Doo Wop Rally Memories 1996 

1996 Doo Wop coverage from the Dusty Times

Northwest Rally Report
by Jim Culp
 
New cars and new crews were the stars as the curtain went up on the 1996 northwest rally season, February 24/25 in Oakville, Washington.  The first two rounds of the Doo Wop rally series featured tight competition in almost every class and a return to the familiar gravel roads of the Capital Forest. 
 

Scott Fuller and Ben Bradley claimed the win in Doo Wop 1 and then went plowing
snow with the Rallye Golf at Doo Wop 2
 
Doo Wop 1 (Lucky Eagle Casino Rally)
 
One of those new cars, the Volkswagen Rallye Golf driven by Scott Fuller and Ben Bradley captured the opening Doo Wop event, the Lucky Eagle Casino Rally.  The Portland duo howled into the lead on the day's second stage and held on for the win.    
 
Howling is really the only way to describe the unique sound that precedes the supercharged 4WD VW as it storms through the woods.  Fuller and Bradley were first away from the Casino starting line, and after easing through some snowy patches on the first stage, they took the lead on the stage two just about the time the sun burned through the morning overcast. 
 
The Golf posted fastest time on half of the day's six stages, including a blazing run through stage three that left the competition far behind.  Fuller and Bradley zipped through the 43 stage miles in a time of 53:37, grabbing both the divisional 4WD trophy and the regional class one crown.
 
Janice Damitio and Amity Trowbridge in the Crazee Espresso Toyota Celica All-trac finished second.  The 1995 Divisional Runoff Champions accelerated over the late stages to narrow the gap and finished just 22 seconds back.
 
Only three seconds separated the second place Toyota from another VW, this one the two-wheel-drive Hartmann Motorsports Golf driven by Todd Hartmann and Kirk Knestis.  Their third overall was also good for the divisional under two liter class win. 
 
First in the over two liter class, and fourth overall were Ralph Kosmides and Joe Noyes in the Ruby's Restaurant Toyota Supra.  The Toyota supercar led the rally after stage one, but was slowed by the narrow and twisty forest road used for stages two and five.
 
Fifth overall, but first in the regional group 2 class were Gary Caffroy and Carolyn Russell in a Mazda RX3.  A one minute road penalty dropped the Monty Horn and Scott Simons Datsun 510 into second in class 2, sixth overall.  Seventh were Bill Nation and Erik Thompson in a flower covered Mazda RX7.
 
Eighth and ninth overall was the battle for the Rally Lite class crown, with Larry Furst and Mike Fenter, in a Datsun 210, edging Jack Horn and Eric Schild, in a Mazda GLC, by nine seconds. 
 
Tenth overall were Jack Brodhead and Jason McCarter in the new Jump'N Jack Espresso Toyota FX16.  Brodhead and McCarter's first outing with front wheel drive was a success as the pair captured the regional class three prize.
 
Twelve of the twenty starters made the run back to the Lucky Eagle Casino to finish the event.  Notable among the DNFs were Rick Beson and Tim Mealy in the 4WD Mazda Protégé.  Spluttering through the course, Beson dropped four minutes behind on the first stage and retired after stage two.
 
Chad Dykes and Bill Gutzmann were another DNF but only after putting an explanation mark next to the term gas guzzler when they ran out of that essential liquid less than 100 feet from the finish of stage one.  Since Dykes and Gutzmann were entered in the most unusual rally car this side of Dakar, there was no thought of pushing the Dave Turner Motorsports Cadillac Sedan de Ville up the hill to the finish. 


Janice Damitio and Amity Trowbridge were second in both Doo Wop 1 and 2.
 
Doo Wop 2 (Oakville Forest Products Rally)
 
Mastering the mechanical gremlins Beson and new co-driver Mealy captured the Oakville Forest Products Rally, the second round of the Doo Wop Series, in the Western Turbo 4WD Mazda Protégé.
 
An overnight snowfall made the first two stages a slippery adventure for the crews.  As the snow melted in the morning sun, the Portland based Protégé proved master of the changing road conditions.
 
Second once again were Damitio and Trowbridge in the Crazee Espresso Toyota, 25 seconds back at the finish.  Third were Fuller and Bradley in the VW Rallye Golf.  Starting first on the road, the Golf's skid plate made a nifty snow plow for the first stage run up into the white stuff 
 
Hartmann/Kneistis were the first two-wheel-drive car to finish, placing the Hartmann Motorsports Golf in fourth overall and first in the divisional under two liter class. 
 
