Showing posts with label Ford Racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ford Racing. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2021
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
MATTON DOUBLES DOWN ON HIS COMMITMENT, THAT THE WRC HYBRID PROJECT IS ON COURSE FOR 2022
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| 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.
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| 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
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Ken Block returns to roots with Subaru
Park City, UT / April 22, 2021: With free rein to race in 2021 with any manufacturer of his choosing, Ken Block and Hoonigan Racing Division are announcing a wild year in some of the world’s finest gravel slingers: from an open class Subaru STi, to a safari-spec Porsche 911, to Block’s first ever race in a Trophy Truck… and that’s just the beginning. Block is also announcing that he will be creating and driving in a wild evolution of the viral Gymkhana film series this year, as well as announcing more manufacturer partnerships soon.
“This is going to be a wild year! I’m stoked to be back in a Subaru racing
rally in America,” said Block. “And now that I’m not exclusively tied to just
one manufacturer, I can go do things like race a Porsche, built by Tuthill
Porsche, in Africa and take on the infamous Baja 1000 in a Trophy Truck - both
of which I’ll be doing for the first time ever!”
In the latest episode on his YouTube channel, Block reveals that he will be
campaigning a Vermont SportsCar prepped 2021 Subaru WRX STi for the remainder
of the 2021 American Rally Association (ARA) championship calendar. Although he
will be in the same spec car as factory Subaru drivers Travis Pastrana &
Brandon Semenuk, Block is running his own race team and livery. The Subaru’s
livery - revealed today - is the first automotive application of his recently
announced project with street artist It’s A Living and The Hoonigans.
The team’s upcoming race at the Olympus Rally marks the first time Block is
racing a Subaru since 2009. When asked how he felt about the homecoming, Block
replied “It’s great to be working with Vermont SportsCar again. I was really
impressed with their latest WRX STi after testing it the day after I finished
2nd in The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.” Block’s history with the brand runs
deep: he began his career by racing a Subaru, winning his first national rally
with them in 2006, earned multiple X Games medals in a STi, as well as setting
a world record with a 171ft jump for the TV show Stunt Junkies. And of course,
Block kicked off the first two videos of the award-winning Gymkhana series from
behind the wheel of a Subaru.
Block is eager to compete for the 2021 the ARA championship, after an 8 year
absence from running a full season of stage rally. His last full season of the
championship ended violently, in a battle that came down to the wire at the
final round at LSPR in 2013. A rollover at 94mph took away what otherwise could
have been the win to secure Block’s championship win. Reference link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaNrSm2ROu0
Later
in the year is when things get really interesting for Block. In early November,
Block is set to pilot a Tuthill Porsche built air-cooled Porsche 911 for the
East African Safari Classic Rally. Spanning 10 days and nearly 5000 km on
Kenya’s tough gravel roads, it’s often regarded as the world's greatest classic
rally.
The
day after the East African rally is scheduled to end, Block will head straight
to Baja, Mexico to start the pre-run of the Baja 1000, then buckle into a
Trophy Truck for his first ever attempt at the legendary off-road race. He
seeks to answer the question: “Can a rally driver translate his skills directly
to the world of off-road truck racing?” For the event, he’s teaming up with
16-year-old Jax Redline, an up and coming off-road racer who just took 5th
overall at last weekend’s San Felipe 250. “Jax is one of the young and very
talented drivers in the sport and I am stoked to be partnered with him in this
big effort to go take on one of the biggest off-road races in the world!” said
Block
And
because no year is complete without a family-sized serving of hoonage, Block is
set to star in the next chapter of his award-winning Gymkhana franchise -
launching this year! When asked about the details of the film, Block replied
“It’s all a big secret at this point. But, there will be a lot more info on
this - along with a new manufacturer partnership - which will be announced very
soon. I am very excited about this one! We will be pushing the levels of film
and automotive technology in ways we have never done before.”
