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Archives for February 2018

Global Rallycross Switches to Homologous Cars

February 28, 2018 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

In a surprising move, Red Bull Global Rallycross announced that a single, spec-series type rally cross car will replace Super Cars in the 2018 season. Now called Gold class, seven events will feature the cars. Looking forward to 2019, a Platinum-class purpose-built rallycross car  will be introduced. The Gold series car has been created to level the playing field, so to speak, and highlight driver skill. The move may be perplexing to many fans of the series, however, as rallycross  was originally launched with factory-built street cars bought from dealers then modified for racing. This approach appealed to brand enthusiasts and casual car fans alike, with a nod to the series’ roots in rally. The past three seasons have been dominated by Scott Speed of Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross winning the championship – perhaps Volkswagen’s recent domination of the series was an impetus for the switch – but previous to Volkswagen’s championship streak, Ford consistently topped the podium.

Red Bull GRC is definitely expanding the series and horizons having introduced the off-roading Polaris RZR® RS1 and the new Polaris class debuting in 2018. The series is also putting “outside of North America” back into the Global part of its name by announcing the season finale at Lydden Hill, UK, the birthplace of rallycross.

The 2018 season kicks off June 9-10 at Lancaster National Speedway in Buffalo, New York, the only east coast venue within shouting distance of Canada. It then heads to New Orleans, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Atlantic City, Seattle, then Lydden Hill.

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Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc 2018 North American Teams

February 24, 2018 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

March 2018 is approaching and four teams of women in the United States are getting ready to head to France and Morocco for the 28th Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc. More casually known in North America as “Gazelles”, the rally was started in 1990 as an adventure for all-female teams. As in stage rally, each team of two – a driver and a navigator – drive off-road from checkpoint to checkpoint over 6 legs in Morocco for a total of nine days of competition. GPS is not allowed – traditional navigational tools of a compass and maps are used, although all teams are tracked by the organizers via satellite. Unlike stage rally, the teams can choose their routes between checkpoints and the winning team isn’t the team with the fastest time, but the team that accumulates the most checkpoint check-ins with the least amount of kilometers traveled. All legs are 100% off-road –  there are no public transits between legs. No special license is needed, either – just a simple driver’s license for the vehicle the team chooses to drive.

Team members from North America gathered at MAMO in New York City ‘s SOHO February 20th to chat with media. First-timers Elana Sorre and teammate Martine Capalbo of Team Atomic will be competing in the 4×4 class in a “brand new” Jeep Rubicon. When asked if she’s done any previous competitions Sorre, a tv producer from New York, said “We’ve definitely done some off-roading and we’ve experience some of that, but not in any form of a competition. [RAG] is our virgin voyage, but we are so excited to do it. There are elements that we are nervous about but nothing that we are fearful about.” She added that they will most likely stick to Martine driving and herself navigating – while they can do both, they just think it’s a better idea that each stick to their jobs for the duration of the event.

Another rookie team, Jazmin Grimaldi and Kiera Chaplin will be competing as E-Gazelles, driving a Citroën E-MEHARI in the RAG electric vehicle category, which will be Jazmin’s first time driving an electric vehicle for this long of a duration. Grimaldi, an actress and singer from California, says that she and Chaplin plan on switching between driving and navigating duties. She’s competing in RAG for the eponymous Jazmin Fund, which is helping to rebuild a community hall in Naidi Village, Fiji after the town was devastated by the 2016 cyclone.

One of the more experienced teams heading to West Africa to tackle the desert is the newly minted Over-Hyphenated team of rally driver Keanna Erickson-Chang and co-driver Claudia Barbera-Pullen. Keanna and Claudia are veterans of U.S. rallies, having completed six together in 2017. Claudia has been co-driving for around ten years, while Keanna’s first rally was Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) 2015. They have both earned their way to the podium at New England Forest Rally – most recently at NEFR 2017, Barbera-Pullen navigated her way to 1st place 2wd Production with driver Erik Potts (in a Subaru BRZ, in case you were curious). Talking to Keanna at the team’s launch party in NYC several weeks ago, Keanna said that she had done some training for RAG out in Moab, and that they both have a full competition schedule in the month before RAG; they will both leave for Morocco directly after finishing 100 Acre Wood Rally in Missouri March 16-17. They will be driving in the 4×4 class in a new Toyota Land Cruiser.

While women over 18 years both new to motorsports as well as experienced teams are all eligible to compete in the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc, it’s not purely a vanity adventure. The core mission of RAG is the non-profit Coeur de Gazelles, bringing job training for women as well as medical care and education. The rally has ISO 14001:2004 certification – with an emphasis on eco-driving and not speed, RAG maintains low CO2 emissions. No waste is left in the rally’s wake, and recycled material from the event are used to build houses. To keep tabs on the 2018 Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc, follow on Instagram or Twitter.

Keanna Erickson-Chang at the Over-Hyphenated Racing Team party
Keanna Erickson-Chang, STPR 2016
Claudia Barbera-Pullen on podium, NEFR 2017

Claudia Barbera-Pullen on podium, NEFR 2017

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And Now There Are Three

February 5, 2018 by Media press release Leave a Comment

 

TORONTO, Feb. 5, 2018 /CNW/ –  Six vehicles edged closer today to the ultimate goal of being named 2018 Canadian Car of the Year and 2018 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

Mazda will be hopeful for an accolade – three of the auto maker’s new vehicles made the final cut.

This year, voting was expanded to include all new vehicles available to Canadian buyers, not just those vehicles new to the market. For the first time, nearly 100 of AJAC’s voting journalists were able to directly score vehicles against their competition, whether they were all-new for 2018 or returning popular models. Almost 3,000 ballots were cast on 182 vehicles. If we drove them, then we had an opinion on them – and we passed that opinion on through an anonymous system of standardized voting to determine which vehicles are the best of them all.

The three cars and three utility vehicles were chosen in a separate, second round of voting by AJAC’s journalists from the 14 vehicles that were named the best in their segments earlier this year at the Montreal Auto Show. The voting process was a simple one: AJAC members were asked which, of the segment-winning vehicles they’d driven and experienced, most deserve to be named the best car and utility vehicle for 2018.

The three cars in the final running are the Honda Accord (Best Large Car in Canada), Mazda 3 (Best Small Car in Canada), and Volvo S90/V90 (Best Large Premium Car in Canada).

The three utility vehicles in the final running are the Chrysler Pacifica (Best Minivan in Canada), Mazda CX-5 (Best Small Utility Vehicle in Canada), and Mazda CX-9 (Best Large Utility Vehicle in Canada).

All six will be on stage February 15 at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto for the announcement of the ultimate winners. Until the envelope is opened then on stage, the results are a closely guarded secret, known only to the auditing firm of KPMG. The announcement and presentations will take place in the John Bassett Theatre at 8 am.

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