Fifth and sixth positions were occupied by the regional class two battle between Horn/Simons and Caffroy/Russell.  This match-up also turned into the fight for the divisional over two liter title, with the Horn and Simons Datsun 510 coming from behind on the final stage to collect a narrow two second victory.
 
Dave and Rick Hintz survived a wild finish to win the novice class and take seventh overall.  The Hintz RX3 took the flying finish on the day's final stage in the ditch lining the road, then leaped across the road to collect the opposite ditch before collecting the class crown.
 
Nation/Thompson in the RX7 were eighth, followed by Kosmides/Noyes in ninth with the Ruby's Supra.
 
Tenth overall was the Rally Lite class winning Datsun 210 of Furst/Finter.  The Datsun crew edged John and Chris Forespring's Toyota Starlet by a single second to take the class win. 
 
Rally Lites are a Northwest Region class for cars with engines 1500 cc or less.  Modifications to both car and engine are limited.  Competition in the class tends to be tight and it's not at all uncommon to see Lites cars crack the top ten in northwest events.
 
Sixteen of the eighteen starters finished the second Doo Wop event.


Larry Furst and Mike Fenter slid up to first in the Rally Lite class.

Doo Wop National
by Jim Culp
 
Selcuk Karamonoglu teamed with Yorgi Bittner to capture the Doo Wop National, the second round of the Sports Car Club of America's Michelin Pro Rally Championship. 
 
Thirty cars lined up in the March sunshine for the start at the Little Creek Casino near Shelton, WA.  The start list included 13 entries for the national and 17 more for the Little Creek Divisional event held over the forest roads of western Washington.
 
At the finish the battle came down to two cars, with the Karamonoglu/Bittner production GT class Eagle Talon edging the Audi Quattro of Rui Brasil and Carlos Tavares by 31 seconds. 
 
Karamonoglu covered the Doo Wop's 11 stages in 1:52:36 to claim his first overall victory in an SCCA national event.  The Bath, Maine resident may be a first time winner, but he's no stranger to the podium, capturing three rally championships in his native Turkey and the 1994 Michelin GT class title.   
 
One time Ankara taxi driver Karamonoglu, sat out most of the 1995 season to spend more time with his family and figure out how to stuff the remains of his wrecked Mitsubishi Eclipse into a used Eagle Talon. 
 
Brasil's second overall put the rebuilt 300 hp Suntrips Audi at the top of the open class.  It was an impressive comeback for the San Jose crew, after a battle with a washout in the Ensenada Rally resulted in a bent frame, broken radiator, and rearranged suspension. 
 
Ralph Kosmides and Joe Noyes pushed the Ruby's Restaurant Toyota Supra Turbo to third overall and first in group 5.  The Supra was built specifically to contest the SCCA's new group 5 class for two wheel drive cars with large displacement engines.
 
The best battle of the rally was the scrap for fourth, fifth, and sixth.  The
group 2 class winners, Bill Malik and Renn Phillips brought the Valencia Volvo 240 home fourth, just seven seconds ahead of Dennis Chizma and Terry Stonecipher in the GT class Motor Sports Unlimited Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4. 
 
A one minute penalty on the first day of the rally, dropped Roger Hull and Sean Gallagher's Goodyear Eagle Talon well down the standings, but a spectacular string of quick times brought them up to sixth overall and third in GT, only 13 seconds behind Chizma's Mitsubishi supercar. 
 
Looking sharper than ever, the Retro Rally 1972 Datsun 510 driven by Mike Whitman and Kevin Linville slid home seventh overall and second in Group 2.
Finishing eighth were Lon Peterson and Bill Gutzmann in a slightly newer car, the 1996 Kia Sephia.  
 
The new Kia Motors entry was completed on the Tuesday before the Doo Wop weekend, so testing time was obviously limited.  A bent strut early in the event, was pounded "pretty straight" by Dave Wolin's crew, and Peterson limped to the finish to claim the production class title and 12 important championship points. 
 
