Less then a week away from HDT 2011!

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Kris

Final preparations are in the works for the High Desert Trails Rally 2011! The Rally-Tire.com lanyards are ready to go. Streetwise Motorsports will be delivering some awesome vinyl headers to us on Monday and we’ll be picking up more then twice the number of T-shirts we had last year. By now captains have been in contact with their teams, and documents and copies continue to flow off our printers. If for some reason, you have not been contacted – let us know!

With 28 cars on the start list we appreciate the help of all our volunteers! Our competitors have made appointments for Friday tech, and this should make the process go smoothly. We filled the SpringHill Suites this year, and we’ll have the main conference room for registration on Friday and Saturday morning. Directions to the stages have been printed out and will be available to you in registration on Friday night in Ridgecrest.

We are really excited and can’t wait to see all of you this coming weekend!
– Kris & Christine

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Explanation: No RallyMoto Entries at HDT 2011

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Kris

Unfortunately we didn’t get any RallyMoto interest before early entry had closed (March 8th) and we already had 32 cars on the sign-up list. We opened all the spots up for cars as detailed in our supplemental regulations. We will not be running RallyMoto bikes this year and here’s why: When we run bikes, we run a separate sweep just for them. This ensures your safety, but adds about 20 minutes to the running of each stage (regardless of the number of bikes – even for just 1 bike) so adding a single bike to an event with 20 cars makes it like running 25 cars. Our 30 car limit has to do with the time it will take to run the stages. Originally we had it open for 20 cars and 10 bikes. We were expecting about 16-18 cars and 4-5 bikes – that would have brought us to about 6:30PM. With 29 cars and 1 bike we’d be out there way past sundown.

What does this mean for RallyMoto? Sign up as soon as you can for the next RallyMoto event, and let the organizers know early that you plan to run it!

We appreciate your understanding.
– Kris

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FULL FIELD OF COMPETITORS FOR HDT 2011!

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Kris

The High Desert Trails Rally will be in less then two weeks on Saturday, April 9th, 2011 based in Ridgecrest, California. California Rally Series competitors asked what they wanted and HDT answered this year with great new roads, a single day event, and organizer supplied stage notes. The big twist this year is there will be no familiarization lap or reconnaissance, so every driver will be seeing these roads at speed for the first time. A blind rally is a true test of team ability.

Teams immediately stepped up to that challenge by taking the twenty reserved car spots, and when RallyMoto entries failed to appear, the organizers moved swiftly to reallocate those spots, maxing the event at thirty cars. Notable entries for this years rally include: Top drivers, Doug Chernis and George Plsek, who will each be piloting AWD turbo monsters, but Bill Holmes will also be pushing for the overall win in his powerful RWD Ford F-150 – having won this event in the past. In CRS-2, last years winner, Gaylord Van Brocklin, (pictured) will be defending against the very consistent George Doganis. Don’t be surprised to see any of these drivers on the podium.

The route will take competitors up twisty switchbacks and over ridgelines of hard-packed, wide, dirt roads. This is followed by a fast flowing route that rises up out of a valley and descends sharply onto a short section of tarmac. Over sixty miles of stages with a one hour service stop should make a great day of rallying!

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Update – Host Hotel Group Rate

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Christine

As of 8:20 AM on 3/25:  The SpringHill Suites Marriott is almost completely full with maybe 4-5 rooms left.

If you still need to make reservations:
* Call (760) 446-1630 and ask for Taylor – She will book it under the rally rate if they have rooms available.

If you didn’t get the rally rate, but booked a room:
* Call (760) 446-1630 and ask for Taylor – She will change it to the rally rate.

If the host hotel fills, the Hampton Inn (760-446-1968) directly across the street is another option.

There are many additional hotels in Ridgecrest to choose from with rates ranging from $50-$150 per night.

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Map of Ridgecrest

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Kris

Here is a quick Google Map of Ridgecrest. We’ve highlighted our locations in town and some local spots for gas and rally needs. The tow directions to service will be available to the crews on Friday in registration. It will take approximately 45-50 minutes to get to service from Ridgecrest. Volunteers should plan to leave for the stages from the hotel Saturday morning at 7:30am. Competitors should plan to leave no later then 8:00am.

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Calling all volunteers!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Kris

In order to put on a great rally, we need great volunteers! This year we have new roads and a new location outside of Ridgecrest, which means we’re going to need lots of people working the stages.

Volunteered at a rally before? We need your experience! 😀
Never volunteered? Let us make you part of a great control team! You’ll be right in the middle of the action. Taking time cards from competitors, timing rally cars as they finish the stage, you will help the event happen!

We heart our volunteers and make sure they get fed (provided waters and lunch), get a cool event T-Shirt, and have a great time at HDT! Click here to get signed up as a volunteer for the High Desert Trails!

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HDT Entries Update

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Kris

We are really excited about HDT 2011. The California Rally Series competitors have come out in force for the event. We have over thirty cars on the sign-up list and 25 have already secured their spot on the starting line. With entry numbers like these – we need to remind you that: Because of schedule and permit reasons, we are only starting 30 vehicles. That means that if you have not yet completed your entry, there are only 5 spots left as of this post. Due to the overwhelming number of car entries we have suspended CRS-Moto entries at this time, as detailed in the supplemental regulations regarding total number of entries accepted.

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Early entry deadline approaching fast!

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Kris

Your last chance to secure your early entry and alumni pricing for High Desert Trails 2011 will be Tuesday, March 8th!

Over 20 teams are already on the list and the rally will be limited to 30 vehicles. Your entry is not considered complete until payment is received!

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