CRC on TSN – Defi and PFR Coming Up Soon!

The updated schedule for the Canadian Rally Championship on TSN has been released:

Rallye Defi

Wed Oct 21 01:30 / Fri Oct 23 04:00 / Fri Oct 23 13:30

Pacific Forest Rally

Sat Oct 24 11:30 Wed Oct 28 01:30 Wed Oct 28 12:30

(24 hour Eastern Time; check local listings for confirmation)

Sirius Rally Team Founding New BC Stage Event

The Sirius Rally blog will be quiet for a few months while the team prepares for the first annual Big White Winter Rally, a full stage rally presented by Valley Mitsubishi at the Big White Ski Resort, and hosted by the West Coast Rally Association.  The event will feature a snowX similar to last year, which rally cars will run as a super special, plus four snowy forest stages, totaling over 100km of stage distance.

Link to the Big White Rally Weekend HERE.

PBRT Flies to First BC Regional Podium Finish at PFR

Local Prescribed Burn Rally Team driver Mark Jennings-Bates and co-driver Jennifer Daly achieved their best ever national finish and second overall in the regional at this year’s Pacific Forest Rally on October 3 in Merritt, BC.

After an exciting and competitive event, the team took a well deserved regional podium for the first time in their new 2004 STi rally car. The rally started well for the duo on the Friday night stages, as the team adapted to the new KSport gravel suspension, which was tested heavily at the event, and provided consistent and confident handling.

Even in the dark, Friday night proved to be very fast; this trend continued for the whole event and ended with Subaru Canada’s Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell destroying the stage record on Helmer in the dark on Saturday.  With mud, snow and fog during the early recce portion, choosing tires was a significant challenge, but the conditions improved dramatically by the time the cars were on stage, and PFR 2009 turned into one of the fastest Merritt rallies in history.

The PBRT service crew were professional and effective, and kept the team in the hunt for a strong finish; however, the last 150km of the event were run without any power steering, a big challenge for driver Mark Jennings-Bates:  “Now I will stop whining at my strength and conditioning coach, Leanne Manlove at Pinnacle Elite Athlete, about all the strength work she is making me do.  I really needed to work hard to keep the car on the road for the last two stages, but thankfully we did not drop much time and gained a place in the process.  I guess the training is paying off!”  Codriver Jennifer Daly was also very busy at the weekend, as the stages were fast and adapting delivery timing to a greatly increased pace can be very challenging. “We certainly came out of the first stage with a good pace” said Daly, adding “on Saturday we hit a jump and seemed to be in the air for several seconds, which was intense, and a total thrill.  Our service crew was reliable and we owe a big part of the success this weekend to them”.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team’s newest driver Craig Ross and codriver John Hall took the start line for the first time ever at PFR.  Craig’s objective for his first rally was to finish, which he did, setting some very competitive stage times along the way. A puncture and necessary tire change cost the new team in overall time, but Craig clearly demonstrated that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

PFR was the first successful rally for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team in over a year.  Mark and Jennifer finished 5th overall nationally and 2nd overall regionally.  Craig and John finished 12th overall regionally, despite their puncture!  

The PBRT service crew for PFR consisted of Dave Hood, Anthony Evans, Reagan Ritchie and Devon Crosby. The next event on the calendar for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be the all new Big White Winter Rally, taking place on December 5, 2009 at the Big White Ski Resort. 

Link to 2009 Pacific Forest Rally results HERE.

Link to the Big White Rally Weekend homepage HERE.

(car photo credit Kurt Schantz)

Pacific Forest Rally Spectator Guides Available in Kelowna

Spectator guides with all the details regarding the location and timing for this weekend’s Pacific Forest National Stage Rally in Merrit are available at the following locations:

Agar Auto Body, Westbank (PBRT Sponsor)

Big-O Tires, Westbank (PBRT Sponsor)

Dan’s Tires, Kelowna

Valley Mitsubshi, Kelowna (CRC Contingency Sponsor)

Wyatt Auto Parts, Kelowna (PBRT Sponsor)

Dig Out Your Old Routebooks, Sheep Mab is Back!

