Unofficial Rally - Terrible

Well, I went with one of my friends (Jon knows them) Matt Poulin in his beat up E30 and was extreemly dissapointed with the turnout. It was mainly the people from SBEuroclub and a few others, probably only around 40 cars total

Jon, I know that you don't want an official rally, but thats a big part of the fun of bimmerfest! This year there were so few people in the loop about what was going on that it resulted in that horible turnout.

I honestly don't think that if there's an official one next time that you have to worry about wreckless driving. During this rally there were CHP all over the place and even a CHP helicopter that followed us the entire way

Just a suggestion, I think you should do an official one next year

This is EXACTLY why there is no longer an "official" rally. People are going to drive no different whether it's "official" or not. I assume you didn't read a post I made earlier in a thread.

helicopter following eh?


last time i had a helicopter on my bimmer i decided it was time to park in my garage.

the spot light gave me away...... oh midnight racing!

I talked to several people at bfest, and no one seemed to know about it but were very interested. One of the main reason's I go to bimmerfest is for the caravans and the rally. I think it should be a part of the show as well.

I was asking around a bunch of people if there was going to be any drives/rallys around. Would've been nice just to cruise around in the hills.

This was my first time at bimmerfest and I thought the rally was so much fun....right up until the time that the CHP started herding us like sheep.

Those 7-point stars caught up with us at US101/154. There was a chp helicopter watching the front of the pack and two chp units following in the rear. Something like that is pretty much a buzz kill so I bailed out of the rally. The last chp car was unmarked and the officer gave me the dirtest look ever when he passed me on the side of the road.

Truth be told, I didn't know about the rally either. I was just driving back to San Jose when I was suddenly enveloped by the rally as I passed refugio rd. Talk about great timing.

So what happened for the rest of the drive back to SB? Let me guess. Everybody drove single-file, 5mph below the speed limit for the remaining duration of the rally.

Where are the pics and video of the road rally? I can't wait to see some of the amazing shots from the camera car(s).

that's lame there weren't many people on the rally. I didn't even know there was one. Last year somebody handed out rally directions and it was a great turnout! maybe if we had lead cars or something it would work out better ?

I went on this years rally and I really enjoyed it, although there was a very poor turnout. Just thinking ahead for next year but, I may try and be the coordinator of the rally and organize with CHP and local police to make the group drive more legitimate. What do you guys think?

I just found this on youtube. Thank you to the poster.

Oh and for the record... on this years drive, I didn't see anyone do anything stupid or try to race another rally'er. It was a very pleasurable drive. If I were to organize the drive for next year to be larger, I feel organizing with authorities and threatening legal actions against those who don't follow the rally's rules would force the kids and reckless drivers to hopefully be more careful.

Originally Posted by M_i2rd_R

I just found this on youtube. Thank you to the poster.

Damn sick video...

well probably just because there is a ton of photoage of my car.

The problem is, if Jon makes the rally official, he and bimmerfest become liable. If ONE idiot messes up, it can burn bimmerfest for good.

Originally Posted by DaKine

The problem is, if Jon makes the rally official, he and bimmerfest become liable. If ONE idiot messes up, it can burn bimmerfest for good.

I agree... making the rally "official" would be a mistake. Couldn't a well orginized rally happen without Bimmerfest being liable?

you could have every one sign a waver

i wanted to go...but i didnt hear anything about the rally

I asked some people about a rally afterwards but no one knew anything about it so i left. Was really looking foward to it from the videos and pics from bimmerfest 2006.

Yeah, it sucked this year. I had asked a few people at the fest about the rally and they didn't hear anything either. I went on it anyways. I waited at the usual start point, but when I got there, there were only 3 other cars. A silver E46 sedan, A black older M3 and an Estoril Blue M3 (some asian gal was driving it and took off about 5 mins later).

Most of us waited and a handful of other cars showed up. We were there until the chopper came by and the CHPies kicked us out.

I always enjoy the drive...regardless of how many people showed up. We need to set something up next year... LONG LIVE THE RALLY!!!!!!!!!!

Whether it's official or not. I completed the rally on my own and I did run into some old Bimmers going the opposite way.

Where is the meet up spot at?

