Last Ditch Racing Blog

We had a MOST eventful debut with Tulip 2, LDR's new GC8 Impreza WRX rally car. Wild as even two crazies like me and John could want!

Day One:

We start 52nd of 60-some teams. The new car runs like the hammers of hell. John does his best Richard Burns imitation (i.e., driving fast and smooth), we are really on with our pace-note timing, and start moving up at every stage. It rains most of Friday afternoon and evening, with wicked slippy mud...quite entertaining. The nighttime tarmac stage at Concord Pond is like a freaking unlit skating rink with a BIG jump at the end in front of soaking-wet spectators. Air time, whoa!! Huge fat raindrops come whizzing at us like asteroids thru the glare of our rally lights. End of first night, we're 24th, less than 2 minutes out of the top 10.

Day Two:

Saturday morning's start order is reseeded by Day One results, so we line up ahead of cars run by guys we've idolized for years, much less ever imagined we'd be on par with. This presents a whole new, eye-opening view of the rally for us. Kind of amazing what a season's worth of seat time (not to mention an agile new car with 100 extra hp) can do!

First of all, I would like to thank John very much for the wonderful drive he made to complete the Targa, and to finish first in Class with a very underpowered, but very sturdy little car.

Patience is the key word re John’s approach to breaking in a new navigator.

Some of the things John had to have patience with;

-Stop Tee Left, (instead of 90 left at Tee)

-I have to pee again

-90 left, right here

-Ummm (as we bore down on an unexpected corner with lots of spectators and marshalls)

-Oops, I pushed the wrong button.

Where else but Canada could a rally team finish dead last but still win prize $$$ ?

The Bangor, Maine-based Last Ditch Racing Team is just back from Rallye Baie des Chaleurs in Quebec, running its first national rally after years of paying dues in regional events. Running with the big dogs is a real eye-opener and true experiential education in the world of rally. Despite finishing dead last on the road, we take second in Group 2--thanks to an amazingly durable little red Honda named Fireball, a relentlessly determined driver and co-driver, and a service crew that would make that old TV-show improviser MacGuyver proud.