The stage schedule for the 2009 Pacific Forest Rally has been posted, and the rocky, tricky Sheep Mab stage is returning to the rotation.  Friday will be multiple runs through Comstock stage, with its infamous hairpin and tarmac into tunnel sections, plus the downtown Railyard Mall stage for the spectators.  Absent on this year’s schedule is Princeton Cutoff, but with three runs through Nicola stage, there will be plenty of cheek clenching exposure for the rally teams to brave.  The spectator friendly AMR and Helmer stages complete the schedule.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be competing in the Pacific Forest Rally on October 2, 2009.  This will be the first event for the team as a two car entry, with Craig Ross in Mark’s old Talon for his debut rally drive!

Volunteers are still needed for the event. See the PFR homepage below.

Link to PFR stage schedule HERE.

Link to PFR homepage HERE.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 6

The final day of Targa Newfoundland 2009 started in Marystown, and competitors made their way back to St.
John’s through a number of stages. Weather was not cooperative today. Rain was constant, and the forecast called for 30-40 mm over the day.
One of our stages ended up being cancelled as the schedule fell further and further behind as the weather required downgraded speeds all day.
Final results should be available soon on Targa Newfoundland website.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 5

Today started at a beautiful little town on the Burin Peninsula called Harbour Mille. Cars ran into the town, breakfast was served at the fire hall, and then the stage was run in reverse. Following that we went to one of my teammate’s mother’s homes for lunch in Lewin’s Cove. Afterwards we worked the finish control at the stage through Marystown.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 4

We got off to an early start this morning, as we were working one of the first stages of the day. Another two competitors went out on the Frederickton-Carmanville, although one managed to get going just as sweep was approaching, and finished the stage, getting a terrible score.
We took a little tour around the Kittiwake coast after our assignment as we had a fair bit of time to make it to our next post. Fantastic scenery in all directions.
We ended the day in North West Brook with a stage that had to be split into two sections due to major construction part way through. Suffice it to say, the construction was warranted.

Targa Newfoundland – Day 1

Today the first stages were run. I woke up with a fine hangover because I have not yet learned to not try to keep up with the English in the pub – the service crew for the cars I posted yesterday just happened to be there.  

Today’s stages were not scored. It was a sort of test day / familiarization course for the competitors. Despite this, the day was not without incident. Car 906, the factory supported STi, driven by Marc LaChapelle & codriven by Keith Townsend, was involved in an off road excursion resulting in a precautionary trip to the hospital for the crew. They were checked out and are fine. Last I heard, they are in need of a steering wheel hub in order to complete repairs.

New Adventure, New Author!

Alex here. I’ll be volunteering this year at Targa Newfoundland. I’ll be working as a radio operator, and should have an interesting perspective. Keep posted here for updates from ‘The Rock.’ I’ll do my best to provide as many updates and photos as time will allow.

Now to get there…

Check out the official Targa Newfoundland website for information about the event.

-Alex

Oregon 1000 Frantic and Fun for Sirius Team

Ben and Jennifer started the second day of the Oregon 1000 under duress, when they realized, on their way to the first regularity, that the rally computer was not working.   After couple of stops at curbside repair ramps, Ben was able to fix the problem, but the team was very late and forced to take a time deck.   They ended up disorganized and frazzled through the first reg, taking on maximum points at one checkpoint and hefty early points at another, effectively putting them out of contention for the event.

After the chaos subsided, the fun began.  Ice cream, thunderstorms, water balloons and good rally friends became the highlights of the day.  As the rally progressed through the twisty, rolling roads of the Oregon backcountry, the weather cleared and Ben and Jennifer got back on track, improving their scores and working as a successful unlimited team.  

The end of rally party took place on a lovely shaded patio in Hood River, OR as teams shared stories of spinning out, close calls, flat tires and even some scoring concerns, including an unresolved balking penalty.  After the awards, Alex joined Ben and Jennifer back in Portland, where a final water balloon fight temporarily remedied the intense heat that had gripped the Pacific Northwest for the previous weeks, and the first Oregon 1000 was over for the Sirius Rally Team.

No online results have been posted.

Link to Sirius photos HERE.