Rounding out the finishing list with more than their share of hard luck stories were the George Pisek/Mark Rathsam Saab 99 Turbo, in ninth, and Rick Beson/Tim Sordlich, Norene Tire Mazda Protégé Turbo, in tenth.  Beson was dropped from third overall on day one after the imposition of a three minute penalty for speeding on a transit.  Both Pisek and Beson lost time on the second day with off course excursions.
 
Notable among the non-finishers were last season's GT class runners up, Janice Damitio and Amity Trowbridge.  Damitio's Crazee Espresso Toyota All-trac blew its engine on stage three.  Scott Fuller and Ben Bradley exited with a broken gear box after the Schnell Motor Technik 4WD VW Rallye Golf ran third fastest on stage one. 
 
The Doo Wop national is one of two partial points events that kick off the Michelin series.  The national is run concurrently with the last two rounds of the Doo Wop divisional rally series, a northwest tradition designed to provide both beginner and veterans with four pure stage format rallies that encompass all the refinements
of a national event. 
 
This year Doo Wop organizer Ray Damitio corralled sponsorship for the four divisionals.  The Little Creek event was run concurrently with the first seven stages of the Doo Wop national, while the US Bank rally was held on the second day over the final four national stages. 


The group 2 class winners, Bill Malik and Renn Phillips finished fourth overall.

Doo Wop 3 (Little Creek Divisional Rally)
 
Brasil/Tavares in the Suntrips Audi Quattro cruised to an easy 4WD victory on the Little Creek stages, topping the Ruby's Supra of Kosmides/Noyes by almost two minutes over the Simpson Timber Company's forest roads.  
 
The stages west of Shelton, Wa were fast, and attrition was high with only 16 of the 29 starters running at the finish. 
 
The Valencia Volvo of Malik/Phillips finished third, edging the Mitsubishi of Chizma/Stonecipher by five seconds.  With the exception of seed one driver Karamonoglu, all of the national entrants also entered the divisionals, so the names at the top of the finishing order look the same with one notable addition.   
 
There in fifth overall, only 36 seconds behind the Mitsubishi supercar were British Columbia's son/father team Scott and Robert Trinder in their well under two liter class RMT Contrack sponsored Suzuki Swift GTI, the first divisional only finisher.
 
The Goodyear Eagle of Hull/Gallagher finished sixth, Peterson/Gutzmann in the Kia were seventh, followed by Beson/Sardelich and Whitman/Linville.  Tenth overall was the second divisional only car, the Datsun 510 of Monty Horn and Scott Simons. 
 
Little Creek divisional class winners were Brasil/Tavares in 4WD, Kosmides/Noyes in O2, and Trinder/Trinder in U2.  Northwest regional class winners included Brasil/Tavares in class 1, and Horn/Simons in class 2.  Canadians Vic Harvey and Tony Latham captured the class 3 trophy in the neat University Mazda 323 GTX, with Jack Horn and Eric Schild topping class 4 in the Walt's Radiator Mazda GLC. 


Rick Beson and Tim Sardelich          

 
Doo Wop 4 (US Bank Divisional Rally)
 
Brasil/Tavares also captured the second day's US Bank divisional, but it was a much more competitive event, with only one minute separating first from fifth. 
 
Behind the San Jose Audi, Hull/Gallagher found new speed on the drier crowned Capitol Forest roads overlooking Oakville, Wa.  The Goodyear Eagle edged into second overall just four seconds ahead of Whitman/Linville's ageless Datsun 510.
 
Just seven seconds back, the Trinder/Trinder Suzuki claimed fourth overall, edging the Kosmides/Noyes Supra by another seven seconds.  Malik/Phillips were sixth in the Volvo, with Chizma/Stonecipher seventh, and Peterson/Gutzmann eighth.
 
Ninth overall, after a long night of repair work, were Todd Hartmann and Kirk Knestis in the Hartmann Motorsports VW Golf GTI.  Gary Caffroy and Carolyn Russell captured tenth in the Issaquah Tire Mazda RX3.
 
Twenty of the 22 starters completed the run to the finish line celebration at the Oakville Grange.  Divisional class winners were Brasil/Tavares 4WD, Whitman/Linville O2, and Trinder/Trinder U2.  Regional winners were Brasil/Tavares class 1, Caffroy/Russell class 2, Harvey/Latham class 3, and Horn/Schild class 4.


Dennis Chizma and Terry Stonecipher in the GT class Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4. 


Gary Caffroy and Carolyn Russell, Mazda RX-3