Waste Management Winter RallySprint
SCCA RallySprint
Wellsboro, PA
February 20, 2016
RallySprint Results

Press Notes

    #WMWR16 Press Notes #1

    2016 Waste Management Winter RallySprint
    February 20, 2016
    Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
    Press Notes #1 – Friday evening

  1. Welcome to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, and the inaugural running of the Waste Management Winter RallySprint, sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America as part of its new RallySprint program for advanced amateur rallyists. This new “rally light” class is designed to help bridge the gap between RallyCross for beginners and stage rallying for the more serious competitors, and is also a training ground for volunteers, organizers and race officials to get used to rally operations before working a stage rally. While the sensations of handling a performance rally car at speed on gravel roads are alive and well at a RallySprint, the stages are shorter, the roads do not have high-speed straights, the rally averages 70 mph instead of 80 mph, and the event is run entirely on private roads, minimizing the insurance risk. Because of the lower insurance costs, the competitor entry fee is down $300 from last year’s winter rally, and that has helped boost the entry, up to 22 competitors from 14 a year ago.

  2. Two late scratches to the entry list are both attributed to running out of time to prepare their racers. The #7 BMW of Matt Brandenburg/Amber Wetzel and the #929 Subaru Impreza of Matthew Chmielewski/Carrie Kieczkajlo will not be here this weekend.

  3. Here are the online and social media references for the event: Event web site: http://wmwr.info (includes entry list and full rally schedule) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wmwinterrally Twitter: https://twitter.com/WMWRally Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wmwrally/ This year’s official event hashtag is #wmwr16

  4. The spectator area in Duncan was first established for the Waste Management event in 2014. Here, the fans will see the cars at speed negotiating the course. The spectator area is close to the service area giving fans another opportunity to see the drivers, crews and cars up close. The gates will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 20, with the first cars passing by just after noon. There will be food vendors and portable bathrooms on-site – amenities will be minimal. Spectator entrance cost is $5 per person, free parking. Also, the cars will be at the Wellsboro Green at 11:00 am for a ceremonial start – part of the activity for this year’s Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce Winter Celebration.

  5. The weather is a big unknown – not that we don’t know the forecast, but we aren’t sure how the weather will affect the course. Today, it was cloudy, but cold – in the high 20s and low 30s F. The course workers bannering the stages today reported that the shady areas on the course were frozen and slippery, and were likely to remain so even as temperatures hit 50 degrees F tomorrow. The other parts of the course are firm now, but could thaw out with repeated rally car passes and the unseasonably warm temperatures. As the rally consists of running the same stage road five times (three times on way and two times in reverse), these soft areas could get really chewed up by the end of the event. There is very little snow on the ground – a contrast to previous winter rally events here.

    #WMWR16 Press Notes #2

    2016 Waste Management Winter RallySprint
    February 20, 2016
    Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
    Press Notes #2 – Saturday morning

  6. Some more RallySprint information for those unfamiliar with the rules. RallySprint vehicles are classified into one of four categories:– RallySprint Two-Wheel Drive Under 2.5 Liters (R2U) – for front- or rear-wheel drive vehicles with adjusted engine capacity under 2.5 liters.–RallySprint Two-Wheel Drive Over 2.5 Liters (R2O) – for front- or rear-wheel drive vehicles with adjusted engine capacity of 2.5 liters or greater. RallySprint Four-Wheel Drive Under 2.5 Liters (R4U) – for all- or four-wheel drive vehicles with adjusted engine capacity under 2.5 liters. RallySprint Four-Wheel Drive Over 2.5 Liters (R4O) — for all- or four-wheel drive vehicles with adjusted engine capacity of 2.5 liters or greater.

  7. SCCA RallyCross chair Stephen Hyatt, whose board is in charge of RallySprint, is here at the event, and is heartened by the 22-car field for this first-ever RallySprint event. Hyatt that this year’s goal is to fine-tune the rules based on the results of the RallySprints around the country, and have the class grow even larger for next year and beyond. Regional and national championships – if everything goes well – are in the plans for the future.

  8. Last year’s overall Waste Management Winter Rally winner, Jon Kramer, from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, is back this year in his Subaru Impreza, with co-driver Jason Smith, who was a driver in last year’s event, finishing second in Group 2.