Oregon 1000 Update

Jennifer and Ben survived the first day of the Oregon 1000, accumulating a total of 24 points.  The first place teams has 12 (Kraushaars), 13 (Smith/Song) and 16 (Webster/Harer), with three others close to the Sirius rally total.  Few teams finished the day without a challenge or a story to tell; for Jennifer and Ben it was a haunted rally computer that dropped the count mid-regularity, leaving them with no information for 3 miles.  They were very lucky to take only 5 points at the next checkpoint, the highest single score during their day.  Other teams got lost, had serious computer issues, the wrong in times or rally times; another team burnt out and replaced an alternator at the roadside.  The most memorable roads were twisty, elevation changing tarmac trails through state forests.  Thunderstorms with pounding rain and hail, dramatic lightning and winds followed the teams throughout the afternoon.

Sunday will feature more gravel, and Jennifer and Ben will be focused on catching the teams close in the points totals, and getting a few more zeros before the final control.

New Challenge for New Team at the 2009 Oregon 1000 TSD Rally

The newest incarnation of the Sirius Rally Team will be in action at one of the more demanding TSD rallies of the season, the Oregon 1000 Rally, coming up July 31 – August 2, 2009.  The 2009 edition of the Oregon 1000 will venture into Central Oregon, rather than the southern coast.  Staying true to its name, the route will once again cover 1000 kilometers of some of the best rally roads Oregon has to offer, and contain significantly more unpaved roads than previous editions.  It starts in the greater Portland area and finishes near Hood River, with a Saturday intermission in Prineville, Oregon.  

Driver Jennifer and codriver Ben will be competing in the equipped (read: unlimited) class with Ben’s WRX wagon.  This will be the second outing for the team with the fancy computer setup, and their first gravel event.  Oregon 1000 is a much longer, more serious gravel adventure compared to the paved afternoon SnoGit rally, with a much more competitive entry field.  The entry list is full of familiar friends from the 2008 Alcan 5000 Winter Rally, many in different teams and classes, but all capable of keeping their scores low and winning the Oregon 1000.

The Oregon 1000 will also be an occasion to celebrate the birthdays of Ben and one of the Tabor rally clan.  Alex will be traveling down from BC again to codrive Robert, so there will be some relaxed fun and socializing in addition to the challenges and excitement of a summer tsd rally.

Link to the Oregon 1000 webpage HERE, and entry list HERE.

SnoGit TSD 2009 Podium Finish for Sirius in Debut Unlimited Class Drive

This year’s SnoGit TSD featured miles of twisty and scenic tarmac roads through the lush forests and farmlands of Washington’s Skagit County, designed by Jack Heppes and the Olympic Rally Competition Association. The speeds were lively; teams were kept busy searching for do it yourself checkpoint markers along the regularities and negotiating tricky sections with multiple tight corners. Main roads busy with summer recreational traffic were challenging for some competitors, and with a large number of novice teams participating, many of the regularity starts were busy and interesting, with multiple cars leaving on the same minute.

After a sunny day of TSD competition, SnoGit concluded with a spirited uphill transit, followed by hearty barbeque and storytelling at Lake Tyee. The results were tallied, and the rally ended up as an extremely close battle between seasoned veterans and teams quite new to the unlimited class. Three teams finished with a total of 14 points, with two more teams close behind at 15 and 16 points. The three-way tie was broken by totaling zeroes, and the practiced elders came out on top. Don Gibson and Mike Workman took first overall with 9 zeroes, Michael Daily and Tom Palidar finished second overall with 8 zeroes, followed by Jennifer Daly and Ben Bradley in third overall with 7 zeroes, as their first outing with Jennifer driving in unlimited. Also fairly new to the unlimited class, SOP experts Steve Perret and Kathryn Hansen finished in fourth, only one point behind the overall leaders. Joel McLaughlin and Chris Ringhofer won the equipped class, Terry and Arlene Nickels took first in SOP and Tom and Tate Matthews were the top novices.

This was the largest SnoGit ever, with 26 entries. Many teams traveled from British Columbia, drawn by the inclusion of SnoGit in a new novice TSD series created by Jim Bowie from the West Coast Rally Association. The entrants spanned over five decades in age range and featured an interesting variety of vehicles, including rentals, demos, the usual contingent of Subarus and a pickup truck. At the finish, many teams were already talking about their preparations for the upcoming Oregon 1000 TSD rally, a longer gravel event with an impressive entry list featuring the most competitive TSD teams in the Pacific Northwest.

Link to full results HERE.

Link to Sirius photos HERE.

