|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2005 |
For more information, Contact: John Cassidy Last Ditch Racing E-mail: John@lastditchracing.net Website: www.lastditchracing.net |
Bangor, Maine, USA -- Maine's top performance rally team took second overall and first in Open Class in the OPRC portion of the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in New Richmond, Quebec Canada this past weekend. The team took 5th overall and 4th in Open Class in the National portion of the event.
Surrounded by one of the strongest fields a Canadian Championship event has seen this season, the team rose to the challenge and showed that their recent second place at the Rocky Mountain Rally in Calgary Canada was no fluke.
The team had some adversity to contend with through the weekend. The alternator was swapped at the first service on Friday night due to charging problems. During the ensuing night stages, driver John Cassidy noticed the driving lights first flickering, then non- existent. At the start of the next stage he went to the front of the car to trouble shoot the problem and was dumbfounded to find no light pod on the hood! "The pod was gone. No sign of damage. Nothing! We adjusted the stock headlights to their full up position and continued on. We lost well over a minute without the lights, but we stayed out of trouble and were clean and tidy." The remains of the pod were found by course workers and returned to the team.
During Saturday's stages, all of which were repeated twice, each successive pass saw the team setting quicker times. Cassidy wasn't surprised. "Dave and I have a tendency to go quicker as the event progresses. We've worked very hard this season to be quicker from the first stage on and are making improvements there."
Saturday saw the team replace a damaged rear axle at the last service stop. They were able to source a spare from the Subaru Canada parts truck that attends all CRC events. "Having Subaru Canada support the teams and the CRC with the-on site parts truck is very important to a team like ours," said Cassidy. "Their presence lets us push a bit harder and hopefully put on more of a show for the fans."
The event saw teams battle up and down the order all weekend, keeping the drama level high until the end for both competitors and fans. Cassidy and Getchell were trading times with Group 2 hotshoe Jon Nichols and the New York based Irish team of Lilly and Farrell in their Open Class Mitsubishi EVO. "To have such a talented field and drama that lasts all weekend was fantastic," said Cassidy. To combine that with such the beautiful backdrop and some of the best rally roads in North America made Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs an event we won't soon forget!"
The team's next event is their home event, The Maine Forest Rally in Rumford Maine, July 28-30, 2005.
Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2005 team partners for their continued support!
For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: www.lastditchracing.net
For more information on the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs, please visit: www.rallyebdc.com
For more information on the Maine Forest Rally, please visit: maineforestrally.com