100AW   Salem, MO  2/27/12

Chris Duplessis claimed his second 2WD class win of 2012 driving the Fiesta R2 to victory by nearly three minutes over Andrew Comrie-Picard.Dillon Van Wayand the 300 hp turbo Fiesta missed out on second by only 2.8 seconds after they took a twenty second penalty for a flat tire. Ed McNelly and the Team O’Neil Motorsport Fiesta R2 endured a rollover accident badly damaging the rear of his Fiesta, but he finished fourth just 39 seconds behind Van Way.

“The Fiesta was awesome all weekend, not one issue,” said Duplessis who has now won three straight Rally American National Championship events in an Fiesta R2. “We started out strong and kept going all weekend. We came in with our fingers crossed because this event was the eighth rally for this Fiesta R2 motor, gearbox and everything. In rally years that is really old so we had some concern we might have to address an issue here and there, but once again the reliability of this Fiesta is unbelievable and we went strong no problem all weekend.”

“This is a great place to be sitting, two rallies into the championship with two wins under your belt,” said Duplessis who won seven of the first eight stages. “Hopefully we can keep doing it. I’d love to win them all this season and I really think we can put the Fiesta R2 on the overall podium at some point which is unheard of for a 2WD car, but the Fiesta R2 is that good. Right now we are going to just keep taking wins as them come.”

Ed McNelly driving in just his second National Championship event, missed the 2WD podium by 39 seconds after having run in the top three late in the rally. A rollover incident on Stage 14 which badly damaged the rear of his Fiesta was the difference in a podium finish.

“This run on gravel was crazy,” said McNelly, who is the lead mechanic for the Team O’Neil Driving School. “This Fiesta R2 is amazing because you can put it where you want. What really got me was when we rolled the car landed on its wheels and started and then it went down the stage just as fast as it did before the rollover.  Come on, what other car is going do that? If it wasn’t for the damage to the rear hatch you wouldn’t even have known we had a rollover.”

Hanson and Duplessis shine at Sno*Drift

       Travis Hanson opened his defense of his 2011 SP title with a powerful statement this past weekend at Sno*Drift. Travis and father/co-driver Terry won the SP category by 15 minutes. Dispite mistakes and engine problems they were able to get the final spot on the podium.

       Chris Duplessis and Karl Atkinson topped the 2WD Class in the Team O’Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta R2. They won all the stages in class and consistently placed within the top 10 overall. The performance netted the Sno*Attack title, a championship for 2WD cars run in conjunction with the Sno*Drift Rally.

McNelly drives newly built R2

Ed McNelly continues to impress with the Team O’Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta R2. Ed built the teams 2^nd R2 this winter and drove it to 6^th place in 2WD and 22nd overall. McNelly, as TON’s master technician has built and repaired many of the school’s fleet of cars and competition rally cars.

      Team O’Neil Motorsports CEO Tim O’Neil has discovered a “diamond in the rough” with McNelly as a rally driver and quotes in the recent Ford Racing article “I don’t know this man’s limitations”.    

 Verena competes in Stage 1 Fiesta

Verena Mei made her 2^nd appearance, 1^st as a driver at Sno*Drift with the Team O’Neil Motorsports built Stage 1 True Car Ford Fiesta R2. Verena finished 8^th in 2WD and 24^th overall. O’Neil has been very impressed buy her development and is “excited to see how her season unfolds”.

The 2011 Rally American and Canadien Championship seasons have very special meaning to Team O’Neil Motorsports. Team O’Neil Rally School Instructors and Students enjoyed various degrees of success in 2011.

Travis Hanson

Travis Hanson celebrated the most successful season of his career as the newly crowned Rally America Super Production Class Champion.

The 26-year-old from Littleton, NH flawlessly campaigned a 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI with his father Terry as co-driver to a remarkable third place finish in the overall Rally America National Championship – a feat never accomplished before by a Production driver.

Terry and Travis Hanson

Hanson began making history and headlines at the opening round of the 2011 season when he became the first Super Production driver to ever claim an outright win in the National Series, defeating the factory-backed Subaru team, the privateer Rockstar Rally team, and a slew of fast Open Class cars at the Sno*Drift Rally. The under-sponsored crew of Hanson and Hanson immediately captured the hearts of fans and gained significant attention from the media with their story of underdog triumph. Hanson went on to control the points lead of the overall Championship well into the fourth round of the six-round Series, another first for a Super Production team, and clinched the SP Class Title by the fifth round.

