1997 APRIL FOOLER RALLY

It was a few days after April Fools’ Day, and eleven hardy teams braved the blustery weather as well as cheap traps and bad puns in the rally that has become an annual spring event. There were several serious national caliber rallyists, four novice teams, and the usual gang of suspects. The rallymaster wore a particularly devious expression at the start - or was that a grimace because of the cold wind?

The traps started in the odometer check, and by leg two, the competitors were ready for anything - except perhaps the sight of other cars following a different course. Despite some reportedly heated discussions, everyone continued on to the control to find that odd numbered cars had one set of instructions, even cars had another.

The weather and the rallymaster’s sense of humor went downhill after that. Churches without spires, a control that wasn’t a control, and the ubiquitous phantom garbage truck added to the fun. (Did he say fun?)

In the end, some experience helped. Dave Fuss and Gary Starr caught - or ignored - all the traps for a first in Equipped class. Sarah Lenz took her second Unequipped class win in an April Fooler with the help of her nephew Jonathan Powell, running his first rally ever. In the Novice class, Dan MacDonald - without the Yellow Dog - and Pat Whitney surprised even themselves by taking first. Could Will in the back seat have helped?

It was not a fun day for the workers, but they performed flawlessly in the rain and cold: Beryl Ann and Emily Burton, Kerry and Karen Freund, and Tom Griffin. Special thanks to Beryl Ann, for help with the worst of the traps, and Emily for designing and building the trophies.

Driver/Navigator	Car#	Class	Leg 1	Leg 2	Leg 3	Leg 4	Leg 5	Leg 6	Total	OA/Class
Thompson/Rosevear	2	E	0	2	2	200	2	1	207	2/2
Carter/Winters	8	E	5	200	200	2	200	8	615	7/4
Kintigh/Niday	10	E	1	3	153	4	146	4	311	3/3
Starr/Fuss	11	E	0	4	1	1	1	1	8	1/1
Benson/Benson	3	U	0	7	200	10	200	139	556	5/2
Lenz/Powell	6	U	1	17	200	40	200	24	482	4/1
Winker/Johnson	9	U	3	1	200	36	200	146	586	6/3
MacDonald/Whitney	1	N	1	16	200	62	200	200	679	8/1
Bjorklund/Deselms	4	N	200	1	200	200	200	48	849	9/2
LaPlante/Bergman	5	N	200	200	200	200	200	18	1018	11/4**
Diocee/McClelland	7	N	77	136	178	200	200	200	991	10/3

Copyright 1997, Land O'Lakes Region.
Last revised: May 5, 1997