The Gorman Ridge Rally-Round #4 of the 2011 USRC -PREVIEW

LEBEC, Calif. (Aug. 5, 2011) - The Gorman Ridge Rally, presented by Subaru

Western Region, is the fourth event in the 2011 United States Rally

Championship. Taking place Saturday, Aug. 27, the rally celebrates its 21st

anniversary.

Gorman is also the sixth event in the California Rally Series.

As traditional forest stage rallies slowly began to fade into obscurity in

many parts of the U.S., Gorman's flexibility in venue continues to provide

both a challenging and exciting course inside the Hungry Valley State

Vehicular Recreation Area in Lebec, Calif. The event's headquarters will be

at the Holiday Inn Express in Lebec.

Building on the success and good feedback from last year's event the course

will once again use the new stages from 2010. The route is all dirt road

surfaces, which are generally smooth and hard packed with occasional rough

or sandy spots. There are always a fair number of washouts and waterbars.

For many years Gorman drivers navigated the roads inside the Angeles

National Forest, until the event's permit application renewal was denied.

Organizer Ray Hocker hopes the rally can return to the forest roads in the

near future.

"We are really happy with the relationship we've built through the many

years with the staff and administration at Hungry Valley," Hocker said. "We

were a good forest user and had a perfect safety record for over 30 years.

Every year we did thousands of dollars of road upkeep and repair on the

forest roads."

Topping off the entry list is Mitchell Williams of Denver, Colo. He is

currently the leader in the USRC's All-Wheel-Drive Championship standings

for the Pacific Division, leading with 360 points after his victory at the

Idaho Rally in June, driving a Subaru Impreza STi. Rebecca Greek, also of

Denver, will co-drive for Gorman as his Checkpoint Racing teammate, Alix

Hakala, will be on vacation.

"Rebecca is a very seasoned co-driver. She's done a ton of events around the

West Coast and typically runs with Todd Morberly," Williams said. "She's a

good friend of mine and I'm looking forward to competing with her. We've

been racing side by side for years now so I know she's good."

Greek navigated for the youngest driver in this year's Pike's Peak

International Hill Climb, Savannah Rickli, 17, in this year's Pikes Peak.

The women finished with an impressive seventh place in the Time Attack 2WD

class in a MINI Cooper S, competing against some of the best in the sport

such as Rod Millen and Jeff Zwart.

With the Subaru WRX STi well represented, the competition looks fierce in

the Open AWD entries for this year's Gorman Ridge Rally. Coming back strong

after disappointing DNFs are the teams of Jon Burke, San Francisco, Calif.,

and Tucker Heiner, Mountain View, Calif. The Up Two Mountains Rally team is

back after attrition took them out on Stage 4 at the North Nevada Rally.

Doug Chernis, Mesa, Ariz., and Craig Macnair, Phoenix, Ariz., are raring to

go after their DNF at High Desert Trails. Chernis owns RaceTechnik, a race

car shop in Arizona and has assisted motor sports competitors across the

board gain victory- now it's his turn.

In the USRC Open 2WD class, hot contenders to watch are the team of Bill

Holmes, Malibu, Calif., and Sean Gallagher, Santa Ana, Calif., points

leaders in the CRS Group 5 class, in a Ford F-150 Raptor. Last year's

overall winners at Gorman, the team took the overall win at this year's

High Desert Trails rally and lead the standings in the CRS-5 class.

Condor Rally Sport has three Volkswagen Golfs entered in the USRC Production

2WD class. This team, based in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., shows rally is

truly a family affair. Tony Chavez and his wife, Raquel Salas, are joined

by Chavez' daughter Sandra who is co-driving for her boyfriend Rene de la

Trinidad. Al Chavez, Tony's brother, is driving the third car.

Tony Chavez's motor sports career began in his native Peru, road racing in

the 1970s, and after moving to the U.S., began his rally experience in 1991.

Sandra Chavez started co-driving for her father at age 14 in Mexican

rallies. Once she was old enough to compete in the States, she joined her

father for a few events. Al Chavez will also show some Peruvian flair as he

was a successful go-kart and road racer. He too competed in U.S. rally in

the early '90s in a Datsun 510.

