Perez heads Sol RB connections in BTRDA season-opener

Four more regular visitors from Europe have confirmed their entries for Sol Rally Barbados 2012 (June 9/10) through the event’s official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb, bringing to more than 30 their combined total of visits to the island in the past decade.

Scotland’s Kenny Hall returns to compete for the 10th time – he has only missed one year since his 2002 debut – and has become a regular visitor for family holidays, too. This year, Holland’s Fenny Wesselink returns as his co-driver, making her seventh trip.

When Wesselink first visited the island in 2003, it was as co-driver to fellow-countryman Wim Wermink in his historic Opel Ascona; also in the Netherlands party that year was Frans Verbaas with an Opel Astra, co-driven by Kees Hagman. They return together in 2012, Verbaas for his sixth visit, Hagman for his third.

Hall has three times won the Modified 5 classification, in his Opel Corsa, in 2004 with Colin Smith as co-driver, then twice with Wesselink on the notes: in 2007, 22nd overall was also good enough for them to claim the trophy as the highest-placed crew including a female, and they won again in Sol RB09.

The four-time Scottish class champion is back for the third time with his ex-works Super 1600 Halltune Ford Puma; he is hoping for better fortune than on the car’s two previous visits – in Sol RB10, ‘Kenny & Fenny’ were just a few hundred yards away from another class win, until a wrong slot on the first run of the Shell V-Power SuperSpecial at Simpson Motors dropped them to second in M6.

Last year was one to forget, with an ‘off’ in the early part of Saturday, followed by a number of mechanical problems, and eventual retirement. Hall’s disappointment was compounded when teenage son Alex, making his island debut in his father’s former Corsa, had an accident on Sunday.

Hall says: “It is good to be returning again this year; business here is brutal, it has been the longest January that I can remember. Still, we’ve got May to look forward to – bring it on! We’ve got some fixing to do before we leave, though – we attempted the McRae Stages last October; it was pouring with rain and the stages were rougher than I can remember. We had to pull out after the sump split, the engine mounting split, the sumpguard bent and the lower suspension arm bushes popped out . . . it even tore the sills and fibre glass rear quarters to bits!”

Dutch Mini enthusiast Verbaas – the family have more than 20 examples between them – is bringing his distinctive self-built Group B Mini, which was dubbed ‘The Clockwork Orange’ by Britain’s popular Mini Magazine, for the fourth time. Created to mark the 50th Anniversary of the iconic marque in 2009, it is built around much of the running gear from his former Opel Astra Kit Car.

On his first visit in 2003, driving that Astra, in which he had won the Dutch Rally Championship in four consecutive years (1998 to 2001), he retired with overheating; four years later, he finished 27th overall and fifth in M7 in a newly-built Opel Astra Sport. On the brand-new Mini’s debut in 2009, despite very little chance to test before the event, Verbaas finished second in Group B; he went one better the following year, claiming the Group win, but slipped back down the order in Sol RB11, finishing seventh.

Perez heads Sol RB connections in BTRDA season-opener

Sol Rally Barbados connections are in action in the UK this weekend, with the start of the BTRDA Rally Championship, won in 2010 by island regulars Steve Perez and Paul Spooner in the Kick Energy Drink Ford Focus WRC07. Perez and Spooner are seeded at one for Saturday’s (February 11) Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally, as last year’s winner and reigning BTRDA Champion Andy Burton is currently taking a rest from competition, now that his self-built Peugeot Cosworth is no longer eligible in the UK.

At three, Focus-mounted Charlie Payne is co-driven by Craig Thorley, Group N winner with Ryan Champion in RB08, while Roger Duckworth starts at eight in the Subaru Impreza WRC in which he finished seventh in Sol RB11. Further down the field, father and son Rob and Ross Weir, who will compete in Barbados for the first time this year, continue the shakedown of their new Subaru Impreza B13.

Sol Rally Barbados and Shell V-Power King of the Hill are organised and promoted by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007; Sol RB12 is the 23rd running of the Club’s annual International All-Stage Rally and marks the fifth year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company.