Another DNF For Prescribed Burn Rally Team

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

PBRT Become Spectators After Mechanical Troubles Force Early End to Rocky

June 1st, 2009 – The Prescribed Burn Rally Team was only one and a half stages into the Rocky Mountain National Rally when the engine of their 2004 Subaru STi overheated, taking them out of competition after less than 20 stage kilometers.  Although the sweep truck was able to return the car to the service for assessment by the crew, they were not able to isolate the problem, and the team opted to retire rather than risk terminal engine failure that was likely inevitable if they attempted to continue.

With the PB rally car stowed on the trailer, the team was free to spectate the rest of the event, which featured rally teams from Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.  The main spectator area was crowded with rally fans from across Canada, cheering and enjoying the sunshine as the rally cars roared though a challenging section of stage featuring an acute corner and texas gate.  The event was lead from early on by Canadian Champions Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell, who took first overall. The battle for first in the two wheel drive class was eventually won by Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila, who managed to nurse their 1996 VW Golf through the majority of the last stage and to the final control with only three wheels on the car.  They had been in close competition with Manitobans Jan and Jody Zedril, who lead the their class until they rolled their Mitsubishi on the eighth special stage.

Mark and Jennifer were joined by Craig Ross and Alex Schubel as service crew for this year’s Rocky; they are also indebted to Regan Ritchie and Dave Steeper for their mechanical knowledge and preparation efforts leading up to the rally.  The 2009 Rocky Mountain National Rally will be broadcast on TSN June 20th.  The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be busy rebuilding the engine in preparation for their next event, the Mountain Trials Regional Stage Rally, taking place in Merritt, BC on June 12^th and 13th.

Photo Links

Formula Photographic

WorldRallySport

RallyPic.com

B.G. Images

PBRT Competing @ Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Rally This Weekend

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Local Team Takes on National Competition at Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Rally

May 20, 2009 – The Prescribed Burn Rally Team will be traveling to Alberta to compete in their first national event of the 2009 rally season, the epic Rocky Mountain Rally, taking place on the ranchland roads outside of Calgary May 28-30.   This will be the second outing for the team’s new 2004 Subaru STi rally car, which has received suspension and brake upgrades since the team’s open class win at the Cochrane winter rally in March.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is aiming to improve upon their 2008 result of 6^th overall.  Driver Mark Jennings-Bates is looking forward to giving the new car its first hard drive on the fast, open Alberta roads: “We were happy with last year’s finish, but it was a learning experience for us.  This year we are better prepared, with the right tires and more knowledge.  We’re planning on pushing our limits from the very first stage, and staying in close battles with some of the eastern teams that finished just ahead of us last year.”  Rocky is a particular challenge for codrivers, because it is run on computer generated ‘Jemba’ notes, a vast difference from most events, where teams are permitted to generate their own pace notes.  With a new rally computer in the car, codriver Jennifer Daly is feeling confident: “Two years ago Rocky was the first event for Mark and I as a team, and we’ve come a long way since.  The car is well equipped and we are working well together; I think we’ll be able to push harder and use the Jemba notes more effectively than in the past.” 

The Rocky Mountain National Rally will be broadcast on TSN this fall as part of the televised Canadian National Rally Series.  The event draws rally teams from across Canada, including the 2008 championship winning Rocky Rally Team, lead by Patrick Richard.  The 2009 Rocky Mountain Rally begins on stage roads familiar to the teams from other regional Alberta events, and features a head to head super special at the Race City Speedway on Friday night.

-30-

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is a performance stage rally team based in British Columbia’s Okanagan valley.  Driver Mark Jennings-Bates and co-driver Jennifer Daly compete in an open class Subaru WRX STi, supported by a dedicated team of local volunteers.  For 2009 the Prescribed Burn Team will be striving to win the Western Canadian Rally Championship.  Mark Jennings-Bates is also endeavouring to raise millions of dollars for charity as part of his bid to be the first Canadian driver to enter the infamous Dakar Rally in 2011.

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is sponsored by BCResortHomes.com, Agar Paint & Autobody, BigO Tire in Westbank, Aerius Engineering, Wyatt Auto Parts, Kelowna Moving Centre, Provisiondata.com, The Great Canadian Oil Change and Bell Racing.  The team is supported by K96.3FM, Castanet.net and Green Couch Designs.

