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any V guys up for a 3day rally?

2K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  thebigjimsho 
#1 ·
http://www.newenglandrally.com/

I've been reading up on it and I might be signing up for this. I figure I share it with some of you local guys to the area.
 
#2 ·
They need to spend a little time on that website...

I feel like I just teleported to 1999 with that website.

I just watched Truth in 24 a documentary about Audi 2008 at Le Mans and that got me all jacked up.

That rally looks like a good time, but too far a drive for me to get there. Good luck.
 
#3 ·
:histeric:

Id like to but MOD hell scares me!! :hide:
 
#4 ·
I don't get why it costs $600. The most you can win is your money back.

:thumbdown:
 
#5 ·
Don't waste your money!!!!!!

I drove in the 07 and 08 New England Rally. The first year was kind of fun, enough that I came back to see if 08 would be any better.
The 2008 NER was a complete waste of my time and money. I will try to keep this breif, but if you want further details, please PM me.

The $600 entry fee gets you:
-Finger sandwhiches and sodas for lunch on day 1
-Cold wings at Hooters for dinner on day 1
-A $200/night hotel room
-A buffet dinner on the over night
-A catered BBQ lunch at the final check point
That is quite litterally it.

The $600 entry fee is low enough to attract a lot of young and immature drivers who want to fulfill their Gumball fantasies and they are blatantly wreckless. I spent much of the rally away from the group, driving with 3 other guys who I trusted. Any time I was "with the pack" I saw breakdown lane passes, people getting cut off, and at one point another rallier in a G35 swerved in front of me to make an exit and he almost hit the side of my V.

There is much talk of the "rally spirit" and helping eachother out while on the open road. My friend got a flat tire on his GT3 in the middle of nowhere. Myself and 2 other teams stopped to try and help him out. Sean (the rally organizer) called and told us that because we weren't staying with the "group" that we were being disqualified! He demanded we get moving and leave my friend and his GT3 stranded, so that we could "play catch up". We later caught up with Sean and the rest of the group at the overnight check point and he was rude and seemed almost upset that we had actually made it.

Also, 90% of the driving you will do is on highways. You're checkpoints take you near, but not on, some great mountain and coastal passes. You spend more time sitting in traffic than you do enjoying the drive.

I'll stop ranting now.

If you guys want to invest $600 in a 3 day road trip around New England, I VERY strongly urge you to avoid NER and we'll organize our own trip. I know some incredible roads in northern New England and I'd be happy to play tour guide!
 
#8 ·
Yea, thats me! (Notice how I'm in front of the GT3 ;D)

If you "read up" about what happened with the GT3 on the NER site, you got the BS side of the story. A lot of people on that site commented about what went down and they only listened to Sean's side of the story and went out of their way to kiss his ***. The only people who were actually there, were myself, Chris Ferris and Roy Allison. None of us will drive with NER again.

I've gone over the numbers and even figuring high on everything, your $600 would go significantly further if you organize your own event.

I'm certainly not trying to "sell you" on not going, forgive me if I come off that way. It's your time and your money. I just have first hand experience with the group and I can honestly say the NER forum does not paint an accurate picture of what the event is really like. I don't want you to come away feeling like you wasted $600, or worse...

Some ex-NER guys and myself have a drive in the works for mid-summer. All the guys drive in a safe yet fun manner and your V will be surrounded by some lovely exotica. I have been hesitant to post much about it here because I don't want the mods to think I'm advertising or anything. However, once I have some concrete dates and route info, I will get permission from whomever I need to and let you all know the details!
 
#9 ·
Greeting all, Sean from the NER here. Glad to hear some of you are interested in joining us. ( I found you in my traffic log)

Just to set a few things straight.

I do my best to encourage people to drive safely and I don't encourage people to drive like idiots. Actually it's' just the opposite. I stress how important it is for people to drive with courtesy. They are all adults and are expected to act as such. That is why most people do what Patrickand the other guys did. Get in a like minded group and drive with them.

