Global RallyCross: Ford Fiesta ST Sweeps The Podium At Bristol Motor Speedway

"Bristol Baby" Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen takes yet another victory in GRC, Topi is flanked by Ford Team mates, Brian Deegan [left], 3rd and Ken Block who finished 2nd. Photo Ford Racing

BRISTOL, Tenn., July 20, Toomas Heikkinen scored his third consecutive victory during the fifth round of Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) at Bristol Motor Speedway today, and helped Ford Fiesta capture its second its second consecutive podium sweep and third this season.

Heikkinen, the Bluebeam OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST driver, continues to lead the championship points and is the only driver to have made the podium at all five rounds this season.

"This is really good to keep the championship points lead and win my third race here at Bristol," said Heikkinen. "My Ford Fiesta ST is on fire right now and it was a great race for us. I am really enjoying racing in the U.S. and am just happy to have made it to the podium again."

In the Global Rallycross seeding session, Heikkinen was seventh overall, which set him in the third position of the first heat. With a pass on the final lap of the heat, Heikkinen finished second behind Ken Block and ultimately advanced into the main event.

"I didn’t have the best start to my day and did not qualify well, but I got a good start in the main which is what matters," said Heikkinen. "I choose the right line on the inside which put me in a good position and I was able to avoid getting bumped around too much.

"I took the joker lap in the middle of the race because I heard Ken Block may be catching me by the last few laps. Then I heard he was two seconds or so behind me so I just tried to stay focused on keeping the right line to stay ahead and then finished first."

With a win at Bristol, Heikkinen has finished first in both U.S. races.

"This is my second win in the U.S. and my third win with global X Games," said Heikkinen. "The win means so much to me right now and I am so happy and grateful to be here."

For Block, it was his second podium appearance this season. The Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST driver finished just under two seconds behind Heikkinen for second.

"The first turn of the main race was a bummer," said Block. "There were a few cars banging on me and with nowhere to move I didn’t come out well on the first turn. From there I did everything that I could, but ended up two seconds behind Topi in second place."
Block qualified first in the fifth round of Global Rallycross and won both of his heats to ultimately advance to the main event at Bristol Motor Speedway

"I won every heat I was in and qualified the fastest in practice but it really means nothing in the end,’ said Block. "With four laps to go I could see I was getting closer and closer to Topi and I was not going to give up. I put in everything trying to find the quickest line and maybe with three or four more laps I could have had him.

"The first turn is just a crapshoot in Rallycross. I did everything possible to win and got booted around in the first corner and that was it," said Block. "I am very confident at what I am doing in the car, the car is absolutely dialed and it has done everything I want it to do. My team has worked very hard to get the car where it is. I’ve been able to find lines and qualify well so I am going to continue doing everything that I can.

"I enjoyed the venue, it is a beautiful facility and the fans have been great," said Block. "Hopefully next time we come back I am standing on top of that podium."

For Deegan, a third place finish at Bristol earned him his second Global Rallycross podium appearance of the season.

"I was in survival mode in the main event," said Deeegan. "Coming out of the LCQ (last chance qualifier) we didn’t have much time to work on the car and with the fast turnaround into the main I was happy to finish third. There is a lot of luck that goes into winning a race this season, coming out of the first corner unharmed is really what it comes down to."

The Rockstar Energy OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST driver seeded fourth overall but failed to make the top two in his heat putting him into the LCQ. Deegan finished first in the LCQ followed by Rockstar Energy OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST teammate Tanner Foust and both advanced into the main event.

"Coming down into the heat qualifier, I don’t know what happen with Tanner and Ken but they just ran right through me and I got into carnage, had a poor finish and forced us into the LCQ," said Deegan. "Luckily I survived the LCQ and went on to the final.

"I started dead last in the final but I was inside," said Deegan. "Sometimes I think the inside third row is better than the front row outside. I figured I’d stay low, out of everyone plowing into each other and that I’d be in the top five within the first few laps. I saw Topi cut high and somehow miss, I think it was Isachsen who plowed through the field and being on the inside I only made a little contact and squeezed through with a podium end result.