In
retrospect, Block put together a string of amazing drives across the globe last
year - despite a pandemic tearing 2020’s schedule apart. Taking wins at Rally
Barbados, Rally Legend in San Marino, and at the inaugural Projekt - E race in
Sweden, as well as 2nd overall for ARA’s Southern Ohio Forest Rally, and even
hammering the Saudi desert in Extreme E - setting a time that would have been
3rd fastest in the last stage of that epic rally. It was a big year for Block
and Hoonigan Racing, and 2021 looks to be even bigger.
KEN BLOCK’S 2021 SCHEDULE
ARA Championship:
Olympus Rally April 24-25
Southern Ohio Forest Rally June 11-12
New England Forest Rally July 30-31
Ojibwe Forest Rally August 27-28
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally September 17-18
Lake Superior Performance Rally October 15-16
East Africa Safari Classic Rally:
November 1-9
SCORE Baja 1000: November 15-20
North America’s Oldest Automotive Hillclimb Returns to the Mt. Washington Auto Road -AUGUST 2021
April 21, 2021, Pinkham Notch, NH — Officials with the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, organizers of the 2021 Mt. Washington Hillclimb, originally rescheduled last year for July 9-11, 2021, announced today that the event will take place instead on August 13-15, 2021 at the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, Gorham, NH.
It was also announced that Subaru of America will return as the event's Title Sponsor and that Yokohama Tire will join the event for the first time as the Hillclimb’s Presenting Sponsor.
“The Sports Car Club of New Hampshire is proud to welcome back Subaru of America as Title Sponsor of the 2021 Mt. Washington Hillclimb for the third consecutive event.
We’d also like to welcome Yokohama Tire to Mt. Washington for the first time as the event’s Presenting Sponsor. Both Subaru and Yokohama Tire have a long history of success in motorsports across the globe," stated Rob Widdick, President of the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire. "In addition, the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire would like to thank the Mt. Washington Auto Road for once again hosting this world-renowned Hillclimb as well as the hundreds of volunteers who are crucial to the success of the event.
Lastly, with the pandemic nearly behind us, we'd like to thank everyone, including the many competitors, for their patience and understanding as we've navigated this unprecedented situation to reschedule this historic Hillclimb."
First run in 1904, the Climb to the Clouds took place as part of the famous Glidden Tour several months prior to the first-ever Vanderbuilt Cup on Long Island, New York that was first run in the Fall of 1904. The initial Mt. Washington Hillclimb was also seven years before the first-ever 500-mile race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, Indiana which took place in 1911 and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado which first took place in 1916.
The 7.6 mile “Climb to the Clouds” is without question one of the ultimate proving grounds for both drivers and automobiles anywhere in the world.
The serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees, rocks and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak — Mt. Washington.
“Subaru is once again thrilled to support the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in 2021,” said William Stokes, Motorsports Manager for Subaru of America. “The Mt. Washington Auto Road provides a challenge unlike any other, and the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire has done a great job in putting on the event. Subaru has been able to set new records every time the event has been run since 2011, so we’re looking forward to more fireworks in 2021!”
“We’re thrilled to be the Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama Tire and be involved with such a historic race. We look forward to working with the Mt. Washington Auto Road and the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, as well as Subaru of America on this highly competitive, fan-favorite race. It will be a perfect venue to show the strength and versatility of our ADVAN tires.”
Race organizers from the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire are expecting a full 80-car competition field this year with some of the most talented competitors from across North America.
They’ll be driving an array of equally impressive hillclimb, time attack, road race and rally cars — all competing for “King of the Hill” honors in one of the most exciting events in all of motorsports.
“Since 1904 we’ve had a long history of car racing on Mt. Washington. When the first ‘Climb to the Clouds’ was held, we took our place in racing history and became a proving ground for man and machine,” stated Tobey Reichert, General Manager of the Mt. Washington Auto Road.
Monday, July 16, 2018
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.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
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.
