SaabWorks Performance Rally Team has recently completed building it's first rally car and attended the RallyRight ProRally School and Ski Sawmill ClubRally. Finishing 14th overall and third in Group 5 was a major boost considering that the team received 2.20 minutes of penalties for botching a service. Without the penalty, having driven to third fasted times on three stages, Saabworks would have taken sixth overall and first in Group 5.
Saabworks plans on running several rallycrosses in the Northeast thoughout the summer and will also compete in the Maine Forest Rally and Black River Stages.
Saabworks' driver, James Fox from Lakeville, CT, has been tooling around with Saabs as long as he can remember and has become heavily involved in the community of performance Saab owners in the US. He is well known for his antics at National Saab Owner's Conventions and has an accomplished set of wins in autocrosses.
Saabworks' co-driver, Ethan Maass from Charlestown, MA, has been known to roam the highways in his Chevy Caprice 9C1 policecar. Having little formal racing experience except co-driving for a number of TSD rallies, he is no stranger to dirt roads and feels comfortable riding shotgun for James' offroad antics.
James and Ethan both come from computer backgrounds, yet both would much rather be doing something else. If they could find a way to make a living building and running rally cars, they would be happy. James has an extensive mountain biking racing history while Ethan holds a Coast Guard Masters License to operate large boats.
The Saabworks rallycar is an '85 Saab 900 two-door built to the SCCA Group 5 rules. Saab only imported several hundred of this light and very stiff car in 1985 and 1986, making it rare as well as a great rally platform. The car was found on the side of the road during a TSD rally, when we stopped during the middle of the rally and offered $300 for the car, which did not even run. An 8 valve turbo motor was transplanted from an '84 and the transformation began. Brakes were upgraded to '87 specs, suspension is a combination of SPG and MSS with rally valved Bilstein shocks, and the 16 valve intercooler was added. This entirely privateer effort was completed in a small garage over the course of 10 weekends and is privately funded.
Contact SaabWorks Performance Rally Team at:
Phone: 617.241.5022
Fax: 617.241.5243
E-mail: ethan@saaabworks.com
Website: www.saabworks.com