Have You Heard of the Starlite Rally?

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It was an annual pilgrimage for car freaks from coast to coast. The Starlite Rally was a truly legendary event. Over a hundred cars blasting through the night over two lane back roads from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas. Once in a while you get a chance to relive history. Once again you can experience the excitement of driving into the parking lot full of exotic cars and knowing that for one night of your life, you’ll be testing your skill against theirs’ on wide open roads. Experience the thrill of competing with top notch rally teams. For twelve hours, you’ll be making memories that will live for a lifetime.

The Santa Barbara Sports Car Club put on the Starlite Rally every December from 1971 to 2000. It was not a technically difficult event. It was just an excuse to drive to Vegas for fun going over the best roads in the world. You didn’t need compasses or protractors or elaborate timing equipment. You didn’t need to follow boring “Left at T” instructions. You just find the next checkpoint on the map and drive there. It was a lot like the TV show “Bullrun” long before that was ever invented. Over the years, it got a little more competitive with timed checkpoints and became the Premier Monte Carlo Rally in North America. Some people who had no interest in competition brought out their nice cars just to make the drive. You ran with the best cars that BMW, Porsche. Jaguar, Audi and Mercedes could build. All the best Japanese machines were there with hot rides by Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Mazda and one very special black NSX. Every type of sports car has competed over the years, too, with one crazy team freezing their asses off in a topless red Cobra. There were muscle cars, pony cars, luxury cars and all kinds of modified machines running through the night. The banquet in a big ballroom in Vegas was also memorable. Prime rib dinners and an open bar and the funniest talk you have ever heard about the antics of the night. Huge bronze trophies were awarded to the winning teams. It was a legendary event with some legendary hangovers, too.

Here’s your chance to relive history. The Into the Night Rally Team is putting on “Stellar Luminescence” to celebrate the wonderful years of the Starlight Rally. It will have many of the same things we loved about Starlite with some differences to make it even more fun. If you think you’re a good driver, here’s a chance to prove it. If you’ve never seen the sun rise over the desert, you really should. If you just love driving your car, here’s a guided tour of the best roads you’ll never find on your own. It WILL be legendary.

Stellar Luminescence will run Friday night November 20th starting in Santa Barbara. The starting location is confidential at this time. More information is here: Welcome to ITN Rallye Club Home Page Free free to write questions here, too.

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[9and3]

OMG! I participated in '99 (or '98). This was a fantastic experience; I had an experienced rally partner, we drove a great car (BMW M5), and we were part of a very fun team. As painful as it was to complete, I'm very glad I did this... but I don't think I'd ever do it again. The rally started around 8 or 9 PM and landed in Vegas around noon the next day. One of my more vivid memories: around 4 AM, my partner and I were about to strangle each other--it wasn't about driving or navigating but just spending six intense hours with someone driving competitively through the night is pretty tough psychologically. We both made it through and we both had a great time. Good luck to anyone that participates in this revival!

[Furryferret]

anything like this for the east?

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9and3,

That's true! You have to find someone you really like to run these things with. I am fortunate to have an ex-rodeo rider as my navigator. He doesn't get flustered by anything.

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Greetings, Dearest Rally Friends,

This is your Fall Rally Update from Into The Night Rally Team. The ITN gang is putting together the final elements of STELLAR LUMINESCENCE, a 14 hour navigational road rally in the Monte Carlo style made famous by Pan Am and Starlite. The rally runs from Santa Barbara at 9 PM on Friday, Nov. 20 to Las Vegas, arriving late Saturday morning.

This is a beautiful rally course set over some of the best driving roads anywhere in the world. (Yes, we’ve checked). It’s a straightforward event with a few good traps for the more experienced folks in Group X, and an easy-to-follow fun run for the Group N and Group B people. There are still plenty of rooms at the Circus Circus for Saturday night, and there is still room for more entries in the rally.

WORKER NOTICE: If you want to help work the rally, the CHECKOUT RUN begins on Friday night, Oct. 30 in Santa Barbara at 8pm and will be done in Vegas about noon on Saturday, Oct. 31. So, if you have ever had any desire to spend Halloween in Vegas, this is your chance. Call 310 350 1360 or reply to this email right away if you’re interested.

We have been working on this rally for quite a while, and have selected the roads with an eye toward giving you the widest variety of driving experience possible. Everything from mountain peaks to desert dry lakes, from winding along verdant riverbeds to close up visits to a couple of old mining Ghost towns. There will be a few good unpaved alternate routes here and there, for those who choose to take them. There are ample and frequent breaks, and we plan a sumptuous repast for the awards banquet. Even the T-shirts look great.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT OFFER: If 2 cars from the same club, with both cars with two first time entrants, would like to enter, they can run together on a TWO FOR ONE deal. This is a terrific offer. It’s less than the cost of the banquet and t-shirts alone. We want to do everything we can to encourage new people to try this event. It is a spectacular experience. We promise you will be glad you tried it.

We sincerely hope you can participate in this event one way or another. You really do not want to miss it. It continues to be the best value in motorsports.

See you at Standoff.

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The Instructions and Maps are available on the website, check them out. It will be EPIC!

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