Official Bullrun thread - been there done that.

[soloracer]

I was debating whether I would post about the run or not mainly because I'm not sure how much I can repeat. I know early on Rage indicated a member was in the run and that a report would be made here. At one time he and I considered entering a team so I feel a little obligated to share some of the experience. It was probably one of the craziest things I've been involved in. I'll dig through my pictures and see what I can post. Stay tuned.

[nismodrifter]

I was looking forward to seeing pics from your trip but never saw them posted.

OT: Saw your bright yellow vehickle cruising down SB Macleod today, looks SICK!!!!

[CUG]

Yes! I was looking for someone with pics of this.. awesome.

[Destinova403]

wow thats sweet, definitely show us some pics. i was there when you all set off on stephen ave, it was WAY worth waking up early. :thumbsup:

[That.Guy.S30]

ive been waiting for this thread.

[soloracer]

I had the 968 Turbo out today since it was so nice. I also had it at the Bullrun event the night before the send off. I'll see if I can find a picture. I hate to admit that I didn't have time to take a lot of pictures during the trip as there was just too much going on when going from point to point for us to really get too involved taking pictures or video.

To get started I'll begin late last year. I heard about the Bullrun through the Porsche Club and e-mailed them regarding entering a car. A stunning blonde named Samantha e-mailed me the details and asked what car I was planning to enter. I told her either the 968 Turbo or supercharged NSX. I read through the information she sent and thought that if I could find somone to split the $20K entry fee I would seriously consider doing it. However, as time went by I couldn't find anyone willing to part with $10k for the week so I eventually let them know I wasn't going to enter. Fast foward several months and I get a phone call from Samantha in Los Angeles saying they had someone back out and that they were soliciting offers for his spot. The guy had already paid his $20k which was non refundable and they were trying to see what kind of offers people would make him. This is where Rage came into the picture. I phoned him up to see if he would be interested. We figured they would take $10k for the spot and that we should start at $5k and see what kind of counter offer they would make. At the time I was thinking the turbo M3 would be the machine since my NSX got backed into a few months prior and still needed to get the door fixed and I had just installed a new turbo in the 968 and really didn't have a chance to completely shake down the car yet.

So I e-mailed our offer and waited for a reply. Apparently they thought it wasn't worth responding to as I never heard back from them. Turns out for the better as Rage had a last minute work related thing come up that meant he couldn't go even if he wanted to. So at this point my Bullrun experience was over before it even started.

All along the Porsche Club had been in contact with the Bullrun organizers. The Bullrun people wanted a bunch of Porsches at the start line and offered a limited number of VIP passes for the evening party to the Porsche Club. I was getting one of those passes and kept checking with the club president to see if we received them yet. About a week before the run was to start I e-mailed the club president asking if the passes came in and he responded by asking if I would be interested in navigating for a car. Turns out a he had a family connection with one of the runners and the guy didn't have a navigator due to work related timing. I responded that I was interested and to keep in touch if he couldn't find one down south. Finally about 3 days before the start I get an e-mail at 2 AM from the entrant asking if I was still in. I thought about it for a few minutes - weighing the pluses and minuses of entering at such a late date - and decided "Fuck it, when are you ever going to get another opportunity like this". At that point I was an official Bullrun navigator - with lots of enthusiasm and minimal navigation experience.

[soloracer]

Here are a couple of crappy cell phone pics of the 968 Turbo.

[soloracer]

Another

[That.Guy.S30]

^ so was the bullrun one of those "one in a lifetime epxeriences?"

[soloracer]

Originally posted by Thi_Thi Subs
^ so was the bullrun one of those "one in a lifetime epxeriences?"

Probably for me. First, my driver paid the $20k entry fee and an extra $5k so that I could have my own room throughout the whole event. Second, this thing is hard on cars.....I mean really hard. You have to go into it with one of two attitudes - a) to win it all or b) just have fun. If you are just in it to have fun you can drive 90 mph all day, finish last at each stop and just have fun at the social events after hours. If you are in it to win you'll need a ton of gear - some guys paid $8500 just to program their police scanners - and even then be prepared to be ticketed numerous times and possibly arrested. I think that if I were to do it again I would be more inclined to be there to just have fun and I would have to find someone else willing to split the bill.

