MATTON DOUBLES DOWN ON HIS COMMITMENT, THAT THE WRC HYBRID PROJECT IS ON COURSE FOR 2022

M-Sport's Rally 1 Fiesta during recent testing - Photo M-Sport

Both the FIA, along with WRC manufacturers Hyundai, M-Sport Ford and Toyota, are fully committed to the implementation of Rally1 hybrid for 2022 and Matton said measures to counteract issues caused by the pandemic had been implemented.

“The Rally1 hybrid project is a major landmark in the development of rallying and underlines the FIA’s commitment to sustainability and advanced technology,” he said.

“Of course, any new product that is being developed encounters challenges. During the current test phase there is strong collaboration between the FIA, the manufacturers and our technical partners. We are working as one to complete tasks that are synonymous with a development cycle of this nature.

“At present we are operating an accelerated process due to delivery delays brought about by the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, but with eight months remaining to the start of the 2022 season, we are on course,” he added.

In line with the sport’s drive towards new technology and sustainable energy, the next-generation of top category WRC cars will feature a state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid unit, developed by Compact Dynamics.

Paddon Rallysport’s Hyundai Kona EV Photo: Graeme Murray Photography

The FIA and the manufacturers have made a significant investment in the programme. The three-year agreement includes a shared contribution to the development costs of the innovative hybrid technology, which will have a strong focus on sustainability, cost management and safety.

The Rally1 category will also showcase major safety breakthroughs with a new safety cage design, developed in collaboration with the manufacturers following an exhaustive analysis and crash test programme.

Together with Compact Dynamics, some of the key project milestones include:

• Design and prototype manufacture of the hybrid units
• Bench testing of the prototype units is in progress
• Initial units supplied to teams for integration into their safety cell designs
• Analysis of assimilation of turbocharged petrol engine with hybrid units along with dyno testing
• Selected private testing of Rally1 development cars

KEN BLOCK CLAIMS 2ND OVERALL IN HIS AMERICAS RALLYCROSS DEBUT

AUSTIN, TX, JULY 16, 2018: In his first outing of 2018 in his Ford Focus RS RX rallycross car and his debut in the Americas Rallycross Championship, this past weekend, Ken Block overcame a series of technical challenges throughout the race day yesterday and placed himself and his Focus squarely on the podium, landing his best rallycross finish in the last three seasons with a 2nd overall and kicking off his return to racing rallycross in America in a big way.

During his qualifying races throughout the day on Saturday, Block finished first in his Q1 race, first in his Q2 race, third in his Q3 race and second in his Q4 race, leaving him sitting in 3rd overall in Qualifying going into his Semi-Final—which, due to some unfortunate contact from elsewhere in the field, found Block finishing in 2nd and setting him up for P3 on the starting grid of the Final. From that starting position, Block advanced to P2 by turn 1 and held that position for the entirety of the Final.

“Today was a challenge for sure,” said Block. “We had some technical issues with the suspension on both my car and on Steve’s [Arpin] car, which made it hard to keep the pace we needed to be competitive out there, but, Steve’s Loenbro Motorsports team did a great job getting the cars repaired and out there and kept us competitive. It definitely felt great to be back racing rallycross in American and I’m stoked that I’m heading home with a 2nd overall from Austin. I’m looking forward to Canada in a few weeks, that’s a fun track that suits our cars well and I’ve got two seasons of experience running it from my time in World RX, so I’m hoping for another positive result up there.”

Block’s Hoonigan teammate, Steve Arpin, qualified 5th overall but suffered a mechanical failure in his rear suspension in the Semi-Final and was unable to advance to the Final.

Both Block and Arpin will be competing in their Ford Focus RS RX’s in a few weeks during ARX’s third round of the season, taking place August 4th and 5th at Trois-Rivieres in Canada.

In the interim, Block is competing in the New England Forest Rally next weekend in his 90’s Ford Escort RS Cossie Group A/WRC car.

