Terra Firma was uber-excited for the event because it was:
- The first RA event of the season
- All THREE of the Terra Firma teams would be racing
- We were just as excited as any other fan boy to see and hear Ken Block’s new Fiesta.
Let’s cut to the chase. By event’s end, Jan & Jody of Zedril Rally Sport, had driven their Lancer to a 2nd place podium finish in Friday’s Sno Regional G2 class. Even better than that result was Saturday’s finish where the Zedril brothers achieved 3rd overall in the Drift Regional and 1st in G2! Congrats guys. The #708 also achieved 3rd place in the Sno*Attack 2 Wheel Drive Challenge, which pits all 2wd competitors against each other for a wad of cash, regardless of class. The Zedrils continue to amaze everyone with their consistent podiums! The brothers are heading to Perce Neige next weekend so we’ll see them (and you!) there!
the best shape and preparation its ever been inDillon Van Way, Ben Slocum and Team 600 took home 3rd overall in 2wd National, and 5th in the Sno*Attack 2 Wheel Drive Challenge. Co-Driver Ben “The Pirate” Slocum reported the Focus to be in “the best shape and preparation its ever been in.” Team 600′s had an impressive result considering all the talented 2wd drivers, and it being Dillon’s 2nd time out on snow and ice. Dillon told us his plan for the event was to be mistake free and wait for others to slip up. It looked like it worked for the most part, however a few more people needed to slip! Congrats guys, we’ll see you at 100 Acre Wood in Missouri!
Paul Koll and Tim Knorr of Barefoot Racing had an admittedly tough weekend. A new Japanese spec, high-compression 16v motor was sourced and installed in the Golf with custom Mega Squirt fuel management days before the event. The team got it running ‘well enough’ just hours before the race start. Next, the recce car blew a water pump. Friday plauged the team with popped tires and spending 40 minutes dislodging the car from a ditch.
On Saturday the team was “Hell bent on doing well and making up for the unfortunate Friday events.” The team pushed hard from stage one until they blew another tire! Hell bent on doing well and making up for the unfortunate Friday events This caused the #744 Golf to fall down the leaderboard, but a late push gained Koll/Knorr 1.75 minutes and clinched 3rd place in the G2 Drift Regional! Barefoot racing took the “Press On Regardless” attitude to heart this weekend. You wouldn’t know they were having problems by the constant laughing you hear coming from their service area.
Also be sure to check out Barefoot Racing’s Official Report on their blog.
TERRA FIRMA
On day one, the first thing we did was stop by the HQ to donate some TF gear to the worker raffle. If you haven’t volunteered to work at a rally, you NEED to! It’s the best way to get closer to the action, cars, drivers and learn how rallies work. Also, there’s a good chance you’ll go home with a shirt, hat, and some other goodies. The Best part might be the free warm meals each day! (Sign up to work at 100 Acre Wood next month)
Next we set up at the Parc Expose, where all the rally cars are parked in downtown Lewiston, MI. This is the place to go to see all the cars at once and get some autographs from the drivers.
After we tore down our booth for the day, we set off into the dark & cold abyss to catch a night stage. The anticipation of Ken Block & the new Monster World Rally Team’s Ford Fiesta ripping around the hairpin reminded me of the excited school-boy feeling I had at my first rally. Check out the video to the right I caught of Ken ripping through the corner like somehow he wasn’t on glare ice. The video isn’t great, but that audio sure is.
On Saturday, we set up at the Parc Expose, Hungry 5 Spectator Stage, both super specials, and the final service point. Rally America is doing a great job at getting super specials at most National Events, which allows spectators to see the cars race an entire (short) stage while eating some refreshments and picking up some rally merchandise. There were even buses to cart spectators from nearby towns of Lewiston and Atlanta for a the same price as a footlong from Subway.
It was great to meet some new rally fans, Twitter friends, and old friends. We can’t wait for what’s ahead this season! Check out our 2010 preview.
Thanks to Rally America for putting on a great event, all the volunteer workers, and all the people we saw rockin’ Terra Firma gear throughout the weekend!
See you at Perce Neige and 100 Acre Wood!
Credits
Post & Article Photos: World Rally Sport
Team #600 Photo: Jay Luikart
Loved to see lots and lots of little pointy blue hats around both parc exposes! Congrads, seems like everyone is digging the gear. And yes we have gotten lots of questions wearing it around town once we got back home. Lets just say theres hoodie jealousy going on!
Good to hear people are asking questions. Send um over to the site.