This morning we ran the practice course to shakedown the car and our nascent skills, finding a brutal 3-mile run through serious dips, cinder-block-sized rocks and some of the roughest gravel roads you're likely to encounter. Next, we're headed to Parc Expose to rub elbows with some of the most dedicated motorsports fans in America, as well as all the seriously go-fast guys with their 100-foot rigs and 10-man teams.

First car off is 4:00pm local time, with us bringing up the rear of the start list around 4:50pm. We'll run through dusk to about 10:30pm, covering almost 40 miles of rally stage and an additional 100 miles of transit.

Provided we're not feeling like battered heavyweights stepping out of the car, we'll have a quick wrap-up of our first day of rally tonight, and more to come Saturday and Sunday.

Stay tuned, and wish us luck! We're going to need it.