Ken Block and Ford Racing to bring the RS badge to Fia World Rallycross

 

 

DEARBORN, Mich., March 2, 2016 – Ford’s RS competition legacy continues this season for a new generation of motorsports fans. 

Teased at the conclusion of Ken Block’s Gymkhana EIGHT released earlier this week, Ford Performance confirms Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division team will field two factory-supported 2016 Ford Focus RS race cars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

“RS is a worldwide brand with a rich heritage that motorsports enthusiasts know and love,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “Our RS badge has a natural connection to racing, and we have a passionate, dedicated team on the project. We’re excited to honor the history of Rallye Sport by pushing every aspect of performance and design to the limit.” 

For more than 50 years, Ford Performance’s Rallye Sport badge has been reserved for racing and production vehicles that push the limits of performance and innovation. Known for aggressive design and pioneering technology, Ford vehicles wearing the RS badge have seen success for decades in stage rally series including winning participation in FIA World Rally Championship with drivers like Björn Waldegård, Marcus Grönholm, Mikko Hirvonen and Colin McRae. 

The Focus RS build is a global collaboration between Ford Performance, Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division and U.K.-based M-Sport. Featuring all-wheel drive, a new EcoBoost® engine producing 600 horsepower, and a 0-60-mph launch time of less than two seconds, Ford Focus RS Rallycross cars are optimized for competition. 

Mark Rushbrook, motorsports engineering manager, Ford Performance, says the intention has been to develop a Rallycross car that lives up to the RS badge. 

“We’ve dedicated the same level of cutting-edge tools, technical resources and engineering know-how from our Le Mans GT and NASCAR programs, and working with M-Sport brings renowned expertise in rallycross and stage rally vehicle development,” said Rushbrook. “Ken, Andreas Bakkerud and Hoonigan Racing give us insight from the competition and driver perspectives. Our three organizations have a great working relationship, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the Focus RS in action.” 

"I'm really happy to be expanding my relationship with Ford Performance," said Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block. "To have official factory support for my race season in 2016 and beyond as I enter the FIA World Rallycross Championship full-time is absolutely incredible. It opens up a ton of powerful resources that myself and my team will be able to benefit from in terms of engineering prowess, research, development and racing experience from different fields. Plus, have you seen the car that they've created for me to go race in? My mind was blown when they showed it to me in Dearborn a few months ago. I absolutely cannot wait to get behind the wheel and start testing." 

Malcolm Wilson, OBE, managing director for M-Sport, believes that together, they’ve produced a very special race car. “Working closely with our colleagues at Ford Performance and Hoonigan Racing Division, a huge amount of work has gone into this project,” he said. “It’s been an extremely exciting, rewarding venture – one we hope yields considerable success. I’m confident we have a winning formula for the season ahead.” 

A Ford driven by Ford-Autocraft employee Brian Melia was at the birth of rallycross in February 1967 – his Lotus Cortina finishing second in the Lydden Hill event created especially for ITV’s “World of Sport”. The BBC adopted rallycross later that year and the sport’s future was assured, with the first British Rallycross Championship won by Tony Chappell in a factory-prepared Ford Escort Twin Cam in 1968. 

The Focus RS Rallycross cars will debut at the FIA World Rallycross event in Portugal, April 15-17, with Block and Bakkerud behind the wheel. The global 12-race series takes place in 11 countries on three continents. 

 

 

 

Jacques Villeneuve Frustrated After His First FIA World RallyCross

Montalegre, Portugal — Sunday 4 May, 2014; Albatec Racing was forced to miss its place in the semi finals in the opening round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy today, after fire damage sustained to the Peugeot 208 of Andy Scott in heat four brought his hopes to an end. Series debutant, former F1 and Indycar World Champion Jacques Villeneuve also had his chances of progressing halted prematurely after he was unable to take to the grid for today’s third heat, which effectively dropped him out of contention.

The Dumfries-based team worked into the early hours to iron out the issues that had affected both two-litre 16v cars yesterday, and the result was a return to pace by Jacques in this morning’s warm-up session. Unfortunately a steering issue just before the session started meant Andy was unable to take to the track.