"I know I have the speed so I am looking forward to the big race at X Games (Los Angeles) to see what I can do there," said Deegan. There is a whole rest of the season and I think I am steadily getting better. We’ve adjusted stuff in the car and I am starting to get back to where I was a year ago with better starts. That’s what it takes in this sport. I feel confident and feel we made a headway going into LA with my starts so I think that I will be one of the top three dudes to battle for the gold. Every time I go on the track I am in the top three or five with my times and that’s not bad for a dirt biker."

The start of the GRC main at Bristol Motor Speedway included a fast turn around the 30 degree bank followed by a straight dive into the infield. Block was the fastest off the start of the main and had the lead on the first corner until multiple drivers made contact. Tanner Foust had heavy damage to the front end of the Rockstar Energy OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST forcing him to retire out of the main right away. Heikkinen was able to avoid much contact and took the lead out of the first corner, followed by Steve Arpin and Block. Arpin had trouble with his car, pulling off the track for Block and Deegan to follow Heikkinen for the rest of the race.

Ford had six cars in the Global Rallycross final at Bristol Motor Speedway and won two of three heats for Fiesta ST (Block, Sandell).

Source: Ford Racing



  


 

Rally America: Antoine L’Estage Returns with the Tiburon

The Shark gets a New Livery for The New England Forest Rally  Photo/ Libra Racing

 

Newry, ME. – July 20, 2013. With four rounds of the 2013 Rally America Championship in the bag, defending champion David Higgins of the Subaru Rally Team is holding a commanding grasp on the 2013 championship point’s race as we head to Maine for round five. Canadian Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard have reigned supreme in Maine taking the victory at the New England Forest Rally in the past three years.  It was also in Maine in 2010 where Rockstar Energy Team clinched the 2010 Rally America Championship.  L’Estage and Richard will return to Maine next weekend in their old Tiburon to chase down a fourth victory in a row.

The 2013 season has been a mixed bag to date for the RockStar Energy Team of L’Estage and Richard. After a dramatic come-from-behind victory at Sno*Drift in January, their luck has gone from bad to worse. At round number two, Rally in the 100 Acre Woods, the team would suffer a DNF due to overheating on day one.  At The Oregon Trail Rally in May, where the team would debut the WRC Mitsubishi, a very rare mistake by Antoine on stage 9 resulted in a spectacular crash.  Fortunately, both Antoine and Nathalie were able to walk away unharmed.  The WRC Mitsubishi did not come off as well suffering significant damage and therefore the car was returned to England for repairs.

Antoine had planned to run the WRC Mitsubishi throughout the 2013 Rally America Championship. To help fund this program L’Estage rented his trusty EvoX to Ritfat Sungkar for 2013. With the WRC car back in England and Ritfat in his regular car, Antoine was without a car for STPR and therefore was forced to miss round 4.  

With sponsor commitments on the line L’Estage looked to rent a car for Maine.  “We looked at several cars and were close to a deal on one, but for various reasons it did not happen,” said L’Estage. Without a confirmed car in place, it was looking somewhat bleak for L’Estage and Richard to make their return to the Rally American Championship in Maine.

 It was then that John Buffum of Libra Racing suggested that Antoine use his old Tiburon. The Tiburon was retired from competition in 2009 when Antoine moved to the Mitsubishi EvoX.  

Antoine has had a lot of success in the Tiburon in the past, although somewhat dated now, it may still factor in Maine. Photo Neil McDaid

 “The car has not been used in the Rally America Championship in several years.  There was a lot of work to get everything in place,” said Antoine. “I have to give a big thanks to John and his team at Libra Racing for working so hard to get the car ready.  We will get a test in the car early next week so we can get a felling for everything again and give the car a good shakedown.” 