Web sites: www.rallybarbados.bb; www.barbadosrallyclub.com

Kenny Hall in his Ford Puma
Frans Verbaas in his Mini
Photos by San Chandler/vtcaribbean.com

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Round 2 of the Rally America National Championship Set for February 24-25, from Salem, MO

Round two of the 2012 Rally America National Championship takes place in the majestic Ozark foothills of the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood on February 24-25th in Salem, MO. Up to 70 of the top national and international rally competitors will challenge the fast, hard-packed dirt roads following a very slippery opening round at Michigan’s Sno*Drift Rally in January.

The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood promises more great battles across all car classes. The roads are fast, tight and twisty and the conditions are extremely variable, creating an excellent playing ground for teams to compete for National Championship points.

Subaru Rally Team USA and 2011 Rally America National Champions, David Higgins and Craig Drew, got off to a great start winning the season opener to lead the Series over the Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team Canadian duo of Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard. At last year’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, L’Estage and Richard secured an important overall win, and in the process beat their Subaru Rally Team USA rivals.

“I’m really looking forward to 100 Acre Wood,” said L’Estage. “I love these fast roads! The competition will be tough, but I’m going there to win!”

Both L’Estage and Higgins will need to pay close attention to a slew of new talent entering the fray who could play spoiler to their Rally America National Championship dreams.

A powerful new entry, Krzysztof Holowczyc (pronounced Kristoff Holovich) of Olsztyn, Poland, will join the Art Logistics Racing Team with co-driver Maciej Wislawski in a 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX for his American debut. Holowczyc brings a deep racing resume having won three Polish Rally Championships, 1997 European Championship title and has placed as high as 6th overall at a World Rally Championship event. This year Holowczyc drove a factory BMW X-Raid in the Dakar Rally to place 10th overall.

Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) regulars, Leonid Urlichich and Carl Williamson, made a splash in their Sno*Drift debut proving that they are podium contenders on the American circuit. Urlichich is carrying momentum off his best CRC ever after making 7 podiums in 8 events and a Tall Pines overall victory last November. The team is now challenging for the Rally America National Championship crown and looks to improve their Sno*Drift standings and place even more pressure on other top-tier teams.

The competition in the Super Production (SP) class promises to be much tighter on Missouri’s fast gravel than on the treacherous frozen stages in Michigan last month. Travis Hanson and Terry Hanson won this class at Sno*Drift in dominant fashion with a 15-minute lead over second place. Hanson is expected to enter the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood to continue his defense of his 2011 Super Production title following significant engine repairs that threatened to force his exit from Sno*Drift.

Hanson will face a contingent of SP top talent. Ex-factory Mitsubishi Rally Team driver, Lauchlin O’Sullivan with co-driver Scott Putnam switched back to a 2003 Mitsubishi EVO at the beginning of the year. Though unfamiliar with his ride he sits second in class and within striking distance of assuming the SP lead early in the season.

In the National Two-Wheel Drive class, fan favorites Chris Duplessis and Karl Atkinson in their 2011 Ford Fiesta R2 seek to build upon their class lead after an impressive Sno*Drift outing where they finished 15 minutes ahead of the Scion xD Rally Team of Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey. Duplessis is always favored to win, but Comrie-Picard displayed a special tenacity coming back from fifth in class to a 2nd place finish.

The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood will begin at 12:00pm on Friday, February 24, with a Parc Expose. Fans can attend the Parc Expose to seek autographs and pick up spectator information before heading to various spots in the woods to watch the exciting rally action.

Another Parc Expose will kick off the action on Saturday, February 25th in downtown Salem at the intersection of 4th & Main Street at 8:00am. Two Super Special stages will take place that day at the Potosi Lions’ Park beginning at 2:40pm. All Parcs Expose and race viewing are free to attend.

Fans who cannot attend in person can catch some live event streaming and video recaps, as well as regularly-updated stage times and results, at Rally-America.com.

For a complete schedule of the event, please visit Rally-America.com. A spectator guide with driving instructions to viewing areas will be available on the website soon.

The 2012 Rally America National Championship is proudly supported by VP Racing Fuels – the Official Fuel of Rally America, Exedy Racing Clutches, Hawk Performance Brakes, ParkNBlend and RECARO seats.

About Rally America:

Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship, the premier performance rally series in the United States. In 2012, Rally America will be conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. More information about the Rally America National Championship and the sport of rally can be found at http://www.rally-america.com.