(as reported by PBRT media)

Follow the Prescribed Burn Rally Team @ Rocky via twitter (link on right) or check out FlatOverCrest.com for all the rally tweets….

Canadian Rally Championship on TV – Reruns & Premieres!

TSN will be running the entire 2008 CRC season as a leadup to the 2009 shows:

2008 Rallye Perce-Neige – Maniwaki, Quebec: Mon Jun 08 09 05:00

2008 Rocky Mountain Rally – Calgary, Alberta: Mon Jun 08 09 05:30

2008 Baie des Chaleurs – Richmond, Quebec: Tue Jun 09 09 05:00

2008 Rallye Defi – Ste. Agathe, Quebec: Tue Jun 09 09 05:30

2008 Pacific Forest Rally – Merritt, British Columbia: Wed Jun 10 09 05:00

2008 Rally of the Tall Pines – Bancroft, Ontario: Sat Jun 13 09 05:00

2008 Year In Review – Sat Jun 13 09 05:30

2009 Air Dates:

2009 Rallye Perce-Neige – Maniwaki, Quebec: Sat Jun 13 09 11:30 Premiere

2009 Rocky Mountain Rally – Calgary, Alberta: Sat Jun 20 09 11:30 Premiere

(as reported on SpecialStage)

 

Sirius Rally Team Takes 1st in Class & 2nd O/A in 2009 TSD Debut!

The 2009 Trail of the Gnu Rally around Rocky Mountain House, AB in late March turned out to be a true winter driving adventure for Sirius driver Jennifer and her new teammate codriver Leanne.  The first outing for the all girl team was a super fun, spirited and lucky drive, with challenging slippy and deep snow roads, and the rex’s wheels leaving the ground on more than one occasion.  

The team had the privilege of starting directly behind rallymaster Taisto and his accomplished right seat Jim, who provided a lot of advice and encouragement, as well as great racing lines, throughout the event.  Organizers Eric and Kris have built Gnu into the premiere TSD in AB; indeed, the Gnu roads rivaled any of the Alcan regularities, except for Blackwater, and were some of the best times Jennifer has ever had at a TSD.  After a bit of a rough start as the new team sorted out how to work together, the points stayed low, with the exception of overestimating the difficulty of a series of hairpins and coming in early, and stuffing the car into the deep snow on a narrow section.  Luckily, on the reg where the team got stuck disruptive locals caused havoc for the cars behind, and it ended up being an unscored section.  Even luckier, the team put the car in the bank on such a narrow road that the next cars could not pass and were eager to pull them out quickly.  Many thanks to Richard and Helen for getting the rex back on the road with their 1974 BMW!  

After the off, the codriving was impeccable and the rest of the rally flew by, highlighted by a zero through a challenging hairpin series, and an impressive ‘jump’ over one of the final cattle guards.  Veterans Peter and Geoff Hill took the overall win, besting Jennifer and Leanne by only two points!  Unfortunately, the newly formed team will be unable to contest for the 2009 RallyWest TSD title because of the untimely crash and writeoff of the Rex in late April.  

Link to results HERE.

Link to istaphoto.com event photos HERE

Link to Sirius event photos HERE.

WCRA Little White Rally Test Day This Weekend

There might be only a few winter rally roads left in the Okanagan, and the West Coast Rally Association will be hosting the Little White Rally Test Day on one of them outside of Kelowna this weekend.

Link to supregs @ rallyBC HERE.

PBRT Takes Open Class Win at Cochrane Rally

The new Prescribed Burn 2004 Subaru STI left its tarmac circuit racing history in the dust this weekend at its first rally, the Cochrane Regional Rally of the Ranchlands in Alberta.  This year’s Cochrane Rally, the first round of the Western Canadian Championship, began as a pure snow and ice winter event, with some teams ending up in the snowbanks multiple times, and ended as a warm sunny spring rally with a great finish for the Prescribed Burn Rally Team.

On the first few morning stages, driver Mark Jennings-Bates had his hands full keeping the new car, with its still stock suspension and non rally tires, on the slippy winter roads.  Other teams struggled for grip as well, including the first car out, which ended up in the snowbank on the first stage.  By the long mid day service the Chinook arch was high in the sky, and the temperature was rising rapidly.  The Prescribed Burn service crew worked hard and solved a list of problems that cropped up throughout the morning, giving Mark and Jennifer a chance to test out the new car in earnest during the second half of the rally.  With the temperature above freezing, the worn winter tires found more grip and the team returned to rally pace, enjoying settling in to the new car. 

