2005 comes to a close
- Saturday, October 22, 2005
The results have been made final for the 2005 lake Superior Rall and the awards
are about to be given. Thanks to the competitors, organizers, workers, and fans
for helping to make Rally America's first year a success. We hope you have
enjoyed it as much as we have.
Please make sure to join us for all the excitement to come in 2006, starting
with the Sno*Drift Rally in January. The 2006 season schedule should be posted
soon, so please check the site for further details.
The season may be over, but the Rally America TV coverage is just beginning!
Check it out on Saturdays on OLN.
We'll see you next year!
Preliminary LSPR results
- Saturday, October 22, 2005
The top five teams for LSPR are as follows:
Car 1, Richard / Richard - 1:05:42.4 00.0
Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom - 1:06:26.2 +43.8
Car 18, Iorio / Holter - 1:06:52.4 +01:10.0
Car 43, Block / Gelsomino - 1:06:57.2 +01:14.8
Car 77, De Dominicis / Daddoveri - 1:07:09.8 +01:27.4
Scores are informational only and will be posted as provisional at 9 PM at the
Michigan Tech Ballroom, with the awards banquet to follow.
As far as the Overall and Group N Championships, Car 1, Richard / Richard scored
the 20 points for a win, as well as 1 point each for starting and finishing the
event. That will be enough for secure both Championships.
Car 18, Iorio / Holter has won the Open Class Championship.
As far as the PGT Championship, Car 429, Foust / Crouch is being listed as the
winner here, and as such, has secured the PGT Championship.
Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz has secured the Group 5 Championship.
Car 587, Johnston / Kihurani has secured the Group 2 Championship.
Car 49, Thompson / Marr has secured the P Class Championship.
First place is not the only battle
- Saturday, October 22, 2005
The fight for third place has heated up here at Lake Superior. Only 6.4 seconds
separate Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, Car 18, Iorio / Holter, and Car 77, De
Dominicis / Daddoveri. Car 43, Block / Gelsomino is currently third, 5.5 seconds
in front of Car 18, Iorio / Holter. Block / Gelsomino set out at a much faster
pace this morning, they were second fastest on Special Stage 8. The team prefers
the daylight stages and plan to be smooth and consistent for the remainder of
the rally. Sitting fourth is Car 18, Iorio / Holter, a mere .9 seconds in front
of fifth place Car 77, De Dominicis / Daddoveri. Iorio / Holter set the fastest
time on Special Stage 7, saying that it was an "awesome stage". It was reported
that De Dominicis / Daddoveri had some trouble with their odometer between
Special Stage 7 and Special Stage 8. Their stage times do reflect that they may
have been affected by the problem on Special Stage 7, they lost nearly 20
seconds to both Car 18, Iorio / Holter and Car 43, Block / Gelsomino. The roads
have been reported to be fairly slippery today, and with no chance of the rain
letting up, the conditions will only deteriorate. With six stages remaining, the
rally known to be the "oldest, toughest, meanest rally on the circuit", will
surely test the competitors until the very end.
Richard
- Saturday, October 22, 2005
Grey skies and drizzle welcomed rally teams as they prepared to start the final
day of the Lake Superior Pro Rally and of the 2005 Rally America National
Championship. Pat and Nathalie Richard, in the #1 car, are still out front as
they head out to tackle the first of today’s eight stages. At the completion of
last nights six stages, the Richard’s had a 33.3 second lead over car 199,
Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom who sit in second place. Moving into
third place is #77 DeDominicis and Daddoveri nudging out the #43 car of Block
and Gelsomino by 10.8 seconds.
Tanner Foust, car 429, pulled ahead of Matthew Johnson in the 46 car by 6.9
seconds on the final two stages of yesterday’s battle in PGT. The rally is far
from over, and both teams are set to go all out today. There was even some
friendly banter at this mornings Parc Expose between the two teams, everyone is
very excited to have such a great battle still going on.
PGT battle to be decided here
- Friday, October 21, 2005
The battle in PGT is yet to be decided as we go into Lake Superior. Three teams
are within seven points of each other. Car 429, Tanner Foust and Scott Crouch,
currently lead the battle and must win the rally to secure the Championship win.
The team has never been to LSPR before, so they feel they have a slight
disadvantage to Car 46, Matt Johnson and Wendy Nakamoto. Foust really doesn’t
know what to expect at this rally, he had heard so many different things. But
like most veterans of this rally, he has chosen to take it a little easy tonight
to ensure they will be in one piece tomorrow. Foust also said that snow would
be good, but it would have to be cold enough to stay snow and not make mud for
it to be an advantage for him.
Johnson, who has run this event three times previously, needs a win here to have
any chance at the Championship win. Their team plans to go for the win, “that’s
what we came here for!” said Johnson. Co-driver Wendy Nakamoto is feeling the
pressure too, considering Johnson has won twice here in the past (with a
different co-driver) she feels she really has to do well. They are a little
concerned about where the others will need to finish even if they win; for
example, Foust would have to finish third to their first in order for Johnson to
win the Championship.