Although the Tiburon was a very competitive car down through the years for Libra racing, it’s now somewhat dated against the WRC-based Ford Fiesta of Ken Block and the Subaru of David Higgins.  Antoine will also have to adjust back to the mechanical diffs, and will lose the advantage of the sequential box for a dog box. When asked what his goal for Maine was Antoine’s answer was simple, “I am going all out. I have won this rally for the past three years and I will try really hard to make it four. I always go out to win.”

Without question, Antoine will definitely have his work cut out for him to get the victory, as it’s also a must win for Ken Block to keep his championship hopes alive.  But as we have seen in the past, Antoine and Nathalie excel in Maine, and with Block and Higgins chasing the championship, anything can happen. Stay tuned for updates throughout the rally.

For spectator information and the most up to date news, check out www.rally-america.com

By Neil McDaid

 

Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team puts New Hampshire behind them and looks forward to Bristol

 

 

CHERRY HILL, N.J., July 16, 2013 The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team returned to competition in the USA after overseas Global RallyCross (GRC) rounds in Barcelona and Munich. The fourth round of the GRC was held Thursday, July 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on unique course using part of the track's oval and pit lane while including dirt, tarmac and a jump.  The team's development of the Subaru STI Rallycross cars in the off-season began to pay dividends in New Hampshire where Team leader Sverre Isachsen qualified 3rd Overall and both he and teammate Bucky Lasek were able to progress to the Final.

Reaching the Final for the second time in his burgeoning Global RallyCross career Lasek put  forward his best performance to date.  In the Last Chance Qualifier race Lasek pulled off an impressive late race pass to finish 3rd and move to the Final.  Then in the Final Lasek ran in 5th Overall for a majority of the ten lap Final.  Just a few laps from the finish however a foreign object entered his engine bay and terminally damaged his engine on his 600hp Subaru STI.  "I drove the wheels off my Subaru here and it was great to be running in the top five," explains Lasek. "What happened was very unlucky but anything can, and does, happen in Rallycross and this just makes me even more eager to get to the next round in Bristol (Tennessee)."

Isachsen had a strong qualifying run, setting the 3rd fastest time and advanced to the Final with a second place finish in his Heat race.  In the Final however Isachsen's Subaru got a poor start dropping him to the back of the field, forcing the Norwegian to battle through the field to a 6th Overall result.  "I enjoyed the car here, we had a small issue at the start in the Final but overall we were able to run strong and we just need a clean run now to get the results we know we can achieve."

Subaru driver Dave Mirra had an event fraught with bad luck as a freak mechanical failure in his first heat race knocked him out of contention.  Mirra's confidence was buoyed however by setting the fastest lap time in the first timed practice.

The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team will now take their Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive 600hp 2013 Subaru WRX STI Rallycross cars to Bristol Motor Speedway for round 5 of the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship.  The event will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN July 20th at 1:30pm ET.

Photo/ Neil McDaid /Stock/ Rally World News

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/16/5571522/isachsen-6th-lasek-8th-at-hard.html#storylink=cpy

Kris Meeke Joins Sébastien Loeb and Petter Solberg in making the Jump from Stage Rally to RALLYCROSSRX

Lohéac, France – Wednesday 17 July, 2013; World Rally Championship driver Kris Meeke will make his RallycrossRX debut with Albatec Racing in the seventh round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Lohéac next month (August 31 & September 1). The Dungannon driver will partner Albatec Racing Team Principal Andy Scott at the wheel of a two litre, 16v Peugeot 208, Sébastien Loeb and Petter Solberg will also line out for what looks  to be the best attended event on the RallycrossRX schedule.

Cutting short his wedding celebrations to fly into Lohéac to conduct his first test of the 208 Supercar today, the 2009 IRC Champion quickly acclimatised to the four-wheel-drive 600bhp French powerhouse and was “blown-away” with its performance on only his first run at the French track.

