The MaxAttack!™ Rally Series Heads to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for Epic Season Finale

Click on Image for Wallpaper -Go MaxAttack!

Portland, OR (October 14, 2010) – The final round of the 2010 MaxAttack! Series, presented by the Danza del Sol winery, will roll into Houghton, Michigan on October 16. Sanctioned by Rally America, the Lake Superior Performance Rally will cover 90 racing miles that will test rally teams on a variety of road surfaces, in an event where constantly changing weather conditions can significantly alter the outcome of the event. An excellent field of more than twenty two-wheel-drive rally cars from nine different marques will make the finale one to remember.

The battle for the $1500 first-place check and maximum championship points will be a fierce one. American rally legend Doug Shepherd and co-driver Karen Wagner will have to be considered one of the favorites going into the event. Shepherd has entered this rally many times over the years, and has a high-horsepower Dodge Neon SRT-4 that seems well-suited to the Michigan roads. But to make matters interesting, Lauchlin O’Sullivan also has an SRT-4 at his disposal, and he and co-driver Scott Putnam will be duking it out with Shepherd. Eric Burmeister also has a great deal of Upper Peninsula rally experience. The Michigan Tech alumnus will once again be behind the wheel of his potent Mazdaspeed3 at this event, with co-driver Dave Shindle.

Making his first visit to Michigan will be Oregon speedster Cody Crane in a Honda CRX. While down on power to some of the turbocharged cars, the lighter and nimbler Honda may have some advantages under braking and turning. He and co-driver Billy Irvin almost won the Oregon Trail round of MaxAttack!, but late-rally mechanical problems slowed them down. Also entering from Oregon is the duo of Brian Gottlieb and Patrick Darrow. They finished fifth in Oregon in a Toyota FX-16, but that car burned to the ground this summer. They have replaced it with the Honda Civic in which Andrew Havas claimed the 2007 and 2008 Oregon Trail MaxAttack! wins. In another CRX, Chris and Lori O’Driscoll are making the drive from Colorado to try and improve on their Oregon Trail MaxAttack! finish. And in another Civic are Silas and Matt Himes, brothers of Jake Himes, one of the founders of MaxAttack! and in whose honor the championship trophy is named.

There are a number of other entrants that could place well at this event. Canadian brothers Jan and Jody Zedril are bringing their Mitsubishi Lancer south from Winnipeg, and they are no strangers to rallies in Minnesota and Michigan. The brothers have already clinched the Group 2 class championship in the Canadian national rally series. Chris Greenhouse always goes well at Lake Superior, he is teamed with Brian Johnson in a Plymouth Neon. Co-Driver Ben Slocum, who won the Oregon round of MaxAttack! with Dillon Van Way in a Ford Focus, has teamed with Mike Merbach in a Volkswagen Jetta for the Lake Superior rally.

Older and rear-wheel-drive cars are always popular with spectators, and no exception is the 1970 VW Beetle of brothers Mark and John Huebbe from Missouri. Jim Scray and Colin Vickman are competing in a 1972 Datsun 510, and Lake Superior veterans Colin McCleery and Jimmy Brandt have teamed up in a 1985 Ford Sierra (Merkur XR4ti in the United States). Rotary is represented by the Mazda RX-7 of locals Mychal Summers and RyanDesLaurier, who run their Mazda RX-7 out of L’Anse, Michigan, where the first service stops will take place. The sole truck entered in the event is the Chevrolet S10 of Jim Cox and Dan Drury, from Minnesota.

The 2010 MaxAttack! series champion and prestigious Jake Himes Cup winner will be decided in a spectacular “Shootout” fashion at this event. The series points structure is such that the Lake Superior Round is weighted heavier than the qualifying events, so it is virtually impossible to win the championship without attending this rally. Lauchlin O’Sullivan, having won the New England Forest qualifying event in July, would have to be considered the favorite to repeat as series champion. Cody Crane, by virtue of his second-place finish in Oregon, is also among the favorites. This will be his first event outside the Pacific Northwest, so the learning curve may be steep, but he has demonstrated speed on a variety of roads. Eric Burmeister finished third in New England, and will definitely have his Mazdaspeed3 in with a chance of taking his second MaxAttack! crown. Other entrants with a mathematical chance of winning the Jake Himes Cup are Brian Gottlieb and Chris O’Driscoll, both of whom entered the Oregon Trail rally in May.