Ahead of heat three though, a water leak was discovered on Jacques’ car leaving him and the team understandably frustrated, although the French Canadian bounced back in the fourth heat with a strong drive in front of the enthusiastic crowd. It wasn’t enough to see him progress through to the final, but nevertheless he proved more than a match for the established runners.

With the steering problem now rectified on Andy’s car, he headed out to the grid for heat three but was forced to joker twice, dropping him down to tenth, but an exhaust fire in the last heat effectively ended his hopes. Despite the best efforts of the team to get the car repaired and out onto the pre-grid for the six-car semi final, they were unable to keep the engine running, denying Andy the chance to start the race.




Andy Scott, Team Principal, Albatec Racing driver #26:

“I had a good reaction to the start but didn’t have the right strategy, I had too much wheel spin and no chance to challenge for position onto the main circuit, so I elected to joker. On the second lap, I was pushing hard but locked up going into the first corner, missing the turn in point and was forced to take the joker again. The second heat started well, but immediately the exhaust problem we had yesterday returned and after two laps I had to stop as the underneath of the car was on fire.”

“All the boys worked really hard to try and get the car going again after the fire damage but we simply ran out of time to get into the semi final. We could get the engine running but we couldn’t keep it going and under the rules that meant we were out.  It’s not the weekend we wanted or expected, we’re now on the back foot, we planned to go away and just perfect the set-up of the car we’ve got, but now we have to go and build a new car.”

Jacques Villeneuve, Albatec Racing driver #25:

“Everything went wrong this weekend, but that’s part of racing. I’ve been racing long enough to know that nine times out of ten you get hacked off, but then you have that one special day when it makes you forget about the other nine times. It’s been a hard weekend for everyone, the car was late, we didn’t have enough people working on the cars due to things outside of our control and the guys have had to do a couple of all nighters, so it’s turned out to be a weekend more of an appetiser than the proper start to the season.”

“Coming here from Indy I was really hoping to have a good result here and go back ready for the Indy500 pumped up, but that hasn’t happened which leaves me a little frustrated.  It’s left me hungry, it didn’t really give me a taste of real rallycross as we had too many issues, so it took the fun away, but the little testing we did have gave me a better outlook of what it should feel like so I’m not going to take this weekend as an example. We’ll have more time to prepare before the next time.”

Ken Block Doesn’t often Go To Missouri, But When he Does, Locals Ask Him for Directions!

 February 18th, 2014, Park City, UT:  After their horrific wreck at final round of the 2013 Rally America Championship, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino are back in the rally car  this morning for two days of testing in preparation for The 100 Acre Wood Rally, one of the two rounds that the team will compete in this year. The car has been fully rebuilt and the Hoonigan Racing team are also debuting their new  2014 livery, the team also 

announced Blocks full race schedule for the year, making him one of the busiest drivers in Rally..

 “I’m stoked with how the new liveries for my Ford Fiestas have turned out, as well as the race schedule we’ve been able to put together for 2014,” said Block. “Once again I’ve been fortunate enough to put together a highly diverse schedule that has me going around the world. I’m competing in the full Global RallyCross Championship, doing a handful of Rally America events, competing in a WRC round in Spain, doing the Monza Rally Sprint for the first time ever with Valentino Rossi as a teammate, returning to the Monster Energy Gymkhana GRID finale in Madrid, heading back to Japan to do more Gymkhana demos and, most interestingly, racing in three of the World RallyCross Championship rounds for the first time ever. I’m pretty sure nobody has a better job than me this year!”

 

 

In addition to having an action-packed year planned, Block has once again reinvented his race look for the 2014 season with a graphics package that will be incorporated across a full line of signature product including apparel from Hoonigan, sunglasses from SPY and RC cars from HPI.

“Every year I’m challenged with outdoing my livery from the season before,” said Block. “Luckily, I think we were able to do it once again. This year’s livery mixes animal pattern and 8-bit, which I love. We’ve come up with a sort of digital zebra graphic that I think is awesome and also brings me back into that familiar black and white color scheme I had starting back in 2010. I think the fans are going to enjoy this look.”