Monday, February 17, 2014
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
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Subaru Rally Team USA Takes Overall Victory at Sno*Drift
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| Snow, nor wind nor freezing temperatures would stop the Subaru Rally Team mechanics from keeping their driver on the road. Photo Subaru Rally Team |
Hillman
Michigan, David Higgins and Craig Drew of the Subaru Rally Team USA, take the victory
at Sno*Drift, the opening round of the 2014 Rally America Championship. They
were joined in second place by last year’s winner Antoine L’Estage in the
Rockstar Energy Mitsubishi Evo, Antoine’s co-driver for Sno*Drift was Marshal
Clarke, rounding out the podium in third
in their SP class Subaru was Laughlin O’ Sullivan and Scott Putman.
This year
teams would be faced with blowing snow and some extreme cold temps that dipped
to minus 20 c with the wind chill at the Park Expose on Friday, day one of this
grueling two day rally. Although the
rally has utilized the same stages for many years, organizers will switch
directions from year to year to keep teams on their toes. This year we would see some better snow banks
over prior years, which can be an advantage to slow the cars by hooking a wheel
into them but also be disastrous if you hook too deep.
Antoine L’Estage
would draw the short straw sending him out first on the road, a difficult
position to say the least with the blinding snow and unknown icy conditions.
Higgins and
Drew took full advantage of Antoine’s line over the first two stages giving
them a pair of stage victories on SS1 and SS2 building a gap on 20 seconds on L’Estage.
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| Peter Fetela / Grzegorz Dorman were one of the first teams to fall victim to the icy conditions. They would go off on the first stage of the rally. Photo Greg Dorman/FB |
Heading into
SS3 “Eberly-Soden” Higgins and Drew would lose time due to overheating and a
drop in power in their Subaru.
Between
stages 3 and 4 they would try to diagnose the issue without success. With
only one stage before service, Higgins would charge into SS4 “McCormick Lake”, apparently
they did not properly insert the hood clips resulting in the hood blowing open
and cracking the windshield halfway through the 7.2 mile stage.
With the hood
now sitting on the windshield blocking his vision, Higgins could do nothing but
peer out through the tiny gap at the bottom of the hood or out the side window,
“I would just pitch the car a little sideways to see
out my side” explained Higgins.
By the end of SS4 as the cars pulled into the first
service of the rally, Higgins has erased the advantage he had on L’Estage on
the opening stages, due to his problems on SS3 and 4 he was now down 39 seconds
to the Canadian.
Any driver who has competed at Sno*drift in the past
knows all too well what to expect as they head out for a second pass of any
stage, glare ice! and this year would be no exception!.
Still running first on the road, Antoine L’Estage left
the service in Lewiston with what would be consider a comfortable lead on
Higgins given the conditions. But on the
second pass of “Shoreline” SS5, Antoine would suffer a puncture, rather than changing
the wheel within the stage and losing minutes to Higgins, L’Estage pushed on
through. Despite his best efforts to keep pace Antoine dropped 31 seconds to Higgins.
Higgins and Drew would continue to pile the
pressure on L’Estage over the final stages of day one, heading into the overnight
halt they were now up 26 seconds over L’Estage and Clarke.
We had
expected to see FY Racings Adam Yeoman in the hunt for an overall podium finish
here in his native Michigan, but his rally would get off to a tough start when
he got stuck on a snow bank on the very first stage. Adam and co driver Jordan
Schulze were eventually able to dig themselves out and get back on the road,
but any hopes of a podium finish at Sno*Drift would require divine intervention.
At the end
of day one it was rally veteran Laughlin O’Sullivan slotting his SP Subaru into
the third overall position. By doing so Laughlin would also lead the hotly
contested SP class ahead of Dillon Van Way and 2013 Rookie of the Year Nick
Roberts in third, both in Subaru’s.
In 2wd we
would see some changes in the Scion and Ford camps for 2014, Andrew
Comrie-Picard [ACP] made the switch from Scion Racing to a Team O’Neil /Ford
Racing R2 Fiesta. With Andrews’s
departure from Scion it opened the door for Matthew Johnson to make a return to
the driver’s seat after a four year hiatus from the sport.
