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Editorial Exhaust

Will the warm weather ever return?

A recent topic covered on the MCOmessage boards discussed the effects ofcold weather on cars. Well, for being a

brand new Mazda Proteg, I'm starting tohave my suspicions about this car being

built on a Friday, or a very hung overMonday...

It started with a couple of rattles. Theguage glass was loose, and a seatbeltretractor had gone south... Now, with thecold weather, I've noticed a couple of other"oddities"...

When turning hard left while the car iscold, the heater fan squeals like a stuck

pig, and, if the temperature is below about-20C, the CD player/radio says it'sworking, but no matter how loud I turn upthe volume, I get no audio.

Don't get me wrong, I love the gutlesswonder, and Carling Motors has beenmore than perfect in getting thingsfixed/replaced/whatever, but I really missmy 14 year old Summer Car.

But, that's a good thing, right?

Cover Images: Craig Seko/Jim Morrowcompete at the Chnville RallySprint inCraig's Porsche 944, Alan Pepper stuffs itand Warren Haywood floors at MCOWinter Solo II Event #1, all by Jodie Shay

Motorsport Club of Ottawa

Founded 1949

Founding Member CASC 1951

Incorporated 1953

2002 MCO Executive

President andOntario Race Organizing Rep.

Ron WoltmanH: (613) 831-8682C: (613) 863-5360

[email protected]

Vice-PresidentBennett Leckie

W: (613) 822-1765 [email protected]

Directors

Open WheelRick Miskiman

H: (613) [email protected]

Closed WheelRichard Muise


RallyCraig Hamm

H: (613) 727-3192W: (613) 596-7107

[email protected]

MembershipJodie Shay


TreasurerRobert Benson


SecretaryJohn Powell


Solo-IIGreg Kierstead

H: (613) 258-0497W: (613) 765-9167

[email protected]

Solo-I LiasionJeff Graves


KartingPaul Swinwood

W: (613) 237-8551 [email protected]

Hotline(613) 788-0525

Website

www.mco.orgmaintained by Rob Microys

Hosted byAnjura Technology Corporation

General MeetingsLouis's Steakhouse

1682 Cyrville Rd., Ottawa, ONFirstTuesday of every month

All are welcome

M.C.O.P.O. Box 65006,

Merivale Postal OutletNepean, ON K2G 5Y3

The LINK is the official publication ofthe Motorsport Club of Ottawa. Theopinions expressed in the LINK do notnecessarily reflect those of the LINK

Editorial Staff or the Club's Executive.Though all efforts are made to ensurethat facts stated in the articles hereina r e a c c u r a t e , t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r i b u t o r s s h o u l d c h e c k t h eaccuracy o f the ir ar t ic les pr ior tosubmission.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:18th day of every month.

Ontario Race Committee RepCindy Armstrong


Club Merchandise Co-ordinatorWarren Haywood

[email protected]

Club Display Co-ordinatorJean MacGillivrayH: (613) [email protected]

LINK [email protected]

Mark AtosH: (613) 274-2710

[email protected]

1

February 2003

ADVERTISING RATESMembers are welcome to submitclassified advertisements for non-commercial purposes free of charge.

Members may also submit businesscard-sized advertisements for theirbusinesses free of charge. These willbe published space permitting.

Business ads: $400 - full page$200 - half page$100 - quarter page

$ 50 - business card

The rates are for one year, can includecolor ads for the web edition, and in-clude direct links as a sponsor fromhttp://www.mco.org

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MCO: The First Fifty YearsOnly $35 for this important book!

Planning for a delivery of 300 numbered copies. It is a hard-covered coffee table style bookrecounting the long history of motorsopts in Ottawa and the regions. With 150 pages, everything

and everyone is included. Don't miss out on your copies!

There is still space available for sponsorship as well. For $20 you can ensure your name is in thebook by sponsoring a page of your choosing. Full or partial page ads are open.

Contact Sherissa Microys at (613) 822-7204 or e-mail [email protected]

MCO Rally Group presents

Lanark Highlands Winter RallyFebruary 22, 2003

A challenging and brisk night winter drivex on stunning roathrough Lanark County. Simple instructions, no traps or navgation puzzles.

Membership in an affiliated club is required to run this nigwinter drivex. Bring your valid membership card for registrtion.

Contact: Jim Morrow 256-0188, Rallymaster

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February 2003

Agricultural"Sports Cars"

by John Powell

Yes, another "farm" article. Butyou know, when enthusiasts en-counter a vehicle that is rather ba-sic and sturdy, and with unsophisti-

cated engineering (i.e. easy andcheap to fix), we often refer to it as"agricultural". Likewise, if a raceor rally driver leaves the road andheads for the boonies, we often re-fer to them as engaging in"agricultural pursuits" or making"agricultural excursions". In ourminds, we have a picture of Grand-pa, or Great-grandpa now, bounc-ing across the fields in his old highwheeled "Poppin' Johnnie" (JohnDeere), or the Massey with the

centre-mounted front wheels andthe steering shaft running along thetop of the engine cowling, andequate this with our errant automo-bile.

There have been other links be-tween tractors and "sports" vehi-cles over the years, some of whichmight surprise you. I don't pretendto be an expert on the history offarm tractors, or sporty cars andtrucks for that matter, but some bits

of information have periodicallycome to my notice, and what I canremember I'll share with you. Let'sstart, then, with one that you mayfind to be a bit of a shocker ...

Porsche

Yes, that's right, the same HerrProf. Dr. Eng. (Why do the Euro-peans do that?) Ferdinand Porsche.Porsche made utility tractors suita-ble for the then small post-war Eu-ropean fields. I'm not sure if they

still make them, as the few I'veseen in ads were used ones, proba-bly dating from the '50s and '60s.The photo shown here was taken ata recent vintage car festival in theU.S..

... and here's some more.

