Last Ditch Racing Blog

"What the hell are you guys up to, anyway!?" Alright, so no one has actually asked us, or perhaps they have and we've been too busy to hear it! Anyway, we've been busy on a lot of fronts and we're way past due for an update.

I've spent the last few hours packing for the Trek Across Maine. A charity bike(bicycle) ride for the Maine Lung Association, it's a three day ride from Sunday River(also HQ for the New England Forest Rally next month) to the town of Belfast on the coast. Forecast is for rain all three days. My friend Scott and I are planning on tenting out each night. Adventure, here we come! :-) I completed a 70 mile ride a week ago and am feeling pretty good about this three day event.

If you're feeling charitable, feel free to pledge towards my ride at this link:

http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?id=2078&acct=9000004129&rid=975065&part=fund

Last weekend saw LDR's and Mark Fleming's stars align for a photoshoot. The first round of images from the day can be found here:

http://markflemingphotography.blogspot.com/

Mark's talent is obvious and we're going to see much more of him in the near future. :-)

New England Forest Rally is coming up quickly and T-4 ran well during the photoshoot. While I'd love to make some modifications to the car, it's really not prudent. There's neither the time nor the funds, so we'll do what we do best and make sure she's 110% before the event.

Condos are booked, entry has been made. The field of regional entrants already looks much larger than 2008, which is really exciting for us. If you've been waiting to see an event, or haven't been to Maine Forest in a few years, pick this year to come back and check it out! It's going to be an awesome show.

As always, please feel free to contact us via e-mail, and please, please, please do look us up in the service park at NEFR! :-)

Cheers! John

I know a bunch of you are following us/me on Twitter/Facebook and Myspace(and if you're not, add us up!), but I wanted to check in again with some personal and team updates.

Spring has finally come to Triple Caution Farm here in Maine. In fact, the Daffodils out back bloomed about 2-3 days ago. Very nice! Each year, I snowblow a huge pile of snow in the yard, and it's always fun to see how long it takes to melt come spring. This year, it lasted until April 25th! Crazy.

Team members have been busy. Dave and Rob hit a RallyX in NH last week in Rob's car and did very well. Apparently it was a blast! Mikey Rad went to an AutoX in NH. Eric W just completed the cage in his WRX and bought a tow rig. He has officially dove into the deep end! George started his Factory Five Cobra up for the first time last weekend. Can't wait to see some pics/vids of the final product! :-)

T-4 hasn't moved off the trailer since 100AW in Missouri. She's getting a bit pissed at me, I can tell! ;-) I have a front mount intercooler for her, so hopefully that will make her happy. :-)

Been working on my daily driver WRX wagon. I rear ended someone a couple months ago(I know, I know), and decided I'd put an '07 nose on it. It's an '05 and the parts cost the same, so why not? A bit of cutting and welding, and the nose is just about on. Needs a new timing belt and radiator, then it's back to the body shop for final paint and fitting. It'll be nice to have it back as I've been driving the Sprinter daily. That's not a bad thing, as the Sprinter has the Euro coolness going for it, and the best stereo in the LDR fleet!

Fitness continues to be a challenge and taking up a lot of my time. I'm not an active person-honestly. I'd much rather sit on the couch or preferably lay on it and close my eyes! ;-) Trainer Scott asked if I wanted to do a 50 mile bike ride last weekend and, although terrified of the prospect, I figured the worst that could happen is that I'd have to stop.

Joined a group of seasoned riders and headed down one side of the Penobscot River to Bucksport, across the new bridge, and then North again towards Bangor. Lots of climbing, which I'm still sucky at. Coming back was ALL uphill though, with a nice headwind. I cramped up at about mile 30. Couldn't straighten my legs or they'd stay that way, so I just kept riding. About 41.5 miles, I threw up the white flag. The group was long gone and I called my wife to bring the Sprinter down to fetch me.

So, we have the Trek Across Maine coming up in June. Three 60 mile days of riding. If you'd like to support my suffering(for a good cause), please check out my pledge page at: https://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?id=2078&acct=9000004129&rid=975065&part=fund

The Maine Lung Association needs the cake to help fight these diseases, and I need the support to keep my butt on the bike! :-) Please consider giving what you can.

LDR's next event will be the New England Forest Rally in July. I've heard the route will be different this year, and that headquarters will be in a different location. None of that will keep our crew from pushing as hard as possible. After a fifth place overall last year, anything is possible this year(as it always is in rally!)!

