2011 Rally America Championship Season Video Recap

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.

CRC TV: Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs 2011- Video

Rallye Baie des Chaleurs | July 1,2 2011 | New Richmond PQ
Round #3 of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship. Official television coverage, courtesy of TV2GO and Canadian Association of Rallysport.

MONSTER WORLD RALLY TEAM - Block's New Ride

JULY 25, 2011, Los Angeles, California – Ken Block revealed his newest weapon—a multi-purpose race car, built specifically to compete in stage rally, rallycross and gymkhana events—this past weekend at the Gymkhana World Tour in Los Angeles, California.



The Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle (H.F.H.V.), or just ‘Hybrid’ as it has been dubbed, gets its name not from its method of propulsion, but instead from its ability to transform and race at the highest level for each of these motorsport disciplines, making it one of the most unique and versatile competition vehicles ever built. 

“Many people may not realize this, but despite the fundamental similarities between stage rally, rallycross and gymkhana, in order to be the best at each, you must have specific built vehicles,” says Block. “My WRC Fiesta just can’t do what my Gymkhana Fiesta can, and vice versa. But having to campaign three separate cars is a nightmare, so we built one car that can be transformed to suit each form of racing I do on the highest level.” 

The chassis of the H.F.H.V. is based on M-Sport’s current 2011 Ford Fiesta RS WRC car, but in order to achieve the power outputs required for both rallycross and gymkhana, the 1.6L engine has been replaced with a Pipo Moteurs-built 2.0L, inline-four cylinder. This mill is based off the power plant found previously in the Ford Focus RS WRC car, a motor that has over 10 years of development.

The result is a massive 600hp and 665 ft. lbs. of torque when using the 45mm restrictor required by the Global Rally Cross series. While the 2.0l engine makes the H.F.H.V. ineligible for WRC competition, the addition of a 34mm restrictor will allow the car to compete in the Rally America series. Engine management is handled by Cosworth Electronics.

Mated to the Ford EcoBoost motor is a custom AWD system designed by Sadev. The drivetrain features a 6-speed Sadev sequential transmission and three adjustable Sadev mechanical differentials. Different gear ratios are used for each of the Hybrid’s three modes. To handle the varying surface conditions, specific Reiger suspension set-ups have been developed for each of the three modes. 

“The H.F.H.V. is the best of all worlds for me,” says Block. “The current WRC Fiesta is the greatest handling car I have driven, but it lacks the sheer grunt that the 2.0L engine in the WRC Focus created. The H.F.H.V. brings those two things together, and the result is a manic beast that is just too much fun to drive.”  

The transformations from each of the modes range from half a day, to a whole day’s work. The rallycross and gymkhana set-ups are the most similar, but each discipline still requires different gear ratios, entirely different suspension settings, as well as a different wheel and tire combo in addition to engine mapping adjustments. The conversion to stage rally, however, is even more involved, including an entire relocation of the cooling system from back to front, a smaller brake set-up, the addition of a Recaro Ultima seat for a co-driver, a smaller turbo and items such as functional headlights to replace the faux lamps to make the H.F.H.V. road worthy. 

The H.F.H.V. was a collaborative project between the Monster World Rally Team and a assortment of some of the world’s top technical partners.  

Ken Block will race the H.F.H.V. at Summer X Games 17, taking place in Los Angeles, California, July 30th and 31st. Until then, follow the team at monsterworldrallyteam.com, facebook.com/KenBlockRacing and facebook.com/MonsterWorldRallyTeam.

L’Estage Wins the Rally; Higgins Wins the Championship, While Duplessis Wins with the Fans

Antoine L"Estage and Nathalie Ricahrd, charge to victory at the 2011 New England Forest Rally - Photo Neil McDaid

EDIT: *See note regarding Concord Pond record:

Newry, Maine, July 16^th 2011.  Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard capped off a bitter sweet 2011 season with a victory at New England Forest Rally, the final round of the 2011 Rally America Championship. L’Estage who ran first on the road, seemed to charge unopposed to victory over Team Subaru USA driver David Higgins. Higgins clearly drove to plan with a caution approach throughout the event to secure the 2011 Rally America Championship title for Subaru. Despite the lack of a battle off the front, the same could not be said back in 2WD, local driver/legend Chris Duplessis won over the fans in his 2011 Ford Fiesta R2  as he drove at and beyond the limit to place first in 2WD and a unbelievable 5^th overall in the event.

The New England Forest Rally will definitely go down as the sting in the tail of the 2011 Rally America Championship, as temperatures flutters in the upper eighties, drivers and co-drivers faced some of the toughest/rocky/dusty stages of the season. Many of the stages were still showing scares from heavy runoff after a very snowy New England winter. Throw in a few big spring storms and rally organizers were scrambling pre -event to repair the stages where they could.  Maine has always been notorious for rocks; year after year the organizers have taken the time to highlight the worst of these immovable objects, but for some reason this year the trademark orange markings seemed to have quadrupled over prior years.

The opening stages of the NEFR event got underway with three short spectator super specials, the first ran on some of the service roads of The Sunday River resort, which was also the rally headquarters. Then after a short transit to the town of Mexico the drivers would tackle a rather steep man made jump as they completed this series of short Spectator specials SS1,2,3.

