Subaru Rally Team USA

Today the Dakar Rally went from one extreme to another, following yesterday’s short stage with a 483km long epic, skirting Chile’s Atacama Desert between Copiapo and Antofagasta.

The result was one was of those days the Dakar Rally is famous for, with stage leads shifting and changing like the sands of the desert they’re racing through, and some competitors’ chances of an overall victory seem to have slipping though their fingers.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the bikes. Frenchman Cyril Despres started the day leading from David Casteu by a little under nine minutes, with Spaniard (and reigning champion) Marc Coma trying to stage a comeback after winning yesterday’s stage trying to fight back from several delays.

And early on in the stage it looked like the Coma renaissance would continue, as he took the stage lead from Despres in time for the second checkpoint at 138km. Coma was flying Despres by six minutes at the next checkpoint as he moved into the overall top five and toward a second consecutive stage victory—the first this year for anyone outside of the Truck class.

But it too was short lived as the Spaniard was stopped again by mechanical issues and lost 40 minutes fixing his bike. That, of course, saw Despres back into the stage lead, followed by Chilean Francisco Lopez Contardo and Casteu.

Or at least it should have been Casteu, had the Frenchman and his 450cc Sherco not been the latest victim of what is turning into an unforgiving race. The man who had won the opening stage fell heavily after 395km severely injuring his leg.

Such was the severity of his injury he was unable to set off his emergency beacon with David Fretigne and Paulo Goncalves stopping to help Casteu for the five minutes before a helicopter evacuated him to the bivouac for medical attention.

Casteu’s misfortune left Despres and Lopez Contardo alone at the head of the stage times, Fretigne third fastest, now twelve minutes adrift. In the closing kilometres, the home country hero eclipsed Despres, leading at the fourth and final checkpoint by 1:14, extending his lead by another sixteen seconds to take the stage win in his home country and giving the Italian manufacturer better known for Superbike exploits its first Dakar stage win.

Fretigne finished the stage third ahead of Despres’ teammate Ruben Faria and Norwegian privateer Pal Anders Ullevalseter.

It was a similarly topsy-turvy day in the cars. The VW army were in fine form early on in the stage with the five Race Touareg 2 machines of Mark Miller, Giniel de Villiers, Carlos Sainz, Mauricio Neves, and Nasser Al-Attiyah locking out the top five positions at the first checkpoint.

And then the day got better for VW, as it got worse for Stephane Peterhansel.

The BMW driver, then the only man who stood between VW and domination, stopped apparently with driveshaft problems at 135km. He tried to repair the car and minimize the time lost to the Touareg phalanx, but it was to no avail.

When the X-Raid car finally got going again it had lost over and hour to Miller, the leading VW, and was struggling as the problem had left the normally 4WD BMW languishing with 2WD.

That handed the non-VW stage win challenge duties over to a car that was intended to be 2WD: Robby Gordon’s Hummer Buggy.

Gordon, starting first today after his narrow win yesterday, was fast throughout the day looked like he could spring another surprise as he gained on Miller through the second half of the stage.

He was six minutes behind at 224km, four minutes 100km later, and had pulled in to scarcely two minutes behind before the final, mostly downhill, 27km blast to the stage finish.

And when the results came in it was an American at the top.

But that American was not Robby Gordon, it was Mark Miller (from Phoenix) who won the stage ahead of teammates Sainz (who took the overall lead) and Al-Attiyah, Gordon’s Hummer losing two minutes and slipping to fourth fastest.

Struggles for the pre-stage leaders were again a theme of the quad class, as the curse of the stage win struck again, with Alejandro Patronelli the latest victim as the Yamaha ride lost nearly 90 minutes between 138km and 187km.

With his brother disappearing down the order, Marcos Patronelli had the opportunity to extend his overall lead. Having taken the stage lead after Martin Plechaty had crashed into retirement at 127km, the younger brother exchanged the lead with Uruguayan Luis Henderson before pulling out nearly a 20 minute lead at the third checkpoint at 339km.

Patronelli won the stage in 7h39:49, underlining the huge proportions of the day, beating his countryman Jorge Miguel Santamarina by 29:41.