Austin/BMC/ BLMHHerbert Austin, Lord Nuffield,made cars bearing his name, andI'm sure I don't have to list any. Healso made tractors, this time bear-ing the place name in his title.Legend has it that the engine froma Nuffield tractor made it's way in-to the A-H 100-4 by way of theGypsy Van and the Austin A90 At-lantic convertible. I don't knowwhat happened to the tractor divi-sion because of all the chaos, buy-outs and mergers in the British au-tomobile industry from the late'50s up to the present. I have onlyseen older models for sale, sothey're probably no longer in exis-tence. I couldn't find a photo of aNuffield, but a recent ad in OntarioFarmerreads as follows "Nuffield10/60 (needs repairs)". No com-ment!

David Brown

The DB in Aston-Martin, DavidBrown was one of several industri-alists who decided to build theirown sports cars, in this instance bybuying Aston Martin. Again, Da-vid Brown Tractors were a victimof the UK situation in the '60s, andwere bought by J. I. Case, nowCase-IH (CIH). They made utilityand medium sized tractors, with a

very good reputation. There arestill lots of used ones on the mar-ket, and good ones can fetch aboveaverage prices for their size andyear. The DB 1212 in the photodates from about 1970 (note: trac-tor models don't change every yearbut usually continue for severalyears).

Ferguson

In 1961, Harry Ferguson developedan experimental 4WD Formula 1car called the Project 99. He alsohad plans to introduce for 1963 anAWD station wagon, and somecars with his system were subse-quently built by Jensen as the FF.As near as I can tell, this is thesame Harry Ferguson who invent-ed the hydraulic 3 point hitch for

tractors. This enabled implementsto be mounted on the tractor, andraised and lowered from the tractorseat, instead of having to dismountto adjust trailed implements. Fer-guson licenced his design to Ford,who were the first in the worldwith this improvement, but he later

became dissatisfied with the ar-rangement, and started to build hisown tractors. After a merger withMassey-Harris, his name appearedin the new company title, Massey-

Ferguson.

FiatYes, Fabriccata Italiano Automobi-li Torino ('scuse if my Italian's notexact), and we all know of theirpre-war racing successes and theirpost-war coupes and sports-tourerssuch as the 124. They were in thetractor business until quite recent-ly, but they spun it off to Hesston,

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later Agco-Allis, at least in NorthAmerica. The Fiat 80-90 shown isa medium horsepower model(probably about 80hp), and is fromthe '80s or early '90s.

Ford

Ford has an agricultural history go-ing back to the Model T. Certainmodels were sold with belt pulleyconversions that allowed them topower stationary threshing ma-chines, etc., and to work withtrailed implements such as plowsand ground drive harvesters. Thiswas probably the origin of the Fordtractors made in North Americaand Britain, and also the BritishFordson. Ford recently spun off

the tractor division to New Hol-land, but they still look like Fordsto me, right down to the stylingand colour scheme. So, is there aFord in your future? Perhaps agood used mid '90s model with4WD and a/c? For only $88,000plus taxes? No, probably not.

I.H.

I think most people know about In-ternational Harvester tractors andtrucks, but how many people re-member the I.H. Scout and Scout IIof the '60s and early '70s?. Theywere nice little pick-ups and SUVs,available with 4WD and a Hi-Lothree-speed transmission. The ear-lier Scout was equipped with a

slant 4 engine, which was 2 of theV8 engine in the big trucks. Itwasn't much for top end, but hadgobs of torque. When the compa-ny was broken up, the trucks wentto Navistar, and the tractor divisionmerged with J.I. Case to becomeCaseIH. I'm sure you have an ideaof what their tractors look like, butto refresh your memory of theScout, the photo shows the '65pick-up that I owned from '78 to'84. To continue the personal note,for about 17 years now I haveowned a '65 IH 434 gas enginedtractor that was made in the U.K. Iknew this before I even read themanufacturer's plate because of thepositive ground, and the Lucasgenerator, voltage regulator, startermotor, and distributor. Funnything is that, other than replacing agenerator bearing and the voltageregulator due to normal wear, theLucas bits have never given meany trouble,

and it always startsin the wet and the cold! Go fig-ure!

LamborghiniAgain, yes that one! I believe Sig.Ing. Lamborghini made his moneyin tractors and other heavy equip-ment, and built his first GT car be-cause he couldn't find one on themarket that met his requirements.Popular myth is that he owned a

Ferrari, but was dissatisfied with it.Lamborghini is still in the tractorbusiness, but I think they're undernew ownership too. They build

some really fancy stuff - and notjust utility tractors, either. Youcould be the proud owner of thisrecently advertised genuine latemodel Lamborghini demo, with a 6cyl. (Turbo-diesel, I think) 170 h.p.engine, 4WD, etc., for just aboutthe same price as a small olderhouse in the country. The PTO hpshown (power take-off) is roughlyequivalent to rear wheel hp in acar, but it's really the low end tor-que that makes the difference.

Land RoverWe're all familiar with these up-

scale 4x4s and SUVs, but immedi-ately after the war, when tractorswere scarce in the UK, war surplusLand Rovers were a farmer's work-horse. As with the Ford Model T,they could be used as a stationarypower source, and with trailed im-plements.

Leyland/LeylandTriumph/BLMHLeyland made trucks, tractors andbusses (and yes, that really is the

correct spelling, despite the illiter-ate Americanised version seen inthe press so often today), and withthe merger with Standard-Triumph,continued to make Standard carsand Triumph sports cars and se-dans. Their tractors also have apretty good reputation, and I thinkthey were available here in Canadauntil well into the '70s. There's an-other folk legend here,

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that the engine from a Leyland Trac-tor made it into the TR2/2A/3 sportscar. I'm really not convinced aboutthis one though, as the TR2 cameout in 1952 and Leyland didn't buyout Standard-Triumph until the late'50s. As for the present status ofLeylands, I haven't seen any recent

ones, so I think the British merger-mania was at work here too. The384 in the photo is probably fromthe early '70s.

