Lake Superior is in the books!  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Lake Superior Performance Rally 2006 has come to a close. The class winners are as follows:

Overall and Open:
Car 43, Block / Gelsomino
Car 29, O'Neil / Headland
Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom

PGT:
Car 46, Johnson / DeMotte

Group N:
Car 91, Bottoms / Bosley

G5:
Car 26, Kendall / Friberg

Production:
Car 690, Bartram / Hotson

G2:
Car 572, Robinson / Jessup

For complete results, please check the results page.

Many class championships have been decided this weekend, but there are still more battles to come at the final round of the Rally America National Championship, Wild West.

Block and Gelsomino win LSPR  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
After making up their 16 second deficit and then some, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino came back to win LSPR, the eighth round of the Rally America National Championship. Over the last three stages Block pushed his Subaru to the limit and moved to the front of the field. "It's great to just finish," Block laughed "but getting the win is awesome."

The win here puts #43 just a point behind #18 in the chase for second place in the Rally America National Championship.

Car 521 gets 21st finish in a row at LSPR  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 521 Czyzio/Secor are very happy to finish Chris' 21st consecutive LSPR. It was not easy either with the turbo and transmission problems they were nursing all weekend.

Good job, Chris.

Brockway - love it or hate it, but it is exciting!!  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
SS11 and SS12 - Brockway stage - is an interesting addition to a rally. Tarmac stages are not a common occurrence in predominantly gravel-staged rallies in the US. Competitors are generally divided on whether or not they like them, but they do add excitement.

Young Kyle Sarasin and his co-driver dad Stuart Sarasin got the big air today on the Brockway stage.

Car 572 Wins Group 2  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 572 Robinson/Jessup were leading G2 prior to the last set of stages and have provisionally won G2 at the Lake Superior Performance Rally.

Jokingly, driver James Robinson said that he was happy to be leading such a distinguished group of competitors for the top position in G2 - in fact, there are no others; however, that should not diminish their win. In addition to their win, they also finished in the top 15 overall - very respectable for a stock Honda Civic!

Overall, the team had a great time. It was the first time in their new car and only the third time they have run this event. Their goal was not necessarily to finish first, but to first finish and they certainly achieved their goal and more.

Bottom set to win Group N  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 91 Bottoms/Bosley are sitting in 6th overall and 1st in Group N and with their closest competitor 10 minutes behind them, it appears they will win Group N at the Lake Superior Performance Rally.

"We have had lots of fun today. We are getting back into the groove today that was missing yesterday. We were 2-tenths off of O'Neil on Brockway. I am excited about that. Right now, we are not going to make any changes, it is working for us - for today" stated driver Jon Bottoms.

The team's goal for the rest of this event is to keep driving hard and have fun.

Utecht Group 5 Regional winner  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Ottawa Regional Rally Group 5 winner Car 83, Utecht / Bohn had their work cut out for them on Friday. The team had a plugged fuel filter that cost them more than three minutes in penalties. But rally luck turned their way when their closest competitors, Car 555, McCleery / McCleery, suffered a flat on Special Stage 4 allowing Utecht to regain the lead. The team would like to thank Car 566, Huuki / VanDenHeuvel, who towed them out and Car 562, Dondlinger / Parps, who helped them out with some tools.

As for today, they are not enjoying the rough sections of road so much, but they love the Delaware stages (Special Stage 9 and Special Stage 14). They were reported to be extremely fast on those stages. The team looks poised to take another Group 5 win today in the Keewenaw Regional Rally.

Block narrows gap  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
After 12 stages, Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom, still holds onto a lead of a little more than 16 seconds over Car 43, Block / Gelsomino. Even though Block has won four of the five stages run today, the deficit may be just too much for the team to overcome. Only time will tell how things will play out, we should be in for an amazing battle on the last three stages of the rally.

Students fare well against teacher  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Veteran rally instructor Tim O’Neil says he’s happy he’s being schooled by his students this weekend.

The driver, who preaches a controlled approach to
rally competition at his Team O’Neil Rally School, is making a rare appearance as a competitor in the series this weekend. It has been two years since his last contest and he has been on a cautious attack since the start of the race.

“We are so slow!” the driver lamented Saturday. “But I’m so proud of my students: all of them – not just the two that are beating me.”