Stage Five Results

Bikes :

1. Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) 5h52:40

2. Cyril Despres (KTM) +0h01:30

3. David Fretigne (Yamaha) +0h13:13

4. Ruben Faria (KTM) +0h15:09

5. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) +0h18:24

Cars :

1. Mark Miller (VW) 5h06:15

2. Carlos Sainz (VW) +0h02:10

3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) +0h04:27

4. Robby Gordon (Hummer) +0h04:48

5. Mauricio Neves (VW) +0h09:21

Quads :

1. Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) 7h39:49

2. Jorge Miguel Santamarina (Can-Am) +0h29:41

3. Juan Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha) +0h32:54

4. Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) +0h40:18

5. Bernardo Graue (Can-Am) +1h31:04

Trucks :

1. Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) 5h48:50

2. Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) +0h00:19

3. Joseph Adua (Iveco) +0h37:48

4. Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) +0h42:28

5. Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf) +0h43:12

Overall Standings After Stage Five

Bikes :

1. Cyril Despres (KTM) 16h38:26

2. Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) +0h37:37

3. Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) +0h44:01

4. Alain Duclos (KTM) +1h01:34

5. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) +1h08:07   

Cars :

1. Carlos Sainz (VW) 16h10:51

2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) +0h04:37

3. Mark Miller (VW) +0h09:39

4. Robby Gordon (Hummer) +0h59:55

5. Carlos Souza (Mitsubishi) +1h13:22

Quads :

1. Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) 20h48:02

2. Jorge Miguel Santamarina  (Can-Am) +1h00:36

3. Juan Manuel Gonzalez  (Yamaha) +1h07:13

4. Alejandro Patronelli  (Yamaha) +2h07:45

5. Oldrich Brazina  (Polaris) +2h47:23

Trucks :

1. Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) 18h20:32

2. Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) +0h26:08

3. Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf) +3h07:26

4. Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) +3h41:12

5. Johan Elfrink (Mercedes) +4h06:14

Travis Pastrana was handed his fourth win of the season at the New England Forest Rally Saturday by his teammate, to extend his lead in the Rally America national championship.

Subaru Rally Team USA's Pastrana entered Round 6 with a 21-point lead and said his strategy from the start was to avoid taking unnecessary risks and get his car to the finish in one piece.

The roads on this event are generally wide and fast, but strewn with massive rocks that can do big damage to competition cars.

"It's hard to know you've got that little more speed in reserve and not use it, but it's that little more that can get you," he said. "We weren't the fastest here this weekend, but I'll take the win however I can get it."

Finishing in one piece was essential because they have a short turn-around before heading across the country to compete in the X-Games.

Pastrana’s Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block set a blistering pace at the start, but spun early Saturday afternoon, losing more than 20 seconds.

Then Block had a tire puncture which prevented him from making up for lost time in the final stages of the day. So a frustrated Block had to settle for second-place overall.

"It's extremely frustrating," said Block at the finish. "I put myself in the right position to win, and it didn't work out for us."

Despite the disappointing result, Block moves into second place in the Rally America National Championship, behind teammate Pastrana.

Canadian Antoine L'Estage lost time to a power steering failure in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.  This dropped him from out of the running for a win in the event but he managed to nurse the car to a third place finish.

"It's good to taste champagne again, but I really wanted to win," said L'Estage after the ceremonial champagne spray. "I thought this morning we had a shot at it."

L'Estage is developing a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that was debuted by Tanner Foust earlier this season under a sharing deal.

They haven’t had much luck with the car so far, dealing with the problems that are typical with a new rally car. But he is confident that the car has potential and he's looking forward to the next round.

Bill Bacon finished in fourth place, and Art Gruszka rounded out the top five.

Roman Pakos took the Super Production class win in a Subaru STi, while John Conley and Keith Rudolph took the two-wheel drive win in their 2003 Dodge SRT-4.

Typically, attrition claimed a number of contenders including Subaru Rally Team USA's Dave Mirra, who dropped out with engine trouble on Saturday, while Andi Mancin retired after Day 1, apparently with engine issues as well.

The MaxAttack! two-wheel drive competition was furious this weekend, with more than two dozen drivers running in the class. Chris Duplessis and Catherine Woods set the fastest two-wheel drive times in their 1990 Volkswagen GTi during the weekend.

The most interesting entry was Lucy Block and Chrissie Beavis in a Volkswagen Golf. Block is married to Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block and Chrissie Beavis is a regular championship co-driver for Tanner Foust and competes in California as a driver in the regional series.

The duo swapped driving and co-driving duties over the weekend.  This was Lucy’s first ever event as a competitor.

Two of the bigger names in the Rally America Championship were missing from The New England Forest Rally.  Open class drivers Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard and Tanner Foust have also opted to sit this event out while they prepare for the X-Games.

The X Games contest is the biggest event on the calendar for invited teams and cars are due on the other side of the continent in just over a week.

