Fox Shoxs

[John Bitting]

Tonight on Channel 4 news they showed Desert Racing from a world something race(similar to Paris to Dakar), they showed a ford protruck and then that Galloses(sp?) car and it is flying down a road and then rolls when it hits the washout in the road, then they show the driver and the back of the car with a nice FOX sticker in focus, I thought it was pretty bitchin. I am sure they will show it again...

 

[TimHayosh]

I didn't see it but...

I think the Gaulloses (Sp.) car is an original creation by Jean-Louis Schlesser called the "Schlesser Buggy". It's always my favorite to win Dakar. For 2001 he had a BFG sponsorship too. And, since BFG was bought by Michelin (a French Co.), I would expect the same for 2002. What is interesting though was the finish of this years race. He was DQ'd on the second to last day for starting in front of Masuoka. Those rally people are super strict on rules. J-L Schlesser was willing to accept the penalty for starting out of sequence (to not have to deal with the dust), but the organizers thought it was so un-sportsman-like, that they threw the book at him. I wonder if this sort of thing will affect his sponsorships?

 

[MikeLeung]

I didn't see that news story, but i did watch the Paris-Daker. The funny thing is that they called the Ford Protruck a Ford Ranger. They're also the only car or truck that I saw that didn't have a wind shield.

 

[EQuin]

Yeah, that Schlesser buggy is quite a car. It's some kind of a Renault Kangoo derivation, with a Renault 3.5 V6 motor and Fox shocks. I think there are about 14 of these Renault/Schlesser buggies made.

There are lots of pics of it at Schlesser's website at www.schlesser-aventures.org</A> . It's mostly in French, but if you click on the British flag, it switches to the English version.

I don't know what "GAULOISES" means, but it's written all over the Renault/Schlesser buggy. Is that the team name?

Pretty cool car, though. And Schlesser is quite a driver himself. He raced Formula 1 before too.

Take care,

Ed

 

[rdc]

http://www.rally.ru/MR2001/download/et07/master22s.jpg</A>">
Here's a pic I found on that site. Wonder went wrong, that buggy is bad arse though. He wins like all those rallies he enters.

 

[John Bitting]

Yep that was the shot they showed on the news. He was flying down a road at 100+ and the side of the road has what look like big rain ruts and he hit it and rolled...

 

[Chris]

From the little I have seen of rally racing, it looks very exciting. My brother just bought one of those turbo all wheel drive subaru's that are very popular in rally racing and is going to start going to SCCA events. Does anyone know if the SCCA promotes European style rally races or is it on road racing, and where primarily are the races held? I have never heard of a rally race anywhere around here(west coast). The closest thing I can think of would be pike's peak.

 

[EQuin]

Hey Chris,

If you're looking for SCCA dirt racing, here's a link that might interest you.

http://www.scca.org/amateur/performance_rally/index.html#rallycross</A>

It's also called "cone racing" since the course is set out using orange cones. If you're in Texas, they offer SCCA "cone racing" in Houston.

There's also the SCCA RallyCross which uses rural roads, which is probably more like the Pike's Peak race. Check out the main site at www.scca.org</A> , for all the different forms of street and dirt racing offered by SCCA.

By the way, how does your brother like that Subaru? That's a cool car!

Take care,

Ed

 

[Jimmy8]

SCCA has all kinds of diiferent racing. They have road course series and rally series. They have a pro series rally that travels around the country, kind of like WRC. They also have smaller Regional series where you get to race around your region and dont have to travel far. They have those all over the country. I am seriously thinking about entering our pre runner in an SCCA event in Prescott, AZ this year, because I know Ivan used to and from the results it looks like there are some Blazers and S10's that run. I think it could be fun for a weekend.

 

[TimHayosh]

GAULOISES is a French cigarette.

I forgot about JLS doing F1! I saw some old footage on "Legends of Motorsport" of him during "the Turbo Era".

Chris, did you buy a Subaru Imprezza WRX? That's one fine machine (for a car!). The STi variant is even meaner. Go here: http://www.specialstage.com/forum/dcboard.cgi For a forum similar to this one where rallying is discussed.

Cheers, Tim

 

[Chris]

Thanks for the info, I went to the SCCA home page and found a schedule of events pretty close to me. Yes it's the WRX version. I don't think I could ever not own a truck, but the subaru is way slick. It's only a 2 liter four but with the turbo it pulls in all the gears and combined with all wheel drive is a real kick to throw around. The suspension is nice and stiff but not uncomfortable, very little body roll. The interior is nice as well, momo stearing wheel, good suportive bucket seats. Good stuff!!! They even sell a set of shocks for around $1100 each that will give it about 7 inches of travel all around. Don't be suprised if you guys see a silver car hauling ass around lucerne at the nite race later this month. Just kidding