PCA Chesapeake held its 54th Chesapeake Challenge at the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club in Monkton, MD, on Oct. 21st after inclement weather prompted its postponement from its original Sept. 23rd date. One of the CC’s three competitive events was the Gimmick Rally. Competing for honors were 21 teams, each consisting of a driver and a navigator.

The participants had eight general objectives: (1) Follow the route, as instructed; (2) take note of certain details along the way; (3) carry out some tasks; (4) answer questions; (5) submit the completed Main Questionnaire at the finish line; (6) finish no more than 120 minutes after each car’s starting time; (7) answer a short Bonus Questionnaire in 20 seconds or less before leaving the finish line; and (8) have fun doing all of the above.

The runaway winners were Chad and Gabriella W., followed by Jonathan S. and Carolyn B. in second place, as well as by Chip R. and Charles G. in third place. Jon went on to win the Chesapeake Challenge’s top prize, the Knowlton P. Long / Lufthansa Trophy.

The gimmick rally’s perfect score was 100 points. The winning team scored 60 points, while the team that finished in last place accumulated an astounding total of minus-40 points.

Handed out to each of the teams at the starting line, the rally’s Main Questionnaire had 22 questions. The answers provided were scored “right minus wrong.” Guessing was explicitly discouraged during the drivers’ meeting and in the General Instructions. The teams that did their best to follow that advice did much better than those that ignored or forgot it. Eleven teams reaped positive points, one came up with zero, while eight accumulated negative points.

Perhaps the toughest question, worth 10 points, involved the speed-limit signs along the rally route. The competing teams were asked how many there were. The right answer was 41, plus or minus 2. In other words, 39 to 43 were considered correct by the scoring team. This was the only question for which the competitors were given this kind of break.

Only a few teams, most likely new to our gimmick rallies, got tripped up by the yellow advisory speed signs. The veteran participants knew that only the white signs – with mph numbers and the words SPEED LIMIT in black – counted.

Per my standard practice for the past several years, I used the car brought to the Chesapeake Challenge by Steve Postol as a source of gimmick questions. This time it was a white 2023 Taycan sedan. The Main Questionnaire asked four questions about this car, which could be answered only by those who had paid attention to the car before the rally. It had been parked in a central and prominent spot. Steve, as most club members know, is the general manager of Porsche Hunt Valley (formerly known as Porsche Towson). His dealership, traditionally, has been the primary sponsor of the Challenge. The 2022 event was a rare exception.

A new gimmick this year was my use of a vintage car as a source of five questions. I had been dreaming of using this gimmick for years. This time Doug E. kindly made my dream come true. He parked one of his collector cars, a red 1964 Amphicar, on a preselected spot along the rally route. The Route Instructions told rally participants to slow down there and look around, and then to refer to the Main Questionnaire.

Doug and his better half, Francesca, had also kindly agreed to assist me in mid-September by doing a simulated rally run using the drafts of my General Instructions and of my Route Instructions. They
were kindly joined by Chuck V. The three had no plans to join the rally as competitors and, thus, were suitable “guinea pigs.” Their feedback helped me fine-tune the instructions and some of the gimmicks. Their simulation was in addition to the four times I tested the rally route and the gimmicks myself, twice with the help of my better half, Myrna.

On the day of the Gimmick Rally, I was kindly assisted by Jim E., who sent the cars one by one to the staging area; by Roxanne A., who handed out the rally documents at the starting line; by Manny A. and Dan Z., who helped research the answers to the bonus questions; by Steve G., Richard and Kris T., Richard and Claudia C., who helped me with the scoring of the rally competitors. This year’s Chesapeake Challenge Gimmick Rally was my eighth as rally master since 2016.

My gratitude goes to all of them, as well as to the Chesapeake Challenge co-chairs who pulled off another successful multi-activity event – Stacy T., Tracy J. and Jenn K. It was upon Jim E.’s recommendation that the wonderful Elkridge Harford Hunt Club in Monkton was chosen as this year’s venue.

Here are the rally teams that finished in the top 10 positions:
1. Chad & Gabriella W.
2. Jonathan S. & Carolyn B.
3. Chip R & Charles G.
4. Michael & Liesel T.
5. John & Susan J.
6. Wes T. & Dennis H.
7. Richard & Kris T.
8. Rick & Emilie H.
9. Scott & Brenda J.
10. Guido & Julie D.

In order not to embarrass the other teams that didn’t do as well, I am not naming them in this article.

All the photos in this gallery have been resized for online viewing. Note that the images and other content here are protected by copyright laws. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use, copying, printing or direct linking is prohibited.

>>> CLICK ON A THUMBNAIL PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT, AFTER WHICH YOU CAN MANUALLY GO FORWARD OR BACKWARD TO THE OTHER IMAGES IN THIS GALLERY. THE PICTURES HERE CAN ALSO BE VIEWED AS A SELF-ADVANCING SLIDESHOW, BUT MINUS THE TECHNICAL AND OTHER DETAILS. SEE THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THIS WINDOW. HAPPY VIEWING! <<<