“Karen Wagner takes on Tall Pines rally last event in the 2009 CARS Championship!”
My goal for 2009 was to compete in all 6 of the Canadian Rally Championship events and this weekend’s Tall Pines rally will mark my fifth event (I missed Pacific Forest due to scheduling conflicts). So far the year has been quite a learning experience with everything being brand new—new Sanctioning body, new rules & regulations, new events, new roads, new 2 pass recce, new drivers to team up with, and often the most challenging a new language.
So far I have really enjoyed racing in Canada. I typically win the award for coming the farthest away to run these events (it is pretty common for it to take 3 flights for me to get to an event). Flying cross country can be a challenge on the best day, try flying out of the country! You really have to keep a good sense of humor about it and make sure to only fly carry on. Believe it or not I have been able to fly carry on for every event this year which is especially suprising because I am a girl who likes to bring lots of stuff.
After Rally Defi which resulted in a very big “off” into a mountain side, I am hoping for a solid finish this weekend. Once again I am teamed up with Bruno-Pierre Allard of A Team Racing in the team’s 2004 Subaru STi which has been freshly repaired from our off.
I am finishing my to do list for work and by tomorrow will be off to good ol Canada. We are starting 22nd this weekend with over 50 teams set to compete including the usual folks like Antoine, Pat, ACP, Henderson, and some interesting last minute additions like the Sprongl’s who are going to try to play spoiler this weekend for Subaru. It is great to see Dan Sprongl back in the car again after his nasty accident at STPR in 2006—just goes to show how safe these cars are! I remember driving by the accident (it was only my 3rd rally co-driving) and looking at the wreckage just gave me chills. Still does to this day….
We are going to fly into Buffalo and then drive up to Bancroft (about a 4 hour drive) Thursday, I am excited to see Niagra Falls for this first time in my life….wish me luck traveling tomorrow I have a hunch I am going to need it!
More updates to come……follow co-driver Karen Wagner on Twitter @ Wagsca for real time updates from the event.
I had no idea ‘Hot for Words‘ or Marina Orlova even existed until this video, but I’ll be paying more attention to her in the future. Check out this video featuring Subaru Rally Team USA’s Ken Block discussing his Gymkhana phenomenon with Orlova in a Q&A format.
The only big revelation is the fact that Block is keen on continuing with the Gymkhana series. “Maybe next year,” he says about the possibility of Gymkhana 3. We’re looking forward to it, Mr. Block!
Handbrakes and Hairpins: Issue 106 – This week’s issue of H&H is out now. In this week’s issue, you’ll find articles on Michelle Mouton and Volkwagen’s Dakar efforts. Quality, as always! Thanks Evan for putting this out!
Ford’s S2000 car revealed next week – We posted the super secret “spy” video today, but here is a more detailed write-up of Ford’s next-generation rally car which could make its debut at next year’s Intercontinental Rally Championship season-opener, Rallye Monte Carlo.
2010 Rally Colorado status still undecided – Rally Colorado organizers decide to wait before making a decision about the continuation of their rally. Rally Colorado was dropped from the 2010 Rally America calendar after RA announced its intentions to run Rallycross events instead.
Hopes high for USF1 and US Grand Prix, insists FIA – I figured Jean Todt would be anti-American in every sense of the word, but apparently the FIA is actually supporting American efforts to become more involved with Formula One. Despite some of the negative comments made about the team, the FIA sure didn’t turn away their $400,000 entry fee for the 2010 season.
Turkey ready to step up – Preparations are underway for next season’s Rally of Turkey, which will take place in Istanbul. Next year marks the eighth time the event will be included in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Despite a poor showing in the individual portion of the Race of Champions, Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust did well in this year’s Nation’s Cup by making it to the semi-finals (where they lost against eventual winners Germany).
Audi is planning to enter an autonomous rally version of its popular TT road car at next year’s Pikes Peak hill climb. The car is being developed by Volkswagen’s Electronics Research lab, Stamford University and Sun Microsystems according to Autocar.
The goal is to create a realistic driving experience from a machine that would react the way a human would to changing conditions on a circuit.
Here’s a ‘not-so-secret’ spy video of the new Fiesta S2000 testing. There aren’t a ton of shots of the car (you can hear it better than you can see it), but it looks promising. I can’t wait for the official unveiling next Wednesday (11.18.09).
I sure hope we start seeing Fiestas on the stages in Rally America.
Volkswagen Race Touareg at Dakar Rally – VW will take five teams to South America for this year’s running of the Dakar Rally. The German manufacturer is looking for a second consecutive Dakar victory.
The third most successful WRC manufacturer: Citroen – Despite Sebastien Loeb dominating rally this decade, Citroen are only third on the FIA World Rally Championship’s list of ‘most successful’ manufacturers.
