rallycodriver magazine - daily international rally motorsport news plus latest rallying information and online magazine subscription

Personal
Name:	John Dillon
Age:	** 47 (born in 1956)
Marital status:	Married
Children:	None
Occupation:	Software Architect
Place of birth:	Born in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, but grew up in Aiea, Hawaii, USA
Country or county where you live:	USA
Does your spouse / partner like rallying?	Yes
Any other hobbies?	** Writing, composing music, reading, working in the race control tower at Road Racing events
Your opinions
Favourite food:	Varies from hour to hour – a properly done steak is certainly delightful, however
Favourite drink:	Tea – hot in the morning, iced in the afternoon
Favourite motorsport paper / magazine:	Rally XS and Racer
Favourite sports person (other than rallying):	Are there other sports? Oh, wait, how about Alain Prost?
Favourite film star:	Male: Humphrey Bogart and Woody Allen Female: Diana Rigg and Cameron Diaz
Favourite holiday destination:	1) Any rally 2) Hawaii 3) Europe
Which TV sports programmes do you watch?	SCCA ProRally coverage, WRC events, occasional road course and street circuit races
Starting out
How did you start out?	As a press assistant, then marshalling; see www.WidgetRacing.com/getstart.htm
First driver you sat with:	Chris Bradshaw
First event:	East of Indio Rally, November 1995
Rallying background
Type of licence held:	SCCA National ("ProRally") competition license; I’m considering an FIA license
Which motor club do you belong to?	SCCA (Sports Car Club of America)
Do you contribute towards your rallying?	Normally no, but I did in 2001
Have you ever driven on a rally?	No – I like co-driving too much. I’ve driven in RallyCross events though.
Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?	Yes; Ramada Express International Rally and many others—I’ll even marshal at an event that we entered if the car breaks down. (At one rally, the driver didn’t tell me he’d cancelled until we were ready to go out—with no time to change, I marshalled a day in the snow wearing my Nomex coveralls!)
How many events do you get to watch? (eg. per year)	None—if I’m not competing I like helping the organisers make the rally safer and smoother
How many rallies do you take part in? (eg. per year)	** About a dozen. Additionally, I instruct at two or more rally schools each year as well as speak about rallying to civic organisations. I recently completed the voice over for a TV broadcast of the Gorman Ridge Rally.
Have you competed abroad? Where and when?	Not yet, but I’ve marshalled at some Mexican road races. I’d like to compete overseas.
Your opinions (rallying)
Favourite rally car:	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Favourite rally driver:	** US: Leon Styles and Lauchlin O'Sullivan (even when I'm not co-driving for them!) WRC: Marcus Gronholm
Favourite rally co-driver:	WRC: Nicky Grist
Favourite bit of road or forest:	The Ramada Express International Rally has a stage that starts at the bottom of Arizona’s Grand Canyon and finishes at the top, plus a 48 mile stage at the end of the rally. These have got to be my favorites, though Prescott’s Open View/Witty Tom stages are incredible and are high on the list as well.
Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?	** The U.S. generally doesn't use pace notes, but I've enjoyed them when I use them. Here we now have "stage notes" which describe the ROAD rather than the SPEED. Basically they are organizer-supplied pace notes. I like them very much. I haven't had a chance to participate in map-reading events.
Things you dislike about rallying?	** The stages are usually too short, except at the Ramada Express Rally and a couple of others.
Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2002?	Colin McRae or Tommi Makinen
... and in 2003?	** Marcus Gronholm or Harri Rovanpera.
Rallying history
Drivers you have sat with:	** Chris Bradshaw, Steve Winter, Fred Ronn, Bill Nation, Kendall Russell, Lauchlin O'Sullivan, Mark Tabor, Paul Dubinsky, Jose Mercado, Mark Nelson, Anton Musev, Bryan Hourt, Mike Halley, Dennis Martin, Eric Macaire, Lesley Suddard
Best driver you have ever sat with?	** Lauchlin O'Sullivan or Leon Styles
Best result:	** First overall on several occasions, first in class in several more
Worst result:	DNF after a rollover on the second stage of the Gorman Ridge Rally on my honeymoon in August 2000, followed a week later with another DNF in Minnesota, still on my honeymoon.