The 2010 MaxAttack! Rally Series Presented by Danza del Sol consists of three events, which are:

• Oregon Trail, May 14-16, Portland, The Dalles, and Dufur, OR, http://www.oregontrailrally.com/
• New England Forest Rally, July 16-17, Bethel, ME, http://www.newenglandforestrally.com/
• Lake Superior Performance Rally, October 16-17, Houghton, MI, http://www.lsprorally.com/
Oregon Trail and the New England Forest Rally will be the qualifying events for the Jake Himes Cup, and the Lake Superior Performance Rally will be the central Shootout event.

Each event will feature a $5,000 prize fund to be distributed among the top two-wheel-drive teams, as well as a season championship. For more information about the MaxAttack! Series and the Rallysports Group of America, please visit http://www.max-attack.com/.

THE UNITED STATES RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ANNOUNCES 2010 UNITED STATES RALLY CHAMPIONS

The high-desert and mountain roads of Prescott Rally in Arizona provided a fitting finale for the 2010 United States Rally Championship. 168 drivers and co-drivers participated in the sixth season of the United States Rally Championship. As in the previous years, it is the largest competitor participation of any series in North America with an influx of new drivers and co-drivers, some of whom placed high in the Championship standings below. The Year-End Awards Ceremony of the 2010 United States Rally Championship was held at the conclusion of Prescott Rally.

            Tom Lawless is the 2010 United States Rally Champion – Driver in the All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) category. This is the second time Tom Lawless won the Championship; his first National Championship Title came in 2005. During the 2010 season, Tom drove with several co-drivers. He won Prescott Rally and secured his Championship Title with Bernard Farrell in the co-driver’s seat.

            For the second year in a row, Marra Estep is the 2010 United States Rally Champion – Co-Driver in AWD category.

            Erika Detota is the 2010 United States Rally Champion - Driver in the Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) category. This is the first time in the history of North American rallying that women won National Titles for Drivers.

            Jason Smith is the 2010 United States Rally Champion – Co-Driver in 2WD category. Jason is Erika’s Co-Driver.

           

            The Winners of the USRC AWD Production Cup are Katianna Pihakari - AWD Driver, another woman to win a National Title, and Austin Gager – AWD Co-Driver.

            The Winners of the USRC 2WD Production Cup are Jeff Hendricks – 2WD Driver and John Stewart – 2WD Co-Driver.

The first three competitors in each category are as follows:

USRC AWD Championship - Drivers:

1. Tom Lawless – 2010 USRC Champion

2. Keith Jackson

3. Enda McCormack

USRC AWD Championship – Co-Drivers:

1. Marra Estep – 2010 USRC Champion

2. Eric Olson

3. Tommy Doyle

USRC 2WD Championship – Drivers:

1. Erika Detota – 2010 USRC Champion

2. John Black

3. Jeff Hendricks

USRC 2WD Championship – Co-Drivers:

1. Jason Smith – 2010 USRC Champion

2. Sean Gallagher

3. John Stewart

USRC AWD Production Cup – Drivers:

1. Katianna Pihakari – 2010 USRC Production Cup Winner

2. Kevin Welker

3. Matt Gottlieb

USRC AWD Production Cup – Co-Drivers:

1. Austin Gager – 2010 USRC Production Cup Winner

2. Brian McNamara

3. John Dillon

USRC 2WD Production Cup – Drivers:

1. Jeff Hendricks – 2010 USRC Production Cup Winner

2. John Black

3. Alex Rademacher

USRC 2WD Production Cup – Co-Drivers:

1. John Stewart – 2010 USRC Production Cup Winner

2. Brent Ellzey

3. Steve McKelvie

            The United States Rally Championship will continue its bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. The Championship structure minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship.

            The 2010 United States Rally Championship season consisted of a combination of snow, gravel and tarmac events. Events of the United States Rally Championship allow for reconnaissance and pace notes. Tarmac, full reconnaissance and pace notes make the United States Rally Championship unique in North America as no other series in North America encompasses all these features. More information on the United States Rally Championship is available at www.usrallychampionship.com.

Author:   USRC Media

Block blasts back at WRC France after a tough first day to finish strong

. 

The Monster World Rally Team is awarded Spirit of the Rally for their relentless commitment. 

October 4, 2010, Strasbourg, France— Monster World Rally Team’s Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino place a well-earned 12^th overall at Rally France and in turn receive the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally award for their perseverance throughout the event. Plagued by mechanical issues early on in Leg 1, the two pressed on through the grueling Alsace roads to stage a comeback on the final day of the rally in the Monster Energy Ford Focus RS WRC. 