 

To catch Block and his all-new livery in action, be sure to follow along this coming weekend as he takes part in Rally America’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, where Block will be looking to reignite his winning streak for that event.

Block’s 2014 schedule:

 

Global RallyCross Championship:

• -    GRC Barbados: 5/18/14
• -    GRC X Games Austin: 6/17/14
• -    GRC Washington D.C.: 6/22/14
• -    GRC New York: 7/20/14
• -    GRC Charlotte: 7/26/14
• -    GRC Detroit: 8/3/14
• -    GRC Daytona: 8/23/14
• -    GRC Los Angeles: 9/20/14
• -    GRC Seattle: 9/27/14
• -    GRC Las Vegas: 11/5/14

 

Stage Rally:

• -    Rally America Rally in the 100 Acre Wood: 2/21-22
• -    Rally America Suesquehannock Trail Performance Rally: 5/30-31
• -    WRC Spain: 10/24-26
• -    Monza Rally Show: 11/22-24

 

World RallyCross Championship:

• -    WRxC Norway: 6/14-15
• -    WRxC France: 9/6-7
• -    WRxC Turkey: 10/11-12

 

Gymkhana demos:

• -    Japan: 7/5-6
• -    Gymkhana GRID, Madrid: 11/1-2

Source: Hoonigan Racing

Ken Block "The Fastest, The Biggest Wreck That I've Ever Had In My Career"

February 17th, 2014 Park City, UT: 2013 was a hugely successful race season for Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block, a driver who happened to have the most diverse and interesting racing schedule of last year.
Now, in preparation for the start of his 2014 race season, Block has released a video that shows and explains how he ended up 2nd overall in the Rally America Championship, after his chase at the title came to an abrupt, and brutal, end back in October at the final event, the Lake Superior Performance Rally.

Due to two simple letters (“in”) missing in his pace notes on one of the final stages of the event, Block and Gelsomino ended up cart wheeling down one of the final stages of the season, end over end, before coming to a stop against a tree.

The missing “in” allowed Block to go slightly wide around a very safe looking corner where his rear wheel went into the weeds and got caught up on a small clump of dirt, sending the Ford Fiesta HFHV into the air. While the crash was violent, the pair were fortunate to walk away from the championship-ending incident with minimal injury.

“This video is a tough one for me to watch,” said Block. “On the one hand, I’m proud of the fact that even after going through such a brutal crash, my first instinct was to try and get the car started again and press on. On the other, I’m still bummed that we were so close to winning the championship and that we lost it in such a spectacular fashion.

At the end of the day though, I’m grateful that the car did the job it was supposed to do and that I get to continue racing.” Block and Gelsomino’s run at the Rally America championship will have to wait another year however.

While the duo will be making their first competitive appearance of 2014 together at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri—an event they’ve won six times previously—they’re unable to contest the entire season due to schedule conflicts with other race events. For details on Block’s race schedule for 2014, as well as seeing the debut of his all-new livery, stay tuned, as he’ll be dropping both on February 17th.

Source ; Hoonigan Racing

Heikkinen Takes Gold to Clinch The 2013 GRC Championship for Ford at Summer XGAMES .

Fans come to their feet for the start of the Supercar final  at the House of Drift, this was the first time back to Irwindale for the GRC since 2012.

 Los Angeles, August 4, 2013. The dominance of Toomas Heikkinen in the 2013 Global RallyCross [GRC] continued this weekend at the 2013 Summer XGames. Despite getting momentarily caught up in the first turn mayhem, Topi basically checked out with his #57 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST  and drove a flawless race to his forth consecutive GRC victory while also collecting a forth XGAMES medal in 2013.

GRC is finally looking a lot like real RallyCross, the track layout at Irwindale speedway was less focused on a big jump but more on a track that tightened in all the right places, creating some great door to door racing and passing in the dirt sections.