O’Neil has touched the careers of virtually all of the leading crews in the Rally American championship but it is Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Travis Pastrana and Ken Block who are currently in the one-two position – about a minute ahead of O’Neil.

O’Neil started strong, but lost his lead early on and has consistently finished a few seconds behind the leaders on each stage. He started behind them on the road on Saturday and has had the opportunity to analyze their performance.

“It’s been really good for me to follow their lines,” he says. “Basically, they’re doing just what I tell them to do.”

He says he can tell from the tracks on the road that the leading drivers are braking late, and powering cleanly through the corners. He says he’s happy to see that, but admits he isn’t going to try and match their level of commitment.

“You can see what you need to do to win,” he says.
“But I have nothing at stake and I don’t plan on doing the same thing.”

O’Neil is not seeking championship points this
weekend, while Pastrana and Block are vying for the top two spots in the overall Rally America
championship.

“I just wanted to see how fast these guys really are,” O’Neil said. “They are really fast.”

O’Neil is competing alongside co-driver Martin
Headland in the top-spec CPD Subaru owned by Rally
America financier Doug Havir.

Car 27 in 4th spot overall  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 27 Gilligan/Peterson are sitting comfortably in the 4th position overall. They are 3 minutes out of 3rd position (held by Car 29) and about 1 minute in front of the 5th position (held by Car 46).

"Brockway wasn't bad, we were trying to get accustomed to the new Hankook tires - they are good, but we have not run them before and it was different than we expected" stated driver Chris Gilligan. The team felt they were a little conservative, but planned to run more aggressively on the second run through.

Early ECU problems that plague the team are being managed and are not concerning the team at this time.

Borowicz goes for second regional win of the weekend  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
After winning the Ottawa Regional Rally last night, Car 64, Borowicz / Borowicz sit in the top spot once again for the Keweenaw Regional Rally. They do not have quite as comfortable of a lead as they did last night over Car 614, Wiktokczyk / Nordlie. Wiktokczyk has really turning it up today, they are sitting just over 20 seconds behind the Borowicz brothers. They are a little nervous in the 64 camp, but are confident they will be able to hang on for the win. The team would like to thank their primary sponsor Basia, "we couldn't do it without her!"

Kendall and Friberg lead Group 5  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
With less than 20 miles left in the rally Car 26, Kendall / Friberg sit in 1st place in Group 5 and tenth place overall in the National Rally. They really don't feel like they are pushing very hard, but they are definitely not going slow. "The car is working better than it has ever has before, everything is awesome!" said Friberg.

The team got lucky last night when they had a rock that got stuck between the skid pan and the water to oil cooler. The rock did cause a puncture in the pan, but they didn't loose any fluid until they arrived back at service. Their amazing service crew was able to fix the problem and get them back on the road without losing any time.

This rally will be the last of the season for Kendall and Friberg. The team plans on focusing their efforts on making an all out run for the Group 5 Championship in the 2007 season.

Nunnemacher sustains damage  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 686 Nunnemacher/Coughlin spun completely arounds and came back onto the road in one the latter stages last night. "We came loose on a left 4 over crest and there was the tree" stated Driver Heath Nunnemacher. The car took a good hit to the rear passenger door, popped a coolant line and flattened a tire. The team swapped the tire and continued on.

Head Gasket problems in Car 558 camp  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 558 Cox/Johnson had a head gasket problem before the rally, but decided to compete in the Lake Superior Performance Rally anyway. As such, they had overheating problems yesterday, seeing temperatures as high as 300 degrees and the truck was using about a gallon of antifreeze per stage throughout the evening stages. "Miraculously, we are continuing!" stated driver Jim Cox "and on top of that, my co-driver lost his keys and had to withdraw, but Ryan Johnson has stepped in and that is allowing us to continue."

On top of their other troubles, the team had their closest "not crash" ever on SS2 last evening. "We literally stopped about a half inch from a tree.

Despite their problems, the team is continuing on and currently, they are sitting in the 8th position in the Auto Value Keewenaw Regional Rally.

Car 319 DNF  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 319 Greenhouse/Smith have retired with a blown head gasket. Chris would have liked to have finished today, but he is happy to have at least finished yesterday.

