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Peachland, BC, Canada — The local Prescribed Burn Stage Rally Team will be at the Big White Ski Resort this weekend, enjoying the early season conditions and practicing for the upcoming rally season. The team is part of the first Big White Rally Weekend, beginning on December 6 with a Rally Test Day for stage teams, and ending on December 7 with a RallyX for the general rally community.

On Saturday, stage rally teams from around the province will be testing their rally cars and honing their winter driving skills on one of the local forest roads. The rally cars expected at the test day have all seen competition at the regional or national level; they are caged and modified for safety and performance, but still production based. The drivers and codrivers will spend the early morning driving the stage carefully, making pace notes to be read back to the driver at speed. Known as reconnaissance, or ‘recce’ this is an essential part of rally in Canada and in the World Rally Championship, and the test day provides a rare opportunity to create and test notes outside of the competitive environment. After recce, the fun begins on the closed stage: one by one the rally cars
will test the limits of speed and snow, driving until the daylight fades.

On Sunday, the test day rally teams will compete alongside regular cars, against both first time competitors and serious drivers from other motorsport disciplines, in the Big White RallyX. The Gem Lake parking lot will be converted into a timed, tight, technical course that will require driving skill and maximize driving fun. The rallyX format is spectator friendly; there will be an identified safe area from which all the perfect turns and sideways action can be seen.

Kelowna members of the West Coast Rally Association are organizing the weekend, with support from members on the coast. Organizer Jennifer Daly points out that crossover between winter rally and skiing or snowboarding is becoming prevalent in extreme sports media, making a resort location a logical choice for local event: “It’s a fun opportunity to showcase the thrill and challenge of rally, and it would not have been possible without the cooperation of Big White. The combination of events we’re offering this weekend will include both established teams and total newcomers, and I think bring these two groups together is excellent for rally.”

Event regulation and registration are available on the rallybc website, and videographers or photographers wishing to access the test day course should contact Mark or Jennifer (see below).

Big White Rally Weekend SCHEDULE

Saturday, December 6 – Stage Rally Test Day, Big White FSR

08:00 - Registration and Parc Expose
08:30 - Recce
10:00 - Official Start
Dusk - Stage Closes

Sunday, December 7 – RallyX, Gem Lake Parking Lot

08:00 - Registration, Scrutineering
10:00 - Official Start
Dusk - End of Runs
16:30 - Results & Awards (time is approximate)

Event Contacts

Jennifer Daly: dalyjennifer (at) gmail.com
Dave Hood: davehood (at) telus.net
Mark Jennings-Bates: mark (at) pbrteam.ca

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Source: Prescribed Burn Rally Team, www.pbrteam.ca, Courtesy of Mark Jennings-Bates
Image Copyrights: PBR Team/Mark Jennings-Bates
Photo: PBR Team kicking up snow!

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