tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2007-12-06:/1 2012-01-11T00:22:46Z Movable Type 4.32-en tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2012://1.235 2012-01-10T03:28:55Z 2012-01-11T00:22:46Z

The Driven Life: Efficient and Effective Communication in Rally by John Cassidy, Rally Driver and bon vivant Edited by Adrian Segura For the third installment of Last Ditch Racing's, "The Driven Life," I want to discuss the concepts of efficient...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ Targa Newfoundland, we were given a routebook that had a note that read as a, "right over crest." What existed in reality was a, "crest into a right turn." I set the car up on the right side of the crest and as we came over, the road jogged a smidge to the left, and I found both passenger tires in the gravel. This led to a spin, and I nearly put our Subaru into a cliff face. We escaped with a flat tire and made it to the end of the stage, eventually winning our class at the event. Another incident with a crest occurred at a Canadian Rally. We were given notes that were prepared for us as recce was not an option. The specific note in question, indicated a left turn over crest. Again, it was a short right over crest into left turn. Many of us stayed to the left side of the crest (which actually was a jump for most of us). Unfortunately, there was a large rock on the left side of the road that happened to be directly in line with our left front tire when we landed. We struck the rock while airborne in third gear. All the teeth on third gear sheared off as the rock stopped the front wheel from turning while all the others tried to continue on. The carnage was measured in the tens-of-thousands of dollars for several top teams and it was a literal rally car yard sale in the landing zone after the crest. My co-driver came back to the car with a part he thought was ours, and then realized it was the wrong color! Crests are a points of concern for me due to the potential for damage to the car and crew. Crests are also the epitome of trust between drivers and co-drivers. If it's a flat crest, I'll take it flat. If we got the note wrong or are lost in the notes, well, you can guess the outcome (rally car yard sale). So we use the shortest words possible; we avoid words that could be misunderstood. Using, "right," or "correct," as an affirmative answer is inefficient. "Yes," is one syllable and gets it done. "Right," happens to be a direction, so it's potentially dangerous! While the need for efficient communication at speed is perhaps obvious, the effective component can be a bit more subtle to grasp. In order for the communication in the rally car to be effective, it has to be timely and it has to come from a trusted source. Trust is usually total and implicit between drivers and co-drivers. But what if the co-driver is having a bad day? What if they're lost in the notes. Turned two pages? Once, "back on the notes," it may take the co-driver a few corners to feel confident they truly are back on. The driver might hold the pace back a bit until he/she is sure that the co-driver is back on. When in doubt, slow down. What about timing? Critical information doesn't work well for a driver if it's too late or too early. If the information is too late, then I'm driving what I see and have to slow down. When this happens, I'll indicate to the co-driver they're behind in the notes by either saying, "done it," or "in it." This allows them to increase the pace of note delivery. Co-driving is extremely challenging because the notes are often two corners ahead. While this might be ideal for me, when the co-driver looks out the window, what they see may not be the note they just called. It might not be visible yet. If the information is too early, there's a good chance it'll slip out of my mental buffer before I can utilize it. Three corners early is my maximum retention, but I prefer two. That being said, if there's a one kilometer straight, I don't want to hear about the two corners at the end of it until we're almost there. My rally instructor, Champion Tim O'Neil, once told me, "If you're not listening to your co-driver, you better figure out why and fix it!" Have you ever had someone tell you a rambling story that didn't come to a conclusion, or punch line? Does that frustrate you? If so, you might make a good rally driver or co-driver. Communication efficiency is important when interacting with the service crew as well. A twenty-minute service is not a long time. More often that not, the car goes up, wheels come off and all major fasteners are checked for tightness. Fluids are checked and topped off and windscreen/lights are cleaned. That's in addition to any damage that might need attention. A rally weekend is experienced by the second. Schedules, stage results, scheduled time in to timing controls and service. It is mentally and physically taxing and we make every effort to maximize communication efficiency and effective so that we can go faster. Trust is implicit between myself and my co-driver. There is a running joke during the rally weekend that I have to do everything I'm told once the rally starts. As a bit of a control freak, that's often more than a bit difficult, but we have fun with it and in order to go faster, I have to trust my co-driver and team and give the control to them so that I can focus on my job as the driver. Thanks to all the co-drivers who have buckled in with me over the years to share the ride! Stay tuned for more installments of, "The Driven Life!" We'll cover topics like nutrition, fitness, mental pacing, car preparation and other topics. Please feel free to leave comments about topics you'd like to see covered and we'll see what we can do! Cheers! John Cassidy, aka JOMO]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.234 2011-12-14T21:29:25Z 2011-12-14T21:31:39Z