Photos by Matthew Young/WorldRallySport

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Aware that he will have to face uniquely challenging conditions found nowhere else during the season, the WRC Team MINI Portugal driver is determined to use his previous experience of the event, thanks to previous outings in a Group N car, to conquer the snow stages. He will make every effort to drive a strong event and achieve the best result possible in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. After a 130km pre-event test on Sunday, the Portuguese driver was able to find a good set-up for his MINI to use during Rally Sweden. Now he looks forward to kicking off the event supported by his team Motorsport Italia: “My feeling with the MINI on the test on Sunday was great. We made a few small set-up changes which made a big difference and I felt confortable and in control of the car. Being from Portugal, I’m used to driving on gravel, but it isn’t quite the same with snow banks and ice on the roads, but having contested this event before in a Group N car, I have an idea of what to expect from the stages. It’s cold and it will be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m very proud to hit the stages representing WRC Team MINI Portugal and will do everything I can to exploit the full potential of the car throughout the event.”

Delighted with the new project and looking forward to the team’s debut at Rally Sweden, Motorsport Italia Team Manager Bruno de Pianto said: “Everyone at Motorsport Italia is very proud of our new partnership with MINI and new status as MINI’s official manufacturer entry in the 2012 World Rally Championship. We will do our best at all times to represent MINI in the best way possible and our primary focus at the present time is to get the best results we can this season. It’s a pleasure to be cooperating with MINI on this project and also to be working alongside Prodrive and any future MINI partners to bring as much success to MINI and its WRC programme as possible. Moreover, we are delighted that MINI has now ensured long-term homologation of the John Cooper Works WRC car up to and including 2018.”

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Nobre is not new to these conditions, his first outing in Rally Sweden was in 2010 in the PWRC and he returned to Scandanavia last week in a Group N when he pick local expert Patrik Sandell’s brains on how to drive on icy and snowy roads. Being aware that this is a specialists’ rally where the Scandinavian drivers have the advantage of knowing exactly what to expect, the Brazilian’s goal for the weekend is to finish Rally Sweden unperturbed and bring his MINI John Cooper Works WRC, run by Motorsport Italia, safely to the finish.

Keen on making the most of the weekend, Nobre is determined to enjoy every single stage in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC: “I’m really looking forward to Rally Sweden. Each WRC event is a new experience and a new challenge for me. It’s my first time here in a WRC car and I can’t wait to get out on the stages in my MINI. My goal is to complete all the stages with retirement like in Monte-Carlo and I promise that I will enjoy each and every one of them. I’m very happy with my team, we are all working very hard to male this a fantastic event and I will do my best to make them and Palmeirinha proud.”

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Mitsubishi leads Manufacturers Championship with Convincing Win at Perce-Neige

The 47th running of Rallye Perce-Neige, the first round of the 2012 Canadian Rally Championship, was won by Antoine L’Estage of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and co-driver Nathalie Richard of Halifax, in their new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

Reigning Canadian and North American champion, L’Estage becomes the all-time record winner at Perce-Neige with a fifth win. L’Estage and Richard clinched best time in seven of the first ten stages and motored to an outright 8-minute victory in a demanding event that saw only 18 of the 42 cars reach the finish. The Production Sport class was won by defending champion Yavor Klostranec with Emily Dowell in the co-driver seat in their two-wheel drive Mitsubishi Lancer.

Two other teams of the Mitsubishi Brigade were among the finishers. Synchro Racing saw Simon Losier partnered with veteran co-driver Brian Maxwell in his EVO VIII clinch a rewarding fifth place. Alvin Fong and Billy Machin of Danbury, Connecticut were second among the novice crews in their new Lancer Evolution IX.

“The Mitsubishi Brigade teams dominated Rallye Perce-Neige to earn a record-winning victory. It is also exciting to see a base Lancer finish such a difficult event and win its class”, said Mr. Kenji Toh, VP Sales/Marketing & Corporate Planning for Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada. “We look forward to continuing the momentum in Calgary.”

Rocky Mountain Rally preview

The next Canadian Rally Championship stop for the teams will be in Calgary, Alberta in the last week of May. The challenging Rocky Mountain event is always unpredictable, as roads can be dry and windy as well as snowy and slippery, which makes it a real challenge. Last year winners were Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard in their Lancer Evolution. More information is available at www.rockymountainrally.com.

Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard (left) started their season on a high note with an outright victory in their new Lancer Evolution X at Rallye Perce-Neige. Right is defending Production Sport champion Yavor Klostranec with co-driver Emily Dowell taking Production Sport in their stock Lancer.

Credit : Philip Ericksen

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Smart tire choice and road position allowed L’Estage and Richard to open up a small lead over rivals Pat Richard (Squamish, BC) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of Subaru Rally Team Canada. Richard and Ockwell landed heavily on a jump on the second stage, damaging the car and losing boost, and then losing brakes. Despite this, the pair was only 27 seconds back from the lead at the first service. They would only run a few more stages before parking their car with driveline problems.

“We led from the first stage, and spun and lost time on the fourth stage, and then got back on track,” said L’Estage. “We didn’t make any other mistakes for the rest of the day and it’s a great way to start the season. I don’t know [why we're so successful]. Things are clicking and it works.”

For Nathalie Richard, the Rallye Perce-Neige is her 100th career start, a fact that makes the win even more gratifying. “We both really wanted to come here and win this one,” said Richard. “These weren’t easy conditions, and it’s a great way to start the season. We’re just doing what we’re doing and it seems to work.”

Podium regular Leo Urlichich (Toronto) and co-driver Carl Williamson (Swansea, GB) got off to a rough start. Timing mistakes on the first few stages led to six minutes in penalties, and the pair were pushing to make up time and positions – perhaps a bit too hard. A spin on a fast straight damaged the back end of the car, but the two were luckily able to continue. Incredibly, between a fast pace and misfortunes of rivals, the pair were able to climb up the order, finishing second overall.

“It is amazing. We tried hard,” said Urlichich. “Everyone made mistakes, the car had a few problems, I definitely made mistakes, Carl unfortunately made a mistake, but we all fought back for a second place on the podium.”

Sylvain and Simon Vincent (Terrebonne, QC), who were aiming for a top five finish, also benefitted from other’s troubles, and the cagy veteran was well aware of what strategy leads to success. “You have to pace yourself at a rally like this,” said Sylvain at the midday service stop. “It’s such a long event, you need to make sure you don’t get too tired, too early. You can lose concentration and make mistakes.” A mistake is exactly what destroyed the podium hopes for Bruno Carre and Yvan Joyal, both of Laval, QC. The pair rolled late in the rally, and though they managed to finish, they dropped from second overall to eighth. That allowed Sylvain Vincent to move up to third overall, earning valuable points towards his goal to rank in the top ten lifetime driver rankings.

“I was aiming for a top five, as that would be perfect,” said Sylvain. “It means good points, which is really important! It is really hard with the competition we have, to get into the top five at a gravel event, but on ice and snow, it is a bit easier.”

In Two Wheel Drive, a battle appeared to be brewing early on between the team of Peter Kocandrle and Angela Cosner, and Thierry Menegoz and Guillaume Bechard. After two stages, the teams were just 0.1 seconds apart. However, Menegoz struggled to find grip and dropped down the order before retiring. Kocandrle took advantage of his growing lead and lessened pressure to open a lead of more than 20 minutes over his closest competitor.

“Everything was great until the last four stages. I had my first flat on stage, and a bit of an off, but someone helped us out. Then we got stuck behind a car and followed for a while and then backed off, and then they spun and backed right into us, breaking one of our lights,” said Kocandrle.”We came here to set some points in place for the year and try to build things for this year and maybe run the North American championship. The guys at Open Road Motorsports have been awesome, and they’ve really looked after us.”

The Rallye Perce-Neige is the first round of the six event Canadian Rally Championship, and is made up of 16 stages, totalling 248km of competitive distance. Canada’s only true winter rally, roads are covered in ice and snow, but teams are forbidden from using studded tires, requiring a smooth hand at the wheel for a driver to be successful.

“The roads are fantastic. Tortue is already the biggest challenge in Canadian rally, just to make it to the end is an accomplishment,” said Sylvain Erickson, Clerk of the Course. “This year, teams had to do it twice. The speed of the guys was really great, everything worked out to be very impressive.”