“Ken Block has always known WRC was going to be a tough assignment, but he has stuck in there and this result at Rally France will be a real turning point for him,” says WRC promoter North One’s CEO Neil Duncanson. “He clearly has the speed and the talent to do well in the championship, and this season's experience—good and bad—will set him up brilliantly for a real crack at next season. He's already a fantastic ambassador for the sport and we're looking forward to seeing him succeed in the coming years.”

Block and Gelsomino picked up with the impressive pace they displayed in Germany right out of the box, boasting a hat trick of top 10 fastest stage finishes, putting them at a remarkable 8^th overall after only three stages. But a brake issue forced them to back off on the following stage. Hopes were high that the Monster boys would return after the midday service and gain back the time lost, but a broken hydraulic actuator for the paddle shifter would cost them valuable time during the afternoon stages. Still, the Monster World Rally Team sat on the leaderboard in 10^th overnight. Unfortunately, their paddle shifter woes returned during the morning service of Leg 2. The new part replaced the night before had failed. The decision was made to take a 1 minute 40 second penalty for a late check out of service to fix the problem, ensuring there would be no further issue to distract Block from his focus on developing. 

“This was my first tarmac race in the wet, and it was quite a challenge,” says Block. “It was also our first time using a gravel crew to adjust our notes—something I am now grateful for because without Chris and Ben Atkinson’s changes, it could’ve been a disaster. The sporadic rain left many sections a muddy mess. At points I thought we’d be better off on gravel tires.”

At the end of day two, after the time penalty, the team had fallen to 16^th overall. Optimistic predictions put a 14^th place finish possible, but Block and Gelsomino came back on the attack Sunday morning and set another 8^th fastest time on the second stage of the day, earning them a 12^th overall, which they carried until the end. Out of the 13 WRC entries, MWRT ranked 9^th.

“The team is very pleased with Ken and Alex's finish,” says Team Manager Derek Dauncey. “They faced tough, treacherous road conditions compounded by mechanical issues but still persevered. I reckon without the broken shifter and subsequent penalty, they could of finished 9^th, which is phenomenal for a rookie WRC driver with almost no tarmac experience.”

The next round of the WRC for MWRT is Rally de Espana, Oct 22-24. Until then, follow the team at monsterworldrallyteam.com. 

Gymkhana THREE Part 2: WATCH IT! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TshFWSsrn8

Doran and Millen Get to Grips with New Jersey Motorsports Park /RallyCross #2



Liam Doran, thrills fans at NJMP as he pushes his Citroen C4 over a jump. This is the first time that a Citroen C4 has competed in the USA. Photo/Neil McDaid



Rhys Millen tries to get to grips with the mighty WRC Hyundai. Although this is somewhat dated WRC technology by today’s standards, this is still an incredible car. Photo /Neil McDaid



Round 2 of the 2010 RallyCar/RallyCross Championship

Millville, NJ October 2, 2010. After several days of torrential rain and high winds, the skys over New Jersey Motorsports Park have finally cleared.

Round 2 of the 2010 RallyCar/Rally Cross Championship is set to get underway today. Many familiar faces from round 1 are back on the line with the addition of a few very exciting new entries.

Most notable being Liam Doran from England who will take to the course at NJMP in his Citroen C4. This will be the first time for USA Rally and RallyCross fans to see this car on U.S. shores. Doran captured third overall in the hotly contested 2010 European Championship. You can be assured that he will be in contension for the overall victory this weekend.

[Doran]"Citroën is not in the U.S. marketplace so the car there is going to be a huge novelty value around driving a Citroën in America. They’ve never seen a C4 out there. I did not see any point in going out there for one race and being one of perhaps three or four Europeans, that’s why I’ve bitten the bullet and gone my own way," said Doran who will have full backup from the Citroën-backed KHM squad in America. "We are taking Kenneth Nyberg and Rickard Johansson [the two lead engineers from KHM] as well as all the parts and support that we need, it will be as close to the way I’ve run in Europe as possible."

Millen’s back!! Hyundai and Rhys Millen Racing will be piloting a Hyundai rally car specifically developed for the World Rally Championship.

"We've really benefited from our Genesis Coupe Formula Drift partnership with Rhys, and so we've decided to expand on that with this move into RallyCross," said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. "Our participation this year is all about learning the ropes of this new series. Next year, we'll campaign with an all-new car that's also going to be an exciting entry to Hyundai's U.S. production lineup."

"I'm excited to be stepping back into the world of rally," said Rhys Millen, professional race driver and founder of Rhys Millen Racing. "It has been six years since I was involved with the inaugural X Games rally event and now with RallyCross here in the U.S., what better way to prove the performance and power of the Hyundai brand."

Stay tuned throughout the weekend for updates and images.