Some quick analysis of the top 3 riders on leg 1:

• Jim got more points on bonuses than Eric and Billy but fewer points on rest. How important will a little bit of extra rest be on leg 2?
• Jim and Billy got to the checkpoint on Tuesday night which meant they got the leg 2 bonuses at 6 am Wednesday morning. Eric checked in just before the checkpoint window opened so he got the leg 2 bonuses at 8 am Wednesday morning. How important is an extra two hours of routing time on leg 2? (There was no time-restricted bonus that would have required the riders to haul out of the checkpoint immediately at 8 am.)
• Eric collected the most bonuses with the fewest miles of the three.
• All three riders went for and got the 2500 point SEC combo bonus.
• Between them the three riders went to 12 of the 14 SEC stadiums (two went all the way to Texas A&M in College Station but none of the three went to Florida or South Carolina).

The three riders’ routes were similar yet built of different bonuses.

Jim Owen

Eric Bray

Billy Connacher

What does all this mean for the second half of the rally? We’ll know in a little over 24 hours.