Chris Greenhouse

  A  graduate of the Team O’Neil Rally School, was no stranger to the victory podium even before the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally.  But on June 3rd and 4th, he teamed up with fellow school graduate Billy Elliott Mann and took a come-from-behind victory in the fiercely contested Two Wheel Drive National class at the fifth round of the Rally America National Championship series.  Against substantially higher-powered cars and team budgets, the team pressed on through a punctured tire, electrical problems, and pouring rain to take the victory and proved that perseverance and consistency are some of the most valuable commodities in rally racing.

Chris Greenhouse

Adam Yeoman

Every year, the Rally America Championship recognizes the driver who has made the most significant progress in their first year of national competition by bestowing them with the ‘Rookie of the Year’ Award. This year, FY Racing’s Adam Yeoman was nominated as Rookie of the Year for his improved performance. The 28-year-old driver from Houghton, MI piloted his Open class 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX into fifth overall in the Rally America 2011 Championship. Adam is 2010 graduate of the Team O’Neil Rally School.

Adam Yeoman

Chris Duplessis

Chris Duplessis

Chris helped build the Team O’Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta R2 and almost drove to a STPR win in June before a crash at a late stage with a seven minute lead in the 2wd class ended the R2 debut. Chris rebounded at NEFR with an impressive victory. In October Chris was selected by Ford Racing to drive in the WRC Academy Wales GB Rally with a very impressive showing before a rollover on day 2.

Wyatt Knox

Wyatt Knox and Ole Holter put together an impressive season in the Mazda Speed3 and capped it off with a November Tall Pines victory in the Team O’Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta R2. After Holter came on board as Co-driver they earned back to back 2WD victories at 100 Acre Wood in February and the Olympus Rally in April. With 86 total points Knox captured the Jon Wooden Cup representing the top 2WD driver in the Rally America Championship.

Ed McNelly

TON lead technician “Fast Eddie” showed that he is an “up and comer” in Rally. Having some success at NEFR and Charlievoix in 2011 Ed drove the Team O’Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta R2 Stage 1 at Tall Pines in November. After entering late and being assigned #62 he moved from 58th to 34th on the first day. Ed displayed his driving skills and finished an impressive 3rd in the 2WD class.

Ed McNelly

Wyatt Knox with the Jon Woodner Cup

Tim O’Neil and Ken Block at Ford Racing Octane Academy

Tim O’Neil and Ken Block participated in Ford’s Octane Academy in September and tested the Team O’Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta R2. Two days of testing the R2 really open the eyes of many who got to see the Rally Car go through the paces.

Ken Block has a pretty impressive Rally highlight reel of his own in 2011. Ken has become one of the biggest stars in the World Rally Championship and is still learning his trade. Ken often comments on how his success is directly related to his education at the Team O’Neil Rally School.

Ken and Tim at Octane Academy

Team O’Neil students in the Rally America Championship

An impressive number of Team O’Neil students finished in the top 40 in the Rally America Championship in 2011. Dave Mirra (4), Yeoman (5), Dillon Van Way (7), Mason Moyle (11), Andrew Comrie-Picard (12), Brian Gottlieb (13), Joseph Burke (14), Andrew Wickline (15), Greenhouse (18), Heath Nunnemacher (22), Viorel Dobasu (26), Nick Allen (27), Lars Wolfe (32), Justin Carven (34), Mark Fox (34), Tracey Gardner (39), Travis Pastrana (39).

We at Team O’Neil would like to congratulate our students and champions for a very successful 2011 season and offer best wishes for another successful one in 2012.

When Tim asked me if I wanted to go to Rally of the Tall Pines inBancroft,Ontario, I said sure! Then Tim told me that I would be driving in the rally, he said I would be driving the Stage 1 Ford Fiesta.

Having just come off a DNF at Rally Charlevoix with the R2, driving the stock fiesta with Reiger Suspension would be fun, but the R2 is WOW. You have to get back on the horse no matter if it’s a workhorse or a thoroughbred. I stayed up late Wednesday night and prepped the Stage 1 Fiesta AKA the workhorse. Thursday afternoon I drove over to Ontario and did my first 2 pass recce on Friday. I was glad I had the workhorse because the roads were extremely fast, narrow and rough.

Because my entry was late and I had not participated in many Canadian rallies, they stuck me with car number 62, which happened to be the second to last car. All I could think about was “oh boy, this is going to be fun!” As my co-driver Pascal and I rolled up to the starting line I told him he better tighten his seat belts because it was going to be a bumpy ride. We left the starting line in a flash, I drove the whole first stage flat out, as fast as she would go, hammering the car bad.