The Driven Life John Cassidy, Rally Driver Adrian Segura, editor For this second installment in Last Ditch Racing's, "The Driven Life," series, I wanted to focus on situational awareness. If you're a pilot or perhaps an operator in the...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ The Driven Life John Cassidy, Rally Driver Adrian Segura, editor For this second installment in Last Ditch Racing's, "The Driven Life," series, I wanted to focus on situational awareness. If you're a pilot or perhaps an operator in the U.S. Special Forces, you already know what situational awareness is. For purposes of driving, I consider situational awareness the knowledge of where you are in immediate space at any given moment and a exhibiting a constant reassessment of the environment around you. This is critical while in the rally car, but perhaps it is even more important on my daily run to Starbucks for coffee in the morning.   In T-4, our rally car, there are all sorts of things that I have to attend to while racing.  There are things inside the car, like temperature, fumes, noises as well as other physical feedback I receive through my body's contact with the car.  I'm also looking outside the car, primarily as far ahead as possible.  I like to think of the information coming through the windshield and into my ears from the codriver as a stream of data that enters the windshield and exits through the back of the my helmet.  Once that point of time and space is past, it's no longer important.  As rally drivers, we're often processing information from the co-driver that pertains to segments of the road that we can't see, while still working on the piece of road we're negotiating.  Some professional drivers in the World Rally Championship (WRC) like to have road information 3-4 corners ahead.  Depending on the stage, I usually prefer two corners ahead. Hyper-vigilant is how I'd describe the state of the racing crew (driver and co-driver) is in while on stage.  We're hyper-sensitive to everything.  The processing of information, when things are going well, is effortless.   The amount of data that our brains are processing at any second is quite amazing. How does this relate to that trip to Starbucks in the morning?  I'll give you some examples.  Here in Maine, I warm my car up before I head out.  I don't want to be distracted by my own complaining of how cold it is or distracted by my own shivering.  Comfort.  Preheating the car also ensures that the windshield is clear. For those who don't have to worry about warming up their car (and those who do), how's your interface with the controls?  Steering wheel tilted correctly?  Seat adjusted?  Mirrors?  Lights on?  I drive with my lights on all the time (my car doesn't have DRL), because I'm of the mind that being more visible is a good thing. Being aware of the size of your vehicle and specifically where the corners of it are is important.  This is especially true when you're driving a car/truck that's unfamiliar to you. I start my tunes playing before I leave the driveway so that I'm not fumbling with phone (or any other digital music device) controls as I drive into the sun towards town (in the winter, I'm driving due East towards the highway and it's truly blinding).  Sunglasses already on if needed. There's a temptation to feel rushed when pulling into morning commuter traffic on my road.  People obviously have places they want to be and their driving reflects that.  I consciously try and loosen my grip on the wheel and make sure I take a couple deep breaths as I progress onto the road.  Acceleration is smooth, but not aggressive.  The engine may be warm, but the transmission and differentials are not. At each light, I can usually see the crossing traffic signal, so I have an idea when my respective signal will go green.  I don't do this to jump the light;it's just another aspect of situational awareness.  When I get the green, I always check that the crossing traffic has stopped.  Stopping safely at a red light is Driver's Ed 101, but I see people blow red lights every morning. Merging onto the highway is a challenge I enjoy.  Most Mainers are courteous and pull left to allow you to merge, but not always. I adjust my driver's side mirror so that I can see, "back" up the highway as I go down the ramp. This is done so that I can plan my merge.  I nearly get to highway speed, but I am always wary of the cars ahead.  Have you ever been behind someone that stops on a highway on ramp?!  Me too.  Just to jog everyone's memories, merging traffic does NOT have the right of way. The traffic on the highway does. If you have to stop, you have to stop. Checking your blind spot without changing lanes takes some practice, especially at speed.  This is a good practice point.  On a clear section of road, check your blind spot for a few seconds and see how much you drift off your intended line of travel. Consciously relaxing your grip on the wheel will help prevent drift.   On the highway, maybe that nice guy/gal that pulled left to let you in needs to get off at the next exit.  Resist the urge to speed up and keep them out of the right lane.  Take a couple more deep breaths and have a situational check.  Who's beside you?  Who's in front?  Who's in back?  Patience is a virtue, especially in a town like mine where the quickest way to get across town is the highway. Another game I'll often play while on the road is trying to guess people's intentions by the way they're driving.  Even without them stepping on their brake lights, could you sense they were slowing down?  Could you sense that the driver in front is driving tentatively, perhaps looking for a street address?  Do you notice someone on their phone or leaning in towards the center console like they're looking for that Hello Kitty change purse they dropped?  Now is likely not a good time to pass them. I'll often play a game with myself and try to adhere to the speed limit for the few miles until my exit.  Have you ever noticed that you tend to speed up when that fellow commuter starts to pass you?  Me neither!  ;-) As in the race car, I try to look as far down the road as I can.  I watch for brakes lights ahead,sometimes through the windshields of other cars.  I avoid staying behind big trucks that obscure my view. Most dangers in rally lay in front of you.  On the street, they can exist in all directions, but mainly forward and rearward.  A distracted driver behind can easily rear-end you as you come to a stop.  Someone can stop quickly 10 cars ahead, causing a pileup in the blink of an eye. In our current age of multifunction devices in the car, it often seems the last thing we're focused on is actually driving the car:this mutli-thousand pound weapon of steel with huge kinetic energy!   Is being hyper-vigilant on the street stressful or tiring?  It may be initially, but becomes second nature with practice.  It can be a calm and relaxed state of mind that will keep you, your passengers and other motorists safe. If you're usually aware and find yourself not, be introspective.  Are you tired?  Cranky?  Intoxicated?  Overly competitive with other drivers?  Do you need to let someone else drive?  Don't let your ego affect your safety. I figure if I can make it safely to Starbucks, I can make it to the start of the next rally. If you missed the initial short discussion on left foot braking, please visit the LDR Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ldrme Be safe and stay driven! John]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.233 2011-09-23T02:22:33Z 2011-09-23T03:00:24Z