Now that spring is here-get outside and do something that puts a smile on your face! :-)

Cheers! John, aka JoMo

What do rally racers do when they're not racing? We think about rally racing of course! ;-) All joking aside, I liken the downtime between events as the time between recording of albums for rock bands. We're all doing our side projects, getting our, "space," from each other and the studio(er, shop), and generally trying to catch up on the life stuff we miss out on when racing. :-)

This is also kind of a silly season for us. We contemplate what we're going to do for the rest of the season. Budgets are discussed(we have none), events contemplated(Mexico sounds awesome this year!), and then try and set some goals.

We've won the Open Class regional championship in the East two years in a row, Overall Champions in the East in 2008 and second in the Regional Rally Championship two years in a row. What else do we need to do? Not much. What do we want to do? Same thing every crew does-we want to go faster! :-)

With the economy in the hopper, our attendance at many events in 2009 is in doubt. We'll likely find events that are close or events that offer good value for the dollars spent. In other words, we're going to try and be fiscally responsible. As racers, this goes against every instinct in our beings. We'd prefer to hock the kids and a few non-vital organs for one more trip down the special stage! ;-)

In other news, I'm pulling my friend Dave Mirra in the upcoming Olympus Rally. After his great showing in Missouri recently, look for some speed. With Derek Ringer in the right seat, he's got one of the best mentor's in the business. :-)

I'm continuing on my middle-aged fitness quest. Continuing visits to the gym and Karate. I recently tested in the dojo and advanced one belt level. The Grand Master of our system is coming from Okinawa in a couple of months, so we're all training very hard to perform well for him and represent our dojo in the best way that we can.

The weather is nearly(he said hopefully) ready to allow a little road cycling. Went for a short ride the other day with my friend Scott(also my trainer), as we were trying to calibrate our new iBike power meters. Hoping to have some good data to see how the season is progressing.

On a more somber note, one of the folks that has had a somewhat crucial relationship with the team over many years has recently passed. Dana Walls was one of my contacts in the parts department of Quirk Subaru here in Bangor. I would come in with intake manifold under my arm looking to match a gasket or bring in some Japanese spec part and he would find the replacement. He learned pretty quickly not to ask what year the car was or what the VIN # was! ;-) He always tolerated my odd requests with aplomb, no matter how many good customers I was holding up behind me. His smile will be missed, and I know that I'll be looking for him to roll out from behind the parts shelves on his stool when I visit for some time to come. :-(

http://legacy.com/bangornews/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=125513833

For Immediate Release

March 8, 2009

Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing, a Maine based performance rally team, enjoyed an epic journey to the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri to compete in the Rally America Regional Rally Championship as well as the National and Regional portion of the events. The team were invited to compete in the Regional Rally Championship based on their finish as the Rally America Eastern Regional Overall and Open Class Champions in 2008. The team were also Eastern Regional Open Class Champions in 2007.

The 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem Missouri is round 2 of the 2009 Rally America Championship. Known as a fast and flowing event, it is in contrast to to the tighter, more technical roads the team is used to seeing at New England and Eastern Canadian events.

After an epic two days, filled with much drama, the team took 2nd place in the Rally America Regional Rally Championship, and 3rd in Open Class in the 100 Acre Wood Regional Rally. The results are but a small part of the weekend's story.

With the rally located just over 1,500 miles from the team's home base in Bangor, Maine, just taking the start is an accomplishment! Adding to the stress of moving the team halfway across the country, the day prior to the departure saw Maine hit with a large Nor'easter storm that dumped about 16" of snow on the team's headquarters. "I had to get the tractor out and snowblow just to get us out on the road. We didn't see another car on the highway that morning for over an hour," said driver/owner John Cassidy.

Once on the ground in Missouri, Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell spent most of Thursday on one pass recce, while the crew fettled with the car and put it through technical inspection. A frantic call from the crew to Cassidy informed him that the turbo restrictor was 0.06mm too large for the regulations. Without a spare, the crew were on the phone in a matter of minutes and found a machine shop in Salem, MO that specializes in design and repair of equipment for the lead mining industry. The crew brought the old restrictor and within 2 hours, the enthusiastic crew at the machine shop put a new restrictor in the teams' hands, enabling them to start the event. "I had no idea why the restrictor was such a miniscule amount over," said Cassidy, "but our car is always legal and we didn't want anything to put our results in Missouri in question. The work by the machine shop was exceptional and our helmets and hats are off to them!"

