Doo Wop Rally
Memories 1998
1998 Doo Wop coverage from the
Dusty Times
Northwest Rally Report
Doo Wop 1 and 2
by Jim Culp
Familiar rivals returned to the top of the finishing order at the start of
the 1998 Northern Pacific Divisional rally season as Janice Damitio and
Amity Trowbridge claimed victory in Doo Wop 1 while Rui Brasil and Carlos
Tavares captured the crown in Doo Wop 2.
Janice Damitio and Amity Trowbridge, Doo Wop 1 winners.
Doo Wop 1
Damitio and Trowbridge claimed first overall in Doo Wop 1 after the Crazee
Espresso Toyota Celica grabbed the lead on stage two and held off all
challengers. The Washington ladies, the 1995 and 1996 Sports Car Club of
America 4WD divisional champs, returned to the top of the order with a
smooth drive through the Capital Forest near Olympia, Wa.
Damitio/Trowbridge grabbed the top spot on stage two, and held on as much of
the competition fell back with a variety of woes. In second, 28 seconds
behind Damitio’s 4WD Celica were Vance Walker and Karen Laylor in the
Kolorwerx Custom Paint Mazda RX3. That’s two second place finishes in
a row for the promising new Oregon team, a spot good enough for first in
the over two liter (O2) divisional class.
Todd Hartmann and Kirk Knestis dueled for the second spot in the colorful
under-two liter (U2) Intrax Suspension Technology Volkswagen Golf. The
Issaquah, WA team wound up third, but only four seconds behind Walker’s
Mazda.
A minute back in fourth were John Lane and Scott Huhn in the strong Cornwell
Tools Volvo 262. The Volvo claimed second in O2, seven seconds ahead
of Scott Fuller and Ben Bradley in the Schnell Motor Technik VW Golf, the
second U2 car to finish.
Sixth overall, and second in 4WD, were Jake Dekovic and Katie Callahan in
the Jim Adams Auto Clinic Mazda 323 GTX. That was just one spot ahead of
1997 4WD champs Tim Paterson and Joel Wright in the Falcon Racing 323GTX.
Paterson started the rally where he left off last season, 25 seconds ahead
of the pack after stage one. Then mechanical problems, and an on stage stop
for repairs, cost the Falcon Racing team five minutes on stage two.
Shawn Callahan and John Hake were eighth overall, and third in U2. With
engine roaring and front wheels spinning, that’s the best finish ever for
the Oakville, WA native in the Callahan Volkswagen Scirocco.
Todd Lengacher and Tina Warner were ninth in the TNT Motorsports Datsun 210,
followed by the Matt Sweeney Special Effects Ford Mustang with John
Forespring and Jiselle Waterhouse at the controls.
Three minutes of road penalties dropped Rick Hintz and Doug Chase out of the
top ten in the Extreme Rally and Race Datsun 240Z. Also back in
the pack were Rui Brasil and Carlos Tavares in the Audi Quattro S2.
The Audi finished more than 26 minutes behind the leader, but 24 of those
minutes were the result of a late arrival on stage one, after a small detour
to visit the stage one start for Doo Wop 2. Brasil and Tavares may have
started far behind, but they delivered a little message to the field when
they posted the fastest time on the final stage.
There were 20 finishers out of 27 starters in the year’s first event.
Notable among the DNFs were Doug and Dave Schrenk in a Scandia Saab 900 out
with turbo failure after an eventful rally. Slowed with mechanical
problems on the first two stages, the Schrenks stormed back to post the
fastest time on stages three through five, but then ran out of boost on the
final stage.
Damitio and Trowbridge also claimed the Northwest region’s class one, with
Walker and Laylor winning the class two crown. Noah Third and Jason
Lane captured regional class three in the Hot Water Performance VW Rabbit.
Doo Wop 2
Brasil and Tavares arrived at the start on time, avoided costly penalties,
and flew home first overall in Doo Wop 2. The San Jose, Ca.
based Audi team posted the fastest time on each of the rally’s first four
stages before slowing to cruise through the final stage and collect the
victory trophies.
Schrenk and Schrenk in the Scandia Autosport Saab were second, 20 seconds
behind. With their repaired turbo generating plenty of power, the pair
challenged for the overall win, but settled for second overall and first
among the 2WD entries.
Close rallying was the rule in the pack. The 1997 U2 class champions,
Hartmann and Knestis picked up another third overall and another U2 class
win in the Intrax Golf GTI, just five seconds ahead of Paterson and Wright
in the 4WD Falcon Racing 323 GTX.
Fuller and Bradley were again second in U2 class, fifth overall in the
Schnell Golf GTI and only five seconds ahead of Walker and Laylor in the O2
Kolorwerx Mazda.
The Racetech Safety Equipment Volvo of Lane and Huhn finished seventh, three
seconds ahead of Damitio and Trowbridge in the Celica. The Doo
Wop 1 winners lost ground running with no clutch and loosing gears as the
event ran on. Dekovic and Callahan were ninth in the 4WD Mazda, with
Callahan and Hake tenth in the Scirocco.