The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that extends from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by Yokohama Tire Canada and features contingency programs from Subaru Canada and Mitsubishi Canada. The Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) is the official sanctioning body for rallying in Canada.

Rally car racing is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” The all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over closed-road courses that typically cover more than 150 kilometers of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads. Fans can get up close to the cars in the service areas and catch all the action from specially designated spectator points located at the best spots on the route.

Full coverage of the championship will air on RDS and TSN. Check local listings.

For more information: www.carsrally.ca or www.rallyeperceneige.com

Rallye Perce Neige Final Results

1. Antoine L’Estage – Nathalie Richard – two hours, 45 minutes, 18.8 seconds
2. Leo Urlichich – Carl Williamson – 2:53:56.0
3. Sylvain Vincent – Simon Vincent – 2:59:11.5
4. Mathieu Dube – Eric Losier – 3:01:01.2
5. Simon Losier – Brian Maxwell – 3:02:43.7
6. Joel Levac – Stephanie Lewis – 3:02:58.8
7. Steeve Hobbs – Jean-Mathieu Tremblay – 3:03:38.9
8. Bruno Carre – Yvan Joyal – 3:04:17.2
9. Warren Haywood – John Hall – 3:15:07.9
10. Maxime Rochefort-Laframboise – Jerome Milette – 3:17:47.0

Photo Credit: Andrew Harvey Photography

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“It’s a convincing victory, winning the rally with a gap of over eight minutes ahead of second place,” confides Antoine L’Estage, who adds, “I felt much more comfortable with the new car than last weekend in Michigan. Nathalie once again did a fantastic job co-driving, we didn’t have a single mechanical issue, and our Yokohama tires allowed us to push as much as we needed to throughout this very long rally. We can really say that it was the perfect scenario for us.”

Winners of nine of the sixteen competitive stages in the 2012 Rallye Perce-Neige, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard once again proved from the beginning how competitively John Buffum has built yet another Lancer Evo X. “Leading the Canadian and North American championships – there’s no better way for us to start our season,” concludes Nathalie Richard who was celebrating her 100th rally, of which she has won no fewer than thirty-eight!

The next outing for the Rockstar Energy Drink team is set for the last weekend of February in Missouri, where Antoine L’Estage, Nathalie Richard and the entire team will return to the Rally America series to defend their 2011 victory at the 100 Acre Wood rally.

Antoine L’Estage holds four North American championship titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011), four Canadian titles (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011), one American title (2010), and thirty-two overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds seven overall national championship titles (4 Canadian and 3 American), as well as thirty-eight overall rally wins on both sides of the border. She also holds a record seven North American Co-Driving Championship titles (2004 – 2011, excluding 2006).

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2012 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Formica Group, Fenetres Concerto, Mitsubishi Canada, Yokohama Tires, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Energie Cardio, VP Racing Fuels, Exe-Tc Suspensions, Hawk Performance Brake Pads, Driver’s Edge Autosport, and Libra Racing. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit antoinelestage.com.

Action Photo: World Rally Sport /Melina Lamoureux
Victory Photo : World Rally Sport /Mike Proulx

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ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK supports the active Rockstar lifestyle. In Surf, Skate, Snow, MX, BMX, Off-Road, MotoGP, Rally, Wake, MMA, Bull Riding, Bands, DJs, and Live Music.

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Road conditions were incredibly challenging as slippery ice covered most of the stages. The team took a slow and steady approach with the goal of bringing the car across the finish line in one piece. A very consistent drive by Carl and spot on calls by Dave all weekend yielded successful results (although the rally was not without its moments – nearly every stage had a spin or missed corner). The service crew led by Matt Alexander and comprised of Martin Asao, Mike Rhode, and Jesse Lang did not face any difficult repairs and kept the car running smoothly for the entire rally.

The next event for ZRT will be 100 Acre Wood at the end of February in Salem, MO. The team has unfinished business at 100AW as they have broken down on the same stage two years in a row.