RenaultMakers of the Floride in the '50s and'60s, and the later R5 Turbo pocketrocket, Formula 1 engines and cars,and Le Mans sports cars, amongstothers. Again, as with Porsche, theywere small utility tractors, and I'mnot sure if they still make them.

Before we leave this topic, I'd like togive you some idea of what a mod-ern tractor is really like. And ifyou're a fan of hard technology aswell as electronic gizmos, this mightencourage you to check out some ofthese machines at a farm equipmentdisplay some day.

Although the smaller utility tractors,up to 50 h.p. or so, do share a pass-ing resemblance to the old John

Deere, Cockshutt, Massey or DavidBrown, etc., when not equipped witha cab or loader, the larger units are adifferent animal altogether. Here aresome of the common features I'veseen or read about, (some of whichcan also be found on utility tractors):

EngineIntercooled turbo-diesels of 8 litresor more displacement with 200-300

PTO h.p. and 400+ lb/ft of torque;mechanical and electronic direct portfuel injection; electronic enginemanagement; load-sensing electron-ic constant ground speed control;(photo - CaseIH 6 cyl. turbo-diesel,from 170 to 240 PTO hp).

Drive Train

Multi-plate clutch; 12 to 24 speeddual range (Hi-Lo) electronically-

controlled gearboxes with clutchlessforward/reverse shuttle-shift (thinkof that in Solo II); manual and elec-tronic locking front and rear differ-entials; radial tires; 4 WD; dual fronta triple rear wheels; cat tracks; frontair or hydraulic suspension; (photo -CaseIH 18 speed Hi-Lo electronical-ly controlled gearbox/rear differen-tial assembly).

Cab

Integrated roll cage (ROPS); 180Erotating work station (pedals, steer-ing, etc.) for working to the front orrear; heated/air conditioned cabwith a dust and chemical filter; seatwith air suspension, lumbar supportand adjustment memory; seat for anextra rider, (ostensibly for operatortraining, but most farmers suspect

it's more for the bank manager so hecan ride along and protect his sub-stantial interest); (photo - Fendt cabwith 180 degree rotating work sta-tion).

Controls(See cab photo) GPS field mapping;automatic electronic on-the-go im-plement adjustment controlled byanalysis of the GPS field map; pro-grammable digital controls; hook-ups for cell phone, lap-top and

downloads from the on-board com-puter.

So just think, something like this2002 CIH MX 255 Magnum can beyours for the mere price of a modest2 or 3 bedroom town home in a fash-ionable suburb, and that's if you onlywant the basic model. Now thatain't Grandpa's old Massey!

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MINUTES OFMEETING

M.C.O. Monthly GeneralMeeting

January 7th 2003Louis's Steak House, Ottawa, Ont.

PRESENT

Executive: Ron Woltman, President; Ben-nett Leckie, Vice-President; Rick Miski-man, Open Wheel; Richard Muise, ClosedWheel; Craig Hamm, Rally; Jeff Graves,Solo I; Paul Swinwood, Karting; PatWeightman, Membership; Mark Atos,Link Editor; Jean MacGillivray, Club Dis-play Coordinator; Rob Microys, WebsiteAdministrator; John Powell, Secretary.Members: Sufficient members were pres-ent for a quorum.

ABSENT WITH EXCUSESExecutive: Bob Benson, Treasurer; GregKierstead, Solo II; Jodie Shay, Member-

ship; Warren Haywood, Club Merchan-dise Coordinator.

NOTES1. The position of Public Relations Direc-tor is still vacant.2. Copies of documents marked "Att." arefiled with the original copy of these mi-nutes.

The President, Ron Woltman, opened themeeting for business at approximately7:12 p.m..

GeneralThe President first opened the meeting by

welcoming members and guests, followedby Jean MacGillivray and Rob Microys,who gave an up-date on the latest knowncondition of Ashley Taws.

Winter Driving SchoolsProgress on the schools was reported asfollows:- Paul Swinwood advised the meeting that

the school scheduled for Jan. 12th hadbeen postponed to Jan. 18th due to thelack of sufficient snow.

- Plans presently call for 16 students perschool, with two students per instructoron two tracks, and there will be an in-

structor's meeting early next week.There will be 33 workers available, ofwhich 23 are instructors.

- Ron Woltman noted that the Ottodromehad been extremely cooperative, pro-viding the initial plowing, trailers forclassrooms and shelter, etc.. He alsonoted that they still plan to run an En-duro on the oval on Jan. 12th.

- Bennett Leckie advised that the trackswill be similar to those used last year,and we need more snow to provide forsufficient snow banks.

- Paul added that we will have the use ofthree trailers, but they have no heat.This was followed by some suggestionsregarding how we might be able to heatthem.

- Richard Muise reported that we have 72registered students out of a possible 80,some of whom are coming from as faraway as Montreal.

- Ron closed this topic by noting that hehad written to ASN for a clarification ofthe insurance status of the schools, buthas yet to receive a reply.

Slush n' SlideJeff Graves reported on the Winter Solo IIseries as follows:- The series will start on Jan. 19th . There

are still some issues regarding the Sup-plementary Regulations to be clarifiedwith CASC, including the use of re-verse, on which there was some discus-sion.

- The entry fee will be $20.00 for mem-bers and $25.00 for non-members.

- On a question from Mark Atos regarding

competitors leaving their cars on thesite, Jeff reminded members that thisyear the Ottodrome will also be con-ducting winter events, but said he willcheck.

- On a second question from Mark regard-ing cone storage, as the trailers are not asecure site, Bennett Leckie stated thatthe cones should be reasonably safe, butthat other arrangements will be madefor the fire extinguishers.

Solo IJeff then gave an up-date on the up-com-ing Solo I season:

- The 2003 schedule is out, and it containstwo weekends consisting of one schooland one event each, and the open-housewill be held at CSC Racing in Newmar-ket. Full details are on the SoloOntarioweb site.

- A new car classification system is underdevelopment, but may not be ready for2003. Proposed changes include a re-duction to 15 classes with no vehiclefamilies or "dedicated" stock classes.There would be 12 stock classes basedon performance, and 3 modified classesbased on "step-up" points.