ACP would
get off to a strong start in the R2 Fiesta setting the fast time in 2WD over
Johnson in his old Scion on the first 3 stages, but ACP would run aground on a
snow bank on SS4 “McCormick Lake”. Going
into the overnight halt ACP had dropped almost 35 minutes to Johnston in the
Scion, basically erasing any chance of repeating his 2WD Sno*Drift victory of
2013. A pair of R2 Fiesta’s driven by
Troy Miller and Panos Karpidas would round out the top three in 2WD.
L’Estage would
open day two by clipping Higgins by .05 seconds on the opening stage, Higgins
would answer the call by taking victories on the next two stages before
service.
Coming into the first service on day two;
Higgins has increased his lead on L’Estage to 43 seconds. Laughlin O’Sullivan
was still holding off Dillon Van Way for third. Matthew Johnson was holding a commanding overall
position at the front of the two wheel drive pack.
Looking back
to last year, L’Estage was sitting in much the same position behind Higgins and
Drew at the midpoint service on day two, L’Estage and then co-driver Nathalie
Richard would start a vicious attack on the closing stages of the rally to
snatch victory from Higgins.
With the
memories of that crushing defeat in 2013 as fresh as the resent snow fall, Higgins was not going to let history repeat itself this time
around. David Higgins and Craig Drew
would not give up a single second to L’Estage over the closing stages of this year’s rally;
Higgins would take victory on 10 of the 11 stages on day two to seal his
victory on the 2014 Sno*Drift Rally.
Antoine L’Estage
and Marshal Clarke would coast home in second with Laughlin O’Sullivan taking
the final place on the overall podium.
"Last year Antoine hurt us really bad when he beat us
on the last stage at Sno*Drift," said Higgins, "These difficult
conditions can change so quickly and you never know what you are going to
get. That just makes me pleased to set the year off and get the points in
the bag. Now I am looking forward to getting on the gravel at the Rally in the
100 Acre Wood."
The win at
Sno*Drift will be significant in Higgins bid for yet another Championship title
in 2014, taking all things into consideration, another title for Higgins is
highly likely in 2014.
With Ken Block
only contesting three rounds of the Rally America Championship in 2014, he
will not factor into Championship contention, regardless if he were to win all of
the three rounds that he enters.
Rally
America fans will also see the return of Travis Pastrana in 2014, but it’s unlikely
he will be on pace with either Higgins or L’Estage for that matter in his first
few outings.
It’s also unlikely
that Subaru will let Pastrana and Higgins go head to head.
Although Antoine L’Estage has proven his worth;
it has been apparent for some time that his Mitsubishi is no match for the ongoing
development budget of the Subaru STI and the Ford Fiesta of Block. Nonetheless, with
all that been said, we really do expect to see some great action at each rally
this year, regardless of a true challenge on Higgins for the Championship.
In the SP
Class, along with his overall podium finish, Lauchlin O’Sullivan took away the
victory in SP at Sno*Drift, but he will be feeling the pressure throughout the
year from young guns Dillon Van Way and Nick
Roberts who finished respectively in second and third behind Lauchlin.
"It's great to make a comeback after such a difficult
2013 season," said O'Sullivan, "To come out and get this was a work
in discipline, especially when there are four up-and-coming SP drivers to
compete against. I had to drive in these icy conditions not too fast or too
slow. I just had to keep doing my thing and not worry about what the others are
doing. I just avoided that one 'gotcha' that could end it."
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| The return of #46, after a 4 year hiatus, Matt Johnson makes a return to Rally America with a victory at Sno*Drift 2014. Photo Matt Johnson /FB |
In 2WD, Scion Racing Rally xD's new driver, Matthew Johnson,
paired with co-driver Jeremy Wimpey took his first victory after spending four
seasons away from the sport. Johnson was expecting a challenge from Ford
Racing's Andrew Comrie-Picard, but the anticipated battle never materialized
following Comrie-Picard losing 35 minutes from getting stuck in a snow bank.