Originally Posted by Slvr e39

I went on this years rally and I really enjoyed it, although there was a very poor turnout. Just thinking ahead for next year but, I may try and be the coordinator of the rally and organize with CHP and local police to make the group drive more legitimate. What do you guys think?

Ya, I think that's a great idea It would keep people from doing anything stupid.

Originally Posted by clutch

you could have every one sign a waver

Actually a very good idea. However, what about those under 18 (usually the stupid drivers anyways) they would have to fax the waver back to their moms lol.

But on that note, we could setup a booth at bimmerfest 08' and have people officially sign up for the drive before hand. Then comes up the problem of people joining the drive without signing up, what about some sort of temporary sticker that would be placed next to the licence plate or something of the sorts to let admins and authorities know who is signed up and on the drive.

Originally Posted by Slvr e39

Actually a very good idea. However, what about those under 18 (usually the stupid drivers anyways) they would have to fax the waver back to their moms lol.

But on that note, we could setup a booth at bimmerfest 08' and have people officially sign up for the drive before hand. Then comes up the problem of people joining the drive without signing up, what about some sort of temporary sticker that would be placed next to the licence plate or something of the sorts to let admins and authorities know who is signed up and on the drive.

I like the idea of a sticker

Also, I know this wouldn't go over well with the CHP but maybe we could ask for a quick traffic break and a longer green light while leaving the fairgrounds.

We would also need two lead cars for the freeway to set the pace (I'll volenteer for one of those positions ...hopefully I'll have my E30 M3 by next year). My point of view is, if there are two responsible drivers in front then what kind of stupid things could the people behind us do? The worst thing would be tailgating but I don't care if they would be on my bumper.

I like the rally sticker idea or even a ticket of some sort. Last year's rally was unofficial and it worked out very nicely. Someone handed out a map to everyone coming into the show so people actually knew about it. Nobody really did anything stupid on last year's rally either. It was a nice drive

Originally Posted by BMWE30freak

I like the idea of a sticker

Also, I know this wouldn't go over well with the CHP but maybe we could ask for a quick traffic break and a longer green light while leaving the fairgrounds.

We would also need two lead cars for the freeway to set the pace (I'll volenteer for one of those positions ...hopefully I'll have my E30 M3 by next year). My point of view is, if there are two responsible drivers in front then what kind of stupid things could the people behind us do? The worst thing would be tailgating but I don't care if they would be on my bumper.

With some persuading I believe the CHP would allow a massive drive to take place, however, this is assuming it is well organized. The only thing CHP is not going to like is stopping traffic for a solid 8-10 minutes for all the cars to get onto the freeway. There are a lot of little problems with having a drive of bimmerfest proportions but all seem to be overcome-able.

e30freak, your right that we will need pace cars, however, we should shoot to get a police escort if possible.

I will eventually talk to Jon and try to become the coordinator of an epic drive after the 08' Bimmerfest. All the ideas we have come up with so far sound great, I think the drive will happen and will be great next year.

Originally Posted by Slvr e39

With some persuading I believe the CHP would allow a massive drive to take place, however, this is assuming it is well organized. The only thing CHP is not going to like is stopping traffic for a solid 8-10 minutes for all the cars to get onto the freeway. There are a lot of little problems with having a drive of bimmerfest proportions but all seem to be overcome-able.

e30freak, your right that we will need pace cars, however, we should shoot to get a police escort if possible.

I will eventually talk to Jon and try to become the coordinator of an epic drive after the 08' Bimmerfest. All the ideas we have come up with so far sound great, I think the drive will happen and will be great next year.

For sure! If you want any help with it then let me know (I live very close to Jon, so if you live in the area we could all meet to discuss things when it comes time later on).

I don't know if a CHP escort is really necessary. If they offer it then we could take them up on it, but honestly all we need are some responsible drivers leading the pack (and a camera car...or two).

Also, how about meeting somewhere else other than an on/off-ramp....maybe meet up at one of the county parks that are on the route....

We could then figure out how to park cars without blocking anyone or any road. Maybe using some of that temporary paint to mark where and where you cannot park...then taking off in an organized manner....just like we all exited the bus back in Elementary...one row at at time..