The Final got off to a roaring start with an overzealous Sverre Isachsen jumping the start, for which he was black flagged for, but the jump start seen Isachsen leading into the first turn, and he was out in front avoiding the mayhem that unraveled behind him. All hell broke loose behind Isachsen, watching it live it was and still is hard to cast blame on any one driver.  You can decide for yourself with the unlimited rewinds available on YouTube.


 How we see it, Ken Block gets into a big drift around turn one, Ken and Topi come together for a few seconds, Ken then comes down the track and collides with fellow Monster Energy driver Liam Doran in the Mini, who was coming up on the inside line. At this point there seems to be little if any damage to the cars, just some tight racing and rubbing.

 It seemed like Liam Doran then turned right into Block, retaliation for the earlier contact? well things just unraveled from there. Block spins in front of Doran, Heikkinen barges into Block helping to spin him around.  Brain Deegan also gets caught up in the pileup and retires. Patrik Sandell tries to slip up the inside and ends up going crashing into the water barriers.  

Somehow Toomas Heikkinen slips through virtually unharmed into the first hairpin, Tanner Foust is alongside his door, with Travis Pastrana kissing his rear bumper. Block gets the RX43 re fired but has a rear flat and some heavy rear suspension damage. Always the showman, Block does a few laps burning the tires off the car for the fans before pulling off the track, thus ending a very disappointing XGAMES for HooniganRacing.

Subaru’s Sverre Isachsen went all out on the first lap, knowing full well he had to open a gap to negate the impact of his stop and go penalty. Sverre is passed by Heikkinen, Foust and Travis Pastrana while he sits in the penalty box.

Tanner sets his sights on Heikkinen while Sverre went to work on chasing down Pastrana for third, or more important, the XGames bronze medal.

It may have taken Vermont Sports Car a few races to get their car up to speed, but they definitely had Isachen’s STI dialed in for XGAMES. It only took Sverre one lap to reel in the Red Bull Dodge of Pastrana, his Puma sponsored Subaru sailed past Travis in the dirt section on the 3^rd lap.

Subaru is not alone in their frustration in tracking down the Ford Mafia in 2013, Travis Pastranan’s Dodge team has yet to podium in 2013. Bryce Menzies did not make the final after putting his Dodge in the wall in the LCQ. The Dodge Dart seems big and cumbersome compared to the high energy Fiesta’s, , , Travis also seemed to have no answer for the Subaru as it sailed past, Pastrana’s hopes for a podium and a medal faded to grey in the early laps.

Scott Speed would also put his Fiesta into the wall in the final allowing Rhys Millen to move into 5^th behind Pastrana, this was Millen only showing in GRC in 2013 as Hyundai pulled out of rallycross at the end of 2012.

Off the front it was all Heikkinen, the Flying Finn barely put a tire wrong as the laps clicked down, Tanner Foust closed the gap on several occasions, but it was like Heikkinen was just toying with Foust as he seemed to be able to pull away at will.

Tomas Heikkinen  center flanked by Tanner Foust, [left] and Sverre Isachsen as they celebrate their victories at Summer XGAMES 2013.

 In the end it was all Heikkinen in the BlueBeam/ Fordracing Fiesta ST, Tanner Foust who’s Fiesta is also prepared in the same OlsbergsMSE shop in CA, slides through in second for the Silver.” It’s cool! It’s cool to have a lot of points” proclaimed Heikkinen as he stood on the roof of his Fiesta at the finish line, “Still we’re leading, and now we have a little bit less pressure, but the next race is in six days, and we have work to do. I think the gap opened a little bit, because Tanner didn’t win his heat and I got the one extra point, plus three points more in the final. (Since last year) I just made my own work, what I had to do. I exercised at home and the gym to get myself ready for this season. Everything is good right now, and I’m not doing anything else than smiling”. With the podium finish by Heikkinen and Fousts  at XGAMES, they clinched the 2013 GRC Championship for Ford Racing.  With 39 point lead over Tanner Foust in second; the championship is Heikkinen's  barring a disaster. I would also hate to see Topi, easing back and letting someone else win for the sake of the sport, he should go for the win and let the chips fall where they will.