"I'm really happy with this result," commented
Johnson, "I've been mentally preparing myself to get back in the driver
seat for a couple of years and I'm really fortunate to have this opportunity by
Scion Racing. They prepared a great car with a special engine for Sno*Drift,
and it really paid off for the team. I couldn't be more excited for the rest of
this year!"
 |
| James Robinson and Jordan Guitar grab third in 2wd in their B-SPEC Honda. Photo Alex Haugen |
Comrie-Picard's misfortune helped move brothers Troy Miller
and co-driver Jeremy Miller into second place for their first ever national
podium. Troy Miller is in the hunt for the 2014 Rookie of the Year. Honda
Performance Development's James Robinson and Jordan Guitar took third for their
second 2WD category podium and also took the B-SPEC Class victory in the
process. Robinson is the reigning 2013 B-SPEC Champion and he took an important
first step in defending his title.
We expect to see ACP come
charging back at 100AW next month, Andrew and Team O’Neil
are also expected to debut the new Ford Fiesta R3, which is a turbo charged version.
As mentioned the 100AW rally is next up on the Rally America
calendar, although we do not have confirmation yet, we fully expect to see Ken
Block and Alex Gelsomeno on the start line. Travis Pastrana is already on the entry list. Hopefully we
will not see the snowy conditions we had in 2013, so drivers can go all out on
the fast flowing stages.
For more information check in with www.rally-america.com
Sources: Rally America.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
SPEED WINS THE BATTLE AT THE DIRT TRACK, BUT HEIKKINEN WINS THE WAR
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| Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen clinched the 2013 Global Rallycross Championship at The Dirt Track, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, along with a cool twenty thousand dollars for also winning the Sylvania SilverStar zXe Cup. |
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| Another 1-2-3 for Ford. Heikkinen may have won the war, but third overall was the best he could manage in a tough final battle. Scott Speed (center) took the overall victory at Charlotte, with Brian Deegan rounding out the podium. |
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| Yet another classic first turn pile up in the GRC final at Charlotte. We find it hard to understand, other than it makes for an exciting TV show for the fans, how the manufactures can continue to let destruction and hard hitting continue. Scott Speed got the hole shot on the restart and basically cruised to victory, while others continued to battle it out behind. |
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| Subaru continues to make great improvements in power and reliability in their Rallycross program, but getting a clean run in the final is still a massive challenge for all involved. GRC seems to loose the black flag when the TV schedule tightens up. Despite a lot of rough driving in the final only one black flag was displayed. |
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| If all GRC finals were like this!! Far and away the best battle of the day was between Brian Deegan in the Rockstar Ford Fiesta and Sverre Isachsen in the Puma Subaru. Deegan and Isachsen went door to door throughout their heat, with Sverre nipping Deegan on the line for the victory for Subaru. |
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| Brian Deegan scored a fine second place in the final but it could have been an overall victory had he not been barged from behind and turned around by Scott Speed in the first try at the final. |
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| One of the top privateers to compete in the Global Rallycross since it inception, Stephan Verdier made a return to the action in Charlotte behind the wheel if a Rhys Millen Racing prepared Hyundai. Stephan was quick through the heats, and despite a little tangle with Ken Block in the final he still managed a top five finish. Stephan is one of those quick privateer drivers that we truly hope can get a chance to prove his worth in a factory backed car for 2014. |
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| Ken Block would again dominate in the heats posting fastest times in both of his heats. Ken continues to struggle with his reaction time off the line in the final. |
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| Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block would have pole position for the final, but he would be lose his advantage off the line by the F1 reaction speed of Scott Speed, which left Block getting caught up in the first turn carnage. Despite a front tire puncture in the opening laps Block would charge on and eventually finish 7th overall. |
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| Travis Pastrana's Red Bull / Discount Tire sponsored Dodge team are suffering a very similar fate as Subaru had earlier in the year. Despite some good speed from Travis in the heats, the Dodge was crippled in the final by what seemed like minimal contact. The cars need some more development to make them a little more durable for the tight, tough racing in the GRC. |
