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

Subaru Rally Team USA Takes Overall Victory at Sno*Drift

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.

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."

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEN BLOCK WINS OJIBWE FORESTS RALLY, UNSWEETENED, NO SALT

 

 

Detroit Lakes, MN (August 25, 2013) -- Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino selected the winning ticket in the seeded draw; they proceeded to select first on the road and never looked back. Blocks victory at the Ojibwe Forests Rally makes it three in a row for his Hoonigan racing team, thus setting up an epic showdown with David Higgins and Subaru USA for all the marbles at LSPR in October.

In the weeks and days leading up to the rally temps were in the high eighties and low nineties, leaving the stages rather dusty for competition.  As always in Rally America the top three drivers in overall classification would draw a number from a hat to determine their road position. 

Ken Block who has the highest speed factor in the USA got to pick first, and for a change it was Block's lucky day,  he got the winning #1 ticket and he promptly selected  first on the road.  Although the forecast called for a 30% of rain on Friday night and a 40% chance on Saturday, Block was taking no chances with the dust.

Antoine L’Estage who moved to a Subaru for the final two rounds of the 2013 season got ticket #2 and selected the second road position.

There was nothing else left for the defending Rally America Champion David Higgins other than to settle for third on the road. As someone aptly noted before the start, everyone seemed to have an opinion on road selection,  so did we.

Yes without question running first on the road in these tough dusty conditions was the best selection,  but with any rain or wind, Block would be at a disadvantage to Higgins and L’Estage while sweeping the loose gravel running first.

Unfortunately for everyone starting behind Block the rains never came, Ken Block and co driver Alex Gelsomino quickly vanished into a cloud of dust.  Without “officially hearing” – “official confirmation” of fact, we maintain little or no doubt that the appearance of Antoine L’Estage in a "Subaru supported" car was a tactical move on the part of Subaru Rally Team in a bid to secure the Championship for Higgins.

With little or no testing of the car prior the rally, it was a lot to expect from L’Estage to be on attack, nor be on the pace right out of the gate.

Higgins was considerable faster than L’Estage on the first stage, and evidence of Antoine’s “unofficial” role in the team quickly because evident. Antoine would give up his road position in an effort to lessoning the dust impact on Higgins, David moved to second on the road heading into SS2.  

At the end of day-one with a total of six stages completed, running off the front in a dust free world of their own, Block and Gelsomino were able to open a gap of over a minute on Higgins and Drew.

Antoine L’Estage clearly off the pace continued to come to grips with the Subaru while holding down third overall.

Back in Two wheel drive the hotly contested battle for the 2013 2WD Championship between Australian, new comer Brendan Reeves in the Fiesta R2 and Canadian [ACP] Andrew Comrie-Picard in the Scion XD, was back on.

Reeves has dominated 2WD since he jumped into the fray at Oregon Trail Rally earlier in the year, he has taken the overall 2WD victory  in all of the three events he has entered in the USA to date.  With nearly a  three minute advantage over ACP at the end of day-one,  it was looking like victory number four was in the cards for Brendan and his co-driving sister Rhianon Smyth.

Into day-two, again the overnight rains that every team with the exception of Hoonigan Racing were hoping/praying for, never happened, but the winds had significantly increased from day-one.

Competitors would open on day two with two short spectator specials around a local dirt track; it quickly became apparent that the stiff wind coming off the lakes was making short work of clearing the dust, therefor opening the window for Higgins to close the gap on Block.  

Onto the first proper stage of day two,  SS9 “Anchor Mattson” with little or no dust in Blocks wake and Ken still on gravel sweeping duties, David Higgins and Craig Drew were on full  attack in the Subaru. Over the 9.97 mile stage somehow Block and Higgins would set the exact same time!, resulting in a tie. 

As the saying goes, “he [Antoine L’Estage] would have no luck at all if he did not have bad luck”; the 2013 Rally America Championship has gone for the highest of highs to the lowest of lows for Antoine and Nathalie Richard.

 

Coming into the Ojibwe Forests Rally there was a positive felling in the Rockstar Energy Sponsored team of L'Estage and Richard that their year was ending on a high point with the newly acquired Subaru. But it was short lived, Antoine’s  Subaru would refuse to start at the beginning of SS9, electrical gremlins had worked their into the cars system and their rally was over..