 The Prescribed Burn Rally Team’s 2009 Cochrane Rally was an eventful one, with new car teething troubles, stopping on stage to pull another competitor out of the snowbank, and penalties incurred when they spun 360 degrees backwards through a chicane, obliterating most of the elements.  The detailed results are not yet available, but without the estimated five minutes they lost to these challenges the Prescribed Burn team would have been in an overall podium position.  By the last leg of the rally the team was consistently setting competitive stage times, enough to and take first place in open class and fifth overall.  The next event on the PBRT calendar is the Rocky Mountain National Rally in Alberta in May.

1 – #4 Hardy Schmidke Adam Vokes 1:07:21 1
2 – #2 Eric Grochowski Leanne Junnila 1:09:42 2
3- #11 Onur Tezcan Aaron Neumann 1:10:43 3
4- #9 Jared Powell-Williams Mark Uhlmann 1:12:45 4
5 – #3 Mark Jennings-Bates Jennifer Daly 1:14:49 5
6 – #7 Graham Bruce Ryan Warrington 1:15:51 6
7 – #8 Neil Wright Lorna Wright 1:16:37 7
8 – #12 Jim Gemmell John Gemmell 1:17:53 8
9 – #10 Mehran Arefi Dan McLean 1:21:01 9
10 – #1 Colin Armstrong Jason Thain 1:30:02 10
– #5 Brian Maplethorpe John Hall DNF – Max Late
– #6 Ken Maydaniuk Chris Maydaniuk DNF – Off road

Link to detailed results HERE.

Photo links:

Istaphoto

Andrew Snucins

Sirius Rally Team

Travis C, chicane supervisor

PBRT Opens 2009 Season at Cochrane Regional Rally This Weekend

The new Prescribed Burn 2004 Subaru STI will take its first rally start at round one of the Western Canadian Rally Championship this weekend. The PBRT service crew has been hard at work converting the street prepped STI into a tough and stage ready open class rally car.

Last year’s Cochrane rally was the first event as the lead rally car for the Prescribed Burn team, an added challenge for still novice codriver Jennifer, and a substantial disadvantage in the winter conditions.  As first car out the Prescribed Burn Impreza cleared the way for the later entries, sweeping the untouched snowy stages at a slower pace.  The team will be looking to improve upon the 2008 result of fifth overall, and aiming to adapt to and show off the new STI.

Link to the Cochrane website with entry list and schedule HERE.

Good luck to all the WCRC competitors, as the race for the 2009 title begins!

Sweet New Logo for Prescribed Burn RT this Season

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team enlisted the help of trusted graphic designer Cynthia Frenette, the artist behind the Sirius Rally Logo, to update their logo for the 2009 season.  The Okanagan rally team is beginning to attract local commercial and media attention; it has also added a second rally car to the team for 2009, and everyone wanted a logo that reflected the team’s growth and success.  Thanks to Cynthia for an eye-catching professional  that reflects the flare and fun at the core of the Prescribed Burn Rally Team.

Link to Green Couch Designs HERE.

The current PBRT website will be updated to fit the new logo soon, hopefully before the team’s first event of the season, Cochrane Rally of the Ranchlands, on March 1st.

2009 Thunderbird Rally in Review

The Okanagan and environs became the partly sunny playground for the biggest TSD rally of the season this past weekend, where almost fifty rally cars took on the snow, ice and bare gravel roads in pursuit of the 38th Thunderbird title.

Our Thunderbird Rally adventure began in the ranchlands outside of Merritt, sailing through the sweeping corners of the Minnie Lake regularity.  I’m pretty sure this reg has been cancelled in years past because of flooding, but this year we just sailed over huge glass ice puddles that covered many spots on the long straights, maintaining our speed and line effortlessly.  Apparently the ice broke and the conditions deteriorated as the rally progressed, resulting in front end damage and a very early retirement for the 1967 Volo Eis Munky lead team.  The second Eis Munky paper class entry was reported off on the same reg, eliminating the team from contention.