The car had been overheating all day Friday and the head gasket finally failed on SS8. They were able to limp through SS9, but could go no further. He said he will definitely be back next year at Sno*Drift.

Martin continues without skid plate  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 122, Martin / Kihurani were forced to continue through this mornings stages with out a skid plate and a little down on power. The team hit a rough area and nosed the car into the ground on Special Stage 8. The skid plate came off and they crushed the turbo pipe on impact. They were able to continue into service and are waiting for their skid plate to (hopefully) be delivered.

Stage Detail  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
The competitors will run 8 stages today. Descriptions of those stages are as follows:

SS8 - length: 8.17 miles. This stage is sandy and wide for the first 3 miles, then narrow, bumpy, and twisty to the end. Competitors are cautioned that the stage may be slippery if wet and may have more water holes. SS8 is the reverse of SS15.

SS9 - length: 4.18 miles. This stage is very fast, and a smooth, wide road with crests and jumps. Competitors are cautioned that this stage has been recently graded and that it has a loose, fine, slippy gravel surface. SS9 is the reverse of SS14.

SS10 - length: 4.5 miles. This stage is a bumpy, twisty, and narrow dirt road. It becomes smoother and flowing after 2.8 miles and fast tarmac after 4.02 miles. Competitors are cautioned about the rocky road edge.

SS11 - length: 3.14 miles. This stage is tarmac, and very fast with many places to get airborne. SS11 is also run as SS12.

SS12 - Same as SS11.

SS13 - length: 4.56 miles. This stage starts with tarmac and then becomes a nice, flowing road. Competitors are cautioned to watch for tricky junctions, and that the road will become bumpy, twisty, and narrow toward the end of the stage. SS13 is the reverse of SS10.


SS14 - Length: 4.24 miles. This stage is a very fast, smooth, wide road with crests and jumps. Competitors are cautioned to watch out for tricky, slow turns and that the stage is recently graded and has a loose fine slippy gravel surface. This stage is the reverse of SS9.

SS15 - Length: 8.10 miles. This stage starts narrow, bumpy and twist, then becomes sandy and wide in the last 3 miles of the stage. Competitors will be slippery if wet and will have more water holes. SS13 is the reverse of SS8.

The map to the left is of SS8. For more stage maps, go to click on the drop down menu above.

Block holds onto second  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Nearly 30 seconds back from the lead is Car 43, Block / Gelsomino. The team ran an aggressive rally yesterday, but their focus is on making it to the finish. "It's all about the Championship, I really need to finish. With Matt (iorio) out, it really tightens up the battle for second. If we don't finish here we don't have a chance at second place" said Block. If Block were to earn the maximum points and win this rally, he would only be one point back from Iorio going into the final rally of the season.

Pastrana may have already won the Rally America National Championship, but there are still a lot of exciting battles still to fight before the season ends.

LSPR to be decided today  - Saturday, October 21, 2006
Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom will lead the field out of Calumet, Michigan today for the final stages of the Lake Superior Performance Rally. Dust isn't expected to be a concern today, so being the first car on the road holds no real advantage. "Being first can actually be a disadvantage," said Edstrom, "when your first, you don't have anyone else's tracks to follow; you're essentially clearing the course for the rest of the field." The team may not particularly like their position in the starting order, but they definitely like being in the lead. Pastrana is the only driver this season to have won at more than one rally, they scored their second victory at Colorado Cog last month.

Pastrana leads after day one  - Friday, October 20, 2006
After seven stages, 64 stage miles, and over 200 miles of transit, Pastrana and Edstrom lead the Lake Superior Performance Rally. They are followed closely by teammates Block and Gelsomino, and O'Neil and Headland. With less than 45 seconds separating the top three teams, anyone can still take the win.

The rally wraps up tomorrow with 40 stage miles over eight stages. The day will begin In the town of Calumet with a Parc Expose at 9:30am. Please check back for all the latest news and scores tomorrow.

Anton in Open class  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 100, Anton / Durant are trying to get used to the Open class car that they are running this weekend. The car belongs to Matt Iorio and Anton says "we're not quite sure exactly what the set up is on this car, it's definitely set up for Matt. The only way to really make the car fly is to driving at 100%." Co-driver Robbie Durant laughed "and we don't want to do something silly in somebody else's car." Anton's plans for 2007 are still up in the air, what class the team will be running is yet to be determined. Currently the team sits fourth overall.