Clear to start the race on Friday, Cassidy and Getchell were off to a relatively slow start. After two stages, they found themselves more than 30 seconds behind 2007 RRC winners Henry and Cindy Krowlikowski. Determined to pick up the pace, disaster struck. One of the power steering lines developed a crack. Forced to race 3-4 stages with manual steering, Cassidy knew they'd bleed time. "It was a huge blow to our confidence. We went from race mode to survival mode. Good thing it's not our first time in that position. In addition to the power steering loss, we had a crack in the exhaust manifold. I was worried that the exhaust leak might cause the dripping fluid to ignite in the engine bay. Luckily that didn't happen, but other things that we expected did."

At the start of the last stage, while waiting to start, the crew heard the telltale screaming of metal on metal in the engine bay. On stage, the now dry power steering pump seized, causing smoke and sparks to fly out of the engine vents/scoop as the pump also took out the alternator/power steering belt. Able to finish the stage, Cassidy and Getchell shut down all unnecessary electrical systems as they knew they were now running on battery. "We had about 25 miles back to service and weren't sure if we could make it on just the battery." The answer came shortly later, when the lights started to dim, then flicker. With the low power level, the engine control unit started to run erratically, so the crew was forced to pull to the side of the dark Missouri country road. Fellow Subaru driver George Georgakopoulos pulled over and offered to tow the team into the final MTC of the night. Said Cassidy, "Being towed in a quiet, cold car, just 10 feet off the back of another careening through the dark at 50mph was quite a surreal experience. It took all my concentration to keep the tow rope taut and be safe. Without George, we'd never have completed 100 AW!" The team of Fox/Blattner graciously loaned the team a welder to make repairs to the exhaust header.

Seeing Steel Tulip-4 roll into the MTC on the hook, the service crew knew they were in for a long night. The crew sourced another power steering pump from fellow competitor Pat Moro. Again, without Pat's help, the team would not have completed the event. While the crew replaced the pump, Cassidy and Getchell headed to the local auto parts store for a replacement belt and power steering fluid. After dropping off the supplies to the team around midnight, Cassidy and Getchell headed back to the hotel while the crew worked through the cold night. Crack in the header welded up, Cassidy was awakened often by the crew with status updates on the repairs as well as for guidance on how to proceed. "It wouldn't have been so bad," said Cassidy, "but I had developed a nasty sinus infection that hit hard on Thursday night and was having trouble sleeping as it was. At one point, about 04:45, the crew called me and told me the Dodge Sprinter was dead on the side of the road! A deer had run out in front of them and they honked the horn. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree and the truck died and wouldn't restart. I fired up the laptop and went to the online Sprinter forums and found a post about someone having similar issues after using the horn. I told them to check fuse 7. It was blown as was the case in the forum post. The truck fired up and they continued on their way back to the hotel. They thought my ability to service the Sprinter over the phone out of a dead sleep was spooky! "

Starting Saturday over 3 minutes down on the first place Krowlikowskis, Cassidy and Getchell knew they needed to push. The crew assured them the car was 100%. On the transit out to the first stage of the day, the power steering hitched a few times and had Cassidy worried that he might not have it for long. Then the power steering pump began to squeal. Cassidy and Getchell played all the possible scenarios out in their minds. Replacement pump might be bad? High and low pressure lines might be swapped? Steering rack damanged? Belt too loose or too tight? They got to the next stage start a bit early and decided they'd take a late penalty if need be, if only to suss out the issue. Turns out the new belt was a bit loose and slipping, causing the squeaking. Tightened and good to go, they strapped back in.

The first leg of stages went well for the crew, but didn't see them setting any land speed records. Their close ratio gearbox, with the ultra short final drive-perfect for twisty Eastern events-was not working so well on the fast open roads in Missouri. "It was frustrating," said Cassidy, "We were pushing as hard as we could, but the drivetrain ran out of gumption just around 100mph. We needed another 10mph at least for Missouri." Temperature was also an enemy for the team. The team were running on Pirelli soft gravel tires for the first time at the event, and while Friday's temperatures were within the operating range for the tires, Saturday's temps were at the lower limit. At the second service, they decided to mount some Yokohoma AO-34 snow tires as the stage conditions from that point on were questionable with a winter storm warning posted for a possible 6-8" of snow. Competitor Krowlikowski was out with a blown turbo, so the team had an opportunity to push for another position at least. "There were no smiles when we heard that Henry and Cindy went out-they were having a fantastic event and to go out with a mechanical issue that is out of your control is always difficult."