Now Patric, Sorry if you feel that I was rude to you in Boston, but I was trying to keep things straight for hotel rooms and dinner reservations for 75+ people in at the Park Plaza. Doing that alone is a challenge and you guys arrived right in the hight of the chaos. I was FAR from upset that you made it. I was psyched you guys made it. If you feel I was rude then for that I apologize.

I was grateful to you for helping Russ, but fact is that he did not bring a spare and got a flat. Then he asked someone that was 30+ miles away to turn around and come back. When he said he wasn't going to come back Russ got mad even though it was his own fault for not bringing a spare with him on a 1500 mile trip through New England. I've heard the story from you, Russ, Chris, Roy, Bobby and Dave (the guys he wanted to turn around) and it's all the same story. Russ didn't have a spare and wanted someone's spare when he got a flat, but didn't get it so he was stuck.

I personally would have driven back and gave him the spare, but that's me and not everyone would do that (obviously).

Also... You don't seem to mention how I offered to drive Russ back to get his car after the run if he got stuck without a ride. Luckily for me you came through and I didn't have to, but I would have driven him the 5+ hours each way if he needed me to. I didn't have to make that offer. It's not my responsibility, but I would have helped him out because that is how I am. I organize the event. It is up to the driver of the vehicle to make sure he and his car are prepared for the ride.

You also don't mention how I called you to thank you for helping him and offered you a free entry in the run this year because I appreciated you doing that. Or how you were all nice to me saying that you have nothing against me or the NER. It was not my fault (and it wasn't). Now I'm rude and the NER is not worth it? You have no idea of the costs associated with an event like this. Try to make it happen for under $600 for 2 people with $100.00 going to the pot for the winning poker hand. (That's what it was before this coming run). So that leaves you $500.00 for 2 people to do what I do. Think you can do it? Good luck to you friend.

Best of luck to you on your ride. I mean that sicerely. If you decide to do more than just drive you will see the costs related with doing an event like the NER. Remember that the prizes don't all come from sponsors. I bought 90% of them. The food is not free it's discounted and the hotels at the Park Plaza were $279 a night and with taxes and fees and all that other crap over $300.00 per room. With dinner also at $50 per person there is also taxes and tip that usually ends up around another 30% or so. There's also location rentals if you want to do anything or stop any place state run. Like the fort in RI or the ending location last year. They all cost money and that can run upwards of $300. Rental of the village alone was $500 for the day.

Then there is the web hosting, email, domain, trade name and all the other little things that people don't think about.

Good luck to you and I wish you the best of success. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask. I'd love to see you have a successful event of your own.

And for the record, I never disqualified you. I called you and asked you what you thought was fair to everyone. I asked you if you thought it was fair that the other people drove to each checkpoint and got their cards but you guys missed all of them. Should get your cards. You said and I quote "Don't worry about it Sean. I don't care about the money. It's all about having fun". Now it's a problem?

If you want to be technical you didn't have to stay with Russ. You decided to. He had his co driver with him. That is why everyone has a co driver. Or you guys didn't have to stay all night and then leave. You could have just left his car where you did, had him jump in with you and finish the run. That's what you did anyway only after many hours.You decided to end your rally early when you didn't have to. So should I let you draw the cards even though you decided to back out? All of you. Chris, Russ, Roy and you. All said you didn't care about the money (winning hand) and not to worry about it. Now it all changes? That is why I decided that the winning hand gets their entry refunded. So we don't have people in the run JUST for the money. The people with us are with us for the love of the road and scenery.


Sorry for the wall of text everyone,.
Sean
 
#10 · (Edited)
Greeting all, Sean from the NER here. Glad to hear some of you are interested in joining us. ( I found you in my traffic log)

Just to set a few things straight.

I do my best to encourage people to drive safely and I don't encourage people to drive like idiots. Actually it's' just the opposite. I stress how important it is for people to drive with courtesy. They are all adults and are expected to act as such. That is why most people do what Patrickand the other guys did. Get in a like minded group and drive with them.

Now Patric, Sorry if you feel that I was rude to you in Boston, but I was trying to keep things straight for hotel rooms and dinner reservations for 75+ people in at the Park Plaza. Doing that alone is a challenge and you guys arrived right in the hight of the chaos. I was FAR from upset that you made it. I was psyched you guys made it. If you feel I was rude then for that I apologize.

