Subiesport Magazine - August/September 2008 - (Page 72)

SUSQUEHANNOCK TRAIL PERFORMANCE RALLY IF THE RALLY America teams thought their trials and tribulations were safely left behind in Oregon, they received a rude awakening at the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally. “Waste management” was an appropriate name for the event, as the destruction tour that is the 2008 Rally America season continued at full throttle. Starting from the top of the seed list, Subaru Rally Team USA arrived with two new 2008 STI hatchbacks. The new rally machines showed up straight from the shop, apparently without much testing time to shake the bugs out. This may prove to be the team’s undoing for the year, because before the paint was even dry the rear suspensions on both cars failed in spectacular fashion. The early season juggernaut of Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino sputtered to a halt in Oregon with a DNF, and faltered again on stage 2 in Pennsylvania. According to rally control reports, the rear lower control arms failed and left the former points leaders stranded by the side of the road. This ended their national hopes for the weekend, but the veteran rallyists came back to contest the regional event the next day. Oregon Trail winner Travis Pastrana and co-driver Derek Ringer experienced similar troubles on stage 2, but made it back to service for repairs and were not time-barred. But any joy in the Subaru team pits was shortlived, as Pastrana/Ringer rolled their brand new rally car on stage 4 first thing the following morning, and the car caught fire. As if that wasn’t enough, Ringer was slightly injured while setting out the warning triangles. The Red Cross was displayed, ending the stage competition and any hopes of salvaging this weekend for SRTUSA. Ringer was reportedly treated and released. Stage 4 also took a bite out of several other top teams. Andrew Pinker and Robbie Durant had trouble with burnt intercooler hoses, while Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis also had engine problems, as did Kyle Sarasin and Mikael Johansson during the first day’s stages. Luckily, all were able to keep going. Rally America points leaders Andrew ComriePicard and Marc Goldfarb did some damage to the rear end of their Mitsubishi Evo, and they were also able to continue at a reduced pace. The next several stages were no kinder to the competitors. Among the many who fell by the wayside were Dave Mirra and Alexander Kihurani, the unofficial “third car” of SRTUSA. The two went off the road on stage 7. Comrie-Picard/Goldfarb’s Mitsubishi Evo blew its engine on stage 8. Sarasin/Johansson also succumbed to their earlier mechanical difficulties. Among those cars still running, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, Foust/Beavis, and Pinker/Durant were all facing mechanical issues of one kind or another and limping along towards the finish. The storm of trouble bypassed one car. The Hankook Tire Subaru WRX of Matt Johnson and Jeremy Wimpey earned two back-to-back Production GT titles in 2006 and 2007, and its team has been looking to move up the standings in Open class this year. As the rally wore on to the end, they were sitting third behind L’Estage/Richard and Foust/Beavis. Given the induction problems on both of the leading cars, Johnson/Wimpey had a real shot at the top spot this weekend. But at the last service, L’Estage/Richard were able to get a replacement turbo installed, which did not quite fix their problems, but allowed them to bring home their second win of the season, having previously won the season opener Sno*Drift rally back in January. Foust/Beavis finished the rally hot on their heels, just 1:51.6 behind the leader. Pinker/Durant finished in fourth place, four minutes down. Fifth place went to the 2006 Mitsubishi Evo IX of William Bacon and Peter Watt, 4:43.2 behind L’Estage/Richard. In Production GT, the 2004 Subaru WRX of Stephan Verdier and Scott Crouch was missing from this event, still suffering from damage sustained at Oregon Trail. The 2002 WRX of Patrick Moro and Mike Rossey ended the weekend with top honors in the class, followed by Robert and Mariusz Borowicz, also in a 2002 WRX. The remaining national PGT teams of Jaroslaw Sozanski and Bartosz Sawicki, Heath Nunnemacher and Kim DeMotte, and Travis and Terry Hanson all failed to finish the Susquehannock Trail. Group 5 honors went to John Conley and Karen Wagner as the sole surviving entry in that class. Group 2 was won by Silvio Alva and Benjamin Slocum in their 1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R, followed by Don Conley and Heidi Nunnemacher in a 1998 Volkswagen GTI. There were no Production class entries in the national race. Looking over the stage-by-stage results, the second-place team of Foust/Beavis won six of the 13 total stages, and finished second on three more. The winning team of L’Estage/Richard won only two stages, but finished second on four more stages, and finished third on four stages. Pinker/Durant won three stages, and Sarasin/Johansson won a single stage. Block/Gelsomino won stage 8 as a regional Photos: Lars Gange | rally.subaru.com 72 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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