Morris fastest 2wd, Finishes 4th overall
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car #515 Jim Morris / Steve Palmieri finished fourth overall on day 2 at Desert
Storm in their Chevy Camaro. They were still the fastest two wheel drive car,
but had hoped to be trading stage times with the turbo Subarus like they were
yesterday. Jim said he had trouble with traction on today’s stages, and said he
could still spin the rear wheel even at speeds in the triple digits.
Doganis / Smith win Group 2
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car 792, George Doganis / Tom Smith won the Group 2 class on day 2 at Desert
Storm. The crew lost a lot of time to their competition on the first stage due
to the rough nature of the road, but was able to make all of it back on stages 3
and 4, which were considerably smoother. George says the new car is going well,
but could use more ground height on the rough stages. Second in Group 2 was the
rookie team of Van Brocklin / Secviar who were 23 seconds behind George in their
VW GTI. Chris Palermo / Richie Burden finished third in class in their Nissan
Sentra.
Hudson rolls on stage 4
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car #707 Will Hudson / Brian Szykowny had failing brakes on stage 4. They
clipped a berm slowing for a corner and rolled their Subaru three times. The
crew is reportedly fine, although the car may be damaged beyond repair.
O’Sullivan/Putnam win Desert Storm
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car #90 Lauchlin O’Sullivan / Scott Putnam were victorious on day 2 at Desert
Storm. They lost 11 seconds to car #222 Keith Jackson / Mara Estep on the last
stage of the day, but they had built up enough of a lead on stages 3 and 4 today
that they were able to hold on. Jackson / Estep finished second overall, 22
seconds behind O’Sullivan/Putnam. The final podium spot went to Jon Burke, who
was leading earlier today but lost time to O’Sullivan on the smoother stages and
then drove the last stage with a broken axle. Results are still provisional at
this time.
O'Sullivan/Putnam with shaky lead going into the last three stages
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
The cars are almost ready to start the last three stages of the event. These
stages are the same as the first three, but run in reverse order. Reports say
the last stage is the roughest, so it will be a challenge for teams to make up
as much time as possible, but not break the car.
Lauchlin O'Sullivan is leading today's event, but is experiencing pressure from
Burke and Jackson that wasn't there yesterday. It could be that the rough
stages suit them better than yesterday's smooth ones. We'll find out soon
enough, cars should be starting any minute now.
Car #560 Helton / Lobban break axle on stage 2
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car #560 Alex Helton / Pat Lobban reportedly broke an axle in their VW Jetta on
today’s second stage. They are able continue with one wheel drive thanks to
their welded differential, but are unfortunately off pace as a result. They
were in second place in Group 2, only 2 seconds behind Van Brocklin after the
first stage.
Trouble for Bond/Ingoldby
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car #48 Michael Bond / Mike Ingoldby in a Honda Civic are having trouble after
this morning’s stages. Word is they are now trying to JB weld their cracked
radiator back together during the turn around break. They finished second in
Group 2 yesterday so were expected to set some quick times today.
Van Brocklin leads Group 2
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
Car #78 G Van Brocklin / S Secviar are setting some fast times in their VW GTI.
This is their first event, but they are currently leading Group 2 by 14 seconds
over car #792 George Doganis / Thomas Smith. Chris Palermo is third in Group 2
by 9 seconds behind George. Look for all three to be pushing on the final three
stages.
Burke fast on day 2!
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
There is a lot of excitement after the first 3 stages of day 2 at Desert Storm.
The big story is car #200 Jon Burke / Tom Morningstar who finished last overall
yesterday after going off the road on the last desert stage and getting stuck
for over 30 minutes. The car must not have been too badly harmed because they
put in some blisteringly fast times this morning, winning the first two stages
overall! They had a 23 second lead over car #222 Keith Jackson / Marra Estep
going into stage 3, but car #90 Lauchlin O’Sullivan / Scott Putnam turned up the
heat on stage 3 and launched himself into first place by 17 seconds. Jackson
and Burke are currently tied for second place with 3 stages left to run today.
Desert Storm Day 2 Underway
- Sunday, March 14, 2010
It's another beautiful day here in Blythe, CA with highs expected in the 70's
and clear and breezy conditions. 19 cars took the start and are on transit to
the first stage of the day. The stages this morning are on the Arizona side of
the river, and reports from recce say they are rougher than yesterday's. With
40 stage miles over 6 stages and no service today, the smart strategy will be to
keep it tidy and on the road.
Day 2 starts tomorrow
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Desert Storm rally continues tomorrow morning with the Arizona stages.
First car off is at 8:30am. Tune in for more updates as the action happens.
Lauchlin O'Sullivan wins day 1
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
Car 90 O'Sullivan/Putnum won day 1 at Desert Storm. Jim Morris finished second
overall (1s in Group 5), 1:16 behind Lauchlin. In third overall was Keith
Jackson 1:12 back.
Fourth overall and first in PGT was Will Hudson in his Subaru. George Doganis
won Group 2 and finished 5th overall.
Kevin Welker finished 6th overall and was first in Open Light. And finally in
Production class Alex Rademacher took the win, and finished 7th overall.
Crews in transit to Super Special at Speedway
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
The teams are in transit to the Lucas Oil Speedway where they will take a few
laps of the circle track as a final super special stage tonight. The stage will
run during the intermission of the circle track races, with packed grandstands!
Car 200 off on stage 8, able to continue
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
Car #200 Jon Burke went off the road on stage 8 and became stuck on some rocks.
The team lost over 30 minutes, but are moving again and in transit to the super
special at the speedway.
Car #78 Continues despite setback on stage 3
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
The novice team of G Van Brocklin / S Secviar were reportedly grinning ear to
ear as they pulled into the finish of stage 5. They lost a lot of time on stage
3 when they got stuck, but were able to continue and are now setting mid-pack
times for Group 2.
3 DNF's so far
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
Three of the 22 cars have withdrawn from the event. Car #808 Nelson/Money had
trouble with their Fiero on the first stage of the day, going off the road and
suffering two flats. They managed to continue only to have their radiator
explode at the end of stage 3. Car #303, also met their end on stage 3 with a
blown motor. Stage 3 also was the end of the rally for car #177, also possibly
with engine trouble.
Doganis leads Group 2 after stage 5
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
George Doganis and Co-driver Tom Smith debuted their new Honda Civic rally car
with spectacular results. Rumor has it that today was their first day driving
the car on dirt. So far they have a four minute lead over the second place
Group 2 car, which is also a Honda Civic driven by the team of Michael Bond /
Mike Ingoldby. Group 2 has the largest field this weekend with 11 starters- as
many as all the other classes combined!
O'Sullivan leading after stage 5
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
Car #90 O'Sullivan/Putnam in a Vermont Sprts Car prepped Subaru lead Desert
Storm after stage 5 by one minute over Jim Morris/Steve Palmieri in theirCamaro.
Will Hudson/Brian Szykowny is in third, 23 seconds behind Jim.
Cars have started
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
It's a beautiful day in Blythe, sunny and clear with highs in the 70's. The
first cars have left MTC and are on transit to Stage #1. Car 90
O'Sullivan/Putnam are first on the road, followed by #222 Jackson/Estep and then
#515 Morris/Estep in a Chevy Camaro. Reports are todays roads are smooth thanks
to recent grading.
Competitors ready for Desert Storm
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
Recce is complete and 22 cars are set to start Desert Storm tomorrow. First
stage starts at 9:30am.
Live Updates at Desert Storm
- Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stage Notes Radio Podcast co-host Erik Christiansen will be posting live updates
during this weekend's Desert Storm rally!