Alright folks, time for some more of JoMo's musings. Today's musings are about relationships, and specifically rally relationships. I fear there will be lots of cliche's bandied about, but I'm ok with that. Last Ditch Racing has been around since...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ Alright folks, time for some more of JoMo's musings. Today's musings are about relationships, and specifically rally relationships. I fear there will be lots of cliche's bandied about, but I'm ok with that. Last Ditch Racing has been around since 1999. That's a bit old in rallying. There are plenty of other folks that have been rallying longer, but I'm not sure there are many North American, "teams," that have existed for much longer. Like any team, we've had people come and go over the years. Some have had life get in the way of their rallying. Others have transitioned from crew to driver/co-driver. Through it all, the common thread is that LDR is a family. To see the guys gather in the shop in their off time, discussing the merits of a modification to the car or the latest alt-rock release is special. In the shop, we do something that's not done much anymore. We talk to each other. We interact without a layer of electronica transcribing and morphing our original intent. We often stumble because it's somewhat foreign in this day and age. Don't get me wrong, we still receive and send texts in the shop! We can't afford to go into complete tech detox! But something else important happens. We share information and end up teaching each other skills. Things that you have to learn to do: welding, fabrication, reading a torque wrench(or how not to). The process of problem solving and collective bargaining that it entails is always entertaining. We actually work with our hands and make things! Those hands get dirty, and usually bloody. The industrial hand cleaner on the wall in the bathroom of my house is a serves as a focal point for a barn session debrief. We often get 4-5 dirty, smiling guys in a small room with a cat box and appliances. Surreal... The relationships on the team seem to have more import to them than others in my life not involved with rally. Part of that is the shared experience. Most folks outside of rally don't understand it like those of us that do it. That shared experience causes us to seek each other out to talk about and do rally stuff. Another important facet is that we're building something together that's unique. A rally team! And not just any rally team. One of the most consistent privateer teams in the sport with an awesome record. LDR has morphed itself into an entity somewhat synergistic of all our individual inputs. The team members ebb and flow in terms of their investment of time, coming around when they can, and not when they can't. The team exists somewhat separate from our collective participation. Interesting... I do not exaggerate when I say that I trust my life to the LDR crew. Every bolt that's torqued. Every modification to the car. Hurtling down a forest road in the dark at 100mph is not the time to wonder if Duncan remembered to torque the front balljoint! ;-) And what about the Co-drivers?! That relationship is a whole different kettle of fish, and likely will be another blog installment. So, to all the LDR crew: Bronson, Duncan, Eric, Dave, Maygen, Margaret, Jon, Drew G, Drew S, Nate, Cullen, Erik, John V, Zach, Kevin, Rob, Nate S. and all the others over the years....thanks for disconnecting from the internet and getting tired, dirty and bloody with me. You are all family and will always be considered a part of LDR and her history. When you guys swarm on T-4 in a service and check every nut and bolt and then send us back up into the ether with reassurance that she's 110% and a mandate to push as hard as we can, it's a very proud moment for us in the car. Together we've made a lot of memories! So many stories that some of us are starting to lose track of them! Be well my friends. See you in the shop at Triple Caution Farm when I see you! JoMo tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.232 2011-09-23T01:25:23Z 2011-09-23T01:27:44Z

For Immediate Release Bangor, Maine USA September 22, 2011 Maine's Last Ditch Racing rally team makes rally history in partnership with Canada's X-Vision. Working together, the two have pioneered the use of their 360 degree video technology in a stage...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For Immediate Release Bangor, Maine USA September 22, 2011 Maine's Last Ditch Racing rally team makes rally history in partnership with Canada's X-Vision. Working together, the two have pioneered the use of their 360 degree video technology in a stage rally car. Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Jennifer Daly faced considerable adversity during the recent Rallye Defi, round four of the Canadian Rally Championship to obtain the video. Said Cassidy, "When we were approached by X-Vision about pioneering the application of their technology in a rally car, we ware on board immediately. When I saw what the technology was capable of, I was blown away! The possibilities of this technology are mind-boggling for action sports like rally. Through this partnership, we're able to give the end user the ability to immerse themselves in the car and the event, panning and tilting the video through a full 360 degrees. There are views of the rally car that neither I, nor anyone else has ever seen!" Last Ditch Racing is no stranger to pioneering technology. They were the first rally team in history to do a daily podcast from a WRC event, when they competed at the 2006 Corona Rally Mexico. "Although we're competitors, we're also huge fans of the sport in general. Anything we can do to promote the sport and expose it to new audiences is very exciting to us." The team enjoyed a successful 2011, securing two podiums and two Open Class wins en route to Cassidy's win of the Rally America Eastern Regional Open Class Championship. John and Jennifer want to extend a special thank you to their crew for the 2011 season: Drew Gladu, Duncan Matlack, Nathan Haskell, Jon Bolduc, Zach Sennett, Cullen Gillis, Bronson Crothers, Kevin Sennett and John Cassidy V and Craig Greenwell. To see the result of Last Ditch Racing and X-Vision's partnership, please visit: http://www.x-vision.ca/LDR/ For more information on X-Vision, please visit: http://www.x-vision.ca Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2011 Partners for their support: DTECH Motorsport, http://www.dtechmotorsport.com/ Mirraco, http://www.mirrabikeco.com/ VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us X-Vision: http:www.x-vision.ca For more information on Last Ditch Racing: http://www.lastditchracing.com Social Networking: Search for us on Facebook and Myspace. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.231 2011-09-23T01:24:06Z 2011-09-23T01:24:53Z