To the team's surprise, the next 4 stages had no snow, but Cassidy found the Yoko's offered more grip than the Pirellis. "The Yokohama AO-34's have always been a favorite tire, and I love them more now. Although still not reaching the velocities they wanted, the team had power steering, a repaired exhaust header and sticky tires. "Although a bit late, things were as good as they could be for us! The last loop of 4 stages saw the team pulling into the finish control of each stage to find the car ahead still completing their paperwork-a sign we were making time. Each time we'd pull up and see them there, we'd high-five! It was a good feeling." It was a feeling that continued into stage 14. The stage was covered in about 4-5" of snow, and by this time, Cassidy and Getchell felt like they were at a Canadian Rally-familiar territory. "We were smiling like a couple of schoolboys with a naughty magazine. We knew this was our opportunity to have fun and go fast. The gearing of the car isn't really an issue in the snow, as it's about smoothness and commitment."

Stage 14 saw the team set the 10th quickest time, 1 second behind eventual event winner Ken Block. "We had a great time on that stage and passed one car and were catching a second, meaning we were clawing time back. It's the stage that represents the rally for us-the crew, local businesses and fellow teams had all worked together to get us to that point and we were standing on their shoulders in order to push through the snow in the dark-just a great feeling that'll we'll carry forward to the next event and beyond," said Cassidy.

The team ended their trip home just behind another snowstorm-the same that they had in Missouri-just now in the Northeast. Nine days and over 3,000 miles later, the team is ready for a bit of time off, but knows that assimilation back into, "normal," life won't be easy. Said Cassidy, "It's always difficult when you come back and friends and co-workers ask if you had a good time or a good trip-they just don't understand the depth of the answer we "could," give them! We usually say we had a good time and leave it at that!"

The team would like to thank their crew for their support prior to, and during, the event We couldn't have done it without you! Drew Simpson, Ken Anctil, Chris Boone, Bronson Crothers, Nate Haskell, Rob Sockalexis, Nate Sockalexis, Samantha Francis and Duncan Matlack.

The team's next event will either be STPR in Pennsylvania in June or the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in New Richmond Quebec in July. Check the team website for upcoming plans/events.

For more information the 100 Acre Wood Rally, please visit: http://www.100aw.org/

And finally, Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2009 Partners for their support:
Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Hydra EMS, http://www.hydraems.com
Team O'Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com
Mark Fleming Photography: http://www.markfleming.pixyblog.com/

For photos, videos, team blogs and more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com
Social Networking: To follow us on twitter, please visit: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing or find us on Facebook and/or Myspace and sign up as a friend or fan!

For LDR Videos, check out out Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing

To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing

Just back in the hotel in Rolla.

We had some fluid leaking from the power steering line fittings that Bronson and I brazed on. Chris tightened them up and off we went.

Shortly after leaving service, I knew that something was wrong with the power steering. Shortly thereafter, it was gone.

We had three stages and I knew that it'd take all my manly buffness to wrestle T-4 through the stages without power steering. It was pretty rough, and now I know what the WRC guys go through.

Worst part was when the wheel jerked on one corner and my elbow slammed into the rollcage. Ouch. I'll be wearing my wrist splints to bed tonight.

So, we knew the power steering pump would eventually fail and likely seize if the fluid was leaking out. Sure enough, after the next stage, it was chirping like a chipmunk under the hood.

About halfway into the stage, we started smelling smoke and seeing sparks/embers coming out from the hood vents and into Dave's footwell. He was pretty sure we were on fire, but I told him it was just sparks(optimistically). We had also found a crack in the headers and I was worried that if the power steering fluid was pooling on the skidplate, the blowtorch temperature heat coming out of the cracked header would ignite it.

