Car Rallies


After WWII, service men returning from Europe had learning something about driving agile sports car around curvy roads and wanted to resume the fun here. Many of them bought English roadsters like Triumph TR3’s, MGB’s or Austin Healy’s. A few stepped up to get Jaguar XK120’s or Aston Martin’s. Then they started clubs and putting together rallies. In the early days, this meant driving together to a restaurant, having a party, then driving back together. As time went on, the rallies became more complicated with timed checkpoints deciding who drove the most accurately.


The people who prepared the rallies added rules to make things more interesting. The sport became so popular that in the 50’s. that the LA area had 4 or 5 rallies a month and often more than 50 teams would show up to run. The rules kept getting more complex until some people were getting totally lost during an event. By the 1990’s the sport had cooled down, but there were 4 big teams in the LA and San Diego area. The Rally Master’s kept making the rules more complex and many new people who came out to try it, went home frustrated and angry. So, by 2020 most of the teams have folded and gone on to other interests.


The members of the Into the Night Rally Team have decided to start all over. We are putting together events that anyone, with any car, can easily run and go home with big smiles on their faces. All the complexity and traps and maps are gone and we are focused on having FUN! It feels really great to hit checkpoints right on time and have your smartphone give you the good news a few seconds after each one. It feels great to know all through the event that you might actually win!


The roads on the March 25th Ron Dunlop Trophy Rally are selected because they are exciting to drive with sights that will stick in your head for a long time. We avoid industrial parks, residential areas and traffic. We hate stop signs and speed bumps! You know where the checkpoint is going to be and what time to be there. Your Navigator isn’t working calculators or rally computers, they are enjoying the scenery too. If you love cars and want to have a great drive and meet other people who love the same thing, come out and join us.


For more info click here: http://www.itnrally.org


Paul McGaffey


Special trophies for this one!