No Doubt Pastrana, Block and L’Estage didn’t miss them.

All results are considered informational pending official race processes.

O/A Car # Class I/C Driver
1 199 O 1 Travis Pastrana 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2 43 O 2 Ken Block 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 
3 17 O 3 Antoine L'Estage 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 
4 68 O 4 William Bacon 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX
5 198 O 5 Arkadiusz Gruszka 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX 
6 494 SP 1 Roman Pakos 2006 Subaru Impreza STI
7 19 SP 2 Timothy Penasack 2002 Subaru WRX
8 8 155 2WD 1 John Conley 2003 Dodge SRT-4

Quotes and Photo: Rally America

Travis Pastrana took the win this weekend at the Oregon Trail Rally, and moved into the championship lead.  

The Subaru Rally Team USA driver set a blistering tempo to pull into the lead over the hard-packed forest roads early on Day 2, and held it there to the finish. It’s the third win in four starts for the duo in their Subaru WRX STi.

“It was an amazing rally,” said Pastrana. “That’s three wins and a tree this season – not so bad.”

Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust put in a steady drive all through the many elevation changes of the Mount Hood area’s hilly terrain and looked for a sure second-place finish when he spun out on the closing stage and hit a rock with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. They managed to hold on, finishing just 3.6 seconds ahead of Andi Mancin.

“It was a pretty clean rally the whole way,” said Foust. “Subarus are known for being really tough and I think our Evo X has proven tough this weekend, too. She brought us all the way home after we hit the rock and we’re pretty pleased to get second.”

Mancin has proven at this event that they can match the pace of Rally America’s top drivers with his first U.S. podium.

“I’m very happy, it’s a very significant result for our team,” said Mancin, who pilots a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. “These were very difficult stages – but they were beautiful.”

NOS Energy crew of Andrew Comrie-Picard finished in fourth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, just 2.8 seconds behind Mancin after flat tire on Day Two cost him a minute to the leaders. It was a disappointment for “ACP”, who had battled hard to regain the podium.

To add insult to injury the finish drops him from first to third in the championship standings, behind Pastrana and second-place Foust.

“That flat tire yesterday was really tough to overcome and the times were incredibly close the end,” said Comrie-Picard. “We had been clawing back time since yesterday but I have to hand it to Andi.  He drove a great race.”

Ken Block’s run of bad luck continued. A flat tire and damage to a control arm meant their rally ended early on Day Two. This makes three DNFs in four starts for Block who returned to the action Sunday for a fun run at the regional contest and even though they didn’t score points, they set some of the fastest times of the day.

“It’s getting a little frustrating,” said Block. “I have the speed, I feel, to win every single one of these…I thought I had some bad luck last year and it’s getting worse this year.”

The new competitive Super Production class was won Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra, finishing sixth overall. Heavy attrition in the Super Production class this weekend saw Matt Johnson and Piotr Wiktorcszyk retire early and Mirra said all he had to do was hang on and keep it clean.

“A lot of it is just trying to find a pace,” said Mirra. “It’s great to be in this class with so many competitive drivers.”

Dillon Van Way notched another win in the two-wheel drive class Ford Focus. This is the young Van Way’s first season of competition.

Photo and Quotes: Rally America

The best rally teams in North America will be faced with a new challenge as they arrive at the 2009 Olympus Rally in Aberdeen, Washington for Round Three of the Rally America championship April 18-19.

Last year, the Olympus Rally was temporarily held in the dry eastern part of Washington State, which made for a very fast Rally.

The Rally returns to its roots in coastal Washington’s tree-lined roads around the ocean-side community of Aberdeen.  America’s finest rally drivers will take to the tight, tree-lined course mountain roads with intimidating drop-offs for round three of the Rally America Championship on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

"Pomeroy was a great location for the Olympus Rally in 2008, but we're glad to be back near the Olympic and Capital forests," stated Olympus Rally chairman Steve McQuaid recently.

“The springtime weather in Washington is extremely unpredictable at this time of year and everything from warm sunshine to blinding snow is certainly a possibility.”

The legendary Olympus Rally has a very rich history but is a relatively new event in the Rally America calendar, being added to the series calendar in 2007.  The Olympus Rally started in 1973 and was a stop on the World Rally Championship calendar from 1986 to 1988.

Rally racing legends including Rod Millen, Juha Kankkunen, and the American rally legend John Buffum are just some of the famous names that have taken the win at this event.