For Immediate Release September 18, 2011 Bangor, Maine USA Last Ditch Racing overcame significant adversity to finish Rallye Defi, round four of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship. Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Jennifer Daly started Friday's stages with a failing...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For Immediate Release September 18, 2011 Bangor, Maine USA Last Ditch Racing overcame significant adversity to finish Rallye Defi, round four of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship. Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Jennifer Daly started Friday's stages with a failing front differential and an elusive oil leak near the turbocharger, which continued to cause considerable smoke in, and around, the car all weekend. The front differential began to make odd noises on the transit to the first super special Friday, and the crew feared that their event could be over that day. The crew were concerned the turbo might be failing, so it was replaced with a spare unit prior to the event start. The spare turbo was a smaller unit and the only restrictor the team had that fit was smaller than the diameter required, meaning they'd be down on power all weekend. The crew was also preoccupied with providing partner X-Vision with some quality onboard video to help showcase their immersive video technology. Said Cassidy, "We were definitely feeling stressed on Friday. The fact that the car wasn't running well, coupled with the very short stages and long transits, was difficult. Trying to balance some sort of pace with longevity through the day was quite difficult." Cassidy/Daly made it through Friday, but an issue with a computer cable meant that no video had been recorded for the X-Vision crew. "X-Vision's Louis Charland was was devastated, but in true rally fashion, he and his crew regrouped and met us Saturday morning at 05:00 after returning to Montreal to troubleshoot the system. We were able to get footage for X-Vision on the first two stages of Saturday. Judging from the response from the X-Vision team, you would've thought we'd won the event!" In spite of all the adversity, Cassidy/Daly pushed their Subaru STi throughout Saturdays' stages. The day had it's fair share of drama, however, when the Cassidy miscalculated on fuel load and ran out of fuel just outside of the service park in Montpelier. "I thought something was wrong with the engine-it sounded like it was detonating. I had a sick feeling in my stomach, but when I looked at the fuel gauge, I was actually relieved!" said Cassidy. Cassidy and Daly were forced to push the car about 40 yards uphill into the service park. "Jenn and I got a real workout pushing T-4 into service and the crew got theirs pushing us out of service." The day continued with the team slowly rising up the order to gain 4 places on the final day. "We were off the pace all weekend, but I can't recall an event filled with this much adversity for quite some time." said Cassidy. "We we working with a car that was not 100% from the outset, while dealing with one issue after another. The crew was busy all weekend long, which is rare for us. They got 4 hours sleep in 48." The event sees the team complete an ambitious 5 event season. Starting with the winter Rallye Perce Neige, followed by the Mt. Washington Hillclimb, Rallye Baie des Chaleurs and the New England Forest Rally. "To say we're ready for a break is an understatement. The car needs quite a bit of attention. That said, we're looking at some off season upgrades and a strong return in 2012. Jennifer and I have developed a great relationship in the car, and it has paid dividends with multiple podiums for us this season." The team enjoyed a successful 2011, securing two podiums and two Open Class wins en route to Cassidy's win of the Rally America Eastern Regional Open Class Championship. John and Jennifer want to extend a special thank you to their crew for the 2011 season: Drew Gladu, Duncan Matlack, Nathan Haskell, Jon Bolduc, Zach Sennett, Cullen Gillis, Bronson Crothers, Kevin Sennett and John Cassidy V and Craig Greenwell. Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2011 Partners for their support: DTECH Motorsport, http://www.dtechmotorsport.com/ Mirraco, http://www.mirrabikeco.com/ VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us For more information on Last Ditch Racing: http://www.lastditchracing.com Social Networking: Search for us on Facebook and Myspace. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.230 2011-09-23T01:21:48Z 2011-09-23T01:23:35Z

For Immediate Release Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing completed an ambitious month of racing; competing in three events in four weeks, in two different countries. They clinched the 2011 Rally America Eastern Regional Open Class Championship and two...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For Immediate Release Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing completed an ambitious month of racing; competing in three events in four weeks, in two different countries. They clinched the 2011 Rally America Eastern Regional Open Class Championship and two podiums in the process. Driver John Cassidy of Bangor, Maine and Co-Driver Jennifer Daly from Kelowna, British Columbia started their summer season with a second place in the R1 Rally class at the Climb to the Clouds, a hill climb up New Hampshire's Mt. Washington Auto Road. First run in 1904, the Mt. Washington Hillclimb is the oldest motorsport event in the United States. Last run in 2001, Cassidy jumped at the opportunity to compete in the event. "Jennifer and I had no idea what to expect on the mountain. What we encountered was both a technical and psychological challenge. The weather and visibility were constantly changing, forcing us to push in low visibility on roads with significant exposures." The event marked the first time that Daly and Cassidy have worked as a team since the 2008 Rallye Defi in Quebec. "We were ecstatic with a podium finish at the event, as we had no prior experience on the mountain. Having to run a restrictor in the turbo certainly kept our speeds down at altitude, but we pushed as much as we dared in the limited visibility at the top of the mountain. Our rally experience definitely served us well on the often wet surface and challenging visibility." The following week found the team in New Richmond, Quebec for the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs. One of LDR's favorite Canadian events, the technical and rough stages of Baie suit Cassidy's driving style. The team was setting top ten stage times on Friday night, until they had an off, striking a bridge with their Subaru STi on SS6. The front suspension suffered terminal damage, and they were forced to retire from the event. "It was a bittersweet return to Canada. We had not been at Baie since 2008, and we were having a great time on stage. Jennifer and I were settling into the car and getting up to speed quite well. I came into the corner with too much speed and understeered into the bridge. It was a very heavy hit, and we were very lucky not to have done more damage to the car or ourselves." Two weeks on and many repairs later, the team attended their home event, the 2011 New England Forest Rally, headquartered at the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine. The twelfth consecutive showing for Last Ditch Racing at the event, the notoriously rough roads are home for Cassidy. "The New England Forest Rally has a reputation for being rough, and this year was no exception. For some, the rocks are intimidating, but I'm used to pushing on rough events." The rough roads were new to codriver Jennifer Daly: "During recce I was surprised by both the softness of the sand in some spots, and by the size of the painted rocks on the road, but John hasn't missed this event in over 11 years, so I was very confident in his ability to be fast through these strange conditions." The National event spans both Friday and Saturday's stages, and each day is considered a separate Regional Rally. Cassidy and Daly set quick times on Friday, but unbeknownst to them, Jason Smith and Jared Lantzy, driving LDR's original Subaru, T-1, held a lead of 7 seconds on the LDR team going into the final stage of the night, the famous Concord Pond stage. Cassidy and Daly were unaware of their overall standing, and the team goal was to set a new personal record on Concord Pond. At the end of the stage, the crew had bested LDR's stage record; 12 seconds quicker over just 5.75 miles, and secured the win over Smith/Lantzy by 13 seconds. "Having both LDR cars on the podium was great. Concord Pond is an epic stage and we wanted to push for all the fans that come out to spectate. Taking the overall win and first in Open Class was a fantastic end to the day!" Saturday's regional event opened with the longest stage of the day, where the LDR team posted the fastest time of the regional competitors by nearly 1.5 minutes over Smith/Lantzy. A flat on the second stage dashed any hope of an outright victory for the day, despite setting the best time on every other stage. "We had a flat and the tire started to delaminate quite quickly. We had 5 miles left in the stage and it was a very technical section. The car wasn't turning well and it would have been dangerous to continue. Changing a tire on stage is always costly, but sometimes it's the best choice." The team was awarded first in class for Saturday's event. 2011 has been another development year for the team, with a new engine and other technical changes to the car. The addition of Canadian co-driver Jennifer Daly to the team has also had a significant impact on LDR's recent success. "Jennifer strapped into the co-driver's seat like she's always been there. The communication in the car is very good and we both feel there's still more speed to be had on stage." The team's future schedule is yet to be determined and likely won't be finalized until damage assessment is completed on the car after this difficult schedule of events. For Daly, the possibility of rejoining the LDR team is attractive: "It's very exciting to have some success early on with a new driver and codriver match. John and the LDR crew are prepared and competitive; I was very happy to be a part of such a fun and tight knit team. When we set out to do three events in four weeks, it seemed a little crazy, but with the right people and some hard work, just about anything is possible." The team is appreciative of support from Mirraco, a BMX bicycle company founded by actions sports athlete Dave Mirra. Mirra supplied the team some of his personally autographed signature Bell helmets, which the LDR team gave to young fans at the rally. John and Jennifer want to extend a special thank you to their crew for 2011: Drew Gladu, Duncan Matlack, Nathan Haskell, Jon Bolduc, Zach Sennett, Cullen Gillis, Bronson Crothers, Kevin Sennett and John Cassidy V. "Rally is a truly brutal sport on the car and without the support of our talented and dedicated crew, we wouldn't think about leaving the start line!" The team would also like to thank Dave Heerdegen of DTECH Motorsport in New Zealand for his support in tuning the car's engine after all the recent modifications. "Dave has been an invaluable resource for us over the past two seasons, and we owe a lot of our recent success to his hard work." Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2011 Partners for their continued support: DTECH Motorsport, http://www.dtechmotorsport.com/ Mirraco, http://www.mirrabikeco.com/ VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us For more information on Last Ditch Racing: http://www.lastditchracing.com Social Networking: Search for us on Facebook and Myspace. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.229 2011-06-23T19:20:06Z 2011-06-23T19:36:38Z