Ziptie Rally is based out of Golden Valley, MN. Their 2012 partners include: Carbonetic, Morries Minnetonka Subaru, TSS FAB, Team Powder, Gearhead Designz, and St. Paul Media. For the latest on the team check http://www.facebook.com/ziptie.rally

Photos by Erik Olsen

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Sno*Drift is the season opener of the RallyAmerica National Championship series, and is held in Montmorency County, Michigan, USA, and it featured no fewer than 67 entries form all parts of the world. Studded tires are prohibited at Sno*Drift Rally, and the difficult conditions tested the drivers as the stages had a mixture of snow, sand, gravel and lots of glare ice. “Our recce notes were crucial this year,” said Chris. “It was very important to note the areas that had thawed and turned to gravel. It was equally important to note the icy areas and slow down appropriately.” Chris and Phil stayed mostly clean on Day 1, recording only one puncture near the end of Stage 5. Their fast but cautious approach kept them in a 4-way battle for second place at the end of Day 1, and they handily took their first Group 2 Regional class win of the year.

Overnight snow covered some of the exposed gravel on Day 2, but the team suffered a setback on the first leg of Day 2, after a minor run-in with a snow bank broke a CV shaft. “It was entirely my fault,” said Chris. “I bumped a snow bank that had some gravel and dirt in it, and even though we were going slow, we broke the left CV joint in two. That was on Stage 15, and it meant that we had to run Stages 16 and 17 with only one-wheel-drive. It took us 4 minutes to climb the first hill on SS16. In fact, we needed help from some marshals and fans to push the car up the icy slope. One little mistake from me was all it took to end our bout for a National podium finish.” After the crew quickly repaired the damage at service, Chris and Phil then went out to battle back for some Regional points. They pressed hard and once again displayed their perseverance as they came from behind to take yet another Regional Group 2 win, although they could only muster a fifth place finish in 2WD National. The Weasel RallySport team finished the event with a double Group 2 Regional win and Chris is now the Central Region Group 2 points leader.

The team will be back in action at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri, USA in February. Chris and the Weasel RallySport Team would like to thank EBC Brakes, MadDog STS, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Angry Sheep Motorsports, Silco Fire Protection, Modern Performance and JayRacing.com for their continued support.

www.youtube.com/user/freightdog75
www.twitter.com/#!/freightdog319
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002214847602

www.EBCBrakes.com
www.maddogsts.com
www.angrysheepmotorsports.com
www.jayracing.com
www.silcofireprotection.com
www.modernperformance.com

Photo by Elliott Sherwood

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Top ten overall for Cline at the season opener

Cline Racing Sports, of Evan Cline and Grzegorz Dorman representing the Exedy Rally Team, opened their 2012 Rally America National Championship Series with a 10th overall and 5th in Super Production class at the Sno*Drift Rally. The race was based around Atlanta, MI and presented the team with some of the toughest conditions to overcome on more than 120 competitive stage miles of the event.

Cline’s freshly upgraded 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI ran the event flawlessly despite hitting snow banks and a few spins on the ice-covered race stages. The Michigan crew, based in Brighton, drove conservatively on Friday stages, ending the day 12th overall and 5th in their class. These roads were raced mostly at night and were the toughest conditions to race on. Lack of snow and higher than usual temperatures in the area left a thick sheet of ice on the roads, which was polished with every car racing on them.

Saturday’s stages welcomed drivers with a thin layer of fresh snow that came down overnight, which improved conditions on the roads and confidence back in Cline Racing Sports crew, seeing them in the top 10 stage times in eight of the twelve stages.

Evan Cline, CRS driver: “I am happy we brought the car to the finish, which was the objective of the weekend, but am a little disappointed couldn’t show the potential of our upgraded car. It ran great and the times we achieved on Saturday were pretty good, with a few top five overall. 100 Acre Wood Rally is just few weeks away and I am eager to see how we do there.”

Grzegorz Dorman, CRS co-driver: “This was the most difficult event I’ve ever been to by far. Not only were the roads were really slick, but there was no snow banks to help slow you down if needed. Was a stressful event because we wanted to make sure we made it to the finish, but also wanted to flex the new car a little. I look forward to the second round of the season in Missouri.”

The next event for Exedy Rally Team, will be the 100 Acre Wood Rally based in Salem, MO on February 24th and 25th.

Cline Racing Sports is proudly supported by Exedy Racing Clutch, Disc Brakes Australia, Hawk, Recaro, Innovate Motorsports, Magnus Motorsports, Whiteline and Mobsteel.

Photos : Artur Partyka

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