  9. Phil Barnes, long-time co-driver from the Wellsboro area, will be driving again with local Italian restaurant owner Tony Esposito. This is Tony’s fourth appearance at the winter event, while Phil is the only competitor to have participated in all five events. Barnes figures this is his 24th STPR/Winter vent, a record that puts him in very elite company. As far as drivers and co-drivers go, while we have to check official records, Rod Hendrickson, Dean Fry, Jimmy Brandt, Jeff Becker have all frequented Wellsboro more often than not since the first national STPR rally in 1977.

  10. The start list shows some co-driver changes:
    • Car #808 Amber Wetzel is the last-minute addition to co-drive with Rob Russo in the VW Jetta.
    • Car #29 Keith Ligget is replacing Steve Keury as co-driver for Scott Beliveau in the VW RallyGolf.
    • Car #944 Matt James is the co-driver for Charlie Tamaris in the Porsche 944.
    • Car #11 Klim Fedoff has changed the car number on his Mitsubishi Evo to #945.
    • Car #102 Dominik Jozman is replacing Otis Dimiters to co-drive for Arek Bialobrzeski in his Subaru Impreza.

    #WMWR16 Press Notes #3

    2016 Waste Management Winter RallySprint
    February 20, 2016
    Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
    Press Notes #3 – Saturday early afternoon – RallySprint start

  11. Four cars that were on the start list did not answer the bell to start the rally from the Wellsboro Green. They were the #53 Coffey/Brady Subaru; #60 Sherman/Cadieux Ford Escort, #145 Simsek BMW; and #26 Bromley/Banks Nissan. Thus, 18 cars started stage one.

  12. The icy/slushy/muddy conditions, which seem to change from corner to corner, have impacted the first stage as the following cars went off the course:-

    • Car #16 Russ Norton/Tony Zanni went off only a couple hundred into the stage, causing suspension damage and causing the car to DNF.
    • Car #808 Bob Russo/Amber Wetzel VW Jetta also went out the course and could not continue.
    • Car #412 Alan Edwards/Daniel Baker also slid off the course, but got a tow and was able to continue.
    • Car #944 Charlie Tamaris/Matt James had a flat tire halfway through the stage, pulled off the stage, changed the tire and continued.

  13. Sixteen cars finished stage 1; 16 cars will start stage #2 at 1:57 pm. The weather is sunny and warm, very little wind, and 55 degrees F. We should get a report shortly on the spectator crown, but we have heard that there are lots of people there.

  14. First car on the course for stage #2, #945 of Klim Fedoff/Zsanett Fabian Mitsubishi Evo, had a flat tire halfway through the stage. The driver and co-driver changed the tire, and the car is on its way.

  15. Car #412 Alan Edwards/Daniel Baker is off the side of the road about five miles into stage 2 – changing a flat tire. The car was already behind the pack after its off on stage one.

  16. 16 cars finished stage #2.

  17. Stages one, two and three are running on the same road going the same way, with a 60-minute service following stage three. Then stages four and five will also be on the same road, but running in the opposite direction. We will have results for the first three stages in the next hour.

  18. Car #944 Charlie Tamaris/Matt James Porsche 944 had a punctured radiator from stage #2, and made it to the start of stage #3, but has now withdrawn from the event.

  19. The start of stage #3 has been delayed as one of the course-opening vehicles has lost its clutch and is stuck between turns four and five. They have been able to get their car off the course, and the driver is being picked up. The stage will start when that is completed.

    #WMWR16 Press Notes #4

    2016 Waste Management Winter RallySprint
    February 20, 2016
    Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
    Press Notes #4 – Saturday late afternoon

  20. Fifteen cars finished stage #3, but at least one car broke down right after the finish of the stage, and is out of the rally. #145 Tony Esposito/Phil Barnes Subaru Legacy broke on the transit on the way to service, and is out of event. Even so, 15 cars started stage #4 as the #808 Rob Russo, which DNFed earlier in the event, is back running for experience, but will not be scored.

  21. Thirteen cars started stage five, the final stage for the event. With the shortened service, the rally made up behind time and will finish on schedule.

  22. Car #60 Sebastian Gomez Abero/James Clark IV Subaru Impreza is off the road at the five mile mark on stage #4 with an engine issue – they are awaiting a tow.

