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2010 STPR Recap

gravitybureau — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:51:51 +0000

The 2010 Susquehannock Trail Rally was spectacular. Canadian team of Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard came in first place, followed by privateer Bill Bacon. Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis took third place in Open class. It looks like the Subaru domination of the Rally-America series might be a thing of the past. Mitsubishi-powered vehicles seem to be winning these days.

You can take a look at our top shots from the first day and a half. Stay tuned for a complete set of Gravity Bureau’s photos in the next few days. We’ll be also posting the complete event coverage in low-res on our Flickr stream.

Aspah Special Stage - Ken Block & Alex Gelsomino, Monster World Rally Team

Wilson Point Special Stage - Bill Bacon & Peter Watt

Waste Management Special Stage - Antoine L'Estage & Nathalie Richard, Rockstar Energy Rally Team

Waste Management Special Stage - Ken Block & Alex Gelsomino, Monster World Rally Team

Waste Managament Special Stage - Dave Mirra, Subaru USA Rally Team

Aspah Special Stage - Bill Bacon & Peter Watt

Ken Block & Alex Gelsomino, Monster World Rally Team

2010 Olympus Rally Summary

gravitybureau — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:50:10 +0000

The 2010 Olympus Rally in Ocean Shores, WA claimed quite a few cars from the Rally-America series. First off, Andrew (ACP) Comrie-Picard crashed his Mitsubishi EVO IX on special stage 2. In an interview for Driving Sports, the driver said: “We were pushing super hard… went really fast into a right five and it was very slippery, set up for it, got on the throttle, went to go around it and just went in too fast. Completely my fault”. ACP is currently 8th in the Rally-America standings with 13 points.

Andrew (ACP) Comrie-Picard launching his Mitsubishi EVO IX - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block set the fastest time on special stage 2, but his Ford Fiesta suffered a gearbox failure on his way to special stage 5.

Monster World Rally Team Fiest at Olympus Rally - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block sideways in the MWRT Ford Fiesta - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block disappointed - ©Neil McDaid

Art Gruszka crashed his 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX and couldn’t finish the 2010 Olympus Rally.

Art Gruszka - 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX - ©Neil McDaid

Olympus Rally was not too kind to Pat Richard and Subaru Rally Team Canada. He finished the event in 15th place with almost 18 minutes separating him from the rally leader.

Pat Richard & Subaru Rally Team Canada STI - ©Neil McDaid

Dillon Van Way crashed his 2002 Ford Focus due to a broken front axle.

Dillon Van Way crashed his 2002 Ford Focus - ©Neil McDaid

Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom led the event from start to finish winning 8 of 13 stages. Their Subaru STI performed flawlessly and they were able to build a significant lead. After the rally Travis said: “This rally was tough from the start. It was definitely the most intense field that we’ve had, though a lot of guys went out on the first day”. Pastrana stands in second place of the 2010 Rally-America Championship with 45 points.

Travis Pastrana #199 - ©Neil McDaid

Canadian driver Antoine L’Estage defended his leading position in the Rally-America series by placing second. Nathalie Richard, Antoine’s co-driver and wife summarized: “We started off well but had a problem early on in the rally, losing half a minute. It was pretty much impossible to catch Pastrana after that so I had to tighten the reigns a little bit to ensure Antoine slowed down and drove a smart and less risky rally. It may have dampened his fun a little bit but sometimes my job is to get him to think of the big picture”. L’Estage is leading the Rally-America series with 51 points.

Antoine L'Estage & Nathalie Richard jump their EVO X - ©Neil McDaid

Although Subaru Rally Team USA’s car #199 dominated the event, Dave Mirra nad his co-driver Martin Headland noticeably pushed harder than ever before. Mirra secured his first national podium and placed third overall at Olympus Rally. He is currently in 4th place with 34 points.

Dave Mirra's SRT USA STI - ©Neil McDaid

Bill Bacon is third in the 2010 Rally-America standings with 40 points. Privateer family-run Bacon Motorsports team is consistently intimidating larger, factory-sponsored rally teams this year. It will be interesting to see what Bill can really do when he gets sponsored by a big brand and has the means to push harder.

Bill Bacon's EVO IX - ©Neil McDaid

Old school Subaru Legacy Turbo launching off a jump - ©Neil McDaid

Photo Credit: Neil McDaid

Sources: RallyBuzz, Rally-America, SpecialStage, Subaru Rally Team USA, Monster World Rally Team

2010 Sno*Drift Rally Summary

gravitybureau — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:24:04 +0000

The 2010 Sno*Drift Rally was icy. REALLY icy. The competitors that we spoke to couldn’t believe how slippery the roads near Atlanta, MI were this year. The fact that
studded winter tires are not permitted in the part of Michigan where the rally takes place made for a spectacular rally-car ice dance.

Travis Pastrana negotiated this year’s rally with a broken collar-bone and to everyone’s surprise took the victory! He said that his injury actually helped make his driving smoother and prevented him from taking unnecessary risks.

Travis Pastrana negotiating an icy corner at Sno*Drift 2010 - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino brought out their latest toy – Monster World Rally Ford Fiesta. They showed top-notch performance and were in the 3rd position when they were forced to retire due to a technical problem. Take a look at the new Fiesta in snow-mode below:

Ken Block goes flat out in his Rally Fiesta on ice during Sno*Drift testing

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard snatched-up the second place in the their Rockstar Mitsubishi EVO X. See below for in-car footage of Antoine and Nathalie tearing through the icy stages.

Sno*Drift Rally - Antoine L'Estage// Nathalie Richard - ROCKSTAR ENERGY

William Bacon and Peter Watt took the third place in their 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX. Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard placed at a respectable fourth place despite of a close encounter with a snowbank. Andrew commented on this year’s Sno*Drift conditions and said that “the first few stages were the iciest I have ever seen… and the rally just got icier from there.” ACP owes his strong finish to a fellow rally team of pro mountain bikers Carl Decker and Adam Craig, who stopped in the middle of a stage and pulled the NOS EVO IX back onto the road.

The Polish crew of Andi Mancin & Maciej Wislawski placed 12th with their 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

Official Rally-America 2010 Sno*Drift Rally video highlights:

2010 Sno*Drift Rally Official Highlights

Photo Credit: Neil McDaid

Sources: RallyBuzz, Rally-America, SpecialStage