Early Entry Deadline

The early entry deadline is Monday, November 21.  Please contact the registrar today if you are planning on entering and want to be eligible for the early entry fee.

2011 Big White Winter Rally and SnowX Open For Entries!

Entries are now being accepted for the stage rally and snowX.  Please see the Documents page for regulations and forms.  Register early as entries are limited, and please contact jennifer@rallybc.com with any questions.  See you in December!

Big White Winter Rally 2011 Event Summary

From draft supplementary regulations:

The Big White Winter Rally is a reconnaissance performance rally consisting of special stages, transits and a rallyX style super special. The total length of the event will be approximately 220 km, with approximately 130 km of special stages (overall percentages: 58% stage, 42% transit). Stage road surfaces will be ice and snow covered gravel.  Studded tires are permitted; however, they must be street legal and no ice racing tires are allowed.

The stage routebook will be very elementary; therefore, recconaissance is very strongly encouraged.  The Big White Rally is a reconaissance WINTER EVENT.  This is not a rally that can be driven blind, and no detailed stage notes are provided.  Teams must be prepared for exposure to cold and snow.  Warm clothing and other basic winter amenities should be stored in the rally cars, so that drivers and codrivers can keep warm if they are stuck on stage.  Service crews need to be adequately prepared for outdoor service as well.

There is no fuel available at the resort, and teams must leave Grand Forks or Kelowna with all the fuel, including for recce and service crew, that the team will need for the weekend.

Early entry closes November 21st at midnight.  Full supplementary regulations to follow.

Stage Condition Update – Recce Friday

The stage roads were plowed on Thursday.  Bullet Stage is an ice rink with snow cover.  All the stages are slippery.  The snowbanks are SOFT and should not be relied upon to redirect momentum.  There is brush extending onto the stage road on the Gem Lake Stage, which will be evident on recce but should be cleared by rally day.

 

The stage rally start order has been posted:

START ORDER

 

Link to current weather conditions HERE.

Big White Rally Weekend in the News

The Daily Courier ran a feature article on the local Rally4Life Team and the Big White Rally Weekend on November 20.  Link to the pdf HERE.  Thanks to the Daily Courier and all the 2010 event sponsors for helping us bring rally to the Okanagan.  The photos from the article were not credited, and credit is due to Kris Schofield – istaphoto.com.

A printed spectator guide will be available in the December 1 eVent Guide edition of the Daily Courier.

Best Treatment for Rally Withdrawal? More RALLY.

With the 2010 Pacific Forest Rally in the history books, the Big White Rally Weekend will be the next rally fix in BC.  The call for volunteers will be out soon, followed by regulations.  We are looking especially for some 4×4 owners who can help with course closing and scrutineers to inspect the rally cars.

As a break from all the paperwork, the rally weekend organizers took to the air recently in search of new roads for the winter stage rally.  The Gem Lake stage, a favourite of the rally teams who came to the first annual event, looks as fantastic from the air as it does from behind the wheel of a rally car:

Gem Lake Stage Hairpins, Aerial View

Now all it needs is a lot of snow!  Are there any rally teams who might try to improve their pacenotes using this photo?  Volunteers and competitors should watch the site for more info in the next week.  We’d love to see 20 rally teams at the event this year.  Contact jennifer@rallybc.com with any questions regarding the Big White Rally Weekend.

2010 Big White Rally Planning Underway

Here we go!! Initial road scouting for the 2010 edition of the Big White Winter Rally has begun.  The rally is scheduled for the tentative opening weekend on the hill again this year, so everyone coming up for the first day will see the rally and snowX cars in action.  The Big White Winter Rally has been added as the final event in the Pacific Northwest Rally Championship, a US regional series.

More to come… soon!

World Rally Sport Big White Video

Another awesome compilation! Many thanks to World Rally Sport for coming out and putting this together. See it in HD on YouTube!

2009 Big White Rally Weekend Video

Compilation of photos & video from the Big White Rally Weekend – Dec 4-6, 2009 from in and around Big White Ski Resort, south of Kelowna, BC.

Photography & Videography by Louis Prussner, Matthew Bean, and Chris Martin.

Updated to HD version, Jan 13. Click here to view in HD.

Big White Winter Rally Final Results

1. Onur Tezcan (BC) / Aaron Neumann (BC) 1991 Subaru Legacy Turbo, red (car 5) 1:04:01.1 PGT

2. Hardy Schmidtke (AB) / Adam Vokes (AB) 2002 Subaru WRX, wrb (car 1) 1:04:39.2 PGT

3. Tibor Kertes (AB) / Sebastian Fudalej (ON) 1992 Toyota Celica GT 4, white (car 8 ) 1:13:05.8 OPEN

4. Craig Ross (BC) / Dan Norkus (ID) 1990 Eagle Talon, white/blue (car 6) 1:20:31.7 OPEN

5. Mark Jennings-Bates (BC) / John Hall (AB) 2004 Subaru STi, wrb (car 2) 1:27:39.7 OPEN

6. Graham Bruce (AB) / Christa Monasch (AB) 2002 Subaru WRX, black (car 4) 1:44:04.1 OPEN

7. Kris Dahl (WA) / Don Burress (WA) 1988 Honda Civic, orange (car 7) 2:10:28.6 G2

8. Quinn Morley (WA) / Jesse Parkerton (WA) 1975 Saab 99EMS, black (car 9) 2:17:38.6 G2

DNF Eric Grochowski (AB) / Leanne Junnila (AB) 1996 VW Golf, orange/black (car 3) engine detonation G2

 

Big White Winter Rally Overall Podium, with Blair Ireland, Big White’s Director of Guest Services