Tony Chavez credits his wife, a sociologist and professor, for the success

of building a three-car team. The couple won their class at High Desert

Trails in April.

"Rallying for us as a couple has allowed us to bond in a completely

different environment," Chavez said. "She enjoys rallying, enjoys the

friendly atmosphere, the fact that many women are involved and that it can

be a family sport."

Gorman Ridge Rally is infamous for its barbecue. This year it will be during

the rally's mid-point and provided by the Boy Scouts. Post-event beer is

provided by Karl Strauss Brewing Company.

The event also features live scoring, presented by RallyData.com, available

through the event's website at www.gormanridgerally.com

.

Further information about the Gorman Ridge Rally is available on the Web at

www.gormanridgerally.com.

TEA AND HOONING - KEN BLOCK RETURNS TO GOODWOOD

June 27th, New York, New York: Monster World Rally Team driver, Ken Block, will be returning to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this coming weekend to attempt to recapture the Veuve Clicquot “Most Thrilling Driver” award, a title he was given during last year’s event for hooning up the famed hill. 2010 marked the World Rally Championship driver’s first-ever visit to one of motorsports’ most prestigious and well-known motoring events, where drivers from all forms of racing convene and run their respective cars up the 1.2-mile long driveway of host Lord March’s estate in Chichester, England. 

“I had an incredible time at Goodwood last year,” said Block. “The Festival of Speed is such a great event and I can’t wait to get back. The fans, the cars, the runs up the hill, the forest rally stages, the whole experience is dope. Plus, I managed to take home an award for hooning last year, which was basically given to me for destroying Lord March’s lawn. To me, that’s awesome, so I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure I secure that title again this year.”

To double his odds of securing the Veuve Clicquot “Most Thrilling Driver” award once again, Block will be bringing out two cars to this year’s Festival of Speed. His Gymkhana THREE Ford Fiesta and his Ford Fiesta RS WRC that he currently runs in the World Rally Championship. 

This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from July 1st through July 3rd. Follow Ken Block during his visit to the event at monsterworldrallyteam.com, facebook.com/KenBlockRacing and facebook.com/MonsterWorldRallyTeam.

David Higgins Takes Mt. Washington Record.

Sunday June, 26th 2011- David Higgins made Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds History as he crossed the line in 6 minutes 19 seconds during his first full-length timed run of Sunday morning. Higgins was just over a second faster than his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Travis Pastrana who ran the Mt. Washington Auto Road in a similar car to promote the return of the hillclimb last fall. The prior record set by Frank Sprongl in 1998 is 6:41.99 and has stood for 13 years.
Jon Kemp followed at 7:06.82 and Todd Cook has the 3rd fastest time with a 7:07.33, less than a second back.
The Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile, the 7.6 mile serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak.  The Mt. Washington Auto Road’s history goes well beyond just this Hillclimb as it celebrates its 150^thanniversary this summer.
Source: Climbtotheclouds.com
Picture: Lars Gange

Higgins Nips L'Estage For a Hotly Contested Susquehannock Trail Rally Win

Wellsboro, PA (June 5th, 2011)  -- Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew win the 2011 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) by a narrow margin of 1.3 seconds over rivals Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard. Higgins had a 37 second deficit halfway through day two after losing intercom at the start of Stage 8 and puncturing a tire on Stage 9, but came back to lead the rally by 2.5 seconds going into the final stage. This is the third time Higgins has taken the outright STPR win in his career, having won the event back in 2002 and 2003.

The Rockstar Mitsubishi crew of Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard finished in a close second place after controlling the rally lead up until the second to last stage. The privateer driver set a blistering pace from the start despite being down on power and went on to win six of the event's fourteen stages including both passes of the Super Special at the Tioga Fairgrounds.