RallyCraig Hamm reported as follows:- Saturday will be the first rally for 2003,

this being the Mississippi Valley Rallywhich was postponed from last Novem-ber. It will be the first rally to use TimeAllowances, details of which are in theJanuary "Link".

- Drivers for night navexes will now haveto be members of affiliated clubs.

- Jim Morrow is currently mapping out arally to be held in late February or earlyMarch. Continuing with Jim Morrow,Craig outlined Jim and Craig Seko's ex-

periences at the Cheneville RallySprints in Craig's Porsche 944.

- In closing Craig Hamm briefed memberson the rallying communities' concernsregarding the amendments to OntarioBill 271, and noted that the RallyGroup's meetings will now be held onthe last Thursday of each month.

MembershipPat Weightman gave a membership up-date as follows:- There are presently 253 members, con-

sisting of 85 family, 140 single and 8junior, with an additional 40 member-ships waiting for renewals. o Pat nextannounced that he was resigning asMembership Co-secretary due to theworkload involved in running his busi-ness, but he offered to help for the nextmonth or so. Ron Woltman acceptedhis resignation with regret, and thankedhim for his work on behalf of theClub.o Regarding improvements in theadministration of memberships, Patsuggested that we need a Membership

Committee to examine and streamlineour system. He suggested that, due tothe increasing number of members, weshould acquire a computer which wouldbe dedicated to membership administra-tion, and also expressed concern thatcomputerized membership data is cur-rently held in one person's hands. Hefelt that this increased the risk of suchdata being lost. He finally suggestedthat the Club should provide the Mem-bership Secretary with a dedicated resi-dential phone line and answering serv-ice, which would be especially usefulfor last-minute requests for renewals.

At this point there was a break from ap-proximately 8:10 to 8:20 p.m.

Membership (cont'd.)After the break, Ron Woltman asked ifthere was anyone interested in taking overfrom Pat, and then led a general discus-sion on Memberships, and the followingpoints were raised:- There have often been difficulties in

conducting business with the CASC of-fice regarding membership issues, espe-cially the splitting of affiliation fees.

- Ron has spoken to John Bondar, the newCASC President, on the matter, and ap-parently there is consideration beinggiven to moving to a flat-rate affiliationfee similar to that now used by OKRA.

- The Club's membership form should besimplified, and the section dealing withthe direction of affiliation fees shouldbe made clearer.

- The CASC is also considering a proposalthat the splitting of affiliation feesshould first be based on the governingbody from which members hold a li-cence. Others would still be able to...continued on page 13

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MiscellaneousRumblings II

John Powell

1. Now WhatWell, it's just a week short of theLink deadline, and here I am sittingin front of the keyboard and ..

nothing. I do have some topics inmy "story ideas" file, but I spent somuch time fiddling and fartingaround with the photos in the fea-ture article on tractors and sportscars elsewhere in this issue, that Ididn't leave much time to work onthis column. I guess I'll just haveto look around and see what I canglean from other sources (i.e. pla-giarise) that might be of interest.So maybe we'll just call the nextsection

2. Gleanings- From a CBC radio humourist inCape Breton.

It seems that they were having aproblem in Cape Breton recentlyregarding the large number ofcrows that were being killed ontheir highways. A study wascommissioned, and after severalweeks of intensive observation itwas discovered that almost all ofthe fatalities came from beingrun over by trucks, and not cars.Apparently the crows had look-outs posted in adjacent trees andsimilar perches to warn the oth-ers in the parliament (collectivenoun for crows - look it up if youdon't believe me) of approachingtraffic. The high mortality prob-lem was determined to be due tothe fact that, while the look-outs

could call out "caw", they werenot able to call out "truck".

- From Ontario Farmer, Oct. 8th2002

A fellow living at the turn of thelast century, who had spent hiswhole life in the desert, comes tovisit a friend who lived in a smallrural town. Since he'd neverseen a train, he's intrigued by the

railway crossing and stops to in-vestigate. Hearing the whistle ofan approaching train, he juststares in awe, and is struck.

Fortunately it was only a glanc-ing blow, and he survives with acouple of broken bones and somecuts and bruises. He's recovering

at his friend's house when sud-denly he hears a tea kettle boil-ing in the kitchen. Leaping to hisfeet, he grabs a baseball bat andproceeds to batter the kettle intoan unrecognizable lump of metal."Why'd you ruin my good teakettle?" his friend asks.

Making sure there are no moresounds coming from the kettle,the man replies "Man, you gottakill these things when they'resmall."

- How about something from theannals of history - and yes, I dotend to keep bits of old stuff lyingaround. From the Bell TelephoneNews, July 1966, entitled Any-thing's possible in Peoria!

It was just one of those days.Workmen installing a trafficlight in this large community ac-

cidentally cut an under-groundtelephone cable. Four telephonetrucks were dispatched to thescene. A passing motorist, at-tracted by all the activity, sloweddown his car and was struckfrom behind by a truck. The col-lision punctured the car's gastank.

Police saw the gasoline stream-ing all over the street and calledthe fire department. Firemen ar-

rived and flushed the gas off thestreet with their hoses. Thisturned the street into a sheet ofice, so the city salt truck wassummoned. The driver of thetruck drove into a nearby servicestation to turn around. Just then,the spreader attachment on thetruck fell off, the dump bed ofthe tuck went up and the wholeload of salt was deposited in the

middle of the station. A bit upset, the driver pulled away. Bhe forgot to lower the dump bewhich pulled down a string ooverhead electricity lines.

What was the next step? Everyone at the scene planned to crylot.

- From CTV's mid-morning scence show Daily Planethosted bJay Ingram and Natasha Stillwell

There has been yet another studinto the origins of "Mad Cowdisease. After extensive rsearch, scientists have discovered that the cows weren't realmad after all. They just ha"issues" to work through.