Johnson hopes for strong showing  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Matt Johnson is aiming for a top finish – even though he won the Production-GT championship just by crossing the start line.

Johnson says he has a good record at LSPR, and counts a 10th place finish in 2002 – in a two-wheel drive Volkswagen – as his best-ever finish.

“This is one of the rallies where I seem to do well when the conditions get crappy,” says Johnson.

With the Production GT title won, he says he is now looking for enough points to secure a top-five finish in the overall drivers’ championship.

One stage left of leg one  - Friday, October 20, 2006
As the teams head out to run the final 17 mile stage of the night, Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom lead Subaru Rally Team USA teammate, Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, by nearly 15 seconds. In third is Car 29, O'Neil / Headland; although they are 30 seconds off of the leader, they are still very much a factor. Conventional wisdom of LSPR has always been that you just need to make it through Friday so you can "race" on Saturday. Although the attrition has been high, the battles still remain fierce.

Car 20, in their own words  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Our LSPR story, quickly

Driver and codriver are fine, and team is still in
good spirits. Essentially what happened is that we
took the start wanting to go fairly fast and make time while everyone else might be warming up. We are running different differentials and the car was handling very, very well, and the engine was stronger than ever. It was a tremendous combination. We've never been faster.

But the speed and confidence meant that we entered a R5 tightens maybe a couple of mph faster than we would have before. We slid _just_ wide and hit a berm on the outside at the exit. That punted us back across the road and we hit a moss-covered rock on the right side that missed the skidplate but hit the wheel while it was at full lock. That pulled the A-arm out of the subframe, and the axle out of the UV joint.

To be fair, that subframe has 45 rallies on it. It's stock. And that side, of course, didn't get reinforced after our similar hit at the X Games. We reinforced the other side.

We drove it out 4 miles, tried a ratchet strap to hold it all back together, but that broke in short order.

We could back the car up reasonably well so we backed about 3 miles, first on gravel and then about 2 miles on hwy 41, on the shoulder. Eventually we realized that unless we backed at 60mph we'd be time-barred, so we parked it.

Good thing we did as the axle had hit the oilpan and although we still had pressure, we wouldn't have had it long. A medical/radio crew from the rally searched us out and sat with us for more than an hour.

Eventually our Slowboy crew extracted the fantastic (but huge!) rig from service and made it to us. They had sent a care package including three of our best mechanics and tools and parts out ahead, and by the time the full rig came the car was ready to be winched in.

We've made it back to Houghton and are about to toast the experience at dinner. Whatever doesn't destroy you makes you stronger.

And there's nowhere to go from here but up. We have a stronger team, stronger driveline, and stronger resolve than we've ever had. And we have the new Evo 9 sitting here in Hougton, just ready to be built.

We'll be back.

Iorio out  - Friday, October 20, 2006
The fight for second place in the Rally America National Championship just became a little more interesting. Car 18, Iorio / Holter rolled on Special Stage 2 opening the door for third place Car 43, Block / Gelsomino.

The road tightened a little more than the team expected and the road went from a hard grippy surface to slippery. "I went in to the corner with my pants on fire when I should have been a little more tentative" said Iorio. They hit a tree on the drivers side sending the car over onto it's roof. To add insult to injury, the 30-foot tall (dead) tree fell onto the car's skid plate and blocked the road. Iorio and Holter were able to move the tree before Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom arrived. The team plans to change the windshield, a control arm, and add fluids to the car and run the Regional rally tomorrow.

Hanson happy to be back in the driver's seat  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 523 Hanson/Hanson had a "little moment" on SS3, "SS3 was really rough, and I think our supension was a little too stiff, we were bouncing around everywhere. We were coming into a downhill into Right 4, and we just bounced off the road - we did not hit anything and landed on a berm" stated driver Travis Hanson. Despite their moment, Travis and his co-driver dad Terry, are both ecstatic to be back in the car after a 3 month hiatus caused by a rollover at Maine Forest in July.

Moro/Rossey just looking for a finish  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 59 Moro/Rossey are just trying to get back in the "swing of things". The team has had a string of bad luck. At Oregon Trail, STPR, and Maine Forest, they DNF'd all with engine related issues.