The hairpin checkpoint we were assigned on Sunday was the most eventful of the rally, as almost half the field ran into some sort of trouble negotiating the steep, acute L turn.  

With provisional scores posted, the 1969 Saab of driver Satch Carlson and codriver Russ Kraushaar was in the top position, repeating their 2007 victory.

Link to Sirius RT event photos HERE.

Link to Eis Munky Brian’s photos HERE.

Link to event results HERE.

Hairpin video to follow….

Thunderbird Rally Goes High Tech with Sirius Team Checkpointers!

The Sirius WRX Wagon will be traveling the back roads of BC this weekend as part of the Thunderbird TSD Rally.  Over forty teams from the Prairies to the Pacific Northwest, including seasoned stage rally veterans and a herd of newbies in shiny Subarus, will be competing for the Thunderbird Title.  

Without a dedicated TSD rally budget for 2009, Jennifer and August are volunteering for the weekend, and looking forward to some serious winter driving and Subaru rescuing.  Jennifer will be trying out the PBRT twitter rally setup, sending mobile updates from the road, and the Sirius team’s location will be available via August’s Spot tracker @ whereisaugust.com.  Check the Twitter link in the side column of the Sirius team site for twitter updates.

The Eis Munky Rally Team will be attempting to defend its team title from last year, with founding members Gil Stuart and Chris Peake leading the team in Gil’s historic class 1967 Volvo 123GT.  The 2009 Eis Munky Team continues its tradition of including a paper class entry  with Washingston’s Steven Kang and Greg Hightower in their 98 Subaru Outback Sport.  The third Eis Munky team will be an unlimited class 2000 Subaru Impreza piloted by veteran rally fans and organizers Max Vaysburg and Tony Latham. 

GO EIS MUNKY RT!!

2009 Thunderbird Rally Home

Prescribed Burn 2009 Competition Schedule

Cochrane Regional Rally of the Ranchlands – Feb 28-Mar 01, Cochrane AB

Ski2Sea Relay Race - April 19, Kelowna BC

Rocky Mountain National Rally - May 29–31, Calgary AB

Mountain Trials Regional Stage Rally - June 13-14, Merritt BC

Bighorn Regional Stage Rally - August 15-16, Edmonton AB

Pacific Forest National Stage Rally - October 2-4, Merritt BC

Kananaskis Regional Stage Rally - November 7-8, Kananaskis AB

 

Prescribed Burn Rally Team Takes 2008 Open Class Title, Prepares for 2009 Season

After a successful 2008 season, culminating in the Western Canadian Open Class Title, the Prescribed Burn Rally Team will focus on the Western Canadian Rally Championship exclusively for its 2009 season.  This rally series begins in March, but the team is currently working on a number of preseason efforts, including prepping and testing a new car, creating a new website, and initiating new team members.

“Last season was a real roller coaster and a big learning year for everyone,” reflects codriver Jennifer Daly.  “We had record results, but also some crashes and frustrating mechanical troubles.  Despite the trials, we won open class and placed third overall, and we are heading into this season as a more tightly knit, experienced, and determined rally team.”

 As his rally team evolves, driver and team founder Mark Jennings-Bates regards the season ahead with excitement and growing confidence: “The profile of rally as an action sport is increasing: both the Canadian National Series and the Dakar Rally are getting mainstream television coverage, and we’re seeing more and more spectators, sponsors and new drivers coming to rally.   As part of this momentum, we intend to take our team to a higher level of performance and exposure in 2009,” says Jennings-Bates.  “We are focused on winning the Western Canadian Rally Championship.”

As part of this pursuit, the team will be upgrading to a faster rally car, a 2004 Subaru STI.  The PBRT service crew of local volunteers will be hard at work preparing the new car for the team’s first event of the season, Alberta’s Cochrane Regional Rally of the Ranchlands on March 1st. 

The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is a performance rally team based in British Columbia’s Okanagan valley.  The Prescribed Burn Rally Team is sponsored by AGAR Paint and Autobody, Big O Tires Westbank, Wyatt Auto Parts, The Vault Sign & Design, Realtors at The Grand, K96.3FM, and Provisiondata.com; the team is supported by the Horie Family, Bell Racing, Driver’s Edge Autosports, Kelowna Moving Centre, Great Canadian Oil Change and Green Couch Designs.

 PBRT Media Release 02/03/2008