- From Ontario Farmer, Jan. 72003; Some technologically chalenged people

A customer at a local garagwatched a large motorhome bing towed in. The front of thvehicle was in dire need of repaand the whole thing looked likthe loser at a demolition derbHe asked the manager what hahappened. Apparently the driv

had set the cruise control, thewent in back to make a sandwich.

3. Honour LostJust when I though I had run shoof current topics, they, being thelites, gave me ammunition yagain.

I have come to the conclusiothese last few years that honour dead in the worlds of business an

politics. I was watching TV noon one day in mid-January, anboth CITY-TV and CHCH-TV hacall-in shows dealing with a recenmisadventure of B. C. PremiGordon Campbell. This worthhad just been charged with impaired driving whilst vacationinin Hawaii. There were two thingthat bothered me about his action(to date) following the incident an

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about the comments of the shows'hosts and callers.

First the TV shows. In "sampling"the two shows, it seemed to methat both the hosts and most ofthose who called in were missingthe main point about PremierCampbell's alleged infraction, and

his subsequent actions. There werecomments, and understandably so,about drunk drivers, and the per-sonal sad experiences of some as aresult of the actions these people.Then there were those who said, asserious as Campbell's alleged of-fence was, he shouldn't have tolose his position as that would betoo severe a punishment, and thathe had, after all, apologized. Theymade reference to other politicians,both current and historical, whowere also known to have imbibedto greater or lesser degrees. SirJohn A. MacDonald was men-tioned more than once. And sothings went on in a similar vein forthe rest of the two shows.

Then there was the reaction of thePremier. According to news re-ports, he has publicly made his actof contrition, stating that he willnot contest the charge, that he will

not drink again, and will seek ad-vice as to whether or not he shouldtake counselling regarding hisdrinking. He is said to have ex-plained that he was on vacation,had a few martinis before dinnerand some wine with his meal, andgot in his car and drove away with-out thinking. And that was aboutall.

So now to my main point. ThePremier is, in effect, the chief mag-

istrate of his Province, chargedwith, amongst other things, thegeneral direction of the administra-tion of the justice system therein.As such, he should set an examplefor others to follow. The offencewith which he was charged wouldbe a criminal offence in Canada,and to me it matters not that thecharge was laid in a foreign coun-try, in this instance the U.S.. If the

charge had concerned another seri-ous criminal offence, such as fraud,would his response, should his re-sponse, have then only consisted ofan apology and explanation?

Premier Campbell is alleged tohave committed what would be acriminal offence in Canada, and

which could have involved seriousconsequences if there had been acollision. His subsequent explana-tion is all but an admission of guilt,although a conviction has yet to beregistered by the court in the U.S.References to the drinking exploitsof "Old Tomorrow" as an excuseare not pertinent. Sir John A. didnot drive an automobile, nor oper-ate any other machine that I knowof, whilst "under the influence",and therefore was a danger only

unto himself. As for sympathy re-garding him losing his job, his sit-uation cannot be equated withsomeone in a lesser position, nor ina private occupation. His is thehighest position of public trustwithin his Province. So whatshould he have done? Or betteryet, what would the honourableman in his position have done? Tome, the answer is obvious. Heshould have submitted his resigna-

tion!

4. If a picture is worth a thou-sand words, then what's the value of a singleword? Listening to a recent radiospot for GM's "Goodwrench" serv-ice, it occurred to me that there's apropensity these days for using theword technician for what was pre-viously called a mechanic. This isto make the image of auto repair

more up-scale and modern, andtherefore "sell" more service, but italso has the effect of devaluing theolder term. The inference is that atechnician is clean, orderly anduses the scientific approach to di-agnosis and repair, and is superiorto a mechanic, who is greasy, dirty,disorganized, and has limited high-er brain function. 'Twas not al-ways thus.

The origin of the word mechanic(archaic mechanick) like machineand their variants, is from theGreek root mekhos, "contrivance".This noun and it's verb form "(to)contrive" carry the sense in Englishof, amongst other things,"invention", "mechanical device","inventive capacity", and in the

verb form, "to invent, devise","bring to pass", "manage", etc.. Bythe start of the Industrial Revolu-tion (late 17th and early 18th cen-turies), mechanick had come tomean not blacksmiths, as onemight think, who usually made andrepaired mechanical contrivancesand devices, but those who experi-mented with mechanical principlesand invented such apparatuses andmachines.

And their number is legion. Con-sider the following examples, inrough chronological order, whowould have been proud to bear theappellation mechanick; Newton,Wren, Sir Richard Arkwright (in-novative textile machinery), Watt,Benjamin Franklin, Trevethick,Stephenson (father and son), Fara-day (inventor of the dynamo orelectric generator, on which mod-ern civilization is based), and many

more. Even into the later 19th andearly 20th centuries, worthies suchas Eiffel (yes, the tower), Jose-phine Cochran (the mechanicaldish-washer), Edison, and theWright brothers (who were, in fact,bicycle mechanics) would not havebeen insulted if they had beencalled mechanics. Many such in-ventors were self-taught and werealso involved in related pursuits in-volving the principles of physics,such as architecture. Indeed, the

modern science of Physics owesmost of it's origins to these andother mechanicks, and no doubtAncient Greeks such as Archi-medes, inventor of the screwmechanism, would not have object-ed to bearing this title.

So an auto mechanic, in the truesense of the word, is in fact superi-or to an auto technician. The later

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teremerely uses computer diag-noses to make repairs in accord-ance with set procedures, there-fore being basically a computer-driven parts replacer. The truemechanic, on the other hand, notonly does that, but has theknowledge and skill to "invent",fabricate, and apply innovativesolutions to a problem, oftenborrowing or adapting remediesfrom non-automotive sources re-lating to machinery. And thoseof us who can remember automechanics from by-gone days,know that the more experiencedones could do just that!

5. Parting Shot

From watching several tapes ofthe 2002 Speed Touring series,it has occurred to me that, fromthe way Pierre Kleinubing andPete Cunningham keep runninginto people going into corners,their Honda Acuras must havereally poor brakes!