At this point, they believe they have solved the engine problems and are just looking for a finish - "we are not in the contention for the championship, so we are just running our own rally" stated driver Pat Moro.

Czyzio/Secor have problems early  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 521 Czyzio/Secor are having a great time. They had a slight issue on SS1 - "the dipstick jettisoned itself - we ended up dusting for mosquitoes" stated co-driver Jeff Secor. The problem was solved after SS1 by the service crew and it has not bothered again. The team is currently 14th overall, about 3.5 minutes off the lead.

Unfortunate day for Sisu Rallysports  - Friday, October 20, 2006
The rally of Car 507, Wiitala / Takkunen unfortunately ended very early. After fighting with a very loose car for the first two miles on Special Stage 1 they went off the road. They launched their Subaru off of a bank and landed hard on the right front corner of the car. "If I would've had a Dukes of Hazard horn, I would have used it" said Wiitala. The car rolled to a stop about 25 yards from where it all started and both driver and co-driver emerged unharmed. Upon arriving to service, Wittala immediately found JB Niday, and with a smile asked him what color he wanted his new shell to be; the car the team rolled belongs to Niday. The Sisu Rallysports team would like to thank Car 91, Bottoms / Bosley and the Great Northern Team for letting them use their trailer to get the car from the woods.

Subaru team orders?  - Friday, October 20, 2006
There will be some interesting team strategy
discussions over in the Subaru Rally Team USA camp
this evening.

With driver Travis Pastrana assured of a championship
title early in the race (after key rival Iorio
rolled), the young driver is eager to push the limits.
The X Games superstar has been chomping at the bit all
season as he followed team orders to drive
conservatively and keep his championship bid in his
sights.

Now, none of that matters and he’s free to drive
flat-out.

But that could have serious consequences for his
teammate. Block is still fighting for a top-three
position in the championship and must finish well here
to secure it.

It remains to be seen whether the team’s management
will order Pastrana to finish behind Block, or whether
fans will be treated to a flat-out fight to the
finish.

Bottoms getting in the groove  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 91, Bottoms / Bosley are having a "fair" rally so far. The team was having a little trouble getting their rhythm down, but by Special Stage 3 things were getting better. They report that the conditions on the stages are wet and muddy, especially Special Stage 2. They believe, as do a lot of teams, that the roads could be really torn up when they make their second pass through them.

Carolyn would like to say hi to her son Conner who is watching his first Rally America rally online this weekend!

Sarasin Third in Regional Rally  - Friday, October 20, 2006
After a four day session at the Team O'Neil Rally School, Car 550, Sarasin / Sarasin is having a great time at LSPR. "I can really see my improvement in just three stages.” said Kyle. The team spent the first three stages getting comfortable in the car, and are ready to finish the night strong. The team is currently third overall in the Ottawa Club Rally.

McCleary/McCleary in Central Region fight for Group 5  - Friday, October 20, 2006
"We picked the wrong tires for the early stages - I know where they are - they are in the truck back in Houghton" stated Car 555 driver Colin McCleary "it is holding us back, but we are having big fun and Nancy is not getting sick". The team was pleasantly surprised that the stages were not as greasy as they had expected.

The team is happy to be part of the Central Region Group 5 Championship run - "at the beginning of the season, we did not plan to be in the chase, but it is good fun to race against Mark (Utecht) and we are pleased to be so close. We would have liked to go out hard and push on SS1, so we are a little disappointed, but it is still great to be in the running for the Central Region Group 5 championship.

Gilligan has ECU issues, but still in the fight  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 27, Gilligan/Peterson, started the day with an ECU problem. They were towed into the parc expose earlier and have had intermittent problem. Apparently, the car will run great when it is running, but does not like to start.

Other than the niggling ECU issue, the team is happy with where they are sitting. "We took SS1 to get into the groove of the rally, we did not really get into it on SS2 - not sure if it was because of Matt (Iorio) or because it was slippy, but we put it all together on SS3 - it felt good. " stated driver Chris Gilligan. Currently, the team is sitting in 6th position overall, approximately 1 minute off the leader.

Utecht in the lead for Central Region Group 5 Championship  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Driver of Car 83, Mark Utecht, stated the team was doing just fine -"we are driving like grandma's, but I am fine with that. It has been 4 years since I have made it to the Saturday stages of this event, i really want to do that this year."

