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Archives for February 2015

2015 Waste Management Winter Rally

February 25, 2015 by ponycargirl 3 Comments

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Snowy winter rallies are not strictly the domain of Scandinavians – with some focused googling, you can find some winter rallies taking place in North America. Replete with fast cars sliding around turns, spectacular snow sprays, and adrenaline-junkie drivers and co-drivers, the only thing different is the small clutch of fans. However, the fans that did come to watch at the Waste Management Winter Rally (some family members of the teams and some spectators that came from two hours away simply to watch the rally) were truly hardcore, enduring the 9*F/-12.8*C temperatures of a cold snap and an afternoon of sometimes heavy snow.

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In its fourth year, the Waste Management Winter Rally is held on property privately owned by the company in Wellsboro, PA, located in the northerly reaches of Appalachia known as “Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon,” 60 miles southwest of Watkins Glen. Breathtaking views from the winding local routes are punctuated with the occasional house or store, and the frozen rivers snaking through the valleys are dotted with heavily bundled figures ice fishing. Several miles from the Tioga County Fairgrounds, the rugged, rural terrain is ideal for a stage rally.

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The final entry list of 15 included local teams as well as teams from North Atlantic states – Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York – even a team with a driver from my New York City borough of Queens. Represent! Cars ran the gamut as well – the grid was Subaru and Ford-heavy, but with several Mitsubishis, a Volvo, Nissan, a Dodge Neon, and the oldest car – a 1978 Datsun 280Z – rounding out the field. The five-stage rally covers 44 miles of competition with fourteen turns per stage, and in the area mid-course for spectators, a high-speed jump on a long straightaway.

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Stage 1 claimed its first victim – the Nissan Sentra driven by Ozgur Simsek, Alp Seyhan co-driver pulled off at Turn 5 with a fire. One of the two Mitsubishi teams – Greg Roumiantsev driver, Zsanett Fabian co-driver – also didn’t make it to the second stage. Last year’s champ – Alvin Fong with William Machin in a Mitsubishi Evo IX – suffered a DNF after completing only the first stage. At one point, both 2014 Ford Fiestas – driven by brothers Anthony and John Concha –  sufferend simultaneous offs, but were able to get unstuck and back in the race. Ultimately,  Subarus swept the podium. Jon Kramer (Ligonier, PA) and Adam Kimmett (Leesburg, VA) won the 2015 rally in the number 777 ’93 Subaru Impreza.  Claiming second place was Alex Kuklov, driver, and Chris Rosato, co-driver in a 2000 Impreza RS. In third was local Jeremy Keck with James Quattro co-driving a 1999 Impreza. Wellsboro will also host the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® in warmer weather June 5-6, 2015. Scroll down for complete results and gallery from the Waste Management Winter Rally.

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Pos
O/A
Pos
Cls
Car# Driver
Co-driver
Class
Vehicle
Total
Score
Total
Score
1 1 777 Jon Kramer
Adam Kimmett
Open Light
Subaru Impreza
75.143 01:15:14
2 2 137 Alex Kuklov
Chris Rosato
Open Light
Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
80.299 01:20:29
3 3 554 Jeremy Keck
James Quattro
Open Light
Subaru Impreza
84.332 01:24:33
4 4 225 Corey Crossan
Anthony DeGuiseppi
Open Light
Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
88.189 01:28:18
5 1 280 Gregory Healey
Michael Waterhouse
Group 5
Datsun 280Z
94.252 01:34:25
6 1 143 Antonio Esposito
Philip Barnes
Open
Subaru WRX
97.184 01:37:18
7 2 80 Gary DeMasi
Mike Morrone
Group 5
Ford Ranger GT50
98.217 01:38:21
8 1 412 Alan Edwards
Daniel Baker
Group 2
Dodge Neon
117.270 01:57:27
9 3 348 John Concha
Santiago Alban
Group 5
Ford Fiesta ST
132.184 02:12:18
10 4 648 Anthony Concha
Mark Tisdel
Group 5
Ford Fiesta ST
135.477 02:15:47
11 2 33 Jason Smith
Jared Lantzy
Group 2
Volvo 242
154.262 02:34:26
12 127 Alvin Fong
William Machin
Super Production
Mitsubishi Evo IX
DNF
13 555 Greg Roumiantsev
Zsanett Fabian
Super Production
Mitsubishi Evo
DNF
14 145 Ozgur Simsek
Alp Seyhan
Group 2
Nissan Sentra SE-R
DNF