 Subaru’s front man in the GRC,   Sverre “The Viking Warrior” Isachsen finally, finally got the monkey off the teams back by holding Pastrana at bay, to bring his Subaru STI home and third. This is the first XGames medal and GRC podium for Subaru in 2013. “It was awesome! I had a good start. They said it was a jump start” proclaimed Sverre after the final “but anyway, we sat in the penalty box, took our punishment, and then went back in the race. It was a perfect race the whole way. Third place today is like winning for us at Subaru. Of course we’ll go for it in Atlanta as well. We’re taking the car small steps at a time and hopefully can try to get to the top”.

Without question the carnage that is happening in the GRC is unlike anything in any other form of professional motorsport around the world.

But if the goal of the organizers was to create excitement, check that box already, it sure is exciting for the fans. We also need to remember that is a made for TV series, and is directed in the background by a TV schedule.  Despite the frustration of drivers that are left licking their wounds after getting taken out in the first turn, the racing “seems” to continue to gain momentum, there is talk of Chevy and others planning to campaigning cars in 2014.  

As for the remaining rounds of the GRC in 2014, with the Championship in the bag for Ford we expect to see a reduced field over the final two races, which will be held in Atlanta and Charlotte. We also expect to see organizers tweaking the rule book, or should I say begin to write a rulebook. Either way, stay tuned this is by far the most exciting new form of racing happening the USA at this time.  

Photo/ FordRacing   / Matt Kalish -GRC

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From Concord Pond to the House of Drift, David Sterckx heads to the Summer XGAMES

David Sterckx on the attack last weekend on the infamous Concord Pond, the opening stage of the 2013 New England Forest Rally, Sterckx will now turn his hand to RallyCross this coming weekend at Summer XGames. Photo: Neil McDaid

 

Irwindale, CA, July 30th 2013:  After winning his class at the New England Forest rally race this past weekend, David Sterckx now prepares to compete at the Summer X Games in Los Angeles on August 2nd, 2013. The opportunity to race at the X Games came about as Sterckx was working on putting a deal together to race in the Global Rallycross series.

“The chance to race at X Games in Los Angeles has been my goal for a long time now; I am very excited to be able to compete there this year. One minute I am working on a deal to race, the Global Rallycross later this season and then this opportunity came up. I can’t wait to race against the best in rallycross from around the world” stated Sterckx.

 

David Sterckx will be driving one of the Rhys Millen Hyundai's ironically the Veloster Rally Cross car was debuted at Irwindale Speedway in 2012: Action Photo By Neil McDaid/ Rally World New

 

Teaming up with Rhys Millen Racing, Sterckx will be driving a Hyundai Veloster for this event and possibly more in the future.

 

Sterckx explained, “I am really looking forward to teaming up with such an accomplished racer as Rhys Millen. He has so much experience that I can learn from about rallycross and the Hyundai Veloster, this is a great opportunity.”

“I am very thankful for the wonderful support my sponsors are providing me so that I can make the X Games event happen. Ardeca Lubricants, Always Evolving, Exedy, and Oakley have all made this possible” stated Sterckx.

Currently leading the Rally America Super Production rally championship, Sterckx’s goal for the season is to win that championship and secure funding to do the full season of GRC next year and the Rally America championship. Being able to compete earlier than expected in the Global Rallycross Series at X Games will help Sterckx get valuable television and new fan exposure to help in his sponsorship efforts.

“X Games Los Angeles is really an incredible event and experience to be able to compete in. To be able to be a part of that, to meet the best from not only rallycross but also athletes from all different sports, and to be able to have my family, friends, and sponsors all there at the event will be incredible” explained Sterckx.

Sterckx is originally from Belgium and now lives in Los Angeles. He has raced in a wide range of series around the world including competing in the Belgium rally championship, Toyota Atlantic Series, FIA GT World championship, 24hr of Spa Francorchamps, Belgium Touring Car Championship, Formula Nissan, and Formula Renault series. In addition to car racing, Sterckx is also an accomplished European Equestrian Grand Prix rider and trainer.