The former Queen's University student, who obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering, started his career as a Computer Aided Designer at M-Sport, and took his first step into rallying in 2000 when he won Peugeot’s competition for new rally drivers. Leading his debut event, the Bulldog Rally and taking his first victory on the third round of the 2001 Peugeot Super 106 Cup, the Swansea Bay Festival National Rally, Meeke quickly carved out a reputation amongst the rally fraternity and in 2002 was taken under the wing of the late, great Colin McRae.

Sealing the British Junior Championship in only his second season, together with third in the British S1600 class, Meeke clinched both the British Junior Championship and the British S1600 crowns the following year, and made a sensational Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) debut, setting the fastest time on two stages before suffering mechanical issues. Four IRC wins at the wheel of his Peugeot UK-backed 207 S2000 allowed him to clinch the 2009 title at the penultimate round, with a fifth victory on Rally Scotland rounding out his season.

Away from the stages, Meeke also starred in the Peugeot 207 adverts, with the tagline "He's Meeke, but he's not mild", as well as appearing on BBC Top Gear, when he beat English former skeleton racer Amy Williams MBE in a race down the Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track. Meeke, co-driven by Top Gear presenter James May in a Mini racing on a downhill snow track, with Williams alongside on the bobsleigh track, narrowly beat the Olympic gold medallist by just over a second.

Meeke is not entirely new to rallycross either, having raced an RX150 buggy to success at Croft in 2008, and can also list the Baja 1000 Desert Race and the Irish Kart Grand Prix among his achievements. The Lohéac event however will mark his first competitive appearance in a rallycross supercar. The newest car on the fiercely competitive entry list has performed well in the first half of the season, taking heat victory and posting competitive lap times at the hands of former British Rallycross Vice-Champion Scott. As the fledgling team continues its ongoing development of the car, working with its technical partners Oreca, Soben and Sadev, expectations are high of a good result in France.

Later this month, Meeke will continue his role as senior test driver for Peugeot and Citroen, and contest Rally Finland ahead of his appearance at Albatec Racing’s home event of Lohéac in front of an estimated 60,000 spectators. Joining other WRC drivers Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg, Meeke will go head-to-head with the cream of European rallycross stars bidding for victory.

Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Team Principal and driver #26: 



“We met Kris when he came to Finland helping Andrew Coley with the TV commentary and I was pondering what would be the destiny of the second car. So we had some initial discussions with him and there was obviously a will and a determination by him to drive at some point.

“I’m privileged and honoured that a driver of his calibre and reputation has agreed to join us today, I’m sure his experience will help with the development of the car while naturally allowing him some crucial track time in preparation of his RallycrossRX debut with us in Lohéac.

 
Kris Meeke, Albatec Racing driver #27:

“I’m blown away, I don’t think I’ve ever driven a supercar with this amount of horsepower, it’s just incredible. There are so many things to learn, the tyres are different to what I use in rally, they’re so much softer to generate traction from a standing start but with not as much longitudinal grip as we have in rallies. And to have all that horsepower and try to manage it is just, well incredible.

“I have experience of the new 208 T16 rally car, and there are obviously similar comparisons, but widely different in the same respect. With over 2.5 times the power than I’m used to, 600bhp is the biggest factor. It’s new to me of course, with so much to learn here, a new track, the conditions, the car, and the engineers, but if you give any driver 600bhp, a steering wheel and pedals they’re going to jump at it.

“As much as we can test though I don’t think anything can prepare you for the race, although I have some experience of that extra dimension of others around you. Naturally driving with Andy and the Albatec team ties in perfectly with my testing role with PSA Peugeot and Citröen, and racing in Lohéac gives me the perfect chance to put myself up against the best in the business in one of the best cars in the business.”