MCO General Meetings - 7PM, First Tuesday of every monthExecutive Meetings - 6:30PM, Third Tuesday of every month

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all are welcome!

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Warren Haywood showing his stuff at Winter Solo II Event # 1photo by Barry Goss

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February 2003

MCO Rally GroupReport, February 2003

Craig Hamm, Director

Already we have completed the firstevent of the 2003 road rally series,the Mississippi Valley Winter Rally(MVWR), which was converted to a

winter rally by the organizer after adate change and Mother Nature. Itwas a great event that ran out of Al-monte. This year the route was most-ly last year's route done backwards!After a week of steady snowing theroads were perfect and the snowbanks a little higher. Alan Ritchiewas the organizer and this year'srunning attracted 10 teams.

Again, there are some milestones toreport from one of our rallies. We

had the most checkpoints we haveever run, 16 checkpoints over 220km, and a ham radio operator at eachcheckpoint for total route communi-cation. Imagine the relief we feltwhen Cindy Armstrong showed upat just minutes before cars were toleave with her new rally scoring pro-gram. She was invaluable during therally, as was our radio net operatorMike Kelly (ve3ffk).

The Almonte Amateur Radio Lea-

gue showed up by the dozen, and foronce we had TOO MANY VOLUN-TEERS! Can you imagine, ME,saying that!!! Not only that, butthey all had fun, many volunteeredto do it again, and no doubt newfriendships will start to form. Wetried as much as possible to pair upclub members with radio people totrain them. As I opened the courseahead of the competitors I gave themcandy bars and MCO hats as a re-ward and thank-you for their efforts.

They were overwhelmed, and theywere all introduced to sanctionedmotorsport, while many MCO vol-unteers were exposed again to thebenefits of amateur radio. Also, forthe first time we used Time Allow-ances. Generally, they were used,mostly properly with good effect,and embraced by competitors. Wehad a team from Montreal, and ateam from Hamilton. Ryan Hubercame up from Toronto to navigate in

Ferdinand's Bimmer (and fierclycompetitive!). It seems that Ferd hasnow caught the rally bug, too. Alsoin the navigators seat was MikeKoch (1995 Cdn. Co-driver Cham-pion), and the team of Craig Seko(D) and Steven Carrick (N) beganworking on their team rhythm forthe 2003 Targa Newfoundland.

Again we had a capable sweep vehi-cle (Herb Henning) and course clos-ing team (Bennett Leckie and ?), and"route cops" to make sure the behav-iour of teams was appropriate inbuilt-up areas. Hats off to Jean Mc-Gillivray as Registrar, again.

Going into the event, there were atleast four or five teams that couldhave won. In the end Warren Hay-wood (D) and Steve Rioux (N) tooktop place in Expert and Overall,

while Martin Walter (D) and KenLagarec (N) took top place in Nov-ice. It was great to see "non-rallypeople" (Martin) PUMPED aboutrallying, and wanting to know whenthe next event was. I told you all itwas fun!

We are now seeing the effects of amaturing rally group in MCO. Twoor three years ago, teams ran in thefew MCO rallies, got results, andwent home. There were no protests

and few inquiries to the organisers.Now with a Series at stake, and amore experienced, active group, ourcompetitors have transformed frommeek-and-mild to highly observant,rule savvy rallyists willing, perhapseven eager, to stand up to the organ-izer should they see the slightestpossible error. This increased com-petitor maturity in the group is a bitof a pain when you're in the hot seat,but it is a good sign. The burden isshifting to the organizers to be ever

more knowledgeable about the rulesand how to handle problems. Nodoubt there will be more 'moments'during scoring as we had at the endof MVWR scoring. We have anoth-er year to learn more so please bepatient with your humble organizers(when it's 1:00AM. . . . ).

Our next event in the series is theLanark Highlands Winter Rally, 22

February, starting in Almonte again,and organised by Jim Morrow ([email protected]). This rally prom-ises to be more brisk than MVWR,and I hear some of the roads, severalwhich are new to our route book, areSTUNNING (on these roads youtrack guys won't think averaging 70kph is slow anymore). Again, this

will be a night time winter event, sodress for the weather, don't forgetyour (mandatory) safety triangle,your entry fee, and your valid mem-bership card.

This year should be interesting onthe performance rally front. I be-lieve we will have three to fiveteams racing this year. I hope theywrite some articles about their ad-ventures (nudge nudge). It lookslike we have about three teams en-

tering the 2003 Targa Newfoundlandrally, as well.

For years now Jaak, Jim, and myself,have been pushing hard to make ral-lying viable and visible in MCO. Ihave access to the membership list,and get the CARS rulebook. In theCARS rulebook there is a big list ofCanadian rally champions for eachyear, in each class. To my embar-rassment I only learned at the lastGeneral Meeting that one of our

members, Mike Koch, who intro-duced himself to me at the meetingis a long time Ottawa resident andthe 1995 Canadian Co-DrivingChampion (overall), and 5 time na-tional winner in Group 2. I only en-tered rallying in 1999 and never ex-pected MCO to have such a member,so I never investigated such a possi-bility. It turns out Mike has been a(quiet) member for about two yearsnow. And he navigated for Jaak atMVWR as each was looking for a

teammate at the 11th hour! Theyhad a lot of fun, and I want to finallywelcome Mike to our rally group.

Our monthly Rally Group meetingsare now on the last THURSDAY ofthe month, at the Emerald Plaza li-brary, at 6:30 pm. Only the day haschanged. Hope to see you there.

Craig

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February 2003

Rally Cars at Scrutineering for Tall Pinesphoto by Jaak Laan

Land of the Tall PinesBy Jaak Laan

Heading over to Bancroft in No-vember for the Tall Pines Rally has

become an annual pilgrimage forme. I'm not exactly sure why, butit has something to do with themixture of a particularly appealing

landscape of forests, lakes androcks, the very friendly people anda great variety of rally cars.