Even more scenarios come into play when you add the third car, Eric Langbein and
Jeremy Wimpey in car 153. The team is planning on taking a step back to try and
learn the car this weekend. Eric was quick to point out that this may not mean
they will be going slower! More speed may come from taking the time to learn.
The team has been looking forward to this rally as this is the first event this
season that the team has prior experience at, they hope their past experience is
of some help to them.
New kids in town
- Friday, October 21, 2005
Car 77, De Domicis / Daddoveri makes their first Rally-America start in a
Cascade Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7. The Itallian team is excited to be
here. This team could really challenge Car 1, Richard / Richard for the win at
this event. Due to the fact they have chosen not to collect points in the
National Championship, they will not be a factor in the Richard's quest for the
Overall and Group N Championships. But the team could add even more excitement
to next season, I've already have heard rumors that this won't be their last
rally here. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Pastrana and Edstrom are back
- Friday, October 21, 2005
After a well publicized roll at Colorado Cog last month, the main goal of Car
199, Pastrana / Edstrom is to finish (and finish as well as possible). According
to Travis, he and Christian have been instructed by their crew to "bring the car
back as it looks right now"...This is not a result of their history, but of the
fact that the car is scheduled to go to the SEMA show and needs to leave on
Tuesday.
A cheerful Travis responded to the teasing of Car 43 driver Ken Block's by
stating his secondary goal is to beat Ken. Despite the jesting, Travis and
Christian both state they hope to go nice and steady, and they will be working
on some small technique issues. They do not want a repeat of Cog and are happy
to be back in the car.
After the first two stages Ken and Travis are confident and feeling good. The
team is currently 4th overall, 24.3 seconds behind the leader. They look forward
to improving their position over the rest of the weekend.
Battle between teammates heats up
- Friday, October 21, 2005
After DNF'ing 2 out of the last 3 events they have run, Car 43, Block /
Gelsomino has renewed their desire to finish. Ken states "this is the last event
and I want to make it a good event by finishing"...If only it was that
simple...Despite a desire to finish, the team is very aware of their ability to
finish on the podium in the Rally America Group N National Championship. The
team is currently in 4th, and will need to surpass Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom
if they hope to get 3rd in the Championship. According to Alex's calculations,
if Car 199 finishes 2nd (in class), they will need to finish 5th in order to
secure that spot, if Car 199 finishes 3rd, they will need to finish 7th. The
battle between Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom and Car 43, Block / Gelsomino
presents an interesting dynamic as the two are teammates and Travis is also a
sponsored athlete for Ken's company, DC Shoe. Ken made light of their (he and
Travis) current situation, teasing Travis - "how will he like being beat by the
boss"; Ken goes on to say that the competition between he and Travis makes it
fun.
After two stages, Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, is being listed in the 2nd
position, led only by Car 1, Richard / Richard...Travis is trailing by 24
seconds!! A new dynamic at this rally is the fallen leaves that cover the road.
Ken said that the roads can be hard to define and are a little sketchy with the
slippery covering. Overall, the team thinks that the stages great and lots of
fun. The team feels they are running a little conservatively, but the stage
times say otherwise!
Adversity for the Richard's
- Friday, October 21, 2005
Car 1, Richard / Richard has had an interesting rally weekend already. The team
can relax now that Pat has finally arrived. Pat was originally due in yesterday
afternoon, but was delayed in customs at Minneapolis Airport and missed his
flight. He finally arrived at the team's hotel at 2:30 PM this afternoon...just
in time to jump in the car and get over to the Parc Expose (which started at 3
PM)! Co-driver Nathalie Richard states that she "wants to be able to win this
one for Pat". For Nat's part, she has already secured her co-driver title, but
Pat's title is still very much up for grabs as he needs to get 20 points or the
win in order to secure both the Overall and Group N Championships. In jest, Nat
let us know that a fortune cookie she had this morning stated "a member of your
family will make you proud", Nathalie and the crew had a good laugh about
it!!
But things didn’t go perfectly for the number 1 car on the first leg of the
rally. The Richard’s hit something about three miles from the end of Special
Stage 2. They suffered a punctured tire and a bent right rear control arm. The
team was able to drive out of the stage with some handling problems and they
changed the tire on the transit to service. The team maintains a .2 second lead
over Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, who had an excellent first set of stages.
Pressure in Still on the Richards
- Friday, October 21, 2005
Welcome to Lake Superior, the 8th and final round of the 2005 Rally America
National Championship. There is a 62-car field ready to test their cars against
what’s been called the toughest and meanest rally roads in the country. The
number one car of Pat and Nathalie Richard are poised to take both the Overall
and the Group N championship wins here as their closest competitor, Stig
Blomqvist and Ana Goni, took a strategic gamble by not coming to this rally. It
will not be easy though, even without the #65 team here, if Pat and Nathalie
Richard are to win both championships, they will need to win the event here!!!
|
