Darwin Rally Team

[eastcoastbumps]

From our friends at the Axis of Oversteer comes a story of determination, fortitude, and a healthy dose of Darwinian law.

With less than a mile left in a stage of the Ralley de Serrians in France, the throttle cable in our hero's Renault finally gives up the ghost. Does he give up? No! Does the team try to push their way to the finish? Hell no! The driver tells his co-pilot to man the wheel while he hops into the engine bay, pulls the hood over himself and then manually controls the throttle cable bracket to a heroic finish. The picture above speaks for itself, but the video after the jump tells the whole tale.

YouTube - Coupé-Club.co.uk - Rally driver goes beyond the call of duty

[breakaway500]

The track official should have not allowed that bit of stupidity to take place.It's not like they were in the middle of nowhere,with no other solution available.

Instead,they get back onto a hot track with the "driver" stuffed under the hood,endangering everyone involved.

You'll never see that at a COM event.

[StephanAlfa]

They figured he signed a waiver... chaqu'un a sont gout eh? (to each his own). But I agree c'est la supidite au maximum...
I would have simply jammed something to keep the revs high ...

[rajito]

Dude, it's in France. They don't know what surrender is.

Raj

[962porsche]

in rallying some times you have no choice but to do things like that . they my or my not have been in a special stage (timed stage) or they could have been just in a transit stage (not timed) . ether way in rallying you CAN NOT have out side help .its just your codriver ,you and the car that is all ! but you do have to get your car to the control check point before they close or your rally is over . and in most cases its the codriver that would have to get under the hood to do that not the driver . if the driver does not do the driving your rally is over as well .

[breakaway500]

Well,by the speeds they were moving before the breakdown,I am sure it was timed. Also,as they were just about to re-enter the course,another car zips by at speed; if their breakdown had happened at a blind corner,and they decided to "repair" as they did,the resulting accident would surely injure innocent people.If the driver/navigator team wants to endanger themselves,so be it. However,driving around with someone under your hood,is just plain stupidity,and not worth endangering others lives.

As fas as the French and "surrender" go....I do believe they are familiar with the word.

Ah well,all in fun Is it spring yet!

[962porsche]

yes it was a timed SS . i would have used a shoe lace ? but when i work on a rally team years ago . cars would at times come into service with the codriver hanging out the car door to balance the car becouse the wheel was riped off on a stage . but a driver under the hood thats a first for me with the car moving .

[StephanAlfa]

Right, shoe lace
I remeber one time Ihad a VW Beetle and the throttle cable broke so I threated a fishing line and went home yanking the fishing line with one hand as the accelerator. Worked great!

[962porsche]

the cable on my beetle broke so many times i have an extra in the car .

[ctkag]

Hate to admit, but I did something similar many years ago. I ran out of gas about a half mile from a gas station. I had a bottle of dry gas in the trunk. My friend laid across the fender & poured the drygas into the carburetor while I drove the half mile to the station. Silly.

As for the VW - I think I broke as many clutch cables as I did throttle cables.

[John F]

My only beetle story involved pushing on the clutch pedal ( which was frozen due to snow on the floor) and popping the whole assembly out of the floor panel. Sorry, no McGiver story about tying it down with a paper clip and driving it home! I ended up having a friend pull me home with a rope through a 10' pipe so the car would stop when he did! Worked pretty well, but I wouldn't attempt it now....I no longer feel indestructable!