The Global Rallycross series will be a challenging new series for him to compete in against some of the best in the world. Sterckx wouldn’t have it any other way because what motivates him most is to race against the best of the best, like those at this year’s X Games Los Angeles.

 

Action Photos: Neil McDaid /Rally World News

 

Brendan Reeves takes the Victory for Ford over International podium at New England Forest Rally

 

Brendan Reeves and Co-driver Rhianon Smyth [center] celebrate victory over fellow Australians  Will Orders and co-driver Toni Feaver  [left] who finished second, with Canadian driver Andrew Comrie-Picard  and his American co-driver Jeremy Wimpey rounding  out the podium in third. Photo: Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

Newry, Maine, July 27th: Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth have won the two-wheel drive category of the New England Forest Rally in Maine, USA, taking an incredible fifth outright in the process.

Driving their Team O'Neil Ford Fiesta R2, it is the Australian pairing's third consecutive category win from the three events they have contested in the Rally America series.
Heading into the second day, Reeves was second in two-wheel drive, trailing fellow Australian, Will Orders, but ahead of all the Rally America title contenders.

With a consistent run over the second day's stages, he was able to move into the lead, and jumped from an overnight 10th outright, to finish fifth."I'm really stoked to get another win," Reeves said at the finish of the event."The day was kind to us. We had a great drive through SS8 in the roughest road of the event, pulling lots of time back, and then Will had some issues and penalties later on.

"We bent a rear beam and damaged our exhaust, but the car kept pushing on and came out on top once again.
"Rhi did and awesome job and Team O'Neil were fantastic to work with."
Reeves and Smyth have now closed the gap to two-wheel drive championship leader, Andrew Comrie-Picard, with two events still to run in the series.

The next round of the Rally America series is the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Michigan on August 23 and 24.

Final 2WD standings - New England Forest Rally
1. Brendan Reeves / Rhianon Smyth, Ford Fiesta R2, 1h48m26.2s
2. Will Orders / Toni Feaver, Toyota GT86, +1h50m46.6s
3. Andrew Comrie-Picard / Jeremy Wimpey, Scion xD, 1h52m40.3s

Rally America: Ken Block keeps Championship hopes alive with his victory at the 2013 New England Forest Rally

Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino power through the last stage to take victory by a narrow margin. Photo Neil McDaid/RallyWorldNews

Newry, ME (July 28, 2013) --Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino won their first New England Forest Rally (NEFR), round 5 of the Rally America National Championship, on July 26-27^th headquartered in Newry, Maine after a closely fought battle with Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and Craig Drew. The margins between the two teams were incredibly thin and either could have snatched victory. Subaru Rally Team USA drove a nearly flawless event and pushed the Hoonigan camp hard all weekend, but Block and Gelsomino persevered with a 6.5 second buffer at the end.

 

Block and Gelsomino's NEFR nearly came to an end when their Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V. experienced electrical problems on stage 11. They had no intercom communications for nearly 13 miles before the alternator quit on the transit back to service. Open Class rivals Rifat Sungkar and Steve Lancaster, who were in fourth place overall at the time, graciously towed the Hoonigan Racing Team back to the service area so Hoonigan Racing Team could complete repairs and continue their race.

"It took a bit of good luck, it was a great battle with Subaru," said Block, "I know a couple of these stages, so I put the hammer down and built a bit of a lead. I had some small problems and then a big problem with the alternator going out. What a struggle, I put everything into it, and drove my heart out."

Subaru Rally Team Driver David Higgins piled on the pressure to try and close the gap on Ken Block, he would come up just a little short, nonetheless Higgins still holds a firm grip on the championship points lead. Photo Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

 

The New England Forest Rally marks Ken Block's second consecutive Rally America National Championship victory having won the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally last June. David Higgins currently leads the Championship Standings, but Block still has a mathematical chance at the title if he outright wins the final two rounds of the season.