After doing three stages we went back to service. Now by being a mechanic by trade, I didn’t think the car would look like it performed well, but I found out that we had moved from 58th to 34th and the car was still in perfect condition. After service we went back out and ended up catching four cars on stage and I just drove the car for all she was worth (sorry car). Tim O’Neil was our crew man, which is usually my job at rallies so the roles were reversed. Tim told me to just use the skills that I had been put through at Team O’Neil Rally School and drive flat out, so that’s what I did out on stage.

In the end, the car held up like any workhorse would and Pascal and I finished Third in the Group 2 class. What a ride! Thanks for the horse Tim. Congrats to Wyatt Knox, my teammate, for finishing first in the Group 2 class. Great thanks to Ford for the awesome cars.

In case you haven’t heard, Team O’Neil Rally School’s champion instructor Chris Duplessis left last week forWales to participate in the WRCAcademy finale at the famed Wales Rally GB, which will take place November 10-13.  We thought we’d take a moment here to briefly explain what the Academy is all about, and provide a little history as to how Chris earned himself a spot there.

WRCAcademy

The Wales Rally GB is the final rally in a series of 13 events that spans four continents.  The WRC Academy is a new, six-round series in 2011 that will run as a separate category in the main WRC rallies “to ensure drivers gain relevant experience and exposure alongside the main competition.”  The aim of the Academy is to “be the first step on the WRC ladder for young drivers and… give the stars of tomorrow an unrivalled opportunity to develop their talent on the world stage in an extremely cost effective way.”  [TON note: “extremely cost effective” means something like $250,000.]  In order to create a level playing field, all drivers will compete in identical Ford Fiesta R2’s build by M-Sport, Ford’s exclusive partner that manages its global WRC program, and all cars will be fitted with Pirelli control tires.  Only 24 places are available in this year’s Academy, and to be eligible, a driver must be born on or after 1 January 1986. There is no age limit for co-drivers. (Reference www.WRC.com/wrcacademy) 

What exactly is an R2, you ask?

Well, some of you know darn well what an R2 is.  But for those of you who aren’t quite up to speed (no pun intended), Ford Racing sums it up best:  “The R2 is a full kit made by M-Sport to make a stock showroom Fiesta into a complete top engineered, first class, rally car. M-Sport, located in the UK, has been building top-level Ford rally cars since 1979.  The R2 kit includes a SEDEV flat shift 5-speed sequential gearbox, Reiger dampeners, AP Brakes, wiring loom, pistons, rods, and camshafts and everything else needed to make a complete rally car.  All of this combined with the great platform of the Fiesta and the top of line engineering of M-Sport make a potent rally car.”  Looking for more stats and information?  You can download the sell sheet at this link: Ford Fiesta R2 Sales Document.

A Little History…

In November 2010, Team O’Neil partnered with Ford to become the exclusive R2 kit reseller in the U.S., which is sold through Team O’Neil Motorsports, the arm of the company that develops and builds rally cars. 

The first stateside R2 was built by Chris with help from TON.  Chris debuted the R2 at the Susquehanna Trail Performance Rally, where he enjoyed an eight-minute lead in the 2WD class until a mishap ended his quest for the win.  However, just a few weeks later Chris won the 2WD class at the resurrected Climb to the Clouds race on the Mt. Washington Auto Road, and the next month he took the 2WD trophy at the New England Forest Rally. 

Chris is the first American rally driver to compete in a 2WD car in a WRC event.   Factors including skill, talent, a solid history on the podium as a 2WD class driver and having more seat time in an R2 than any other US-born rally driver combined  to earn Chris the opportunity to go to Wales.  Financial backing and other support come from partners Team O’Neil, Ford Racing, M-Sport, RallyAmerica and RallyStream.TV. 

For more resources, please check out: http://www.walesrallygb.com/, http://racing.ford.com/rally, and http://chrisduplessis.wordpress.com/.

 written by: Jessyca Keeler

DEARBORN, Mich., October 26, 2011 – 2010 2WD Rally America National Champion Chris Duplessis has made the best of his limited seat time in Team O’Neil’s Ford Fiesta R2 by winning his class at Rally America’s New England Forest Rally and the 2WD class at the Mount Washington Hill Climb. Now the 24-year-old native of New Hampshire is primed for a bigger challenge competing against some of the WRC’s brightest up-and-coming stars. 