The Susquehannock Trail Rally is round five of the six-round Rally America Championship and is based in Wellsboro, PA. STPR features some of the fastest, roughest gravel stages in the Series with technical sections and 'gotcha's' scattered throughout. Severe dust caused visibility issues until about Stage 8, when heavy rains in the area challenged teams with slippery roads. The changing weather conditions contributed to an already heavy rate of attrition, putting several of the top crews and many regional competitors out of the event or out of contention.

The podium was rounded out by Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis, who once again placed third overall and first in the Super Production (SP) class. Lagemann nearly retired from the rally early on day two after running out of fuel on Stage 7 only three miles from the finish. Lagemann's Subaru sputtered to a stop on the following transit, but rival SP class driver Travis Hanson displayed excellent sportsmanship by towing him back to Service. Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson placed fourth overall and second in class, clinching the 2011 Super Production title at STPR. The remainder of the Super Production field fell victim to attrition, leaving Lagemann and Hanson as the only crews in the class to finish the event.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, Chris Greenhouse piloted his 1995 Plymouth Neon to his first-ever National class victory. Greenhouse and co-driver Billy Mann finished sixth overall with a 38 second lead over the second fastest team in their class and were the quickest 2WD crew on both passes of the Super Special. Brian Gottlieb and co-driver Pat Darrow placed second in class in their 1989 Honda Civic with a comfortable cushion of over one minute on Dillon Van Way. Van Way and co-driver Jake Blattner placed third in 2WD despite losing time on Stage 7 after rolling their 2011 Ford Fiesta.

2010 Two-Wheel-Drive champion Chris Duplessis is the first in North America to build and field a Ford Fiesta R2, which made its U.S. debut at STPR. Duplessis and co-driver Catherine Woods' rally came to a disappointing end after breaking a control arm tie rod near the finish of Stage 12. Duplessis was sitting sixth overall and was well over 8 minutes ahead of his 2WD rivals when he retired.

The 2011 Rally America National Championship comes down to the wire at the sixth and final round, the New England Forest Rally based in Newry, Maine this July 15-16.

The Rally America Championship Returns to the Northwest for the 2011 Olympus Rally



Dave Mirra will be hoping to keep his streak of podium finishes alive at Olympus Rally this weekend.
Photo Neil McDaid /OLY 2010



April 30, 2011: Ocean Shores WA.  Round #3 of the 2011 Rally America Championship gets underway today in South Bend WA. This is a change over previous years where the southern loops of stages were run on day two of the Rally.

Team Subaru USA will debut their latest car at Olympus, and will as always be on a mission to capture the top step on the podium, getting them there lays firmly on the shoulders of David Higgins.

Off the front in AWD, we expect to see Higgins set the early pace; he cannot let the Canadians Antoine L’Estage or Pat Richard open any gap before the rally turns to the more technical stages in the afternoon and on day two.

The opening stages today, Palix, Smith Creek and of course the infamous Brooklyn stage are all very fast smooth flowing tests, and should suit the more powerfully car of Team Subaru USA. 

As with Higgins, Antoine L’Estage will no doubt be on the early pace, but we expect Antoine may not be at 10 tenth on the opening stages and may make his move later in the day over the more technical twisty Pico stage.  Despite running first on the road we would not rule Antoine out for a stage victory on say, the second pass on Palix or on Brooklyn West. 
Making his annual pilgrimage across the border from Canada Pat Richard is always the wild card at Olympus, and he can never be ruled out as a contender for the overall podium. Running third on the road Richard is in perfect position to be the spoiler for the Championship contenders.

We feel that dispite the introduction of the new car from Subaru, and his gravel clearing duties on day one, we still  give the edge to L’Estage for the overall victory.

The second of the two Team Subaru USA cars will be driven by Dave Mirra, who’s just coming off a few epic rounds at The Global RallyCross Championship; Mirra will need to quickly adjust back to taking instruction from his navigator Marshall Clarke to be in the hunt.  We expect that Mirra will be felling the heat from some of the SP cars running behind him in the top ten.  

In SP Class, look for Ramana Lagemann to charge hard right from the get go, Ramana has some good history at this rally, he took the overall victory at Olympus in 2007.  We expect to see a more conservative run from the current overall Rally America and SP Class point’s leader Travis Hanson as he sets his focused on the 2011 SP championship.