Anyway, we pushed the pedal down and kept on. Eventually, the smoke stopped and the sparks subsided, but not before we launched over a cattle-grate jump smoking and sparking! :-)

With the alternator belt gone, we knew we were running on just battery power. We shut down all unneeded electrical items and I ran with just one set of HID's on, figuring that once lit, they draw less than normal halogens. Of course, driving with the HID lights on the road made many people happy! ;-) We got about halfway to Salem and the HID's started to flicker. Not good. Dave said to find a spot to pull over and I pulled off near a driveway.

We flagged down a fellow competitor, George Georgocopalus(? SP) and he towed us the rest of the way to Salem. Eventually all trace of electrical activity faded from T-4 and we were just a shadow trailing George's car on a tow rope. He was going about 55, so it was a bit hairy and took some concentration.

We made it back to the final Main Time Control without penalty and the boys are still in Rolla fixing the issue. Pat Moro gave us his spare pump. Chris blobbed some weld on the headers and we went to Auto Zone and bought a new belt and power steering fluid.

Just got a call that there is a leak below one of the fittings that we brazed on. They told me they thought they might try brazing it again, but it's nearly impossible in the car. I told them to head to Autozone and find some good that they can plug the damn hole with.

Who knows how long the repair will hold(if at all) and how far we'll make it tomorrow. Snow is forecast, and that should make things interesting! :-)

Up at 06:00 tomorrow and won't be done until tomorrow night.

Dave Mirra is doing great and is in third place.

Thanks for all the support-we'll push as hard as we can tomorrow. We were in 4th in the Regional event, but lost about 3 minutes with the lack of power steering. Not sure where we sit currently. With all that's happened, we're just happy to still have the chance to continue. :-)

Thanks for all the support! Cheers! John

Sorry I've been remiss about posting on the blog the last few days we've been here in Missouri!

We're here for the 100 Acre Wood Rally and primarily the Regional Rally Championships. We arrived in Rolla, which is about 20 minutes from Rally HQ in Salem MO on Wednesday afternoon. Registered for recce while co-driver Dave and Super Agent Kevin arrived in the SUV rental from St. Louis.

Thursday was recce for Dave and I. We were up at 05:00 and finished about 14:30. Roads were very smooth, fast and dry. Temperatures have been unseasonably warm, but should be cooling off quite a bit tomorrow and Friday, which is good for us. We have cold weather Pirelli tires which only are effective within a certain temperature range.

Crew tech'ed the car this afternoon and I got a call when I was in the woods on recce that we had no restrictor in the turbo! Of course, we're required to run one, and I know I had put it in when we left. On further examination, the crew located it in the air intake pipe. ;-) But, then they were told that it was 0.06mm too large! WTF!? It was fine at the last race. It had miraculously grown. Needing a solution, Chris called around and located a local machine shop that repairs equipment for the mining industry. They said they'd take a go at making one and used the old one as a template.

Entering all the info in the CAD program, the CNC lathe whipped up the restrictor in record time! We need to get one of those! Um, no, we don't. ;-)

Car all tech'd, we all met back up in Rolla for a team meeting and then a quick bite at Panera.

Up tomorrow at a very civilized 7AM so that we can leave around 9. Takes awhile to get 6 men showered and fed. ;-) We'll travel about 1:45 to Pitosi, the only service location for the day's rally. Parc expose, then first car off about 15:30. We'll be starting 18th on the road, which will hopefully give us a cleaner line to work with than the first few cars.

Big effort to get the car ready, crew down here, and take all the time needed. No matter how things go, we've already made some great memories this week and hopefully will go fast enough to make some more on race day! :-)

Be sure and follow us via twitter over the weekend-that's where most of the updates will be happening!

Cheers! John

Some more random musings and updates from Triple Caution Farm. I find it hard to separate the rally updates from life updates/musings because rallying is intertwined through everything else in my life. :-)

Seems like we just completed the Team O'Neil rally last weekend, although it's been a couple of weeks now. We were a bit off the pace from the get-go. We had a nasty whistling noise in the engine bay under full boost. We figured it was the spare turbo we had to use for the event, and I think the noise really played into my not being as aggressive in my driving as I could've/should've been.

I drove us into a snowbank, and we spent about 8 minutes in there. Spectators were amazing and lifted and tugged us out. Thanks to everyone who helped. We finished the event, but at that point, were no longer in contention for a podium so took it relatively easy the rest of the day.

New turbo has arrived from Blouch Turbo in PA. Great folks to work with. I can't say enough about how knowledgeable and helpful they were on the phone. I spoke with three other well-known turbo shops and no one conveyed the sense of knowledge that Blouch did.