Duplessis will represent Rally America, RallyStream.TV and Team O’Neil Rally School in the 2011 WRC Academy finale at the Wales Rally GB November 10-13. The WRC Academy is the entry point to the WRC ladder system – a single spec series where all drivers will compete with identical Ford Fiesta R2s prepared by M-Sport on control tires by Pirelli.

Duplessis will pilot an M-Sport R2 Fiesta thanks to the backing of Rally America and Rally Stream.TV, and the opportunity provided by Ford Racing.

 “This opportunity would not be possible without Ford Racing, Rally America and Team O’Neil Rally School.  They are providing me a chance to go out and compete in the Wales Rally GB,” said Duplessis. “An opportunity like this is huge for someone looking to grow in the sport but it’s also about helping shine a light on the growing sport of rally in the U.S.”

 “Tim [O’Neil] and I had already planned on building a Fiesta R2 and so we worked hard, got it done and showed up to race at STPR and New England where we were running strong and has some great results.  Through that, the opportunity with Ford Racing came about for me to compete in Rally GB. This really is a dream come true. To have an opportunity like this is ridiculous; none of the other manufacturers in North American rally come close to Ford. Others might offer you parts support, but that is about it. Ford has gone above and beyond in what they need to do.” 

 The opportunity for Duplessis came about through the relationship between Ford Racing, M-Sport, Rally America and Team O’Neil Rally School.

 “We all recognize the need to help grow Rallying in the U.S. and the stars aligned to allow  Chris, one of the fastest 2WD competitors in U.S. rallying, the chance to compete in Rally GB and shine a light on the competitiveness of the drivers competing in the Rally America National Championship,” said Jamie Allison, Director, Ford Racing. 

 “Over the past few years, Ford has been very active in helping further the sport of Rally in the U.S.– from our partnership with the Team O’Neil Rally School to our ongoing support of Rally America and its competitors to making the M-Sport Fiesta R2 kit available in the U.S.,” said Allison.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Chris.  We knew he was a championship driver, but to dominate his class and to nearly podium overall at New England in a 2WD entry against the AWD field, that speaks volumes about Chris’ ability and the Fiesta R2. This is another indicator of Ford’s dedication to growing rally racing in North America.”

 Duplessis won the 2010 Rally America National Championship. He ran a limited schedule in 2011 but he won his class at New England and finished in the Top 5 missing a podium finish by just ninety seconds. He won the 2WD class at the Mount Washington Hill Climb and he held an eight minute advantage in the 2WD class at STPR before a mishap ended his day on the next to last stage. 

 “Chris Duplessis is by far one of our most spectacular drivers in the Rally America National Championship who consistently exceeds what is possible in a 2WD rally car,” said Bill Fogg, owner of Rally America. “Our fans and fellow competitors often speculate on how well Duplessis would do against the best racers in Europe if given the opportunity. Now Rally America and our North American fans get to see him do just that and cheer him on to a victory.”

  “Watching Chris grow up working toward his goal of becoming a rally champion has been very inspirational,” said Tim O’Neil, who has worked with Duplessis since the young champion first came to the Team O’Neil Rally School at age 12 in 1999. “He has put an incredible amount of effort into his dream and we are excited to see the results finally paying off. Rally is still one of the only motorsports that rewards competitors for their hard work. Chris has proven that he is willing to put in maximum effort to get maximum results”.

 The R2 is a full kit made by M-Sport to make a stock showroom Fiesta into a complete top engineered, first class, rally car. M-Sport, located in the UK, has been building top-level Ford rally cars since 1979. 

 The R2 kit includes a SEDEV flat shift 5-speed sequential gearbox, Reiger dampeners, AP Brakes, wiring loom, pistons, rods, and camshafts and everything else needed to make a complete rally car.  All of this combined with the great platform of the Fiesta and the top of line engineering of M-Sport make a potent rally car. 

 “The M-Sport Fiesta R2 kit is pretty complete, but I am sure they have their own little tricks that they don’t tell everyone,” said Duplessis. “I am excited to see all those little things and they have probably built around 200 R2’s so I am sure they have really perfected it where it was my first one. Even after building the first one there were things I was going to change and do differently so I am just excited to see the development and the most modern updates on the whole kit.”

 Duplessis will be the only American running in the WRC Academy, but he will have support from one of the most popular drivers in the WRC paddock and a fellow Ford Fiesta driver and American, Ken Block.