There is a tie for the lead in the Rally America point standings entering the Olympus Rally.  Surprisingly, neither is competing in the all-conquering Subarus, but in two different versions of the Mitsubishis EVO. 

NOS Energy’s Andrew Comrie-Picard in his Mitsubishi Evolution IX and Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust, driving a Libra Racing-built 2009 Mitsubishi Evolution X, are tied at 31 points each.

The two Subaru Rally Team USA drivers, Red Bull’s Travis Pastrana, and Monster Energy’s Ken Block have each emerged victorious in the first two races in the Rally America Championship, but find themselves tied for second place in the standings with 23 points. 

Third place in the championship is another tie, just one point back, between Andi Mancin and Bill Bacon, both behind the wheel of Mitsubishi Evos.

Matt Johnson and Dave Mirra, both driving Subaru WRX STIs will be challenged by Piotr Wiktorczyk with his Mitsubishi Evolution. They will battle it out for the win in the new Super Production class.  

As is the case with most Rally America events, expect representatives of various car manufacturers such as Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford, Mazda, and Volkswagen at the Rally Olympus, especially with local teams providing a strong turnout in the two-wheel drive class.

Photos and Quotes courtesy of Rally America.

I see the red taillights blazing, I hear the distinctive thrum from the flat-four boxer engine, I feel the whoosh of wind as Petter Solberg deftly maneuvers his Subaru Impreza WRC2008 around a tight hairpin by jabbing at his car’s handbrake.

The mud now spraying in every direction, the spectators are not deterred in the least. All eyes are focused on the bright blue hatchback dancing towards the horizon, making the zigzagging road that lies ahead magically straighten out. The Norwegian driver snatches second gear, then third, then fourth, as he rounds a sweeping right turn bend to disappear out of sight over a rise.

This is five seconds in the life of one of this sport’s most enduring and respected machines: The Subaru Impreza WRC car.

For 2008, the Subaru World Rally Team was faced with the daunting task of reeling in the Citroen C4 WRC and the Ford Focus RS WRC cars, with the aims of regaining the coveted Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championship titles. Without even a moment’s hesitation, Solberg at a press conference ahead of the 2008 season stated that his sole aim is to win the Championships for Subaru.

It reminds me of an interview in 2007 where Solberg was asked how important rallying with Subaru is to him. His response went something like this: First Subaru rallying, family, and then everything else. This man’s blood is Subaru blue.

In 2008, Solberg was partnered with Phil Mills, while Aussie Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot piloted the second Impreza WRC car. The 2008 season with its 15 rounds was to prove a difficult year for all teams and competitors.

Not only was Subaru demanding much success from its mighty impressive Impreza WRC2007, but it was also spending large sums of money (and, more importantly, man hours) into developing a new rally car, the WRC2008, to reflect the Japanese motor manufacturers’ new-generation Impreza.

Producing sound results and showcasing the team’s championship winning potential, Solberg and Atkinson proved there was life yet in the ageing sedan-shaped Impreza WRC car earlier in 2008. When the new war machine was debuted at WRC Rally Greece, it was immediately quick out of the box, recording a podium result in its competitive debut.

The Subaru World Rally Team was once again on course to resume battle with Citroen and Ford.

With bucketloads of determination, motivation and talent, the two SWRT drivers, Solberg and Atkinson, once again brought pride to the Japanese motor manufacturer in 2008 with a string of impressive results in their all-new Impreza WRC2008.

The potential for rally-winning success was great in 2008, and after a strong showing in the closing rounds of the WRC season, it became more evident the Subaru Imprezas were fast gaining lost ground to their rivals. Unfortunately, an international economic downturn saw Subaru dramatically withdraw from the World Rally Championship on Dec. 16, only a few days after it had confirmed its entry for the 2009 season.

This abrupt end concluded what has been a hugely successful 19-years in top-flight rallying, because through rallying, Subaru has made itself a household name.

The ‘98 WRC season saw an updated WRC97 compete. As in 1996/1997, Subaru pumped its resources into their 1999 model, which is considered to be the start of the technological era in the WRC. Prodrive and Subaru engineers worked tirelessly on the interaction and also focused on the adjustable parameters of the automated controlled systems in the car.

As such, it was the year in which the paddle gear shifters were used in competition, as well as the debut of fly-by-wire throttle technology in rallying, thanks to Subaru and Prodrive.

Fans of the brand, team, and charismatic drivers will have to suffice with reruns of pre-2009 events to satisfy their Subaru lust. Or they can just reread this article.