We're in the midst of making preparations for the Regional Rally Championship event at 100 Acre Wood in Missouri. 2.5 days of driving from Maine and we'll be there! ;-) Ordered soft gravel tires and will bring every other type of tire we have! Who knows that the weather will be like. Making hotel reservations, checking documents for trailer, rally car, tow rig. Getting crew travel arranged. It's a huge logistical undertaking and really my least favorite part of rallying. When the rally starts, that's when I finally get to work! :-)

So, between now and the time we leave on the 23rd, we'll put the new turbo on, check the rally car over for any other damage. Most likely replace the inner and outer tie-rod ends. The Sprinter haul rig will get it's 12" subwoofer installed(we need the bump!), and a new balljoint up front. Trailer will get some R+R on the brake system. If it's not the rally car that needs help, it's some other component of the infrastructure!

Some more musings on fitness. I've lost about 47 pounds since I started going to the gym a year ago and working with my trainer, Scott Kahkonen at USA Fitness here in Bangor. Scott tortures me once a week, and I do a cycling class and Body Combat class with him once each week as well. Couple of nights at Karate with my oldest son each week, and that's my routine.

So why am I posting about fitness?! Well, the reaction I've received from friends and family has been odd and mixed. Some people ask me if I'm sick. I think they see my Livestrong wristband and think I have cancer. I started wearing it after a Livestrong fundraising campaign at the gym in the fall. In my line of work as a PA, I've cared for many cancer patients in a primary care role. Of course, Lance Armstrong is inspirational to me as well for his work on, and off, the bike.

The strangest reaction is when people tell me that they think I'm obsessed with fitness and tell me I need to stop or gain weight back! My cholesterol has fallen to great levels, I'm finally at a point where my BMI qualifies as nomal and not overweight or obese. I'm eating what I need(and yes still have chocolate and other goodies from time-to-time) and doing some high protein replacements after heavy workouts.

So what's wrong with being fit?! I haven't figured it out. Believe me, I really don't want to get off the couch and go to the gym, but I'm working for myself, my family and my trainer. If I can increase my general health, decrease my risk of developing cardiac disease, diabetes or metabolic syndrome, and be around longer to drive my kids crazy, so much the better! Oh yeah, I have to buy a smaller race suit now because I look like I stole a bigger man's suit! ;-)

Let's talk Missouri and 100AW. Last year, we had a great run in the event, but had a speeding penalty, costing us the win. Completely our fault. We had no speedometer(drive in the tranny doesn't work) and the Terratrip(rally computer) wasn't working for the entire event either. I thought I had slowed enough for the speed control, but obviously not.

So, we had a great event, with a podium finish. Just wasn't the result we had worked for. So, this year, we need to step it up even more. The Krolikowski's are coming off a great finish at Sno-Drift, so I imagine they'll have some good confidence going into the event. Although not having a great finish at O'Neil's recently, we did shake down the new changes to the car and all was fine. A bit of tweaking, and a new turbo, and we should be good to go.

Competing at long haul events takes a different kind of mentality, than a regional event. We'll have 2, 12 hour days in the rig towing down and back, and 4 days on event in Missouri. A town we don't know. Trying to find the restaurants, tire shops, car part shops, Wal-Mart, etc, all adds to the complexity of managing a team in an unfamiliar environment.

So, we'll do what we do best. Get the movement plan done, order the fuel, mount the tires, check the car three times and hit the road on the 23rd, hoping to have a great scrap in Missouri with the other Regional Rally Champions! :-)

For Immediate Release

January 28, 2009 Bangor Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing, a performance rally team based in Bangor, Maine travelled to the Team O'Neil Rally in Dalton, New Hampshire this past weekend. The first event of any sanctioning body for 2009, the event is held on and around the Team O'Neil Rally School in Whitefield, New Hampshire. Conditions were snow and ice, and Driver John Cassidy and co-driver Dave Getchell were set to defend their 2008 victory.

Rally is a fickle sport and this event was no exception for the LDR crew. The team found themselves off the pace for the first few stages, with Cassidy concerned that their turbocharger might be at risk due to unexpected noises under boost. The team had to resort to a spare turbo just prior to the event as their usual competition was found to be damaged. Said Cassidy, "We knew it was a gamble going with an unknown turbo, but we didn't have much choice. Once we realized, in spite of the noise, that we had consistent boost, we decided to try and ignore the fact that the turbo might grenade at any moment."