 “I’m really excited to see Chris coming out to Rally GB for the last stop of the 2011 WRC season,” said Block. “I always enjoyed watching Chris race during my Rally America days and I’m stoked that Ford and Rally America have come together to send him over to Rally GB to race in an R2 Fiesta. It’s a quick car and he’s a fast driver, so it’s a great combination. Hopefully we’ll both score points that weekend!”

 “There is certainly a little bit of weight on my shoulders in that I am representing North American rally since I am one of the first Americans to go over and I am the first to race in the 2WD class,” said Duplessis. “Nobody’s expectations are higher than mine and I want to show the world that we can be competitive and put on a good show for everybody.”

About Ford North America Motorsports

Ford North America Motorsports, based in Dearborn, Mich., is responsible for major racing operations in North America, including NASCAR (Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series, Camping World Trucks), Grand American sports car racing, NHRA drag racing, USAC midget car racing and the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup. The department also oversees the development and marketing of Ford Racing Engines and Performance Parts, the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts, and the marketing of the Ford Racing brand through initiatives such as Team Ford Racing. For more information regarding Ford Racing’s activities, please visit www.fordracing.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.

 About Rally America
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier performance rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2012, Rally America is conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. More information about rally can be found at www.rally-america.com, and videos can viewed at www.youtube.com/rallyamericaseries.

Dalton, NH July18, 2011  The 2011 Rally America season started out with a Travis Hanson Sno*Drift victory and ended with a Chris Duplessis Fiesta R2 2WD win. In between some very impressive driving from Wyatt Knox and co-driver Ole Holter and an overall 2WD Championship.

 Knox had a problematic weekend with fuel system issues on Day 1 causing their Mazda3’s engine to cut out several times. Knox limped the car late into Day 2 before an engine fire finally forced him to retire. Knox and Holter earned enough points in the season that their start at NEFR secured them the 2WD National Championship title.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, a fierce battle raged between more than 25 crews fighting for a piece of the $15,000 MaxAttack! Series prize money. Chris Duplessis and co-driver Karl Atkinson set a blistering pace from the beginning to finish well over three minutes ahead of second fastest 2WD crew of Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey. Duplessis put his Ford Fiesta R2 in an astonishing fifth overall.

Rounding out the podium at NEFR was Super Production (SP) class driver Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson. The privateer father/son team put the finishing touches on their flawless season by placing third overall in Maine and third overall in the National Championship. The Hansons dealt with severe overheating issues late in Day 2 while battling to stay ahead of Tom Lawless and co-driver Alex Kihurani. Hanson edged Lawless out of a podium spot by just 7 seconds. Hanson leaves NEFR with the SP class win and a dominant Super Production Championship title victory. 

 Team O’Neil Motorsports would like to thank all the sponsors and our excellent Drivers, Co-Drivers and Service people for a very successful season.

Team O’Neil Motorsports will be selling the MazdaSpeed3 after the New England Forest Rally 2011 event. Driven by Wyatt Knox since 2009 the Speed3 has thrived in Rally. The car debuted in the Max-Attack Rally Series in 2009 with a 3rd place finish. In 2010 it was piloted to a class win and won 3rd overall at Rally New York. After opening the 2011 Rally America Championship series with a 4th place finish at Sno*Drift, Knox drove the “fastest 2wd beast” to first place finishes at 100AW and the Olympus Rally. 2nd and 4th place finishes at Oregon Trail and STPR  have kept the Speed3 in the 2wd lead entering the final rally at NEFR. 

The price for MazdaSpeed3 is $25,000.00 with some spares.     2008 Mazda Speed3        2.3 Liter Turbocharged Engine    6 Speed Manual transmission with Quaife Limited Slip Differential. 

Additions:   

  Cobb air intake……CP-E ECU tune……3″ exhaust with racing cat……Team O’Neil Engine and Trans mounts……Tig welded rollcage……BF Goodrich tires……Bilstein suspension……Terratrip rally computer……Quaife differential……Team O’Neil under body protection and skid plate……HotBits remote reservoir suspension……..Sparco Evo2 ,seats steering wheel and belts……Team O’Neil brake balance bar and hydraulic handbrake……Duel Master Brake Assembly…….Stainless braided brake lines……Mazda3 brakes with Performance Rotors and Hawk pads……Team Dynamics wheels……..Team O’Neil wheel scrapers……Peltor intercom and helmets……  

Chris Greenhouse, a recent graduate of the Team O’Neil Rally School, was no stranger to the victory podium even before the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally.  But on June 3rd and 4th, he teamed up with fellow school graduate Billy Elliott Mann and took a come-from-behind victory in the fiercely contested Two Wheel Drive National class at the fifth round of the RallyAmerica National Championship series.  Against substantially higher-powered cars and team budgets, the team pressed on through a punctured tire, electrical problems, and pouring rain to take the victory and proved that perseverance and consistency are some of the most valuable commodities in rally racing.