Marc Laboulle, Albatec Racing Team Manager:

“Firstly, I’m very happy with Kris as a person, he arrived yesterday and immediately we all had a good feeling about him, he’s a good guy, very open, and easy to work with. He has a lot of respect for Albatec, he believes that the tools we will provide him are really good, and it’s very interesting to work with someone with his spirit. It’s a bit too early to give a precise answer about the test, but when I spoke to him after his first couple of laps, he said immediately over the radio, how happy he was, and how good it felt. The communication is really good with the team and for sure having different people testing the car is always good to help with the development.

“Each driver brings a different style for the technical team to work with which allows them to understand better the car, and with Kris’s career, which is very successful, we respect what he says. Rallycross is very specific, you only have to look at the other drivers who have come in to it from other motorsport to see it’s not always easy, however I’m sure that we will find the speed with Kris.”

Global RallyCross, “Up the Front Straight and Down the Same Straight”

July 12th, Loudon, NH: Global RallyCross -GRC  makes a one day stop at New Hampshire International Speedway for round number 4 of the 2013 Championship.  After coming off one of the best course layouts to date for the GRC in Munich Germany, it was for the most part back to where we were last year with a course layout that used over 70 % of the Loudon Speedway track, which I have to say can get mundane at times as the gap opens on the long straights.

For 2013 the metal gap jump has been nixed for many good reasons, but unfortunately it was replaced at the Loudon configuration with a dirt hill, that wanted to be a table top jump,  problem was, based on its placement to the chicane the cars couldn't get enough traction in the dirt to get any proper air.

All that been said, the transition from the starting asphalt into the dirt section, then directly into a chicane was definitely the highlight of the track. One point that I must make, although the U.S. GRC track layouts pale in comparison to those in Europe, Americans who are new to European style RallyCross find this extremely exciting racing when compared to Nascar! Enough said.

Ken Block and his Hoonigan Racing Team’s Ford Fiesta set the mark throughout the heats, Block posted the fastest time of the day, netting him the starting position of his choice. Toomas “Topi” Heikkinen, of OlsbergsMSE/Ford Racing who was also driving a Ford Fiesta ST, took second with Tanner Foust of the Rockstar Energy /Ford Racing posting the third fastest making it an all Ford front row.

Into the final, typically the prime lane choice is on the inside of the first corner, for whatever reason  Ken Block would select the middle starting position therefore giving Heikkinen who had the second fastest time the option for the inside line, and he took it!. Maybe Ken was thinking of last year where he got driven in the tire wall on the start, or just felt more comfortable with the launching from the center position, who knows, but I have to think he is reevaluating his starting position today.   

Tanner Foust would line up to Blocks left. Swedish Rally driver, Patrick Sandell [Ford Fiesta], Norway’s  Sveere Isachsen[Subaru STI] and Brian Deegan [Ford ] would make up the second row.   The third and final row would see Travis Pastrana in the Dodge Dart, scrapping his way into the final via the LCQ lined up with Scott Speed [Ford] and Bucky Lasek in the second of the Subaru’s to make the final.

When the lights turned green, Heikkinen seemed to get the better launch nosing just slightly ahead of Ken Block, but Ken would made up the difference by the end of the straight, but Block would lift/brake just before entering the gravel section letting Tanner and Heikkinen past on both sides.  There is no question that Ken Block will fight you to the tooth and nail on any rally stage in the world, and has shown massive skills in his Gymkhana series of videos. But when it comes to RallyCross Ken is  just a little too much of a gentleman, he needs to follow the lead of Heikkinen and the likes of Liam Doran into the first turn, if a headlight fits, push on into the turn.

 As the cars climbed the dirt hill [sorry can't call it a jump] for the first time, it was Foust, Heikkinen, Sandell and Block, with Deegan breathing down Block’s neck. Coming off the dirt hill drivers had the option to take the mandatory joker lap, or drift out onto turn one. From there it was down the front straight [counter to normal track direction] through a chicane before braking hard for the unique “over the wall” ramp constructed at the Magic Mile.  Once over the wall they would head down the same straight, to start the cycle of remaining 9 laps [total 10]. Travis Pastrana’s GRC season would go from bad to worse when the rear of his car slide off the ramp on the first lap resulting in a rear flat, Pastrana would push on, but his race was over, no returning to the pits in GRC.