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| After a long development phase, Pat Morro final took the wraps of his new Chevrolet Sonic. As with any new car, Pat and his team would work on bugs throughout the weekend. Although Morro does not have the full backing from Chevrolet on the project, this first outing shows that the Sonic has potential. Morro is also in development of a second Sonic for 2014. Pat will be back in action in Las Vegas in the final round of the 2014 Global Rallycross Championship. The mostly asphalt course in Vegas will be better suited to the Sonic which lacked suspension travel for The Dirt Track. |
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| Dave Mirra started his Rally career in 2008 with Subaru. He has competed in both the Rally America Championship and battling in the Global Rallycross Championship since it inception. Despite some challenging moments along the way Dave has got on the podium in both series on more than one occasion. In the weeks leading up to the penultimate round of the GRC in Charlotte an announcement hit the newswire that Mirra and Subaru were parting ways, thus leaving Dave without a drive for the final GRC rounds. With the support of PUMA, Dave would work out a deal with Liam Doran to drive his Prodrive prepared Mini in Charlotte. Dave's transition to the Mini was seamless. A quick change of livery and Mirra was throwing down some impressive lap times in practice. Onto the heats, Dave would get a controversial black flag for what seemed to the officials as a jump start. Despite a stop and go penalty Mirra was able to battle back to within striking distance of Pastrana who was leading the heat. Unfortunately, Mirra would tag a barrier while on Pastrana's rear bumper which resulted in a spin.. |
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| Mirra would not make it to the final after he was barged off the track by Tanner Foust who struggled with a jammed throttle.
after the event Mirra told GRC "First and foremost, I
want to thank PUMA, Liam Doran, and Prodrive for the MINI. It was an
unbelievable car, super fast. I won practice yesterday, qualified second today,
clearly was reeling in some other heat drivers in the other races, but things
just didn’t go right. I got called for a jump start—Joey (Mancari) came back and
reviewed it and said it wasn’t a jump start. We went to the LCQ and all hell
broke loose. I’m pretty bummed about the race. It kind of stinks, because I
know I was very fast.”
|
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| Tanner Foust was not on his game in Charlotte. He got caught up in a first corner wreck in the heats which would result in the first red flag of the day. Fans and fellow competitors were concerned as Foust did not emerge from the car until it was turned upright. We would find out later that Tanner was pleading with the safety crew to roll the car onto his wheels so he could take the restart. Despite the fact that Foust was un injured in the soft roll, the rules state that he needed to go to the medical center after an accident. Foust would return for the LCQ, but mechanical issues would ground him for the final. |
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| "Just call me Joni"
Joni
Wiman [center] remains perfect in GRC Lites competition, winning his fifth consecutive
race at The Dirt Track on Charlotte. This victory, over Geoff Sykes
[left] and Sebastian Eriksson, extended Wiman’s points lead to 29—clinching him the
inaugural series title.
|
Although the GRC Lites are a far cry from an affordable entry point in the Global Rallycross Championship, they definitely are an exciting addition to the series. It will be interesting to see how the GRC Lite will roll out in 2014 and who will be driving.
 |
|
For
the second race in a row, Wiman failed to secure the hole shot in the final,
this time falling behind Kevin Eriksson as a rough start dropped deJong through
the field. But Eriksson’s good luck faded fairly quickly, as a cut right rear
tire dropped him through the field like a stone until he eventually ended up
seventh.
SUPERCAR FINAL RESULTS;
1.
Scott Speed, #77 OMSE2
Ford Fiesta
2.
Brian Deegan, #38
OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST
3.
Toomas Heikkinen, #57
OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST0
4.
Stephan Verdier, #4 Rhys
Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster
5.
Steve Arpin, #32 OMSE2
Ford Fiesta
6.
Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru
PUMA Rallycross WRX STI
7.
Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan
Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST
8.
Sverre Isachsen, #11
Subaru PUMA Rallycross WRX STI
9.
Travis Pastrana, #199
Pastrana Racing Dodge Dart
10.
Tanner Foust, #34
OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST
Photos; Neil McDAID / RALLYWORLDNEWS |
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