Sarasin Stirred but not Shaken After Crash in New England

Tuesday, August  7, 2007
After a satisfying result at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in June, CPD driver Kyle Sarasin was excited for the notoriously rough New England Forest Rally. Unfortunately, a large rock hampered Sarasin’s hopes for a win in the Group 5 class and a top-10 overall finish.

Following a successful two-day test at the Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire, the CPD racing team felt confident about achieving a good result in Maine. Unfortunately, it all came to an abrupt end in stage six. During a high-speed right-hand corner, Sarasin was forced to avoid a large rock on the inside of the turn.

“While taking evasive action to steer around the rock, I missed a gear, leaving me with no power to accelerate through the rest of the corner,” said Sarasin. “We went so far into the woods that it was impossible to get back on the road so we could finish the rally.”

The team was happy that Sarasin was able to make a smooth transition from the roads in Pennsylvania to those of the New England and make good use of the one-pass recce. “Our stage times were very competitive. As our pace increased, we were able to beat our nearest competitor by up to 20 seconds per stage,” noted Sarasin.

Team manager Graham Evans is also content with the silver lining, as the car saw no mechanical damage during its off-road adventure. “With the stage times gradually decreasing, it is not unexpected to have an accident halfway through the season, and at the speed that Kyle now drives at, it is hard to go into the woods and not damage a few body panels.”

After competing at five Rally America events for the first time, Sarasin is looking forward to the Ojibwe Forests Rally August 24-25 in Bemidji, Minn., as he has competed in the event previously and the CPD team has more experience on Minnesota’s sandy stages, previously winning the event overall.

ABOUT CPD RACING:
CPD Racing is a Minnesota rally team which works in conjunction with Graham Evans Motors (GEM) to provide professional rally cars and related services in North America. With experience in the United States since 2002 and international experience dating to the early nineties, CPD Racing and GEM work to develop fast cars and drivers in the sport of rally.