It’s shaping up to be a great 2WD battle, both on the national level and also in the chase for those precious Max Attack dollars.

Point’s leader Dillon Van Way finally gets some more grunt under the hood of his 2011 2WD Ford Fiesta. The Van Way Racing Team added a turbo since their last outing at 100aw. Fitted with a front mounted intercooler, the car will also be popping with the tune of it new  anti lag system.  The Fiesta is now reported to be putting out somewhere in the ballpark of 260 bhp, a lot of power from a  1.6 Motor, let’s hope it holds. In addition the car has been fitted with a new sequential 6 speed box; assuming  everything performs as planned, we expect to see big things from Van Way this weekend.

Canadian Andrew Comrie-Picard makes a return to stage rally in above all things, a 2WD Scion XD. Andrew [ACP] has called on the services of English co-driver Robbie Durant to call the notes, ACP and Durant have teamed up many times in the past, and have seen some great results. The Scion that ACP will drive is the same car that Chris Duplessis drove in 2010 with the addition of few go faster bits, it will be interesting to see what ACP can do with the Scion, if it holds up?.

Last but not least, we expect to see Wyatt Knox in the Team O’ Neil - MazdaSpeed3 running in the front 2WD pack.  Both Dillon Van Way and ACP have past experience at Olympus which will work to their advantage.   For Knox this is his first visit to Olympus, Wyatt will have to put a lot of trust in the experience of his co-driver Ole Holter to stay in the hunt. Wyatt may be best advised to ease into this unfamiliar rally as the reliability of both the Fiesta and the Scion is still in question.

The Rally will move north of Ocean Shores for day two.

Check back for updates and you can also check in with www.rally-america.com for the latest updates.

Hanson and Hanson Head West for Round Three of the Rally America Championship

Hanson focused on Super Production title in Washington

Littleton, NH, 26th April 2011 - Travis Hanson will begin next weekend's Olympus Rally holding the lead in

both the overall standings, and the Super Production class standings, yet his feet remain firmly on the ground
as his aim is the Super Production championship.

As usual, Travis will be co-driven by his father Terry. The pair are looking to deliver a good result, after last

 years disappointment on the Washington based Olympus Rally.

To-date in 2011, the Hansons have enjoyed an unprecedented level of success, which began in the first round

of the championship when they steered their Super Production specification 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi

to outright victory at the Sno*Drift rally.

In claiming the overall win they became the first ever Super Production class competitors to win a

Rally America National event outright, and in-turn assumed their deserved place in the Rally America history.

Following up the victory at Sno*Drift, the T. Hanson Motorsports' pairing delivered another good

performance at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Missouri, as they claimed fourth overall, and first

in their class.

The long break between the second and third rounds of the Championship left Travis longing to get back

behind the wheel. "I am excited to get back in the car after a long break in the schedule. Some of the roads

at Olympus are my favorites because of the beautiful scenery and because of their fast flowing nature,"

said Travis.

Speaking of the challenge they face in keeping ahead of the manufacturer backed entries,

Travis said "It will be hard to stay in front of the charging open class cars of SRT USA and L’Estage,

 if we have another strong finish, it is still possible for us to continue to lead the overall championship."

Even though Travis is more than happy to sit at the top of the outright championship standings, he has

made it clear that his focus is on the Super Production title. "This however is not our main goal” he says.

The next three rounds of the championship comprise the Olympus Rally (April 30 - May 1), Oregon

Trail Rally (May 13 - 15) and Susquehannock Trail Rally (June 3 - 4), and with all in fairly close succession,

Travis believes consistency is the key.

"The next events are all within 5 weeks time, and stretch cross-country 3000 miles one way. I believe the

drivers that are the most consistent at these events will have the upper hand in the championship,” said Travis,

adding "It is our goal to be a consistent team and one that is always there fighting for a spot on the podium".

Concluding, Travis spoke of the close nature of the Super Production class, and it's ever increasing speed.

"The competition of this class is really good with ex-factory Subaru and Mitsubishi drivers pushing the class

 faster. We’ve had a great start to the season and we are excited for the next event.”