[soloracer]

On the Friday before the start of the Bullrun the cars started showing up in town and the registration process began. In the parking lot next to the hotel they had crews putting all the Bullrun and sponsor stickers on the cars. With all the decals there was no way a competitor could blend in with traffic. Everyone was going to stick out like a sore thumb. I finally met my driver, Rick from Montana, who brought up his Neimann Marcus Edition Lexus IS-f. Attached is a picture of me and the Lexus on the starting grid.

[soloracer]

Rick was in the Bullrun last year driving a real military spec Hummer that he had $400K invested in. He told me that with his old navigator they managed to finish in the top 10. Pretty impressive! After doing the Bullrun once he figured that a car like the Lexus ISF would be perfect and I would have to agree. It's fast, dead reliable, comfortable and not so obvious as to attract a lot of attention.

Rick took me to the registration area where I got my cool VIP badge (see pic), some wristbands and several Bullrun shirts. My friend Natalie came with me and we made her an official member of "Team Bigsky". I almost had her convinced to join us for part of the ride but her concern was how she would get home for work on Monday when we didn't know where we were going to be Sunday evening. After registration everyone hung out by the pool eating and drinking. It seemed like a lot of the people knew each other and if I had to guess I would say over 2/3's of the people here had done the Bullrun the previous year.

[soloracer]

I thought I would share a little info on what I know about each of the teams. I'll start with Team Safety Car since it was probably the most like something from Cannonball Run.

The team consisted of Justin and his mom - whose name I can't recall. They both took turns driving and navigating and his mom is hell on wheels. Turns out she's german and used to driving the autobahns. Go figure. Justin is an actor in LA who has played in some german speaking movies. I know some people asked him what movies he was in and he jokingly replied "Porn". The two of them were really good people and a lot of fun.

As for the car, remember when Ford made the Hertz Edition Shelby Mustang? The cars were a special edition that was only available to rent from Hertz Rent-a-Car. You couldn't buy one when they first came out as they were only sold to Hertz. That didn't deter Justin though. As soon as they came out Justin went and rented one........and he's been renting the same car ever since. He is the only guy to rent his car. I guess he just keeps writing a monthly rental cheque to Hertz. This is probably a good thing since he has modified the car - something most of us would never do to a rental. He added a light bar, filled it full of electronic gear and put the big words SAFETY CAR on it. From a distance the car looks very much like a cop car with the light bar, whip antennas and color scheme. I know that in Wyoming he was getting waved at by police who thought he was official - their cop cars are black and gold just like his.

[soloracer]

Here is a pic of Team Bigsky (Rick, Natalie, Erik). Nat was nice enough to make us a couple of commemorative travel mugs for the trip. Good thing they had locking tops as there were times we needed them. ;)

[2002civic]

Subscribed.....:eek:

[InLoveWitRSX]

Sweet, continue please!

[Zero102]

Alright, stupid question time, is this series going to be on TV like the first one?

[2002civic]

that spike bull run was completley seperate than this one I believe

[ryder_23]

:thumbsup:

[Crymson]

Just because you get fancy pimp glasses and a fancy pimp leather coat doesn't mean you're a pimp.

[sxtothe240]

niiiiceeee

[soloracer]

Originally posted by Zero102
Alright, stupid question time, is this series going to be on TV like the first one?

It was broadcast on a British TV channel but not the Spike channel. The Spike channel Bullrun was produced by the same guys as this Bullrun but it had a different format. It was more of an elimination series whereas this was a rally where nobody knew who was winning until the end.

There is supposed to be a DVD made though called "Cops, Cars and Superstars".

[soloracer]

Originally posted by Crymson
Just because you get fancy pimp glasses and a fancy pimp leather coat doesn't mean you're a pimp.

I disagree...... :bigpimp:

[rmk]

Moar!!11

[soloracer]

Team Pink Linc

There is an interesting story about this team. It begins in sunny Australia at a local bar where Mitch is having a brew with a Canadian. During the evening it comes up that the Canadian has this pink Lincoln and he ends up selling it to Mitch for $1. He even goes so far as to make out a bill of sale on a beer coaster. Mitch tells him that he will regret doing that some day. Fast forward 2 years later. Mitch and his two friends show up in Calgary. Mitch goes to get his Pink Lincoln and the Canadian honors his bill of sale. Mitch enters it in the Bullrun. The car has a new engine but that is about the only thing new on the car. The suspension is so bad that it bounces uncontrollably even at parking lot speeds. The car didn't even start it's life out as a convertible. Someone just took a sawzall to the roof. What this means is the car doesn't have a soft top. These guys are riding exposed through rain and intense sunshine. The horns on the hood are so big that you can barely see over them when driving. But Mitch and his crew don't care. They have their ride for the Bullrun and it only cost them $1.