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire to be exact. Co-Driver Jennifer Daly and myself arrived at the mountain Wednesday and completed registration, followed by a quick drive up the mountain, as she'd not seen it before. Weather was beautiful and the scenery...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ Mt. Washington, New Hampshire to be exact. Co-Driver Jennifer Daly and myself arrived at the mountain Wednesday and completed registration, followed by a quick drive up the mountain, as she'd not seen it before. Weather was beautiful and the scenery stunning. We then took T-4.5 through tech and she passed without issue or concern. The discipline of hillclimbing is a bit different than rally. It's a specialized discipline and most of the competitors have arrived with specialized vehicles. For us rallyists, we have the luxury of having a co-driver on board, but the potential disadvantage of being a bit outside our comfort zone on the mountain. The psychological challenge is likely worse than the reality of racing up the mountain. After making several passes during recce today(Thursday), we've begun to do the specialized work that is writing our own pacenotes for the road. This increases our focus on the task and really serves to bring our heads back in the car, instead of outside thinking of exposures and such... Jennifer likened one of the ditches(really just a section, but the comparison applies to the entire mountain) as a gaping mouth filled with rocky teeth. I don't want to play dentist this weekend. Weather will likely be the deciding factor this weekend. While nice yesterday, it's been raining all day, resulting in them closing half the mountain to traffic this afternoon. It was very difficult to recce the top half of the road due to poor visibility and our notes will likely need to be fine-tuned during practice runs tomorrow and Saturday. While very familiar with driving in all sorts of weather on all sorts of surfaces, the Mountain presents all sorts of challenges. There is a change from tarmac to gravel back to tarmac. Tire choice is a compromise. If it rains(which seems likely), slicks won't be a great choice. Rookie driver meeting tonight, dinner and then arrival of part of our crew. Tomorrow is practice, either lower or upper half of the mountain, depending on weather. Practice times will determine start order, so there may be some strategy. Do we go quickly and risk the car? Do we dial it back a bit and make sure the notes are ok, risking being seeded lower in the start for Sunday? I don't really have a good answer. While we focus on our task here, we also have been firming up plans for next weekend's Rallye Baie des Chaleurs in New Richmond Quebec. Very excited to get back to this incredible event! Two weeks later, we'll be at the New England Forest Rally, headquartered at Sunday River. I think I'll need a vacation afterward. Be sure and follow us on twitter.com/lastditchracing and facebook.com/ldrme Cheers! John tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.228 2011-05-11T03:40:32Z 2011-05-11T03:42:24Z

For Immediate Release, 5/10/11 Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing rally team is looking forward to an ambitious mid-season programme, competing in three championship caliber events in the span of 4 weeks. The team started their 2011 season at...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ ]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.227 2011-02-15T04:36:42Z 2011-02-15T04:37:35Z

