Subiesport Magazine - August/September 2008 - (Page 70)

NEW ENGLAND FOREST RALLY Photos: Lars Gange | rally.subaru.com WHEN THEY LANDED at Plymouth Rock in 1620, the Puritans who settled in New England believed that one’s soul could be stolen if one wandered alone into the woods. While they were mistaken about the soul thing, they certainly had no idea what else could be lost in the dense forests of America — including season points, bragging rights, and a shot at the X Games. Before we get into the blow-by-blow, let’s introduce Niall McShea, who hopped over the pond to give Rally America a try. McShea, of Enniskillen, Ireland, is a past P-WRC champion from 2004 with a list of European rally credentials as long as your arm. His co-driver, Marshall Clarke, also brings PWRC experience with McShea, including a win at Rally Ireland in November of 2007. The pair arrived to compete in a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. It may have been simple coincidence that brought McShea and Clarke to New England for this event, but this rally was also the last-chance qualifier for next month’s X Games rally in California. As such, the top-finishing team not already qualified for the X Games would walk away from this event with the coveted X Games invitation in hand. Series regulars Andrew Pinker and Robbie Durant were definitely hoping for that slot, having been frustrated throughout the first half of the season. Also notable before the rally got underway, championship contenders Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis, Nathan and Brandye Conley, and Kyle Sarasin and Mikael Johansson did not make the Northeast leg of the 2008 championship. So, the event started out missing three of the brightest stars in the Rally America firmament. These teams had already secured their X Games invitations, and so their absence may have been strictly strategic in advance of the media festival at the X Games. Still, points leaders Andrew Comrie-Picard and Marc Goldfarb came to solidify their lead, and Ken Block and Alessandro Gelsomino came to regain their early season momentum after a chain of hardluck incidents in Oregon and Pennsylvania. The SR- TUSA teammates recently won the Canadian Baie de Chaleurs rally, but while that certainly felt good, it did not confer any points in this championship. Two-time champion Travis Pastrana and new codriver Derek Ringer (himself a WRC veteran) also came to gain some momentum in what has been a difficult season so far. Subaru Rally Team USA again brought the new 2008 WRX STI cars to New England Forest after a disappointing first outing at Susquehannock Trail in June. It seems the roads to Los Angeles and to the season championship both run straight through Bethel, Maine. New England Forest covers 103.2 stage miles in two days, on technical roads through some of the most beautiful territory in North America. With the level of competition in the Rally America series dialed up to 11 this year, and with so much hanging in the balance, anything could happen, and that’s just how it worked out. The rally started with a pair of short Super Special stages at a half-mile apiece. Pinker/Durant came out strong, winning stage 1. But Block/ Gelsomino were right on their heels at just 0.4 seconds behind, and were joined by the newcomers McShea/Clarke, who scored the exact same time. Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard came fourth in their 2007 Hyundai Tiburon, followed by Pastrana/Ringer and Comrie-Picard/Goldfarb. At the second stage, Block/Gelsomino took the win, with Otis Dimiters and Dominik Jozwiak in their 2007 Subaru Impreza taking second just 0.2 seconds behind, and Pastrana/Ringer matching that time. McShea/ Clarke dropped to ninth on this stage, but still just 1.6 seconds behind the winning time. As the real forest stages got underway, Pinker/ Durant came back to the top, winning the 9.9-mile 70 SEPTEMBER 2008 http://rally.subaru.com

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Subiesport Magazine - August/September 2008 Features Contents Editor Letters Readers' Rides New Products Subaru News 2009 Impreza WRX East Meets West Shoebox Sleeper Bettering the Breed ...Even the Kitchen Sink WRC Rally Greace WRC Rally Turkey Rally America: New England Rally America: STPR 2008 STI Open Class GCRallyX R4 Where to Buy Subiesport ICY Racing E85 & Methanol Rebuild Your Heads Budget Building Ad Directory Spotted!

Subiesport Magazine - August/September 2008

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