Block's good luck took a little left turn on SS9, when he had to bring the Fiesta to a crawl when it would not fit through one of the chicanes on the stage, Block and nine other competitors were giving a 30 second penalty for touching the very tight chicane on SS9. Had the events that unfolded on SS10 not happened , that Chicane infraction could have been a big issue for Block on the closing stages.

 

Onto SS10, the rally would slowly and painfully unravel for David Higgins and Craig Drew in the Team Subaru STI. At some point during the stage, Higgins would experience power steering failure in the Subaru, as David battled to stay on the pace, he connected with a rock that violently snapped the steering wheel from his hand fractured his wrist.

To add insult to injury while David was looking under the car at the end of the stage the medical sweep SUV ran over his ankle.  David would struggle though SS11 loosing valuable time to Block before receiving some much needed medical attention in service.

David could have opted to throw in the towel at that point, but with the Championship in such a tight battle he had to continue.  Heading into the final loop of 4 stages with a 3 minute gap over the injured Higgins, Block would back off his charge and focus on getting the his H.F.H.V. Fiesta to the podium.

David Higgins would win his only outright stage victory of the rally on the last stage ss15, “Anchor 3” with a 6 second victory on Block who was now in cruise mode.

Ken Block had won the 2013 Ojibwe Forests Rally, this event has bitten Block hard in the past, but on this night he climbed to the top step of the podium, and promptly shook the “Ojibwe Monkey” off his back.

“I’m really stoked with how this rally went for us this weekend,” said Block. “Historically, I’ve had some really bad outings here at Ojibwe. This is the first time I’ve actually finished the event, so it feels awesome to not only beat the competition, but to sort of beat the rally itself as well! Plus, with this win, we stay in the hunt for the overall 2013 championship. It all comes down to LSPR now in October and I can’t wait.”

Despite Team Subaru’s best laid plans by “unofficially” pulling L’Estage into their folds, in what was without question an effort to secure the Championship for Higgins at the penultimate round, had  all unraveled for SRT/USA due to mechanical problems.  

We have seen on several occasions in the past few years where David Higgins has comeback from some seemly impossible odds, and clawed his way back to the podium. Again we witnessed the grit of the Manxman, as he pushed on through the pain over the last loop of stages to join his co driver Craig Drew on the podium in second.

 

 "We knew after the seeded draw and pre-event shakedown that we were in deep trouble this weekend with the dust, especially in the night stages on day one," explained Higgins. "The plan was to try and stay in touch with Ken [Block] and keep the pressure there for day two, hoping he would hit trouble. It started off well enough but then things took a bizarre turn, It was all unbelievable. At least we won the final stage of the rally, which I drove one-handed. It was clear that it was not meant to be though."

Rounding out the overall podium was one Brendan Reeves in his 2WD Team O’Neil Ford Fiesta R2, yes a 2wd car on the overall podium!!.

Yes, this was a tough rally for the top cars behind Block fighting dust, but this is the way it’s been since ever I recall, you draw your straw and you battle on, dust, unexpected snow and ice are all part of the challenge that makes this sport so special and unpredictable.  

When conditions are like this past weekend, drivers running outside of the seeded draw don’t get the chance to run dust free, therefore making the achievement of Brendan Reeve and Rhianon Smyth all the more remarkable. Reeves, who originally started 8^th on the road, finished in front of the entire AWD SP class, and numerous open class cars.

After celebrating on the overall podium, Brendan and Rhianon moved to their familiar place on top of the 2WD podium. “We came here to win, we don’t want to settle for second best,” said Reeves, “Rhianon has been great on the pace notes and the car has performed admirably”

They were joined in second by Chris Greenhouse and Peter Watt in the Dodge Neon, ACP and Jeremy Wimpey managed to claw back from a roll in the Scion on day two to grab the last spot on the podium, which helped preserve their overall point position in 2WD. 

With Chris Greenhouse finishing 2^nd on the podium ahead of ACP he has now opened the door for Brendan Reeves to win the 2wd Drivers Championship and also the 2WD Manufactures Title, if he can keep the streak alive at LSPR in October that is.

In the Super Production (SP) Class, local Minnesota resident Nick Roberts took his first ever class win in his rookie season while using a new co-driver, Steve Quin.  Roberts is a candidate for Rally America’s Rookie of the Year and this class win strengthens his bid. 