And I have to say right off the bat LOL!!!! I NEVER told you get moving and leave Russ! YOU ARE FULL OF IT! I NEVER said because you weren't staying with the group you were disqualified. I told you to keep in touch with me and I will tell you where we are so you can come to the checkpoint if you want to. I talked to you 10 all times or more trying to make sure things were working out for Russ.

As for the disqualification, I never disqualified you at all. I asked you what you thought was fair to everyone. I asked you if you thought it was fair that the other people drove to each checkpoint and got their cards but you guys missed all of them and you should get your cards. You said and I quote "Don't worry about it Sean. I don't care about the money. It's all about having fun". Now all of a sudden it's a problem?

If you want to be technical you didn't have to stay with Russ. You decided to. He had his co driver with him. That is why everyone has a co driver. Or you guys didn't have to stay all night and then leave. You could have just left his car where you did, had him jump in with you and finish the run. That's what you did anyway only after many hours.You decided to end your rally early when you didn't have to. So should I let you draw the cards even though you decided to back out? All of you. Chris, Russ, Roy and you. All said you didn't care about the money (winning hand) and not to worry about it. Now it all changes? That is why I decided that the winning hand gets their entry refunded. So we don't have people in the run JUST for the money. The people with us are with us for the love of the road and scenery.

I was grateful to you for helping Russ. I told you that. but fact is that he did not bring a spare and got a flat. Then he asked someone that was 30+ miles away to turn around and come back. When he said he wasn't going to come back Russ got mad even though it was his own fault for not bringing a spare with him on a 1500 mile trip through New England. I've heard the story from you, Russ, Chris, Roy, Bobby and Dave (the guys he wanted to turn around) and it's all the same story. Russ didn't have a spare and wanted someone's spare when he got a flat, but didn't get it so he was stuck.

I personally would have driven back and gave him the spare, but that's me and not everyone would do that (obviously).

Also... You don't seem to mention how I offered to drive Russ back to get his car after the run if he got stuck without a ride. Luckily for me you came through and I didn't have to, but I would have if he needed me to. I didn't have to make that offer. It's not my responsibility, but I would have helped him out because that is how I am. I organize the event. It is up to the drive of the vehicle to make sure he and his car are prepared for the ride.

You also don't mention how I called you to thank you for helping him and offered you a free entry in the run this year because I appreciated what you did. Or how you were all nice to me saying that you have nothing against me or the NER. Now I'm rude and the NER is not worth it? You have no idea of the costs associated with an event like this. Try to make it happen for under $600 for 2 people with $100.00 going to the pot for the winning poker hand. (That's what it was before this year). So that leaves you $500.00 for 2 people to do what I do. Think you can do it? Good luck to you friend.

Best of luck to you on your ride. If you decide to do more than just drive you will see the costs related with doing an event like the NER. Remember that the prizes don't all come from sponsors. I bought 90% of them. The food is not free it's discounted and the hotels at the Park Plaza were $279 a night and with taxes and fees and all that other crap over $300.00 per room. With dinner also at $50 per person there is also taxes and tip that usually ends up around another 30% or so. There's also location rentals if you want to do anything or stop any place state run. Like the fort in RI or the ending location last year. They all cost money and that can run upwards of $300. Rental of the village alone was $500 for the day.

Then there is the web hosting, email, domain, trade name and all the other little things that people don't think about.
Good luck to you and I wish you the best of success. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask. I'd love to see you have a successful event of your own.

Sorry for the wall of text everyone,.
Sean
 
#11 · (Edited)
1 more thing. The only issue that we have had on any of our runs was Russ' flat tire. Our first run was in 06 and we have had 10 runs to date. Off seasons included.

And Pat. Tell me that you didn't have a blast on the 07 run. The track time and hotel overlooking Niagra Falls was not worth it? The dinner and breakfast and BBQ were not worth your money? The hotel rooms were priced from $600-$900 a night. I still paid over $350.00 a night per room. PLUs taxes and fees. Then the dinner was $70 per person and breakfast was $20 per person. I also paid for the track time. I also did it for $500.00 per 2 people.