With a clear track ahead, Foust would make hay and open his lead on Sandell who was battling to hold off his teammate Heikkinen for second. Ken Block and Deegan were door to door until Block opted for the early Joker giving up the position to Deegan. Unfortunately a little extra drift by Block in the joker would also let Bucky Lasek in the Subaru slip through. The racing up front would space out some until Foust took his Joker lap, which let Sandell get on Foust’s rear bumper sliding out of turn one, but Tanner held the line and the lead.

Down to the penultimate lap, Heikkinen was still hounding Sandell for second, as the pair crested the dirt hill Sandell would opt to take his mandatory Joker, opening the door for Heikkinen to try and close the gap to Foust.

Toomas Heikkinen has quickly become the force to be reckoned with in the 2013 GRC championship, coming off the victory in Germany, Topi was clearly looking for a repeat victory in Loudon as he charged all out in his pursuit of Foust on the last lap.

As Foust entered the dirt section for the final time, Heikkinen had somehow closed the gap on the Rockstar Energy driver.  Heikkinen would pile on the pressure on Foust as the charged front straight for the final time.

Tanner would try to protect the insider line as he entered the over the wall ramp, but that’s where it all went wrong for Foust. Tanner would get off the racing line and get into the loose gravel on the inside, resulting in a spectacular wreck into the guard rail.  

With Foust up against the guardrail  Heikkinen slips through on the final turn to grab the victory, Brian Deegan who had overhauled Sandell would now move to second, Sandell would also get by Foust’s crippled car for third. Tanner would manage to get the car re fired and hobble across the line in forth just ahead of Ken Block.

 “I think it was difficult for everyone”, noted Heikkinen after the race, “with the raining and drying. There were a lot of different things. For all of us, we had a tough day—it was tricky to change your setup every time. Even the qualification was a little bit different for everybody. But all in all, it was a great day.

A somewhat dejected Tanner Foust said “That was a tough way to end the race—that’s never fun! Topi was pressuring for the whole race, and then on the very last straightaway, it seemed like he had a little bit of a run. So I thought I’d play it safe—my spotter said he had a chance on the inside, so I played it safe and hit the brakes on the inside corner to protect the turn. But there’s just gravel from all the rain, dragging that mud out. As soon as I touched the brakes, I knew I was in for a pretty wild ride. The car just rotated, went straight into the wall, and then was face-to-face with Brian coming in at 100 miles per hour! The first events of the year, the first six seconds have been the most exciting, and this one, it was the last six. I don’t know what hurts more, but it was a pretty exciting day. Hopefully it was a good show.”

Ken Block who was the man to beat through the heats, ended up in fifth, “It’s frustrating to have the final result that I do after having an amazing qualifying session and first heat,” said Block. “Unfortunately, that’s just how RallyCross goes. That first corner is a total crapshoot. Sometimes you get lucky and get through clean, sometimes you get pinched. Either way I feel that I drove well today and that our car is running strong. Hopefully our luck is more favorable next weekend in Tennessee.”

Ford continues to dominate the Global RallyCross Championship, Pastrana/RedBull racing, are having a challenging year in 2013 in the 2 car Dodge team, but there is glimmers of hope in there.

For Subaru one has to wonder is Global RallyCross tarnishing their outstanding Stage Rally heritage in the USA, a heritage that has seen fans flock to the showrooms for the nearly race ready WRX and STI. While two of the Subaru’s made it to the final in New Hampshire, neither of them finished. No Subaru’s made to the final in Germany in round 3. I expect there will be some hard questions to be answered on the validly of this program for Subaru unless something changes drastically. GRC moves to Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend, track layout will again be interesting, but hopefully they can use a little more infield and less asphalt.

PHOTOS: Ford Racing / Hoonigan Racing
Report: Neil McDaid