“It’s pretty cool and surreal to win Super Production,” added Robert, “I went into the rally only expecting to battle for third place. But the team kept me going and I just hung in there. I keep pinching myself.”

Longtime 2WD driver Dillon Van Way with co-driver Andrew Edwards switched to the SP Class at Ojibwe for the first time and finished only 19.7 seconds behind Roberts. Rally America’s youngest driver, Mason Moyle with co-driver Ryan Scott, took SP third place for his fourth podium finish this season, and keeps his second place position in the SP standings.

The stage is not set for an all out battle in all classes at The Lake Superior Performance Rally - the seventh and final round of the Rally America National Championship- takes place on October 18-19^th in Houghton, Michigan.

In the Manufacturers' Championship Ken Block's overall victory helped Ford close the gap to Subaru who leads the standings. After Ojibwe Subaru leads with 112 points and Ford has 94 points. Each manufacturer must drop one event.  

Before LSPR Ken Block has the final rounds of the 2013 GRC to deal with, and hopefully he can carry some momentum from Ojibwe with him..

Stay tuned, we will always  bring you “the unsweetened, no salt, version of events”… Pass the Fries!

 

Photo: Hoonigan racing:

 

 

 

Déjà vu, Toomas Heikkinen, Unchallenged as he claimed his Fifth Consecutive GRC Victory

 

Report By: Neil McDaid

Atlanta, Ga., August 10, 2013 – Finland’s Toomas Heikkinen continues to be untouchable in the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship, as he runs out front unchallenged in his Bluebeam OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST for the entire final. Toomas has now unofficially clinched the 2013 Drivers Championship, which we expect will be made official at Charlotte in September thus capping off a fantastic year for Heikkinen and Ford Racing.

Heikkinen who had cruised to victory in his heat race earlier in the day lined out on the front row for the final where he was flanked by fellow Fiesta drivers Ken Block to his right and Tanner Foust to his left. With the track configuration for Atlanta, it seemed that the middle lane was working best for most in the heat races in an effort to avoid the first turn shenanigans, as always Heikkinen made good use of his lane choice.  

 

Foust and Heikkinen launched hard off the line and were neck to neck heading into the first right hander and onto the gravel section, once again Topi would shine taking the perfect line and gaining the advantage on Foust.

Foust and Heikkinen would come together again going though the first left hander, but again the Finn would prevail and maintain the lead.

Although there are few that can question the speed and ability of Ken Block on the Global RallyCross tracks, Ken himself can’t seem to get the monkey off his back when it comes to the finals. Ken set fastest times in both qualifying sessions, and posted second fastest to Heikkinen in qualifying, after recovering from a spectacular roll I might add. Ken’s lack of luck in the final continued, Block would stall on the starting line, Ken would eventually get the Hoonigan Racing RX43 Fiesta going but he retired shortly thereafter. Although Ken has yet to take an outright victory in the GRC, he has medaled at XGames Munich and has also made the podium in Bristol.  

Back to the front and  it was all Heikkinen, chased by Foust then Brian Deegan, both Heikkinen and Foust opted to get the joker out of the way on the first lap, while Deegan took the long way around. From there it was Déjà vu as Heikkinen sailed off the front, although Foust keep pushing and closed the gap on a few occasions, he never at any time had Heikkinen on the ropes and under pressure.

Heikkinen, Foust, Deegan, Speed and Sandell are all run out of the OlsbergsMSE shop in California. One would assume that all the Ford Fiesta ST’s are equal, but if I recall correctly, Marcus Grönholm’s Fiesta always seemed to have a little more than the rest last year.

Again not to taking anything from Topi, but his car seems to have that extra little sprinkling of fairy dust, Topi was able to pull away from Tanner with ease on the front straight, and why not, Heikkinen is after all the official OlsbergsMSE team driver.

Subaru who had seen more downs than ups in Global RallyCross in 2013, have finally found their “a” game, the cars are much quicker than in prior events and the drivers are embracing the change.

Dave Mirra, who has qualified for his first GRC final in 2013, was all over Brian Deegan in his heat race, and won the LCQ with a last lap pass. Mirra was taking names on the first lap of the final until he was barged off the track by Scott Speed while sitting in fourth place, thus ending what could have been a podium finish. Speed was issued a black flag for his actions while Mirra slid though the grass to scramble back onto the track.

