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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 8, 2004 |
For more information, Contact: John Cassidy Last Ditch Racing E-mail: John@lastditchracing.net Website: www.lastditchracing.net |
Bangor, Maine, USA -- Maine based performance rally team Last Ditch Racing completed the fast and flowing Rocky Mountain Rally, May 28-29. The rally was round two of the Canadian Rally Championship and saw the team finish in 15th position overall and 5th in the Open Class.
The team's speed suffered due to a progressive boost leak in their turbo system. Driver John Cassidy said, "We knew that we'd be down on power with the combination of the altitude and the required turbo restrictor, but what we experienced was beyond our expectations. As the day progressed, the car seemed to progressively loose power." Despite the mechanical issues, the team persevered and was pleased to take home another finish and 5th in class.
New to the car was a hydraulic hand-brake, designed to help rotate the car in tight hairpin turns. Cassidy hadn't had a chance to use it prior to the event, but there were ample opportunities to use it on the Sharples stage, which had a series of hairpins. After it's first use, Co-driver Dave Getchell dubbed the handbrake, "the happy handle," and the team plans to put it to good use in the future!
Traveling thousands of miles to compete in a rally is not new for LDR, having competed in the Rim of the World ProRally in Palmdale California in 2003. Although Cassidy and Getchell are fortunate to live in the beautiful state of Maine, the scale and beauty of Alberta was stunning. "Driving across the foothills near the Rockies was simply awesome. We were quite taken with the prairie dogs-they seemed to wait to run across the road until we were nearly upon them. One little guy was sitting in the middle of the road and didn't move as we approached. We were ready to step on the brakes to avoid certain impact, but the prairie dog beat us to the punch and jumped down his hole which happened to be right in the middle of the road!"
Currently 9th overall in the Canadian Rally Championship, the team's next event is the round three of the Canadian Rally Championship, the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in New Richmond Quebec July 4th.
The team would like to thank their 2004 team partners for their continued support.
For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit www.lastditchracing.com
For more information on the Rocky Mountain Rally, please visit: www.rockymountainrally.com/
For more information on the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs, please visit: rallyebdc.com/