Remember man... $500.00 for 2 people is not a lot to work with.

And I personally think we have a good record with problems. Russ' incident has been the ONLY issue we have EVER had on the NER. And to be honest. That's not even an issue. He had 3 cars stay with him because he got a flat and wasn't prepared. Your choices are either continue on or drop out. Not only did he drop out, but 3 cars of people (6 people) dropped out with him to keep him company when they didn't have to. That to me is rally spirit.

Now that I think about it, in 07 the guys in the white Z broke down and got towed home, got another Z, broke down again when they got in Canada. They slept in the car and had it towed home the next morning. Then got ANOTHER car and drove to the ending location. They are also with us every year including this one. It's all in how you want your rally to be that decideds your experience. You can either sit in your car in the parking lot of a pep boys or you can carry on. People handle situations like this differently.

Best,
Sean
 
#13 · (Edited)
Looks like someone's a tattle tail. Pretty obvious where this thread is going....


IBTL :lock:
 
#14 ·
I registered on here, just so I could post my comments... This year will be my third year in a row on the NER. I have fun every year. The first year we were in my friend's WRX because my STi blew up 3 weeks before. The second year I was taking my STi with my friend and his GF, and the night before the rally, Sean called me, and asked if i would be willing to codrive with another rally member because their codriver backed out, since we had an extra person in our car. I obliged, and have since formed a great relationship with the person I codrove for, and we are now rallying together (Not road rallies.. dirt/tarmac rallies)..


First off... I agree with Streetside on some things... The guys in the G35s last year were a little insane on the rally.. They were driving WAY too fast in many locations, and caused havoc for many other people. Now... On the same note, I got pulled over last year because of Russ (And I believe you streetside), due to a group of cars doing 100+mph in a 40mph zone in Rhode Island.

Second... The spare tire thing... I like Russ... But at the same time... The not bringing a spare tire... That was just not a wise decision... Regardless of the car. We were running Advan A048's on the rally car last year... but we had a gravel tire in the trunk just in case.. Its not the right size, but it would have been something to drive on at least...

Third... Do you get physical items worth $600 on the rally? Maybe not. To be totally honest, Last year our hotel room was tiny, old, and not the best of shape.. Definitely not as nice as the room we had in Niagara in 2007.. The overnight dinner in 07 was great, as was the dinner in 08 (Except for the non working AC, no fault of the rally). The food along the way wasn't meant to be 3 course meals.. It was meant to help keep some food in your bodies.. although the food at hooters was ICE cold last year...

Now.. Do I think we get our money's worth? Absolutely.

Then there was this...
NewEnglandRally said:
As for the disqualification, I never disqualified you at all. I asked you what you thought was fair to everyone. I asked you if you thought it was fair that the other people drove to each checkpoint and got their cards but you guys missed all of them and you should get your cards. You said and I quote "Don't worry about it Sean. I don't care about the money. It's all about having fun". Now all of a sudden it's a problem?
I was standing there when this conversation occured, and I watched you say its about the fun, not about the money.

And another thing of the driving safe... Everybody has their moments... Like this moment where Russ was going 80mph decided he wanted a twizzler from the Z...


And if you guys were really THAT upset, why did you come to Boston, get a room, and go out partying with other ralliers?

I like the New England Rally. its a good time, new friends are always found... And its a great way to spend a weekend for $300 a person.

Not to mention you get to see people writing signs on whiteboards like this


Nothing is perfect in this world... Just remember that.. There's always asshats wherever you go..
 
#15 ·
I registered on here, just so I could post my comments... This year will be my third year in a row on the NER. I have fun every year. The first year we were in my friend's WRX because my STi blew up 3 weeks before. The second year I was taking my STi with my friend and his GF, and the night before the rally, Sean called me, and asked if i would be willing to codrive with another rally member because their codriver backed out, since we had an extra person in our car. I obliged, and have since formed a great relationship with the person I codrove for, and we are now rallying together (Not road rallies.. dirt/tarmac rallies)..