Dave Mirra’s teammate Sverre Isachsen would overhaul Scott Speed for forth before the end of the second lap. Brian Deegan who had been running strongly in third place, pulled to the side of the track on lap 6 with engine problems, therefore conceding third to the Subaru’s Isachsen.

Off the front it was business as usual for the young Finn Heikkinen, who has taking the Global RallyCross scene by storm in 2013. Tanner Foust, who had little or no answer for the speed of Hekkinen, would get a left front puncture on the closing laps; Foust had to turn his attention to protecting his position from the hard charging Sverre Isachsen who was closing the gap for second.

It really hard to take anything away from Tomas Hekkinen, his dominance over the rest of the field in the Global RallyCross has been remarkable. Yes he has had a lot of luck in the first turn, but I have so say his lines are razor sharp and he stays committed no matter what’s going on around him.

 “It was quite a different race for me since I am now trying to win the championship,” said Heikkinen,. “I had a really great start in my Ford Fiesta ST in the final race, took the joker on the first lap, and was able to keep the lead.”

 “I have come such a long way from last season,” said Heikkinen, “I am confidant once again in the race car and think that I have the best car out there. It is always a battle, but I am very happy to be on top right now.”

 The runner-up finish was the second straight for Foust in the Rockstar Energy OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST and third podium appearance this season.

 “This track was really a difficult track and it once again came down to how you did on the start and avoiding collisions in the first corner,” said Foust, “Second never feels great, but I am glad to be on the podium again.

 “Topi had a great start. I thought I was gaining on him, but with three laps to go I got a puncture on the front left tire,” continued Foust. “I didn’t realize I had a puncture until I went through the water and was instantly sideways at the top of fifth gear going 100 mph.  That’s when I knew there was something wrong and from then on it was a matter of managing the position in second and keeping ahead of the rest of the field.”

For the Subaru Puma team, their hard fought battles throughout the earlier rounds of the 2013 GRC have finally started to pay off, the teams number one driver Sverre Isachsen has now finished on the podium in the last two rounds.  “I’m really happy right now. Today was extra good, because we had to go through the LCQ, and in the final I was completely last on the grid” said an elated Isachsen after the final.  “So it was even better for me personally to fight, and it was really a hard fight the whole way, of course. Third place this weekend as well is perfect. If you come to the final, everything can happen.”

 Dave Mirra was able to overcome been barged off the track on the first lap and clawed his PUMA sponsored Subaru back to forth overall. Mirra spoke regarding his final, “I got spun in the corner after the jump, but I fought back. Things happen in rallycross. I was very, very happy with my pace—I know in the LCQ I was reeling people in the that section, the whole dirt section, so I felt like I showed that I could drive at a fast pace. The crew really, really work hard to get that car dialed, and I’ve been sitting back waiting. Now that it’s here, it’s fun to go out and drive a car that you know is reliable and fast, and you know that you can put some times down. I’m very excited. The Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team did really well. They’re awesome, they work hard, and they get the credit—then I get the car and get to drive it. It’s pretty awesome.”

I for one had some high hopes for the Pastrana/ Dodge Team coming into Atlanta, the team has been going through many of the challenges with the car that like Subaru had been experiencing, were looking for a turnaround at Atlanta.  They had called on the services of WRC driver Henning Solberg to team up with Russia RX Champion Timur Timerzyanov to fill in for Pastrana and Bryce Menzies who both had conflicting commitments this weekend.  Unfortunately the cars was not on the same plan, booth Solberg’s and Timerzyanov cars gave trouble throughout the day, yielding yet another disastrous outing for the Dodge camp.

For the teams coming off back to back racing weekends, three weekends for Ken Blocks crew [New England Forest Rally] they will be looking forward to a little breather before heading to Charlotte Motor speedway in September. From what we understand, GRC will not utilize the actual speedway this year, but will use the dirt track which is adjacent. For more information and tickets, check out www.global-rallycross.com

 

GRC ROUND 7 FINAL RESULTS

1.       Toomas Heikkinen

2.       Tanner Foust

3.       Sverre Isachsen

4.       Dave Mirra

5.       Timur Timerzyanov

6.       Brian Deegan

7.       Scott Speed

8.       Ken Block

9.       Steve Arpin

10.    Henning Solberg

11.    Patrik Sandell Sandell

12.    Bucky Lasek


Sources: Global RallyCross / Ford Racing

Photos/

Matthew Kalish- GRC /

Ford 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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