Regional class winners included Brasil and Tavares in class one, Callahan
and Hake in class two, Mike Leonard and Leon Owens in the Scandia Autosport
Saab 99 in class three, and Mark Wilkie and Brian Frabenburg in class four
with Bry’s VW Rabbit.
There were 22 finishers out of 24 starters, but the two DNFs suffered enough
tough luck for everyone. Hintz and Chase took the Datsun off the road at
speed on stage one and clipped the biggest Cedar tree in sight. The
600 year old Cedar shrugged, and the 240Z’s going to need a lot of work.
Mike Mailman and Shelly Kruse had a bruising weekend with the Titanium
Racing VW Golf, clipping a tree on Saturday and rolling on Sunday.
Doo Wop organizer Ray Damitio scheduled some great weather for rally’s
return to the Black Hills of the Capital Forest. The Forest is part
of the state trust lands managed by Washington’s Department of Natural
Resources. Timber sales from this working forest fund school
construction in the state, while hikers, campers, cyclists, and rally
drivers enjoy the recreational activities the forest provides.
Rui Brasil and Carlos Tavares in the Audi Quattro S2
were the Doo Wop 2 winners
Northwest Rally Report
Doo Wop 3 and 4
by Jim Culp
Vance Walker and Karen Laylor parlayed a first place finish in Doo Wop 3 and
a second in Doo Wop 4 to claim the 1998 Doo Wop Series crown, while Rui
Brasil and Carlos Tavares grabbed the top spot in Doo Wop 4 for their second
Doo Wop win of the season.
The Doo Wop Series is a four round fixture that opens the Sports Car Club of
America Northwest Region’s rally season. Organizer Ray Damitio and a
team of dedicated volunteers combine a tight schedule, new and challenging
stage roads, with a healthy dose of Southwest Washington hospitality to
create an event that’s fun for drivers, crews, and fans. This year
Damitio must have been talking to all the right people, because even the
weather seemed to be in tune with the Doo Wop beat.
Vance Walker and Karen Laylor
Doo Wop 3
While the Doo Wops provide fun for all, Walker and Laylor clearly enjoyed
themselves the most, sliding the Kolorwerx Mazda RX3 to victory in Doo Wop
3. The Newberg, OR couple edged the Light Performance VW Golf
GTi of Dave White and David Watts by 19 seconds to take the trophy.
Third overall were last month’s Doo Wop 1 winners Janice Damitio and Amity
Trowbridge in the Crazee Espresso Toyota Celica. Damitio and
Trowbridge claimed the 4WD class, finishing only eight seconds behind White
and Watts, the U2 class winners.
Scott Fuller and Ben Bradley were fourth overall in the Schnell Motor
Technik VW Golf GTI, followed by Ralph Kosmides and Joe Noyes in Ruby’s
Toyota Supra.
Garen Shrader and Doc Shrader spent the winter in West Memphis, AK building
a Ford Sierra Cosworth, but the car wasn’t quite ready so they rented the
Mitsubishi Galant that carried them to sixth overall. Seventh were
John Lane and Scott Huhn in the Racetech Safety Volvo 262.
Shawn Callahan and John Hake in the Water Jet Tech VW Scirocco finished
eighth to claim the regional class two title, just edging out Todd Lengacher
and Tina Warner in the TNT Datsun.
Mike Leonard and Leon Owens in a Scandia Saab 99 turbo captured the regional
class three crown with a tenth place finish. Another Scandia Saab,
early leaders Doug and Dave Schrenk, dropped out with motor miseries.
Jack Horn and Monte Horn take the road to Brooklyn.
Doo Wop 4
Brasil and Tavares captured first overall in Doo Wop 4 with the Espirito
Santo Audi S2. The slick 4WD Audi broke a wheel on Saturday and
dropped out of Doo Wop 3 and the Doo Wop national event. Overnight
repairs put them back in the field for the Sunday divisional.
Brasil and Tavares posted the fastest time on all four stages to build a 47
second lead over Walker and Laylor at the finish. Brasil also claimed
last month’s Doo Wop 2 crown. Walker, Laylor and the Kolorwerx Mazda team
did claim their second O2 class win of the weekend with their second place
finish.
White and Watts were third overall and first in the U2 class, but only ten
seconds ahead of Fuller and Bradley who again finished fourth. Lane and Huhn
smashed through the woods to claim fifth, just ahead of Kosmides and Noyes.
Seventh overall were Jake Dekovic and Katie Callahan in the colorful State
Farm Mazda 323 GTX. The Sirocco of S. Callahan and Hake again claimed the
regional group two crown, eighth overall, a single second ahead of the
group three winners Mike Mailman and Shelly Kruse in the Titanium Racing VW
Golf.
Lengacher and Warner in the TNT Datsun finished tenth overall as 26 of the
28 starters finished the second Doo Wop.
Walker and Laylor slipped into the Doo Wop series lead with the win on Doo
Wop 3, and extended their advantage on Doo Wop 4. Damitio and
Trowbridge held on to the second spot while Fuller and Bradley used their
two fourth place finishes to climb into third place.
