December 7, 2007 .... RallyCross at Autodrome St-Eustache
I woke early this morning and traveled the one and a half hours to St Eustache in Quebec, to see an unexpected addition to my 2007 racing season. Since my trip to Middletown NY for the Eastern States Weekend, I've been taking it easy waiting for the winter ice racing to start. A couple of days ago, I happened to be surfing the internet and came across a RallyCross taking place this weekend , not far from home.
The first of three events in 'La Super-Serie De Rallye Cross CADSI 2008 ' was at the Autodrome St Eustache . St Eustache is a town situated a short distance north of Montreal and during the regular season the track hosts NASCAR sanctioned stock car racing. I'd seen racing on the oval before, but this was the first time I'd been there for a RallyCross .
There were quite a few cars in attendance with the majority being Subaru's, many of which had been driven to the event by their owners. There were two tracks in use, one which utilized part of the regular oval and the other which used the extended area of the facility which consists of a long straight which goes out into the 'countryside'. Both tracks were covered in snow following a late November 'dump' of the 'white stuff'.
The North American way of doing RallyCross is a lot different to the way I'm used to it being done in Europe. Instead of four cars racing wheel to wheel for a handful of laps, they race solo against the clock, one car at a time. It's more of a participation thing for the individual driver rather than an exciting spectator sport. Everyone seamed to be enjoying themselves, and it was definitely more fun to watch than some of the time trials I have to endure at the big races I attend. I must admit, I wouldn't mind giving it a try myself.
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