  23. We have our first scores from stages one – three, and while the times are unaudited, unofficial, and with the addition of any penalties, here are the class leaders:
    Jon Kramer/Jason Smith, Subaru Impreza, RallySprint 4WD Under – 44:37 – leader
    Corey Corssan/Tony Deguiseppi, Subaru Impreza, RallySpring 4WD Over – 45:37 – leader
    RallySprint 2WD over – no finishers
    Derek James/Sergei Greshin, Ford Focus, RallySprint 2WD Under – 51:08 – leader

  24. Competitors have reported that, while the there is no more frozen parts of the course, the roads are very muddy, rutted, and wet. Even so, 11 of the cars managed to finish the event, but two of the cars DNFed on the final stage. Derek James/Sergei Greshin, Ford Focus, RallySprint 2WD Under class leader after three stages, grazed a tree 1.5 miles into #5, and damaged the car beyond repair. Then, a couple miles down the stage, the #23 BMW of Alp and Ozhan Seyham went through a big standing water puddle, ingesting water into the engine. After that, the car wouldn’t start and their day was over.

  25. The drivers, cars and officials are all headed back from the Waste Management facility to the Tioga County Fairgrounds for final scores, awards and banquet. We’ll report on all of that as soon as we have the information.

    #WMWR16 Press Notes #5

    2016 Waste Management Winter RallySprint
    February 20, 2016
    Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
    Press Notes #5– Sunday morning – post-rally

  26. Surviving changing road conditions that started off icy and hard and finished slushy, muddy and rough, driver Jon Kramer, from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and his co-driver Jason Smith, piloted their Subaru Impreza four-wheel-drive turbo to victory in the first-ever Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)Waste Management Winter RallySprint yesterday in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

    The RallySprint, which was 56 miles of competition driving, one car at a time against the clock, was the very first of the SCCA’s new RallySprint program for advanced amateur rallyists. This new “rally light” class is designed to help bridge the gap between RallyCross for beginners and stage rallying for the more serious competitors, and is also a training ground for volunteers, organizers and race officials to get used to rally operations before working a stage rally. This event, like the ones that will follow around the country, will take place on private roads and will be one-day events to minimize expenses for the competitors. The next step up, full stage rallying, are events that typically last three days and more than 120 miles of competitive driving.

    For this rally, the 18 starting competitors ran a 13-mile gravel road within the Waste Management property on the outskirts of Wellsboro five different times, three times in one direction and twice in the other direction. Although it was the same road, each of the five passes on the stage presented different problems because of the unseasonably high temperatures for winter (above 60 degrees F) and the condition of the road as the day wore on, according to Kramer.

    “The first stage was very slippery as most of the road was still frozen from the overnight temperature, and four cars slid off the course. We wanted to make sure out day didn’t end after only a few miles, so we were cautious. But then, as the road began to thaw, not only did it become muddy and wet, but the rocks started to come to the surface as the gravel started to get chewed up from the cars. We ended up with four flat tires and a broken wheel before the end of the event, but we just kept going and our Subaru ran great,” said Kramer, whose car was one of only 11 competitors to finish the RallySprint. Stephen Hyatt, the national RallyCross/RallySprint chairman for SCCA, was pleased with how the event was organized, not only because in brought the Club’s Finger Lakes Region (Rochester, NY –based) back into the rally-organizing business for the first time in ten years, but because the competitors have really responded to this new stepping-stone RallySprint event class.

    “I am really proud of how well the SCCA Finger Lakes Region organizing committee performed, and the competitors really appreciated getting the sensation of rally driving on gravel roads without the expense and time commitment needed for full championship stage rally. As this was only the first event, and we have some tweaking of the rules ahead of us, the drivers and teams all gave us high marks,” Hyatt said. Here are the four class winners (driver/ co-driver, hometown, car, class, time) Jon Kramer/Jason Smith, Ligonier, Pennsylvania, Subaru Impreza, RallySprint 4WD Over ,1:15.25 – overall winner as well Sebastian Gomez Abero/James Clark IV, Arlington, Virginia, Subaru Impreza, RallySprint 4WD Under – (Did not finish, but completed more stages than other class entries) Robert Dawson/Lori Clute, Alton, NY, VW Jetta, RallySprint 2WD Under – 1:25.15 Charlie Tamaris/Matt James, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, Porsche 944, RallySprint 2WD Over – (Did not finish, but completed more stages than other class entries)

RallySprint 2016 Index
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