My pilgrimage this year started af-ter work on Friday afternoon. Inthe pouring rain I made my firststop at Gary's Radiator to get aslow Blizzak leak fixed. Just as Isat back in my car the rain startedturning to large wet flakes of sno-w many large wet flakes. Un-concerned and pleased with a re-newed comfort level in my tires, Istopped for some "fast food" whichof course took about 20 minutesjust to order. Frustrated but uncon-cerned, I ran to my car and headedfor the highway going West. I re-mained unconcerned and I poppedchicken nuggets while driving andfelt quite pleased with my non-messy menu choice and tried toforget my doctor's threats aboutcholesterol. The weather got nicer

with great gobs of snow comingdown and covering the road but Iwas now in traffic that had startedto stack up and slow down on thewestern Queensway.

I was making decent time on thedivided highway and leaving peo-

ple in my wake who must havebeen either cursing me as a fool orwondering what that tiny blacknon-macho car had that they didn'thave. Winter tires were my only

"secret".

As the weather got nicer the trafficslowed. When the divided high-way ended on #17 the trafficslowed even more. Long lines ofcars were sometimes moving at 20km/h. My GPS kept re-estimatingmy ETA until I was looking atmidnight on the illuminated dis-play. I had headed out that night

because I wanted to see therally cars at Scrutineeringat the Bancroft CanadianTire but it was becomingless and less likely that Iwould get there in time.The wet snow was reallycoming down and withoutthe other cars on the road I

would have been a happyrally aficionado.

At Renfrew I was mostlyliberated from traffic butstill came upon the occa-sional slow poke. One As-tro van in particular drove me nutsas the roads got windier and Icouldn't make a safe pass. But theGPS ETA was improving ever soslowly. There's one turn in theroad to Bancroft that always

throws my internal compass bear-ings completely off and my usualsecond guessing started this timetoo. Being pig headed about main-taining forward motion almost atall costs, I managed to scroll theGPS image bigger while trying todrive safely in the snowstorm and,if the satellite magic was to be be-lieved, my quick turnaround on thewrong road had been the rightchoice. More ETA challengethough.

Magically the nice weather disap-peared and I was left to dry pave-ment for about the remainder ofthe ride. There are some straightsthat allow for improved speeds andmy ETA started dropping quickly.First stop on the edge of Bancroftwas for gas and the nice lady cameout and pronounced that I must befrom Ottawa, as all the cars comingfrom there were covered in about

two inches of ice across their front.Nobody in Bancroft would havebelieved our weather story if wehadn't had this proof. Other thanclearing my lights I kept my ice onas a badge of honour.

I managed to sneak in the last bitof Scrutineering. At the 10 PMWorkers' Meeting I was over-whelmed by assigned responsibili-

ties for running stages for which Ihad forewarned I was not qualified.The stage information is wonder-fully organized into large enve-lopes and I at least held out hopethat with some study around mid-

night in my room I might pull offmy role.

The rally itself started off with avery early morning gathering of ateam of workers in cold but brightweather. We convoyed to ourstage leaving people at the start, atmarshalling points on the stage andthen at the finish control. RichardMuise and I managed to fall backevery once in a while on the stageroad in order to have some runningroom. Our sub-team worked to-gether figuring out our roles at thestage finish and everything ran likeclock work.

With the morning's work done westopped in at Service for some hotdrinks and to check out the cars.Our next work was later in the af-ternoon and into the evening on thefamous Castledine's Corner stage.The original sub-team we were part

of split up at different ends of thestage. Richard and I headed downthe narrow rutted stage road tomeet a stranger in the bush. It ishard to imagine the rally cars goingdown these roads at the speedsthey do when you drive the samestretch in your road car. Toughcars, tough drivers and tough navi-gators they are.

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The stranger in the woods wasn'tall that strange and with his daugh-ter made good company for usaround the campfire while we wait-ed for the stage to begin. In per-formance rallies there is a FlyingFinish and a Finish Control. At theFlying Finish the cars are still fly-ing and a lucky volunteer gets to

hide behind a rock or tree and blowthe whistle into the FRS radiowhen they cross the line sidewaysa few feet away. The marshals sit-ting at the Finish Control down theroad write down the time and handit to the team's navigator after thecar skids to a stop. For the first runthrough this stage I was the whistleblower and I was perched on a rockin the dark in a frozen swampabout 15 feet from the slide path ofthe rally cars. The amateur radio

net forewarned us when the stagewent "hot" so we knew they werecoming. I was sitting out there onthe rock in the dark in the frozenswamp by the side of the roadwhen I realized it was not so darkanymore. I could see shadows.But the light was coming fromabove and from the direction oppo-site to where the rally cars were tocome from. Lonely earthlingbeamed up for weird experimentswas all I could think. Then I start-ed to hear the up and down revvingof a very powerful rally car fromthe correct direction. Then thelight beams started to play againstthe sky. I realized that the ambientlight I had seen was reflection offthe low lying cloud from quite adistance as I got the light beforethe cars were close enough to hear.As they got nearer the bright whitemega watts of multiple drivinglight cut the darkness with laser

like beams dancing across the skyas they went up and down the hillsand around the corners.

The cars dashed off for a quickservice and then came back for thereverse run through Castledine's.This meant we worked the startnow. The drivers were positioning

themselves as best they could onspots on the snow covered roadthat they hoped would have moretraction as the surface becamemore and more polished. The cam-ber of the road meant that the backend of most cars slid towards us asthey powered away causing us tocalmly back step out of the way.TSN was filming us for awhile butwe didn't make the broadcast.

This year 19 MCO volunteer work-

ers participated at Tall Pines andwe even had MCO teams to watchin the event. We're making a realcontribution to the sport and hav-ing fun by participating. Check outwww.mco.org for rally info and alink to RallySport Ontario. Youjust might end up with your ownpersonal pilgrimage to the woods!