2010 announcement – Organizers of Ojibwe Forests Rally are vowing to move forward, despite being dropped from Rally America’s 2010 calendar. The rally will be run next season as a Central Region event, but will not be in the national championship next season. Organizers are looking at running the round in either June or August of next year.
Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana has endorsed the upcoming Race 4 Change at the East African Safari Rally Classic. The event, which takes place in the last week of November, is aimed at eliminating global poverty through microfinance.
Billed as one of the toughest rallies on the planet, EASRC will run more than 5000 kilometers in ten days using “classic” cars built before 1974. The idea is to take competitors back to the days before AWD and turbo-chargers.
Pastrana won’t actually be driving in Kenya, but his support of the event is notable, nonetheless. The reigning Rally America champion is the most well-known American to announce such support. The beneficiaries of the event will be the Microcredit Summit Campaign Kenyan microfinance agency, Jamii Bora.
The 2010 edition of New England Forest Rally is set to take place July 16th and 17th next year. The rally, a fan favorite, will once again be hosted at Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine.
The 2010 Rally America schedule will be shorter than those run in previous years, as the series goes from nine to six events. NEFR made the cut and will again be featured on the Rally America calendar.
Ekstrom crowned Race of Champions winner – A solid drive and a wonderful finish saw Mattias Ekstrom claim his third Race of Champions title. The Swede beat out Germany’s Michael Schumacher for the win.
Ojibwe Forests Rally photo contest winners – Congratulations Erica Hensley for taking home the top honors from Rally America’s Ojibwe Forests Rally photo contest. Erica’s winning photo was of Travis Pastrana’s Subaru sliding through Bemjidi Speedway Superspecial.
Toyota to withdraw from Formula One racing after 2009 season – Without Honda or Toyota, Formula One now has no Japanese manufacturer presence. Toyota has spent nearly two years in the red, and saving money in a down economic climate is the announced reason for the team’s withdrawal.
Motor racing-Pirelli rules out supplying F1 tires – Pirelli has been the sole tire provider for the FIA World Rally Championship since BF Goodrich was forced out by the FIA a few years ago. Today comes word that Pirelli is not interested in filling Bridgestone’s shoes after its contract with F1 expires at the end of the 2011 season. This news comes after Pirelli has admitted its place in the WRC is not guaranteed.
Both Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust, the American contingency at this year’s Race of Champions in Beijing, China, failed to make it out of today’s opening group stages. Foust was in Group A while Pastrana was in Group B.
Tanner had a strong showing yesterday, taking the Americans to the semi-final heat against the eventual event winners Germany. Foust beat Michael Schumacher in the opening run, but Germany’s Sebastien Vettel eventually drove his team to the win.
Unfortunately, yesterday’s results didn’t translate into solid drives during the contest’s second day. Foust won only one heat (out of three) in the group stages. Pastrana didn’t post a single victory.
The eventual champion was Mattias Ekstrom. He drove with inspiration and put his stamp on ROC by winning the title for a third time. Ekstrom beat Team Germany’s Schumacher in the finals.
Honda Civic R3 in 2010 Junior World Rally Championship – The Civic R3 is one of the most highly anticipated cars to be introduced in the J-WRC. The car has found some success at the international level already and planned changes in the technical regulations should make the R3 the car to beat moving forward.
Rally ace Ingvar Carlsson dies – It’s never a good thing when someone associated with our sport passes away, and Carlsson’s untimely death is no different. The Swede claimed a few WRC victories during his driving career and will always be remembered for his time behind the wheel of Mazda’s RX-7.
There are literally a dozen drivers that have the opportunity to win tomorrow’s Race of Champions finale. Here’s the driver line-up:
Michael Schumacher
Sebastien Vettel
Jenson Button
Andy Priaulx
Tom Kristensen
Mattias Ekstrom
Mikko Hirvonen
Marcus Gronholm
Chad Reed
Mick Doohan
Yvan Muller
Guerlain Chicherit
David Coulthard
Giniel de Villiers
Tanner Foust
Travis Pastrana
Clivio Piccione
Emanuele Pirro
Ho-Pin Tung
Han Han
A bunch of these guys have what takes to ace tomorrow’s test. My money is on a rallyist, though. Someone like Gronholm might surprise us. Tomorrow should be interesting. The broadcast starts late morning / early afternoon here in the States. You can set an alert on Freecaster.tv to remind you to tune in before the coverage starts, as well.
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Congratulations to Team Germany for winning the 2009 Race of Champions Nation’s Cup. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel went up against team Great Britain, Jenson Button and Andy Priaux, in the final’s this afternoon and came away with the win.
This marks the third consecutive year that Schumacher and Vettel have claimed the Nation’s Cup. Germany has more victories than any other country.
Tomorrow is the Race of Champions itself. The drivers will compete in knockout rounds until a champion is crowned. The broadcast will once again be run through freecaster.tv. I hope the stream is faster tomorrow than it was today. I had a ton of lag issues.
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