SS5 saw the team come into a L2 into R2 complex near the rally school. Cassidy cut the corner a bit too much and was sucked off the road when a combination of overplow, oversteer and debris in the ditch conspired against him. "It was an uphill right turn, and I cut it a bit too much. All of a sudden we had grip. The momentum we had carried us right off the road," said Cassidy. Coming to the team's aid were numerous spectators, including Mr. Tim O'Neil and Mr. Martin Headland, two of the most experienced persons with regard to rally car extrication. "I was sitting in the car and everyone was lifting the rear of the car, a few inches at a time, back onto the road. It was incredible. Then they all pulled on the tow strap and yanked us out."

The team set competitive times for the remainder of the stages, but fell down the order after the off behind some cars with less grip. "We caught a Mazda coming down a series of hairpins, which was quite fun," said Cassidy. "We didn't want to pressure them too much as weren't really in contention for an overall spot at that point, but T-4 doesn't like to go slow!" The Mazda crew graciously let LDR pass and finish the stage at speed.

Cassidy was hoping for more of a battle with X-Games BMX Superstar and Rally medalist Dave Mirra. "Dave is a fantastic guy and becoming very quick in a rally car. We've used each other over the last half of the 2008 season to gauge speed. We were clearly no match for Dave and Co-Driver Lance Smith at this event, but perhaps we'll see a closer race at the 100 Acre Wood Rally at the end of February." Rounding out the podium behind Mirra were fellow Mainer's Chris Duplessis in his VW Golf and Allen Downs in his Subaru Impreza.

"The event is fantastic, and it was great to see everyone come out and try their hand at what is the lowest grip surface we race on," said Cassidy. "To see 2 of the 3 podium spots filled with fellow Maine teams is very satisfying-we only wish we could have joined them!"

The team shifts its focus to the Rally America Regional Championship, held in conjunction with the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Missouri in late February. "As Overall and Class Champions in the Northeast, we're invited to participate in the RRC," said Cassidy. "We showed good speed there last year, but lost the RRC due to a timing penalty. We definitely have some unfinished business there."

For more information on the Team O'Neil Rally, please visit: http://teamoneil.com/rally/
For more information the 100 Acre Wood Rally, please visit: http://www.100aw.org/

And finally, Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their Partners for their support:
Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Hydra EMS, http://www.hydraems.com
Team O'Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com
Mark Fleming Photography: http://www.markfleming.pixyblog.com/

For photos, videos, team blogs and more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com
Social Networking: To follow us on twitter, please visit: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing or find us on Facebook and/or Myspace and sign up as a friend or fan!

For LDR Videos, check out out Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing

To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing

Damn, it's cold in Maine sometimes. That's the kind of statement a, "nummah,"(idiot) would make, but I have to state the obvious. With the thermometer hovering just below zero on this first day of 2009 and the sun shining bright, I have to ponder what the new year will bring us....

As mentioned in an earlier post, we're focusing on our first two events of 2009; the Team O'Neil Rally in New Hampshire in a few weeks and the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Missouri at the end of February. Two very different events, but both important for different reasons. The Team O'Neil rally is our second, "home event." Tim O'Neil has been my instructor over the past several years and I'm beginning to enjoy racing in the snow! 100 Acre Wood is the site of the Regional Rally Championship event, where we'll see how we stack up against other regional champions from around the country.

At present, we're working on our own homegrown rotated turbo setup for the car. This should make checking and removing the turbo restrictor easier, as well as facilitate turbo changes on event, should the need arise. A relatively simple change like turbo position creates a ripple effect throughout the intake and exhaust system, though, and we'll be quite busy right up until we leave for the event in New Hampshire.

I know that all of you have been holding your breath for my New Year's resolution(s)! ;-) I'm going to keep it a bit simple this year. I'd like to see some new opportunities appear for the rally team in 2009, as I already know we've created the environment for them. I'd like to see all our friends and families stay up-to-date with their health care and health care screening. Although I feel younger, my birthdays tell me I'm going the other way, and I know that my risk of problems increases with advancing age. Get screened!