For Immediate Release Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing rally team began their 2011 season by sliding their Subaru STi onto the podium of the Ontario Provincial Rally Championship portion of the 46th edition of the Rallye Perce...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For Immediate Release Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing rally team began their 2011 season by sliding their Subaru STi onto the podium of the Ontario Provincial Rally Championship portion of the 46th edition of the Rallye Perce Neige, Round 1 of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship. Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell drove through the forests of Quebec during the epic event that spanned approximately 15 hours. The weekend began on a difficult note for the crew when neither the rally car, nor the service vehicle would start while Cassidy and Getchell were out on recce. What was meant to be a fairly relaxed day for the LDR crew was spent troubleshooting both. "Each rally presents some sort of adversity-we'd find it all on the stages, but the crew had their fair share as well." "To say that Rallye Perce Neige is a challenging event is an understatement," said Cassidy. "This was our first Canadian winter event in three years, and there was definitely a bit of rust. We struggled to find pace early on." The crew found tire choice to be difficult, using three types of tires during the day-with mixed results, eventually settling on . The stages were often just two clear lines of sheer ice with a small amount of snow in places. Adding to the challenge was that surface conditions changed often on the famously long stages. Starting 17th on the road, the team dropped down the order before floating back up to an overall finish of 15th in the National field. "The field was extremely deep at Perce Neige and if there's one thing Canadian drivers know, it's how to drive in the snow!" On the second passage through the long Kitigan-Zibi stage, the crew passed cars, and were passed in turn. "It was surreal to spend 30 minutes concentrating-pushing as hard as we could, all the while looking at cars we were catching up and keeping an eye on the rear view!" Last Ditch Racing's next event will be the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in New Richmond, Quebec in July, 2011 The team would like to thank the organizers, volunteers, fans and fellow competitors for the wonderful event. John and Dave would like to thank their onsite crew for the event: Duncan Matlack and Michael Rademacher. The Triple Caution Farm crew: Drew Gladu, Drew Simpson and Nathan Haskell. Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2011 Partners for their continued support: VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us For more information on Rallye Perce Neige, please visit: http://www.rallyeperceneige.com/ For more information on Last Ditch Racing: http://www.lastditch]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2011://1.226 2011-02-03T12:55:03Z 2011-02-03T12:55:34Z

For immediate release Bangor, Maine USA February 1, 2011 Maine's Last Ditch Racing will bring their Subaru WRX STi into the remote snowy stages of Northern Quebec this weekend for the Rallye Perce Neige. Headquartered in the town of...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For immediate release Bangor, Maine USA February 1, 2011 Maine's Last Ditch Racing will bring their Subaru WRX STi into the remote snowy stages of Northern Quebec this weekend for the Rallye Perce Neige. Headquartered in the town of Maniwaki, Rallye Perce Neige is the first round of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship. An extremely strong field of 42 crews have entered the event, ensuring that there will be competition throughout the field. Although Perce Neige will be the team's only full-on snow/ice event of 2011, Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell are up for the challenge. Said Cassidy, "Snow and ice require patience and finesse. Combine those requirements with the demands of the technical stages of Perce Neige, and we have an extremely long day ahead of us on Saturday!" The team will also get to run the famous 32.95km Kitigan Zibi stage twice, once likely in the dark. "Other than some of the older stages run years ago at the Maine Forest Rally, Kitigan Zibi is likely the longest stage we'll run all season-it's one of the few stages we've done that I've actually asked Dave, "how much further!?" The teams plans to stay quick and tidy and avoid deploying any snow removal equipment during the event. "Once the shovel is out of the car, you're bleeding enormous time that's very hard to pull back. We're not snow/ice experts, but then again, it's not our first rodeo(or snowball fight) either!" said Cassidy. The team has competed many times at Perce Neige, but only once when their current Subaru STi had been freshly built. "The car was suffering significant mechanical issues on that event and the results reflected it. She's had significant development since that time and all Dave and I need to do is try and keep up with her!" The team is looking forward to a busy 2011 season, which will include all Eastern Canadian Rally Championship events as well as the New England Forest Rally. "We're going to push hard this season, focusing on Canada. We love the organization, the fans and especially the competition-we're very excited to be back!" Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2010 Partners for their continued support: VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us For more information on Rallye Defi, please visit: http://www.rallyeperceneige.com/ For more information on Last Ditch Racing: http://www.lastditchracing.com Social Networking: Search for us on Facebook and Myspace. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2010://1.225 2010-12-20T23:49:59Z 2010-12-21T00:44:08Z

Notice today on Facebook kind of hit me upside the head. 46 days until Rallye Perce Neige!? So much for an, "off season." ;-) To be fair, we've had a few months, as we sat out the Tall Pines Rally...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ ]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2010://1.224 2010-11-16T02:47:00Z 2010-11-16T03:14:05Z