With the departure of Travis Pastrana and Ken Block from the 2011 Rally America Championship and Dave Mirra been pulled from the rally in the weeks leading up to the event, one could clearly see a drop in spectator’s attendance over prior years at this very popular Rally.



Subaru Team driver David Higgins takes a safe approch in his bit to secure the 2011 Championship. Photo Neil McDaid



L’Estage would open big taking victory on the first two stages,  Higgins took the third super special by a headlight bettering L’Estage by a mere four hundredths of a second.

Onto the first true test of the rally, SS4 “Icicle Brook North” for the most part this is a fast flowing two car logging road with some soft crests, that is until you tackle the new section around Metallak Pond, the stage tightens to a tight technical single lane road, with a few hidden gotchas to keep drivers on their game.

Running first on the road therefore sweeping the loose gravel for those in his wake, we had expected L’Estage to lose time to David Higgins over this 16 mile test. But L’Estage attacked hard and opened a 19second advantage over the Team Subaru driver through the flying finish.

Again on SS5 which was a reverse of SS4, Antoine L’Estage pushed hard for his fourth stage victory on day one, adding 23 seconds to his advantage on Higgins.  Heath Nunnemacher and Mike Rooney in their rented Evo 9, edged out Travis Hanson on SS5 moving Heath to third overall heading into the historic Concord Pond stage.

SS6 Concord Pond, although short in length at only 5.76 miles, this may very well be one of the most popular stages in US stage rally. Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino took it upon themselves to set the record time on this stage, with their last record set in 2009.  

In an interview with David Higgins prior to the event, when asked would he go after  Block’s time on Concord Pond, Higgins replied, “we need to focus on the Championship for Subaru, but if its right we will see what happens” I don’t recall anyone asking Antoine L’Estage regarding his intention to dethrone Block.

Ken Block’s fastest time on Concord Pond was set in 2009, with a time of 4:17.9, but it’s important to note that the stage length was 5:38 miles. After some research post event it seems that in 2010 the stage length was changed to 5:76 miles. So in that same year Travis Pastrana effectively set the new stage record at that distance with a time of 4:23.1.

This year Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard smashed Pastrana’s 2010 record stopping the clocks at 4:20.7; it’s also interesting to note that L’Estage had an average speed for the stage of 79.54 mph versus Block [2009 record time at 75.1 mph], so did L’Estage actually smash Block’s time over the shorter distance, we think so. 

Ramana Lagemann was the closest to L’Estage in Concord pond, but was a whopping 15 seconds off the pace.  David Higgins time over Concord Pond was handicapped by transmission problems, pushing him to third. Heath Nunnemacher, who had battled his way to an impressive third overall coming into Concord Pond, made an uncharacteristic mistake over the last crest on the stage and veered off the stage into the trees.

"Flat over Rock" Chris Duplessis Schools the fans and his competition on how to drive 2WD. Photo Neil McDaid

By the reaction of the fans that were packed into the woods at the infamous “jump over rock” towards the end of Concord Pond, Chris Duplessis stole the show with his epic sideways over crest move. In this only his second rally in the newly developed Fiesta R2, Duplessis was already shredding the 2wd field and then some.

Heading into day two, with Antoine L’Estage holding a minute lead over David Higgins it was fairly obvious that neither Higgins nor Subaru were going to risk the overall Championship by trying to chase down L’Estage for the overall victory at Maine.

Due to some major water damage on the Success Pond stage it was not run this year, but was replaced with a short Spectator super special in Errol NH. The balance of the rally would be fought out over four growling rocky stages, varying in length between 12 and 19 miles in length.

Antoine would take stage victories on three of the final stages sealing his overall Rally victory. Higgins would claim his only “proper” stage win of the rally on SS9 while holding onto 2^nd overall in the rally and claiming the 2011 Championship title.

The 2011 SP Class winner Travis Hanson in his now overheating Subaru would manage to hold off a late charge by Tom Lawless to secure third overall in the rally, a perfect ending to a dream season for Travis and his co-driving father Terry.

For L’Estage the victory was bitter sweet as he reflected on how the Championship slipped through his fingers, “a stupid mistake at Snowdrift, not pushing all out at STPR” exclaimed Antoine, “but we make David work for his title”

Chris Duplessis and his new co-driver for this event Karl Atkinson took their Ford Racing R2 Fiesta to the top of the 2WD podium. Chris had opened a 40 second gap on his nearest rival Andrew Comprie Picard on day one, and continued to widen the gap on day two. Andrew in his Scion Racing XD would eventually finish over three minutes behind Chris to grab second on the 2WD podium. Fellow Ford Fiesta driver Dillon Van Way rounded out the podium for Ford grabbing third.

The New England Forest Rally capped off another great season for Rally America, a season where the light dimmed some with the departure of some top names, but also a year where we have seen some very exciting activity in the 2WD class.

*7-24-11 -The rally organizers have since clarified that the stage length has not changed,-
"That's the (total) distance they way the stages are laid out in a route book (from ATC->FTC), so they just didn't get adjusted/corrected when noting/transferring the actual "competition" distance. It's just something that slipped through the cracks with all the other things that needed to be done with much of the organizing committee having undergone changes since 2009".