these people.

The SCCA made at least two quick decisions last year after some of these events. One of which suspended all Club activities for a period of time last year. Another prevented people from spectating an event except at but a few locations. The SCCA had to reduce risk. However, beyond a few things, they failed to make the effort to take significant steps to support rally and bring it to a better spot.

Which brings me to an interesting question. Why couldn’t SCCA bring its knowledge and know-how in other racing forms and share them and work to bring in useful ideas to raise rally racing to another level?

One of the things that has always bugged me about rally in the US is how you get involved as a competitor. Anyone can essentially show up right now with a car that will pass a Tech Inspection, sit through an approximately 2-hour long “beginner school” and be out on the stage roads. Even scarier is the fact that they can be doing it in a 3200-lb 300+hp AWD monster. (Okay, okay - the car isn’t a monster, it’s the novice driver behind the wheel with no experience which creates the monster).

One of the simplest ways to control some risk on the stages is to control the people that can even get onto the stages. I mean, come on people, how simple is that? If I want to race a low-powered, low traction car on the racetrack in SCCA Club Racing, I can’t just show up with a car that passes tech and listen to someone for two hours. I have to meet at least a minimum instructional requirement. That means experience with an instructor and being able to meet certain criteria. This means you can control who gets out there as well as their knowledge, not only in procedures, but also in the application of their use and the ability of the individual to control a vehicle in a competitive environment.

And don’t forget, you can’t just jump up to the highest and best performing car and expect to get into a racing series in the first place. They have feeder classes and series for reasons. Just because Michael Schumacher can drive the F1 car doesn’t mean I can or should even try. The same goes for me not being Petter Solberg. So why were people allowed to start in open class cars that can average ridiculous speeds?

There are a lot of things I think can be done to help improve rally. I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t like some of my ideas, though. Like perhaps people that marshall should be required to take a class and pass a test or something of the sort and get a marshalling license before we let them go out in the woods to tell people what to do. I can’t say how many times I’ve seen people marshalling in the woods with no experience and not doing a very good job. But then again, we can’t exactly drive away workers - we have a dire need for them. But to get workers, we need spectators. Heck, we need competitors to help with the work, too! I codrive and though I almost always prefer to be racing, I'll be the first to admit occasionally my time might be better spent helping out at an event. Rallies are always short workers.

And then what about spectators? They definitely need to be controlled. But they need to see the cars in action. There is probably endless debate on how to handle this. What about publicity? Should Pro series be completely separated from a Club series? How can we increase safety? How can we get competitors to be safer instead of skimping where it counts? How fast is too fast?

There are a lot of questions that have to be answered. There is a lot of direction that has yet to be set. There are a few very good things that are happening in my opinion, though. Rally is now in the hands of the rallyists. Rally America is taking the reigns and I can’t think of a better thing to happen. True, Rally America is a support organization. Doug Havir with his big yellow rig started out getting information out to those across the country. They brought us some great timing equipment and really worked to support the series in conjunction with the SCCA.

Now is the chance for Rally America to really grow. There are a lot of logistics for them to work out. They’re growing into, effectively, a completely new organization. But there is a lot to benefit from here. The people involved and those taking the lead have been in the rally community for years upon years, and I believe they have the best interests of the sport in mind. Not only that, but rally is no longer going to be on the bottom of the list. No more red-headed stepchild. The sport will be supported, run, managed and competed in by those who love the sport most. In fact, they have already shown that they’re stepping up to the plate by confirming full support for next year's series, currently listing eight events on the pro calendar.

The future is still unsure, though. There are lots of things to be seen. There are a lot of things to be done. Most of us know, or are fairly sure, that US rally will never be quite like it is in Europe. But there are still many people who love the sport here. And you know what I’ll do? I’m going to keep supporting the series. I’m not going to turn my back on rally when it’s in a time of need. I hope all of you that love the sport are willing to do the same.


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