Above: Richard Muise Stands at the fly-ing finish of a stage at Tall Pines. Below:Road conditions meant for far from fa-

vourable visibility out the back window...photos by Jaak Laan

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March 2001February 2003

split their affiliation fees 50/50 betweenCASC and RSO. A brief discussionfollowed in which Bennett Leckieraised the question of the treatment ofmembers who hold licences form bothgoverning bodies.

Club AuditRon Woltman announced that, in accord-ance with the decision made at the 2002Annual General Meeting, an auditor has

been appointed and preliminary work isunderway. ( Sec. note: There has alreadybeen an informal preparatory discussionwithin the Executive which examined theLines of Authority and Accountability asset out in the Club's By-Laws, and the cur-rent Organisational Structure.)

Open WheelRick Miskiman advised members that li-cences and registered car numbers arenow due for renewal. Ron Woltmanraised the issue of the new requirement fortransponders, and Rick replied that he is

preparing a proposal that the Club pur-

chase a few for rental to members whohave not yet purchased their own.Club DisplayJean MacGillivray up-dated members onTV broadcast dates for the Targa New-foundland, and asked for new material forthe Club Display to keep it current and

provide fresh material on members' activi-ties and achievements. On this topic, Ri-

chard Muise announced that Cindy Arm-strong had received the CASC Official ofThe Year award.Solo IIIn the absence of Greg Kierstead, JeffGraves announced that a Competitors'Meeting will be scheduled for within thenext three months.

SpeedoramaBennett Leckie noted that we will need

someone to organise the Club's display atSpeedorama in mid-April.

Closed WheelRichard Muise briefed members on thefollowing:- There is an All Clubs Meeting coming

up soon.- Craig Hamm advised that he had re-

ceived expressions of interest in a BasicRacing/Rally Car Suspension Course,and asked if there was anyone whowould be interested in organising one.There was a brief discussion on the cur-rent availability of such information,

and the material which would be appro-priate for a basic course.- Regarding 2003 track events, Richard

advised that he had reasonably firmcommitments for 16 out of the required30 students for a Racing School, andgeneral expressions of interest from 12out of the 80 required entrants for a lap-

ping event. Ron Woltman also notedthat we had received a firm expression

of interest from VARAC for a RacingSchool for some of their members.

- Richard finally noted that he had beensearching for other tracks, but it is hardto find acceptable dates.

Ted Powell Summer Trophy RacesFollowing up on Richard's comments,Ron Woltman noted that there is not muchsupport for a 2003 race if there's a projec-tion of another loss, which is more than

likely. He then led a discussion on suchaspects as:o The profit/loss situation, con-sidering that last years race income wasincreased by the fees for the TransportCanada display, and the expenses were re-duced by workers not taking advantage oftheir subsidies.- Issues involved in increasing income

from paid admissions.- The Club's collective attitude to running

the event at a loss, considering such in-tangibles as the Club's image, etc.

- There was also some discussion on pub-licity and increasing the event's pressexposure.

TreasurerThere was no report due to the absence ofBob Benson, but Jean MacGillivray raisedthe question of the issuance of a cheque tothe Lanark Therapeutic Riding Programfor their portion of the proceeds from theLanark Highlands Rally. Ron Woltmanreplied that he would look after it.

The meeting was adjourned at approxi-mately 9:30 p.m. on a motion by NickMajors, seconded by Steve Greiner.

Prepared by John Powell, Secretary,MCO, January 11th 2003, amended Janu-ary 18th 2003.

Tel. 613.835.2910e-mail - [email protected]

What Springs To Mind 2 - Reboundby Sam Mandia

More interesting reading:

Winning - A Race Drivers Handbook by George A. AndersonRacing, The Drivers Handbook by Peter ScottDriving in Competition by Alan JohnsonRace Car Engineering and Mechanics by Paul Van ValkenburghDrive to Win by Mario Andretti and Gilbert Pednault (video)The Technique of Motor Racing by Piero TaruffiSports Car and Competition Driving by Paul Frere

General Rules to Follow:1) Have a solid base line and write things down2) Be prepared before you arrive at the track3) Take tire temperatures if possible4) Take segment times if possible5) Do not have excessive cross weights (corner )6) Make your own decisions - don't listen to too much advice

7) Have a game plan for the event or weekend8) Determine exact problems if possible9) Check suspension components (dead shocks, dead springs etc.)10) Set up car according to driver experience (too much oversteer etc.)11) Make only one change at a time12) Measure accurately13) Carry a consistent fuel load14) Have good driver crew communications15) Do not over drive the car16) Do not make BIG changes17) Understand the whole system18) Recognize changing track conditions19) Do not chase "old" tires20) Have fun

Pin-ups Wanted! HotBods Preferred!

If you have a favourite shot of yourcar that you'd like included in theMCO display, please contact me(Jean MacGillivray) at

[email protected]

256-0188

I am working on updating our dis-play for the upcoming season. It al-ways attracts attention, so be sure alleyes are on your car! Please contactme soon!

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February 2003

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Main Street Racing and AutomotiveParts, Performance and Service

INTERPROVINCIAL LICENSED MECHANIC *** MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION

Automotive Take It Back Partner - We recycle your Used Oil, Antifreeze, etc.P.O. Box 37, 2319 Community Way,North Gower, Ottawa ON K0A 2T0

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Agricultural "Sports Cars" . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

Minutes of General Meeting, January . . . page 6

Miscellaneous Rumblings II . . . . . . . . . . .page 7

Rally Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 10

Land of the Tall Pines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 11

What Springs to Mind 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . page 13

Table of ContentsFebruary 8, 2003

Rally Perce-Neige

February 9, 2003

MCO Winter Driving School

February 15, 2003

Ontario WInter Rally

February 16, 2003

MCO Winter Solo II Event #3

February 22, 2003


Lanark Highlands Winter Rally

February 23, 2003

MCO Winter Solo II Rain Date #1

February 27, 2003

Rally Group Monthly Meeting

March 1, 2003


March 2, 2003

MCO Winter Solo II Event #4March 4, 2003

MCO General Membership Meeting

Coming Events

Link 2003 02

Documents