I'm hoping that I don't hurt myself with the kettlebells I just bought. For those that don't know, kettlebells resemble a cannonball with a handle on it. You use the weight to perform various exercises. Amazingly devious device and one with a lot of potential energy once it gets moving, not unlike the rally car! ;-)

What's up beyond Missouri!? We're not sure. Time are tight, but we're still eager. We have some plans in place to seek some team support, and hopefully they'll be successful. I suspect that you'll see us at the New England Forest Rally and perhaps our favorite Canadian National Championship events in 2009.

Happy New Year! John

Happy Holidays everyone! :-) A few rally related and random musings from Triple Caution Farm.

A question we're often asked is when does our rally season start and end. Usually the last event we do is the Tall Pines Rally in Ontario around Thanksgiving. The first rally of 2009 for us will be the Team O'Neil Rally in New Hampshire. So that gives us a huge 8 weeks of, "off season," time! ;-)

The Team O'Neil rally will interesting. Last year, it was glare ice in most places. This year, studs are allowed for all car, which might make things a bit more interesting. Despite the allowance, we might not run studs at all. I've talked to my friend Dave Mirra, and he's hoping to make it up for a repeat appearance at the event. Dave is getting quicker every time he gets in the car, and I'm sure we'll be seeing him in the top 5 at National events shortly.

While preparing T-4 for Rally Jamaica, I removed the headers to repair a crack around a flange. Looking up into the exhaust ports of the heads(easy to do on a Subaru), I could see quite a bit of oil leaking out from both valve stems of one cylinder. This might explain the bit of oily smoke we see when we fire the car up initially.

With about 6 weeks to go until the Team O'Neil Rally, and only 4 weeks between O'Neil's and 100 Acre Wood in Missouri, it was decided that we should pull the engine now and figure out whether or not we have a valve guide issue, valve stem seal issue or broken piston ring. Maybe we have all three! ;-)

Engine came out easily, and Bronson and I took our time. We've pulled Subaru engines enough to know which step comes before the next, so it was methodical, almost white collar, work. Engine on the stand, we'll do a cylinder leakdown test and compression test. While the heads are off, we'll replace the timing belt and tensioner. Perhaps we'll replace the water pump and oil pump as preventitive measures.

We're going to work on a couple of projects that have been waiting for the engine to be on the stand. The first will be rotating the turbo. We have issues with clearance between the intake manifold and our turbo intake hose. Rotating the turbo inlet towards the passenger side makes it easier and more efficient to change a turbo at a short service. It also means a shorter intake tract for the air intake to the turbo. Of course, each project creates another dozen reciprocal projects. Rotating the turbo means that we'll need to fabricate a new oil return line off the bottom of the turbo and figure out how to get the turbo outlet hooked up to the top mount intercooler. Oh yeah, we'll need to fabricate a new exhaust! Luckily, we've seen others' solutions to the problems and will work to incorporate those.

Tires are probably the most important piece of gear for winter/snow/ice competition. We've had enough seat time in the snow and time on our different tires to know what works and what the limitations are. None of our competition tires can be studded(with the exception of O'Neil's), so in the tire bin we have: Michelin X-Ice's, Blizzaks, Hakka C-2's, Yokohama tractionized ice tires and Yokohama AO-34 snow/ice rally tires.

While O'Neil's will be snow and ice, Missouri could be any kind of condition, so we'll have to take cold weather gravel tires in addition to a few of everything else! The 100 Acre Wood Rally in Missouri is a tow of about 2.5 days for us from Maine. With three days on event, we'll be away from home for about 8-10 days.

Random musings: I was in Home Depot a couple of weeks ago and was in the plumbing section. An employee was talking with a couple of youngish guys and then hollered to an older employee down the isle. "Hey Jimmy, these guys need help building a beer bong!" Jimmy then preceded to ask them why they had the fittings they did, and when the young lads couldn't answer him, he expressed a bit of exasperation and got them all the correct parts to make their partying all it could be.

In cycling class at the gym the other day, the trainer said to the class while we were doing a standing climb that, "The seat should be inquisitve, but not intrusive." I couldn't agree more! :-)

Snow! Yes, it's snowing here in Maine at present. We're expected to get 3-4" today. Not much, but the first snow cover we get transforms the landscape and makes everything look clean and magical. The snow also dampens the ambient noises that sometimes intrude, seemingly causing me to seem a bit more introspective.

Happy Holidays to all of you from all of us here on the team! We'll be taking pictures of the car work and posting them when we're able. :-)

Cheers! John