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Red Bull Global Rallycross Off-Season Update

February 14, 2015 by ponycargirl 3 Comments

Being a newer series in the motorsports world does not leave Red Bull Global Rallycross immune to its own silly season. There has been some good and bad news during the six months of anticipation preceding the 2015 series starting this May.

The spectacular Las Vegas finale saw Ken Block win the race and Joni Wiman win the championship title with a one-two finish in Ford Fiestas. Bucky Lasek prevented a complete podium take-over by the blue oval boys, surviving a first lap crash – “shaken, not stirred” – with Scott Speed to place third. Block has already confirmed he will participate in the 2015 season.

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Darkening the Las Vegas finale was the scuttlebutt that Hyundai would not continue to partner with Rhys Millen Racing in GRC, and within weeks the formal announcement confirmed the rumors; no more Millen in a Veloster. RM Racing has since stripped the GRC car of its wrap, and made it available to privateers. I had the pleasure time of my life riding along for a hot lap with Millen on the GRC course in Vegas, so here’s one last nostalgic listen to the GRC Veloster – and yes, it’s my ringtone. Bye bye, Hyundai.

http://thegarageblog.com/garage/wp-content/uploads/RhysMillenGRCEngine.mp3
2015 has brought better news about Global Rallycross. First, the calendar has been announced with double headers in Detroit, Los Angeles and Barbados. Gone are dates in New York and Charlotte, but a date at a mystery military base has been added in July. There is no confirmation on where, but it’s a good possibility it will be on the East Coast, south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

May 31: Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL
June 21: Daytona, FL
July 5: United States Military Base
July 25: Detroit, MI (I)
July 26: Detroit, MI (II)
August 15: Washington, DC
August 30: Seattle, WA
September 12: Los Angeles, CA (I)
September 13: Los Angeles, CA (II)
October 3: Barbados (I)
October 4: Barbados (II)
November 4: Las Vegas, NV

Second, DirtFish Rally School has announced sponsorship of a GRC Lites car and driver. 22-year old Tanner Whitten, who has been competing in various series for most of his young life, is partnering with DirtFish Motorsports for the GRC season.

Third, after a fantastic season with multiple podium finishes for both drivers, Subaru announced that Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen have inked deals to power on as a team. Travis Pastrana also signed on for key races along the way.

This past week, Volkswagen Motorsports and Andretti Autosport announced that Tanner Foust and Scott Speed would also return to compete with them in 2015. The two drivers appeared at a press conference at the Chicago Auto Show to make it official and discussed their 2015 pursuits; Foust has a docket full of GRC, as well as World RX, short track trucks, more Top Gear, and That Which Cannot Be Spoken Of Yet. Speed will concentrate on Red Bull GRC and maybe join some other series in several races.

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A Garage of Her Own

February 8, 2015 by ponycargirl 1 Comment

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Now here is an Indiegogo campaign that piqued TheGarageBlog interest: Hilary Noack and her all-female team of top-notch auto body repair techs are raising the funds to open a garage of their own – Ink & Iron. Toronto-based Noack is turning to crowd funding to gather the last bit of cash needed to realize this endeavor and secure first and last month’s rent for their future auto body shop. This determined group of women focus on integrity and quality service, as well as a look to the future by training other women. Best of luck to Ink & Iron – read more on their campaign by following this link. 10965731_10155201324080241_172511273_n

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