[rx7girlie]

Good to see you are living the life. BTW, this is Chris posting from my wife Paola's account. Remember us??? Yeah we got married :eek:

Next time we are in town, we should take a field trip to your garage. Sounds crazy....

[soloracer]

Originally posted by rx7girlie
Good to see you are living the life. BTW, this is Chris posting from my wife Paola's account. Remember us??? Yeah we got married :eek:

Next time we are in town, we should take a field trip to your garage. Sounds crazy....

Congrats Chris! I wondered what happened to you. Call me the next time you come to town. We could go out for beers and tell each other lies. ;)

[adidas]

cant wait to read the rest!!!!

[soloracer]

Team Ettensberger

Last year Claus Ettensberger, President of CEC / BRABUS USA, won the Bullrun in a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. This year he shows up in a Techart 997 Turbo with custom shark graphics. Claus is expected to be the man to beat this year. The shark graphics on the car are awesome to see when he comes up on you quickly. Cars practically pull themselves over to let him pass.

I know that if that was my car I would have a plate that said "GR8YTNT" or something to that effect (Great White North). ;)

[That.Guy.S30]

so does this mean the race isnt over yet?

[soloracer]

Originally posted by Thi_Thi Subs
so does this mean the race isnt over yet?

The rally ended in Scottsdale on June 27, 2008. I'll try to give a day by day account of what took place for those who might be interested in seeing it from the inside.

[leutyc]

Originally posted by 2002civic
Subscribed.....:eek:

Ditto!!

[soloracer]

Team Gas Monkey

Probably the most famous team considering they have been on Leno and are heavily promoted in most Bullrun footage. I know that before I did the run I expected these guys to be hard core and full out. Almost every video on the web has Richard Rawlins in it. Well I found out why - whenever there was a camera in sight Richard made sure his face was in front of it. His car broke down numerous times and i can't think of many checkpoints that I actually saw him at. Pretty funny considering that he represents a tuner shop. Even the lowly Smart car finished ahead of them. The only thing he made sure that he didn't miss was anything that might be filmed and I'm sure that if you watched any of the video footage you might think he was a major part of the run - but he wasn't. To be honest I was looking forward to taking part in the run with Richard just based on the video footage I saw from the year before. However, we almost never saw him on the road and usually he would just show up at the hotel each night waiting for the party to start. It's as if he just took a bus to each destination and waited for guys actually doing the run to arrive and then looked for the cameras to come out so that he could promote himself. He's definately one of the more colorful characters in the run which makes for good entertainment but for all the talk I would have expected them to be more hardcore. Maybe it was just a case of bad luck this year - who knows.

[redline]

^^^^ what tuner shop?

[soloracer]

Originally posted by redline
^^^^ what tuner shop?

His own. It's called Gas Monkey Garage.

[ExtremeSi]

Interested! subscribed

[tabouli]

Thanks for sharing!

Claus rolled out of Tunerworks in arguably the most interesting vehicle

[car072909]

i gotta say soloracer, reading your account in the bullrun was very cool to read.

i'm here to let you guys know there is a canadian version of this type of rally happening in 2009. check it out at www.canadianadventurerally.ca.

I am one of the founders, and from reading this thread, is exactly the type of teams we want! There is an early bird sign up bonus happening right now, and is much less then the bullrun.

If any of you have questions, don't hesitate to contact us through the website or through here!

cheers

[VW337]

Originally posted by car072909
i gotta say soloracer, reading your account in the bullrun was very cool to read.

i'm here to let you guys know there is a canadian version of this type of rally happening in 2009. check it out at www.canadianadventurerally.ca.

I am one of the founders, and from reading this thread, is exactly the type of teams we want! There is an early bird sign up bonus happening right now, and is much less then the bullrun.

If any of you have questions, don't hesitate to contact us through the website or through here!

cheers
You have your site wrong, it's .com not .ca

[car072909]

its both.....

[car072909]

Some guys have been asking us offline about our charity......

Just to let you guys know I am able to pre-release that this rally is going to be supporting the "Missing Children Society of Canada". Part of the experience and rally will be to support this great cause and it will be key in some challenges. I can't say much more, but we are hoping that we can bring public awareness to the families that have children missing, and maybe the Canadian Adventure Rally with all the teams can make a difference in someone's life.

News release will soon be posted on the website at www.canadianadventurerally.ca with more details.