Alright, so I haven't been officially diagnosed, but sometimes the shoe does fit-hard to believe, I know. ;-) In order to accomplish what we do as a team, we all have to be quite driven, innovative, unrealistically optimistic and...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ Alright, so I haven't been officially diagnosed, but sometimes the shoe does fit-hard to believe, I know. ;-) In order to accomplish what we do as a team, we all have to be quite driven, innovative, unrealistically optimistic and perhaps, well, a bit nutty! Petter Solberg's charge to second at the past weekend's Rally GB and third overall in the 2010 WRC is testament to what us rallyists are made of. He revealed today that he's seen his family very little in the last year-and-a-half and paid for the last couple rallies out of his own pocket. Talk about driven! This is the time of year that we try and make amends to our family for tilting at rally windmills in the Eastern forests of the US and Canada. Truth be told, it's a painful realization that we can never get that time back. Missed sports games, family dinners, opportunities to socialize. We could be in the service rig headed to Missouri or across the border to Canada. As crazy as it all is, it becomes normalized over time. When the default for Fourth of July is being at Rallye Baie des Chaleurs, and Thanksgiving is Rally of the Tall Pines, you know you've been bit by the bug....hard. So, what have we been doing lately!? Here at Triple Caution Farm, T-4 has not been off the trailer since Rallye Defi in September. She'll have to come off soon if we're to get her sorted for Rallye Perce Neige. In the mean time, Bronson and I cleaned the shop and Sharon and I painted the floor. A thorough cleaning(still not done) and reorganization was undertaken. We completed(nearly) the home gym to help keep the family fit and me driving for a few more years. We got a large ash tree sawn up and to the kiln to make some cool electric guitars. My wife drove my Forester into the garage door(both ok, the wife moreso) after starting it in gear trying to warm it for me on a cold morning. We cut, split and stacked some firewood. We've been doing interior household projects(never done) in preparation for Holiday guests. I've been sorting through stacks of magazines and mail that have piled up while I was off doing other things. I got a new road bicycle and actually got out on it this past weekend. We've all been going to the gym. Oh yeah, I've been working full time as well providing health care in two homeless healthcare clinics in the Bangor area. And this is just my family. Bronson continues to work on Mass-spect machines, Dave is always pushing at his job at Maine Boats, Harbors and Home Magazine. Duncan and Mike juggle work, family and life. Drew and his wife just bought a house. DrewG juggles all the calls from friends to fix stuff and Nate spends time on projects either at home or at work at Old Town Canoe. There is no stopping the change of season in Maine. The dreaded lack of sun, the change in the clocks and the impending cold weather. Not to mention barreling full speed into the Holidays. There is an unrelenting urgency to get the yard cleaned up, the snowblower on the tractor, the driveway markers set out, wood stacked and drafty windows sealed up. What keeps us from going insane?! Family and friends. Simple and true. I'm convinced our Holiday season was laid out by someone who lived in a climate like ours and needed an excuse for a party/gathering every month to lift the spirits. ;-) Working in the shop, wind whistling outside with a punch list and cocoa available just across the driveway, iPod shuffling through thousands of tunes is one of the best coping mechanisms we have. In a recent phone conversation with Dave, we discussed whether or not we wanted to head to Perce Neige(or course we do, but it's never that easy). He said, "We'll need some mid-winter therapy by then." The dopamine rush that we get careening down roads flanked by 4 foot snowbanks might just last us until spring thaw..... ]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2010://1.223 2010-09-17T03:07:55Z 2010-09-17T03:08:55Z

For Immediate Release September 14, 2010 Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing, consisting of Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell, overcame significant adversity to crack the top 10 at the Rallye Defi in St. Agathe, Quebec Canada...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For Immediate Release September 14, 2010 Bangor, Maine USA Maine's Last Ditch Racing, consisting of Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell, overcame significant adversity to crack the top 10 at the Rallye Defi in St. Agathe, Quebec Canada this past weekend. Finishing 10th of 36 starters was not as easy a task as they had initially hoped. The fourth round of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship, the event is held in the Laurentian Mountains near scenic Mont Tremblant. Cassidy last competed in Canada at the 2008 Rallye Defi with guest Co-Driver Jennifer Daley. "We had a very difficult event in 2008 and suffered a DNF due to max lateness after having a tank full of contaminated fuel," said Cassidy. Cassidy and Getchell headed North without their usual complement of crew. "The new laws requires we have passports to travel to Canada, and our current crew are all new since 2008, so were without the proper documentation to join us." Given how active the team is in social networking, offers of help in service came in by cell and internet. "Harry Boucher volunteered to help us and we would have been quite a bit more stressed without his calm presence in the service park-our hats/helmets are off to him!" Day one saw the crew tackle the new Montcalm stage, run twice. A new, technical stage, Montcalm proved to set the tone for the event for many crews. "While not setting a blistering pace on Montcalm, we were still in the thick of things and feeling out the car and the recent changes we'd made to it." said Cassidy. On the second run through the Lac Brunet stage, the team sheared the teeth off first gear in the transmission. "I launched a bit too aggressively on the pavement and the tranny just couldn't take it," said Cassidy. Limping back to service without first gear, the crew drained all the large metal chunks out of the transmission, filled it with fresh fluid and pressed on. "It's the third time we've lost a gear in our 11 years in the sport, so it didn't throw us too much. We don't carry a spare transmission on the truck, so just had to roll with it. Dave and I discussed it and decided if we had all the other gears, we'd soldier on as best we could. Unfortunately most of the stage starts are uphill at Defi, so it made for a somewhat slower weekend than we expected." Day two arrived with Getchell and Cassidy acting as their own service crew and getting the car to the service park in Montpelier, an hour or so away from St. Agathe. After reversing the car off the trailer, Cassidy was unable to get the transmission into any gear. Realizing the tenuous nature of their drivetrain, they were about to concede defeat and withdraw from the event, but friend Iain Fraser of Planet Motorsport used a bit of Scottish persuasion to get the transmission unstuck. Game on! Cassidy/Getchell headed to the stages to have a go. "The stages at Defi were very short this year, and Dave and I knew we'd be loosing time off the line of every stage without first gear. We'd try our best to make up that loss on stage, but also knew it would be near impossible." As if the challenges weren't already enough, stage 2 on Saturday saw the battery in the intercom die, leaving Getchell to yell at Cassidy for most of the stage. Managing two top 10 stage times during the day and driving quick and tidy, the team fulfilled their goal of finishing in the top 10. "Starting each stage in second gear was painful. Dave was counting the seconds before we'd finally hit a speed where we'd get boost-once we did, it was like someone lit a rocket. On a 4-5km stage, 8-10 seconds is a huge deficit." Cassidy and Getchell were impressed with the depth and talent of the competition in Canada. "Everyone's getting faster. The quality of the cars and crews is the best we've seen in some time." Last Ditch Racing is working to put together a challenge for the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship if they can arrange sufficient support. The team is hoping to attend the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki to kick off their 2011 season. Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2010 Partners for their continued support: VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com DTECH Motorsport, http://www.dtechmotorsport.com Kartboy, http://www.kartboy.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us Luke Dobie Designs, http://www.lukedobiedesigns.com/ Openpaddock.net, http://www.openpaddock.net Special thanks to Harry Boucher and Iain Fraser for their support on event at Rallye Defi! For more information on Rallye Defi, please visit: http://www.rallyedefi.com/ For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com Social Networking: Search for us on Facebook and Myspace. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing LDR's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2010://1.221 2010-09-10T02:30:33Z 2010-09-10T02:49:42Z