First off... I agree with Streetside on some things... The guys in the G35s last year were a little insane on the rally.. They were driving WAY too fast in many locations, and caused havoc for many other people. Now... On the same note, I got pulled over last year because of Russ (And I believe you streetside), due to a group of cars doing 100+mph in a 40mph zone in Rhode Island.

Second... The spare tire thing... I like Russ... But at the same time... The not bringing a spare tire... That was just not a wise decision... Regardless of the car. We were running Advan A048's on the rally car last year... but we had a gravel tire in the trunk just in case.. Its not the right size, but it would have been something to drive on at least...

Third... Do you get physical items worth $600 on the rally? Maybe not. To be totally honest, Last year our hotel room was tiny, old, and not the best of shape.. Definitely not as nice as the room we had in Niagara in 2007.. The overnight dinner in 07 was great, as was the dinner in 08 (Except for the non working AC, no fault of the rally). The food along the way wasn't meant to be 3 course meals.. It was meant to help keep some food in your bodies.. although the food at hooters was ICE cold last year...

Now.. Do I think we get our money's worth? Absolutely.

Then there was this...
NewEnglandRally said:
As for the disqualification, I never disqualified you at all. I asked you what you thought was fair to everyone. I asked you if you thought it was fair that the other people drove to each checkpoint and got their cards but you guys missed all of them and you should get your cards. You said and I quote "Don't worry about it Sean. I don't care about the money. It's all about having fun". Now all of a sudden it's a problem?
I was standing there when this conversation occured, and I watched you say its about the fun, not about the money.

And another thing of the driving safe... Everybody has their moments... Like this moment where Russ was going 80mph decided he wanted a twizzler from the Z...


And if you guys were really THAT upset, why did you come to Boston, get a room, and go out partying with other ralliers?

I like the New England Rally. its a good time, new friends are always found... And its a great way to spend a weekend for $300 a person.

Not to mention you get to see people writing signs on whiteboards like this


Nothing is perfect in this world... Just remember that.. There's always asshats wherever you go..
 
#16 ·
Hey guys,
Coming from the Escalade side and I saw this thread. I have signed up for the rally this year. I will be taking a Vette. I was real skeptical about it at first because you never know what type of group you will get stuck with. I enjoy driving the car hard, just like im sure most of you do:D, but im not stupid about it. I didn't want to get in a 3 day rally with 50 people that all suck.

To test out the waters I went on the Spring Rally in April (Laconia, NH to Mohegan Sun) and had a blast. With the iffy weather a bunch of people dropped out at the last second but we had a great group regardless.

I know $300 per person is hard to come by during the down times but from what i have heard and read its worth it. I have looked around for other rally's and they are all thousands of dollars.

I hope to see a few of you there. Looking forward to some LS6 fun:burn:
 
#17 ·
First of all, Welcome to the CTS-V forum Sean.

I don't recall you offering me free entry into this years rally. As I remember it you offered me $100 off. Free entry would be very generous of you and I appreciate that gesture.

As for other things you said:
-You're correct, I absolutely told you that I didn't care about being disqualified and missing out on the money. NER has never been about the money for me. I'd be content if there was no prize money and that $100 went into food/hotel whatever.
-I certainly do remember you telling us (Roy,Ferris and I) that we should leave Russ and his co-driver to deal with their tire issue and get moving to the next checkpoint. It was our choice to stay there, but it was also the right thing to do.
-I stand by the fact that the routes have been very highway-centric and on the 07 Rally I spent most of Day 1 in traffic, stopped, in 90deg heat. 1500 miles in 3 days is great, but I've grown to appreciate quality over quantity.
-I don't think you can deny that people were out of control last year. Just look at the hundreds of dollars in speeding tickets that people were issued! Obviously you can't make people drive respectfully, but you were in constant radio contact with many of them and you could have told them to relax.
-You were a little grumpy/rude when we got to Boston, but you had been up for 36+ hours and you were maxxed out. So was I. I don't have any right to call you out on that and I appologize.

I could go on and we could debate this, we both have some very valid points. Reading my previous posts, I see that I came off as blaming Sean for a lot and I shouldn't have. I truly do respect what is involved in coming up with an event like this. It is a lot to coordinate. I've met some great people on NER and I've had some incredible times (Niagra was badass!)