The team also needs to stay in front of Car 555 McCleary/McCleary for the Central Region Group 5 championship, which they are continuing to do.

Utecht/Bohn would like to thank their crew, both here and at home for all their help; Rally America for great events; and Nike for the new driving shoes.

Martin still In!  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Car 122, Martin/Kihurani, is currently sitting in the 7th position overall. "I'm still here" stated driver Dennis Martin "we are little tentative, but the roads are phenomenal - there's no snow or dust - I cannot wait to get back out there".

The team found SS2 to be slippy, and had a "little off" at the spectator spot on SS2, but SS3 was more their style "it was a little rough with air/jumps, I like that stuff" Martin goes on to state.

First stage proves challenging.  - Friday, October 20, 2006
With only one stage in the books, Lake Superior Performance Rally has already lived up to its motto "Oldest, toughest, meanest rally on the circuit". It has been reported that Car 507, Witala / Takkunen, Car 93, Olson / Johnson, Car 78, Podoluch / Malik, Car 20, Comrie-Picard / Goldfarb, and Car 686, Nunnemacher / Coughlin have all had rally ending problems on Special Stage 1.

We are at the Kenton service area, the cars will return here three more times throughout the night. We will have more news as the night progresses.

O'Neil back in seat after two year absence  - Friday, October 20, 2006
This is the first event for Car 29 driver Tim O'Neil since he ran this event two years ago. Tim is humble about his run here this weekend - "It has been a long time since I have rallied, I am really just looking to see if my energy level is up to it". O'Neil is referencing a drop in his energy level since he had a kidney removed one and half years ago. That is not to say that Tim will drive conservatively, however, on the contrary, "I am going to run as hard as I always do and see if my energy level can keep up". Despite the amount of time since he has ran competitively, he is reported as looking smooth and very fast on the practice stage.

At the first service, the team reported that the car had lost the intercooler hose about 2 miles into Special Stage 1 and subsequently, had no boost and lost 30 seconds as a result.

LSPR...anyone could win it  - Friday, October 20, 2006
With two races left in the Rally America National Championship Series, we have seen some new American drivers skyrocket during this season and have seen some fierce competition take place on America's back roads. With fantastic drivers from Canada and Europe involved in Rally America, it has been a thrill to watch the competition and excitement that all the teams bring to each event.

In the first seven Rally America events, we have had six different winners. Andrew Comrie-Picard won at Sno*Drift, Ken Block took first place at 100 Acre Wood, followed by a victory by Andrew Pinker at Oregon Trail. Matt Iorio won at STPR and Ramana Lagemann won at Maine Forest. Travis Pastrana has won the last two events (Ojibwe and Colorado Cog). So the question is - Who will Win LSPR and Wild West?

Currently, Travis Pastrana has a commanding points lead on the other drivers entering this event, and his co-driver Christian Edstrom is leading the points board as well. Will they focus on securing their respective championships or will they seek to win a third event in a row? Can they do both?

With the level of competition that tops the start order, the likes of Tim O'Neil, 5 time US and North American Championship, Matt Iorio, open class champion last year and winner of STPR, as well as Andrew Comrie-Picard, multi-event winner, it is not easy to pick a "run away" favorite. Like its former namesake, LSPR is known for its brutal schedule and roads, Press on Regardless is the mantra, and it will take a will of steel and much talent to pull off a win here with this level of competition. STAY TUNED.

Battle begins at LSPR  - Friday, October 20, 2006
Welcome to the Lake Superior Performance Rally, the 8th round of the Rally America National Championship. We started the day at the Copper Country Mall for a parc expose beginning at 2 PM. We are in Kenton, MI where we will be until the end of leg one. The competitors will run 4 stages this evening, totaling 64 miles. The teams are beginning to come in from Special Stage 1.

Tomorrow, there will be another 40 miles of stages, beginning in Calumet, MI for a parc expose at 9:30 AM and culminating at the Copper Country Mall at 7:16 PM.

There are 53 teams that began the rally today. The top five starters are as follows:
Car 29, O'Neil / Headland
Car 18, Iorio / Holter
Car 199, Pastrana / Edstrom
Car 43, Block / Gelsomino
Car 20, Comrie-Picard / Goldfarb