Championships contested:	** SCCA National Production GT in 1999 and 2001 SCCA Open class in 2002 Competed Nationally in SCCA Group N in 2000
Best Championship result:	** 2002 SCCA Southern Pacific divisional championship and 2002 California Rally Series championship. Nationally, two 2nd place championships in Production GT. Other awards include Bill Moore Codriver award, San Diego Codriver of the Year, Carl Merrill Sportsmanship award.
Best rally memory:	** Winning in Group 2 in 1998 at Rim of the World Rally with Fred Ronn driving. It was our first National race and my wife- to-be was attending her first rally ever.
Strangest incident on a rally:	** Oregon Trail 2001: we lost electrics on the last couple of stages. Drove in the snow and fog by flashlight, my arm holding the flashlight out the window. We drove through some banner tape (couldn't see the road) and went another couple of miles with banner tape streaming behind, wrapped around my hand.
Biggest accident:	** 2002 Cherokee Trails International Rally, Eric and I hit hard into the side of a mountain. The in-car video is kind of amusing though. You can faintly hear the calls, then a few seconds later we hit. You hear us both grunt, then he asks "Are you okay?" I croak out, "Keep going!" He managed to drive to the end of the stage, even though the right front corner is frightfully smashed up. His seat shifted a couple of inches in the impact.
Achievements gained from rallying:	Personal satisfaction, recognition for our team and our driver in the press
Your current performance
Your current driver(s) and events or Championships being contested in 2001	Racing with Lauchlin O’Sullivan in Production GT on the National SCCA circuit. I finished second in the championship.
... and in 2003?	** Racing with Leon Styles in the Open class on the National SCCA circuit.
How could you improve your ‘own’ current performance?	** Travel overseas to get additional seat time and familiarity with true pace notes.
How could you improve your current driver’s performance?	Become independently wealthy so we’d have a full and proper team to handle everything about the event so he can concentrate on his driving between events. He already has amazing focus while in the car.
If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?	** Try my hand at European events.
Your future in rallying
Where would you most like to compete (in the world):	Great Britain or Australia
Which rally would you most like to compete in?	Australia or New Zealand
Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?	** Leon Styles, Lauchlin O'Sullivan, or Patrick Richard even after they make it to the top. Of the current WRC lot, probably Marcus Gronholm? He seems a little more even- tempered in the car, which is important for presentation as well as maximizing performance in the long run.
Ambition in rallying for the future:	Some sort of USA National championship
What would you like to put back into rallying?	** Longer stages.
The future of rallying
Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?	** Lauchlin O'Sullivan is an incredible driver. Leon Styles has a lot of raw talent, a great feel for the car. With a little more training in the physics of rallying, he's going to be a top contender. Patrick Richard will be another force to be considered.
Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?	Chrissy Beavis
What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?	Do everything you can so all the driver has to do is drive. Stay calm to help him stay focused and feed him information in consistent fashion. I recommend the three "D"s of calling instructions using route books: Distance, then Direction, then Detail.
Any other comments	I hope people can learn that getting started in rallying is easier than you think. Don’t delay if you’re thinking about it. Start off as a marshal to learn the mechanics of time-cards etc, then try co-driving. If you want to be a driver, start off by buying a rally-ready car. Absolutely attend a rally school or two, whether commercial or SCCA, to come up to speed quickly. Learn what your driver wants to hear and feed him information in that way. Lastly, remember the following four priorities: 1) Safe 2) Fun 3) Finish and 4) Fast. If you don’t finish, it doesn’t matter how fast you are. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point of finishing? And if you’re not safe, you’re endangering not only yourself, but your team mates and fans.
Email John directly posted 22/11/01 updated 22/2/03 (items marked **)