That said, I think that a few "bad apples" have become dedicated members and drivers and I have no intrest in putting myself or my car in that environment again. Further, I have found a lot of very nice back roads and I know I could spend 3 days driving them all, staying in decent hotels and eating well for less than $600 and that is what I am choosing to do this year.

So to the OP, I'm assuming you ran over to NER and posted up because you wanted to see some fireworks between Sean and I. I absolutely hate drama and while Sean and I have some differences of opinion we're atleast mature enough to admit it and move on. But thank you for helping me realize I was being an ass and for getting Sean in here to share his side of the story.

I'm changing my stance on NER. Go! Do it! Try it this year!!! Why not? You might fall in love with it and the group dynamic might suit you perfectly. That wasn't my experience but lots of people are diehard NER fans. It's possible last year was a $hitty year and this year will be much better. Please report back and let us know.

In closing, Sean, I was overly harsh and negative and I appologize, I hope the Rally goes well this year and everyone has a fun and safe trip! My offer stands, anytime you want to take a drive, give me a call.
 
#18 · (Edited)
No hard feelings on my part Pat. I know that the NER is not for everyone and I did say that you usually get 1 or 2 people that are not like minded (read drive like idiots), but I try to do the best I can to police them and stress how important it is to follow the rules of the road.

You remember my speaches. I make it clear that discourage speeding and driving ike idiots.

I'm sorry you don't remember me telling you last year that I appreciated what you did for Russ and I wanted to offer you a free entry this year. And I'm also sorry that you don't remember me calling you a month or so ago to see if you were going to take me up on it. Remembe when you told me that the NER was not for you, but you didnt' have anything against me or the NER?? I remember that like it was yesterday.

As for telling you to leave Russ... I wouldn't do that man. I told you that I don't see why 3 cars are staying with him and I can't allow you all to draw the cards at the end if you don't carry on. Maybe the wording got crossed somewhere, but there is no way I would ever tell you to get moving and leave him. And I'm sure you remember me calling all 3 teams multiple times checking in to see how things were going. That's not because I didn't care man. I wanted to make sure he was all set.

Anyway... It's water under the bridge as far as I go.

And as stated in the first post I made. I followed my traffic log. The OP did not post on the NER forum so don't think he's trying cause drama. I follow all the links that point to forums.


Last year was only a shitty year (as you so kindly put it) for the group that stayed with Russ. No one else seems to have any complaints that I've heard. I'd imagine if you guys carried on you would have had more fun than sitting in a parking lot. We've had handful of breakdowns that people have overcome and kept on with the event. That is just another story to tell about your adventure.

Again.. No hard feelings on my part.

Best,
Sean
 
#19 ·
I'd just like to throw a few words in here... I agree with both sides... I remember standing right there with Sean when you were talking about drawing the cards at the hotel..

I also remember Russ leaning out the window of his porsche to get a twizzler from Karoline at 80mph.. Everybody does stupid things from time to time... Its the nature of the rally... I agree that the g35's were WAY out of control last year...

As far as sitting in traffic in the 07 rally... Yeah... Some people did.. We hit a total of like 30-45 minutes of traffic because we took a different route, because we KNEW there would be traffic. (That, and I used my laptop to check out all the traffic cameras along the way to see where the traffic was ;))

As far as everybody in traffic in the 08 rally... That was because a big chunk of you went the wrong way on the way to hooters..

Is $600 alot for this rally? I dont think so at all.. Its $300 a person.. Could you stretch it further? If it wasn't as big as it is, sure... But for the size of it, and what you get... It does cost money... The friends and fun times are worth every penny.

I am looking forward to the rally this year... Its going to be a blast as always... And you should all come and join!

EDIT: And how can you not have a blast with signs like this...


If you guys would like to see my pictures from last year, go here.
http://nperkins.riotdesigns.com/NER2008/album/
 
#20 ·
That rally in July/August looks like fun but I've got the SHO Convention to worry about in Nashua that week. And while i like organized drives, I think I'd rather find my own routes and stops myself...at least n the New england area...
 
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