The T. Hanson Motorsports setup is propelled by a small group of highly motivated and dedicated people,

whose commitment to the cause is second to none.

The vital contributions of each and every team member,

along with the support from Team O’Neil Rally School, Olson’s Auto Body, OSLV, Exedy Clutches,

Big Boulder Park and Broken Motorsports is the reason behind the great success the team has enjoyed

to-date in 2011.

Photo/ Neil McDaid

Coming Through, Brian Deegan and Ford Racing Team up for Global RallyCross

Metal Mulisha’s "The General" Brian Deegan is not known for taking any prisoners while racing hard, Deegan is pictured here competing @ XGAMES 16. Picture Neil McDaid/ RallyWorldNews.com

DEARBORN, Mich. – April 12, 2011 – At the age of 17, Brian Deegan left his home in Omaha and headed for Southern California with only the F-150 he drove, a credit card and his dirt bike, dreaming of becoming the next big thing in Motocross. That 1989 Ford truck carried him and his dreams halfway across the country and to an entirely new life – the one he pictured growing up in the heartland. In the 17 years since Deegan has become a recognized innovator of FMX, one of the most decorated X Games athletes and an icon in action sports. He's not done yet. Deegan is now looking to take that same competitive fire to four-wheel motorsports and again looks to Ford to help him get there.

Deegan's partnership with Ford Racing announced today will allow him to race Fords in multiple action motorsports platforms, including the Ford Raptor in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series, Global RallyCross Championship and at X Games 17 in Los Angeles.
"I'm a Ford guy – always have been - and I'm really excited about working together. In order to be successful as a racer I need to be with the best," Deegan said. "When you think of racing, especially off-road truck, Ford has dominated, and there is nothing I'd rather be behind the wheel of."

Deegan, who earned the nickname "The General" after founding the famed Metal Mulisha dirt bike team, has established himself as one of action sports' cultural icons. Credited as the creator of FMX and an action sports pioneer, Deegan parlayed that success into becoming an influential cultural and lifestyle voice through the Metal Mulisha line of clothing, apparel and lifestyle products. Deegan has been nominated for an ESPY Award, has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Athletes of Action Sports and is a 12-time X Game medalist.

A rising star in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series racing a Ford F-150 truck, Deegan won the Championship in 2009 and was named Lucas Oil Driver of the Year in 2010. Accustomed to the spotlight at X Games, Deegan has tackled the rally competition in a Ford Fiesta the last two years. In 2010 he won a pair of silver medals at the LA Coliseum.

"One thing I am used to is riding dirt bikes," Deegan said. "I grew up doing it ever since I was eight years old and I feel comfortable there. I went out and won a lot of medals and (then) won at supercross."

"However there comes a time in your life where you're like 'have I done it all, or do I want to take on the next chapter?' and I saw four-wheels as the next chapter. When the opportunity came through Rockstar and Ford to race rally car at X Games , I was like 'It sounds pretty cool and I am going to go for it.' For an athlete who comes from the top of the game to start at the bottom again, it isn't easy. You have to kill your ego and your confidence is back to where you have to start over and try to learn this as fast as possible. I feel like my technique from dirt bikes and learning how to be the best at a sport has carried over."

As part of the agreement, Deegan will begin running in the Global RallyCross Championship as his Lucas Oil schedule allows. He was in attendance at the GRC kickoff at Irwindale Speedway in late March as a spectator and will be in the Ford Fiesta the Global RallyCross Championship event at Pikes Peak International Raceway and again at X Games.

"I would like the welcome 'The General" to Ford," said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsports. "Brian Deegan is a true pioneer in action sports who has won at the highest level in everything he has competed in be it motocross, surpercross, freestyle motocross and short course trucks. Brian is a competitor and brings versatility to our action sports program not only with his racing background but with the Metal Mulisha team of riders and their fan outreach opportunities."

"Racing's been in my blood since I was a little kid and joining forces with Ford is something that I have always dreamed of," Deegan said. "I look forward to winning more championships with them."