Doo Wop National
1998 Michelin PRO Rally Championship
by Jim Culp
Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker started the 1998 Michelin PRO Rally
Championship just the way they’ve finished the last six seasons, in first
place.
Washington state was the host for the opening round of new rally season and
Choiniere and Becker, in the Libra Racing 4WD Hyundai Tiburon, dominated
the Doo Wop national from wire to wire, finishing six minutes and 29 seconds
ahead of runners up Dave White and David Watts.
Dominate is the only word that begins to describe what the defending
national champions did at the Doo Wop National. Start with stage one, called
“Roundtree,” it’s a tidy little run up North Rim in the Capitol State Forest
near Olympia. There are five miles of twisty gravel roads running up the
hill for a great view of Summit Lake, and a 600 foot drop to the valley
below. For Choiniere and Becker the trip lasted five minutes 52 seconds, and
when the stage was complete they were 20 seconds in front.
There was no need for a rear view mirror in the Hyundai shark, because
Choiniere never looked back. He added 34 seconds to the lead on stage two,
and another 35 seconds on stage three. Dominate is the word.
Choiniere and Becker posted the fastest time on each of the first nine
stages.
That’s every stage except the last one.
The final stage on the Doo Wop was the run down from Brooklyn Tavern, on the
road Becker called “the best rally stage in the country.” This stage
featured everything from tight uphill corners to fast downhill straights,
with a narrow wood plank bridge near the start just to keep things
interesting. Only a mile from the finish Choiniere came into a quick
off-camber left-hander carrying too much speed. He spun the car to a
stop about thirty feet from the 200 foot drop down to Kellogg Creek.
The spin cost them the fast time on the stage, but the delay was momentary
as the Hyundai artfully carved a “donut” in the gravel and Choiniere and
Becker blasted on down the road to Oakville and the victory.
Carl Merrill and Lance Smith in the Norseman Resorts Ford Escort
Cosworth won that last stage, but it was small consolation for the team
tabbed as the most likely to challenge the Libra Racing juggernaut. The 410
horsepower 4WD Escort finished well back, in fourth overall, after suffering
turbo problems and loosing six minutes on the run through the Montesano City
Forest on stage eight.
Open class cars like the Tiburon and the Escort have familiar names, and
familiar shapes, but they also have 4WD, turbo charged engines, interesting
multispeed gearboxes, and almost every trick known to suspension tuners.
Behind the Hyundai Motors of America flagship, Dr. White, the fastest
dentist in Benicia, CA, and Watts pushed the Light Performance Works
Volkswagen Golf GTi to second overall and the Group Two class win. For the
record, group two is a class for modified 2WD cars with displacements less
than 2.4 liters. White’s spectacular drive in the limited horsepower VW was
a Doo Wop highlight.
Oregon’s Scott Fuller and Ben Bradley finished a minute and a half behind
White and Watts. Fuller’s smooth drive was good enough for third
overall and second in Group Two with the Schnell Motor Technik VW GTI.
Behind Merrill and Smith were Ralph Kosmides and Joe Noyes in Ruby’s lovely
Toyota Supra. The 1996 runners up in the Group Five class, Kosmides
and Noyes returned to competition and finished fifth overall, claiming the
class title for Toyota. Another Group Five car, the battered Racetech Safety
Equipment Volvo 262 of John Lane and Scott Huhn finished sixth. Group
five is a class for 2WD cars with open engine, transmission, and suspension
options.
Two more northwest crews claimed seventh and eighth, with Shawn Callahan and
John Hake in the Water Jet Scirocco ahead of Production GT class winner
Hairpin Racing’s Lee Shadbolt and Paul Eklund in the Royal Moore Subaru
Impreza.
Production GT is the “showroom stock” class for 4WD cars. Second
place in this class were Karen Burrows and Sean Gallagher, ninth overall in
the Precision Technical Services Mitsubishi Galant.
A couple of other northwest entries swept the production class awards.
Maybe the most experienced co-driver in the field, John Elkin, looked pretty
smooth doing the driving, as he teamed with Tim Dutton. Elkin
and Dutton came from behind on the second day to grab the class win in
Elkin’s Mitsubishi pick-up. Trevor Donison and Eric Schild finished
second in class, a minute behind with the Northwest Consulting Plymouth
Neon. Production class cars are stock with only the safety
equipment added.
San Jose’s fastest Audi, the slick S2 Quattro of Rui Brasil and Carlos
Tavares had been expected to challenge for the lead. The new car blues
struck again, putting the Espirito Santo car out of commission with a broken
wheel on the second stage.
As the first event of the season, the Doo Wop National drew spectators from
around the U.S. and Canada. They got to see some great action in the
Capitol State Forest, a working forest managed by the Washington Department
of Natural Resources, the Montesano City Forest, and on Grays Harbor
County’s Oakville-Brooklyn Road.
So Choiniere from Shelburne, VT takes the early lead in the Michelin
Championship, right on course for a record breaking seventh straight
national title. His car owner, and step father, John Buffum is the
only other driver to win the rally crown six times in a row.
Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker spin on the
Brooklyn-Oakville Road but still win the Doo
Wop National.