Chris has been racing in rally since 2005, but only attended Team O’Neil in April of 2011.  “I had been doing fairly well,” stated Chris in a recent interview, “But I thought that some driver training would do me some good, and unlike so many others, I decided to try to improve my technique instead of my dyno sheet.  I think too many drivers think that they need more horsepower and torque to go faster. What’s in your head makes you fast.”

Chris enrolled in the 5-day course, and even brought his 1995 Plymouth Neon all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio to do some testing and setup work.  He spent the week working with the instructors in a variety of cars, including his Neon, but also drove some of our rear-wheel-drive, all-wheel drive, and front-wheel drive cars, including our Ford Fiestas.

“I really liked the Fiesta, especially as a car to conduct driver training in.  I spent a lot of time in the car during the week.  The car has great handling, its very light, and it has great potential as a rally car.  Dillon (Van Way) and Chris (Duplessis) have both shown that the Fiesta can do some fantastic things on rally stages, and they are both only going to get better as time goes on and car development continues.  Keep an eye on both of them this year and into 2012″

Chris is a commercial airline pilot by trade, and his experience flying planes has had a lot to do with some of the choices that he has made in the racing world.

“I come from an aviation background, and you don’t start flying fighter jets or commercial airliners on your first day of class.  You’ll learn how to fly in small, single-engine, propeller-driven aircraft that are not as complex as larger and faster airplanes.  You aren’t going to learn anything by getting into a jet the first day and trying to fly it around, its simply too much.  Build a foundation of knowledge in simpler airplanes, and do the same in a race car.”

When asked about his advice for new drivers, Chris gave an answer that was remarkably similar to what we tell aspiring rally drivers here at Team O’Neil.

“All these drivers out there think that they need to start rallying in a turbo all-wheel-drive car.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Although those are the fastest cars in rally at the highest levels, and that would be the ultimate goal for a driver who wants to progress through the ranks, the two-wheel-drive cars are the ones that you need to get good in first, in particular the front-wheel-drive cars.  I think most new drivers have absolutely no idea how hard it is to win in the 2WD classes.  Last year’s JWRC cars and this year’s WRC Academy cars are all FWD. And those are some fast cars!”

Chris discussed his experience at the school as a very positive one, and his only regret was that he hadn’t enrolled earlier in his career.

“Yeah, I wish I would have done this 2 years ago, that was probably my biggest mistake.  I thought I had everything right with my technique, but there were a number of gaps in my knowledge, and after spending some time working with the instructors, we filled a lot of those gaps.  This school was a lot more than just using your left foot to press the brake pedal.  I have more confidence in complex maneuvers such as pendulum turns, and I didn’t have nearly as good a grasp of trailbraking as I thought.  But also having the confidence to link one turning maneuver into another, I improved on that so much.  We also worked with pace notes, and I even got to co-drive a little bit too, and I hadn’t done that for over five years!  It rained a lot while I was there, and I think that helped.  I liked training on a slick surface over a dry one.  Training in wet or snowy conditions will highlight flaws in your technique more, and that’s important.”

Chris remarked that his stage times are already showing improvement over last year, and he can’t wait to get back in the car again soon.

“On the Asaph stage at STPR, we set a time that was 22 seconds faster than we set last year.  That’s huge.  I didn’t make a whole lot of changes to the car since last year, that was mostly from improved technique.  Other stages showed improved times too.  I just wish that our electrical problem hadn’t held us back over some of the stages, or we would have been able to collect more data on year-over-year improvements.  I still think that I need some more seat to time to practice and refine my technique, and it will take a few more races to really get comfortable using all of the ‘new tools’ in my tool box, but I’m already seeing marked improvements and its only going to get better.”

“I’ll sum it up with this:

Cars don’t win races, drivers win races”

Chris is in second place in the 2WD National standings, behind Team O’Neil instructor Wyatt Knox.  Follow their chase for the championship at www.rally-america.com.