Some of you know that myself(aka JoMo) and Dave(aka Nigel Prodrive) are at Rallye Defi in Quebec this weekend. What some of you don't know is that we're here alone. Sure, there are plenty of other competitors and friends...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ Some of you know that myself(aka JoMo) and Dave(aka Nigel Prodrive) are at Rallye Defi in Quebec this weekend. What some of you don't know is that we're here alone. Sure, there are plenty of other competitors and friends here, but we're crew-less. Now, a lot of teams don't have any crew, but LDR has a strong(and consistant crew). Nothing has happened to our crew-most are quite fine. Problem is, none of them have passports. Lest you think it's because there are legal issues preventing them from attaining such documentation, I assure there aren't(at least none they've shared with me). We haven't raced in Canada in two years and none of our crew was with us then(except for Duncan). We love racing in Canada, but have focused on the Rally America Eastern Regional Championship. We've missed Canadian Rally and wanted to come back. Rallye Defi seemed like the best event to come back to. But what about the team!? After an extremely long day of recce(all recce days are long-don't mind my whining), Dave and I reflected on what it's like to be here without our crew. Like any meaningful relationship, we miss them when they're not here. We miss the things they do for us and miss the comradery. We miss the way that we all seem to revert to early adolescence when we're on the road and on event together. What we didn't realize is how meaningful that relationship is to us and our rally experience. We race for our team. They help engineer and build the car. They devote untold hours of their spare time to the team(at the expense of income and perhaps relationships). They want us to go big, or not go at all. Most of all, they're our best friends. The time we spend in the barn/shop is perhaps more important that any of us realizes. It's our place/time to be creative, problem solve and provide amateur psychotherapy to each other(scary, I know!). It's our clubhouse. The team is essentially our gang. Sounds like we should write a sociology paper or something, doesnt it!? ;-) Bottom line, Nigel and JoMo are piloting a fire breathing dragon this weekend sans LDR crew support. We'll have some folks on site volunteer some help, no doubt, but it won't be the same. We have to depend on each other and do all the things that the crew does for us. If the crew could've seen us today looking for stuff in the service truck, they would've told us to get out of, "their," truck and do what we do best-race a rally car. Bottom line, we're not racing for ourselves this weekend, we're racing for our crew: Bronson, Duncan, DrewG, DrewS, Zach and NathanH. You guys are desperately missed and we'll do our best to make your armchair rally experience exciting this weekend! Now, get those damn passport applications mailed in, will you!? We've got some more rallying to do yet! :-)]]> tag:www.lastditchracing.net,2010://1.220 2010-09-07T19:56:34Z 2010-09-07T19:57:32Z

For Immediate Release September 7, 2010 Bangor, Maine USA Last Ditch Racing is heading to Quebec, Canada for Rallye Defi, round 5 of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship. Having had a mixed 2010 season that saw a return to form...

Last Ditch Racing http://www.lastditchracing.net/ For Immediate Release September 7, 2010 Bangor, Maine USA Last Ditch Racing is heading to Quebec, Canada for Rallye Defi, round 5 of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship. Having had a mixed 2010 season that saw a return to form at the New England Forest Rally in July, Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell arenxious to get back to Canada. "We've always enjoyed competing in Canada, and given our geographic location here in Maine, it feels more like home to us than the US Championship," said Driver/Owner John Cassidy The team last competed at Rallye Defi in 2008, and suffered a premature end to their rally when the car was filled with contaminated fuel. "It was devastating-we had a max lateness penalty on the first day, despite having a car that was fully functional after the fuel was changed." LDR is unfortunately familiar with french rallying term, "Force Majeure," and vowed to return again when the time was right. "We've developed the car to a point where we feel we can be competitive in Canada again." Although running a 2.0L engine in their 2003 Subaru STi rally car, the team feels they can challenge some of the crews with larger displacement motors. "We may be behind the curve a bit in terms of displacement and with our transmission versus other teams, but we have the skill to push and the maturity to know when to pull it back a bit." Cassidy and Getchell have a history of success in Canada. 2004 saw Cassidy take second Open Class driver in the championship and fourth overall driver. 2005 saw Cassidy and Getchell take second overall at the Rocky Mountain Rally behind Thomson/Hendrickson, with Cassidy again taking second Open Class driver for the season. "We've definitely had the majority of our success in Canada. Concentrating on the Rally America Eastern Regional Championship for the past few seasons has really limited what we've been able to do in Canada, and we're happy to point the tow rig North again!" The team plans to start 2011 with Rallye Perce Neige in Maniwaki. "It's been far too long since Dave and I have been to Perce Neige as a team and we're excited to start the season off with what is arguably one of the most difficult events of the championship for a driver." The team would especially like to thank VP Racing Fuels for their support in 2010. "The return to VP race fuels has a lot to do with our increased performance, and we've been amazed at what the Motorsport 109E fuel has allowed us to do with our engine tuning and we're looking forward to pushing the envelope a bit more in 2011!" VP Racing fuels, http://www.vpracingfuels.com DTECH Motorsport, http://www.dtechmotorsport.com Kartboy, http://www.kartboy.com Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us Luke Dobie Designs, http://www.lukedobiedesigns.com/ Openpaddock.net, http://www.openpaddock.net For more information on Rallye Defi, please visit: http://www.rallyedefi.com For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com Social Networking: Please search for us on Facebook and Myspace. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing LDR's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing ]]>