 

Rifat Sungkar and Steve Lancaster were able to climb from fourth place to third overall to complete the NEFR podium with a little luck. Over the course of the weekend Sungkar saw a few competitors ahead of him fail to finish. The Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team of Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard ultimately broke their wheel bolts on stage 11, and privateers Joseph Burke and Alex Kihurani went off on stage 6 and were unable to continue. That left Sungkar alone in third place.

 

The pace and the tough stages at the 2013 New England Forest Rally was just a little much for the Tiburon that Antoine L'Estage took out of retirement for this rally. Photo Joel Sanford / RallyWorldNews

 

Notably L'Estage and Richard have won the New England Forest Rally the last three years in a Mitsubishi EVO X and looked to add their fourth overall victory to keep their streak alive. This time they competed with a Tiburon rally car that has seen plenty of rally action in the past, but the team experienced problems that effectively ended their event on the second day.

David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski get their rally off to a flying start with a hard charge down the opening stage of the rally, the infamous "Concord Pond" Photo; Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

 

In the Super Production Class, David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski notched a third consecutive class win and also placed fourth overall in the event. This is their fourth podium finish since failing to finish the Rally America season opener Sno*Drift Rally in January. This NEFR win extends their SP Class standings total while keeping third place in the overall Championship standings.

"The New England Forest Rally was hard because of all the sharp rocks," added Sterckx, "We broke some things, but we fixed it all in service and it was good enough to win."

Super Production's Mason Moyle and John Hall took second in the class after an exciting battle with Rookie of the Year contenders Nick Roberts and Nick Judkins. Over the course of the weekend Moyle lost second place to Roberts, yet later snatched the position back when Roberts suffered a strut failure on stage 11. Moyle had suspension damage as well; only he was able to carry enough speed to overtake Roberts and win by 6.1 seconds. This is Moyle's third podium finish this year and Robert's first in his rally career.

 

Keeping the streak alive, Australians Rhianon Smyth and Brendan Reeves celebrate yet another overall podium finish in two wheel drive in their Team O'Neil /Ford Racing R2 Fiesta. Photo: Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews

 

The Two-Wheel Drive category was an absolute knockdown fight won when Australia's Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth finally overtook fellow Australian rivals Will Orders and Toni Feaver on stage 11. Orders jumped into the lead on stage 1 and fended off Reeves until Orders overheated his brakes on the more technical stages of the event. Reeves seized this opportunity to take the lead with his Ford Fiesta R2. The 2WD win is Reeves and Smyth's third top podium finish since joining the Championship at the Oregon Trail Rally.

Said Reeves, "We've been driving these (Ford Fiesta R2's) for a few years, so we have the experience to win. Car is driving great, we have three wins now, next... we'll try for four."

 

Will Orders made a return to the New England Rally in his newly developed Toyota GT86, despite leading for most of the rally, problems slowed Orders on day two, he would eventually finish 2nd in 2WD. Photo : Neil McDaid / RallyWorldNews 

 

 

Will Orders had won the 2WD Class at the 2012 New England Forest Rally. This time he takes another podium with a newly built Nameless Performance Toyota GT86, the first of its kind in America.

Current 2WD national standings leader Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey were able to preserve their points lead by taking third place in class. The team overcame early gearbox problems in their Scion xD and drove a fantastic race to come back as far down as 7^th in class to the podium. Comrie-Picard and Wimpey have made the podium every event this year and just needs to keep that trend going in order to finish the season with their first 2WD national title.

 

Team Honda Research's James Robinson and Ross Forde won Rally America's B-Spec category. Tracy Gardiner and Nigel McGinn took second place. Robinson was a one man show driving and crewing for his Honda Fit, and squeaked out the win running his Honda with a broken engine mount and limited power on the last two stages of the day.

Mark Piatkowski on his way to the regional rally victory. Photo: Joel Sanford /RallyWorldNews

 

The Maine Regional Rally and the New Hampshire Regional were both won by MAP Rally Team's Mark Piatkowski and Robert Maciejski in their Open Light Class 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS.

 

Report By: Neil McDaid