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08.29.2003
After struggling with Steel Tulip, our 1994 Subaru Impreza with 1999 Subaru 2.5RS engine and LINK PLUS ECU for two events, we were at our wits end! We finally contacted LINK in New Zealand and Brett Middletion at MRT Performance in Australia for help.
Paul at MRT was able to diagnose some significant tuning errors we had made in our LINK and we realized that we had been lucky not to have melted our engine down as we were running dangerously lean and using only a quarter of the resolution of the LINK’s fuel table! Truly a testament to the longevity of the Subaru powerplant!
Some back and forth via the internet in the middle of the night(on our end-it was mid day in Australia), and we had a map that made the car feel like we had a new engine installed! It put large smiles on all our faces! To have the car finally run correctly, and understand the LINK PLUS was doubly exciting.
Paul at MRT was able to diagnose some significant tuning errors we had made in our LINK and we realized that we had been lucky not to have melted our engine down as we were running dangerously lean and using only a quarter of the resolution of the LINK’s fuel table! Truly a testament to the longevity of the Subaru powerplant!
Some back and forth via the internet in the middle of the night(on our end-it was mid day in Australia), and we had a map that made the car feel like we had a new engine installed! It put large smiles on all our faces! To have the car finally run correctly, and understand the LINK PLUS was doubly exciting.
Continue reading Susquehannock Trail ProRally.
08.26.2003
Last Ditch Racing is making a return to Canadia and the Canadian National rally series for the Rallye Defi-St. Agathe on September 5-6, 2003. At Defi in 2002, the team won top US team honors as well as an entry into the inaugural Targa Newfoundland. Targa saw the team bring home a class win.
The team recently upgraded to a 1998 turbo-charged Subaru Impreza that saw its first outing at the recent Maine Forest Rally. Despite a fairly hard hit after an excursion into a rock filled ditch there, the car will be in fighting shape for Defi. "We broke and bent a couple of things at Maine Forest, but that's not unusual in the life of a rally car-we don't pamper them," said Cassidy.
The team recently upgraded to a 1998 turbo-charged Subaru Impreza that saw its first outing at the recent Maine Forest Rally. Despite a fairly hard hit after an excursion into a rock filled ditch there, the car will be in fighting shape for Defi. "We broke and bent a couple of things at Maine Forest, but that's not unusual in the life of a rally car-we don't pamper them," said Cassidy.
Continue reading Last Ditch Racing Heads North to Rallye Defi-Ste. Agathe.
08.12.2003
Having sequestered themselves for more than a week in order to focus on awarding the latest Triple Caution Thong awards, the Last Ditch Racing team has emerged with the thongs in hand, ready to present to the lucky winners.
The Last Ditch Racing Triple Caution Thong is a saucy under-garment awarded to fellow competitors at all events the Last Ditch Racing team competes in. The criteria is always variable and quite subjective. The team is presenting two thongs, a double-whammy if you will, to competitors in both the Pro and Club editions of the recent Maine Forest Rally held in Rumford Maine USA.
The Last Ditch Racing Triple Caution Thong is a saucy under-garment awarded to fellow competitors at all events the Last Ditch Racing team competes in. The criteria is always variable and quite subjective. The team is presenting two thongs, a double-whammy if you will, to competitors in both the Pro and Club editions of the recent Maine Forest Rally held in Rumford Maine USA.
Continue reading LDR Awards Triple Caution Thongs!.
08.03.2003
We had a MOST eventful debut with Tulip 2, LDR's new GC8 Impreza WRX rally car. Wild as even two crazies like me and John could want!
Day One:
We start 52nd of 60-some teams. The new car runs like the hammers of hell. John does his best Richard Burns imitation (i.e., driving fast and smooth), we are really on with our pace-note timing, and start moving up at every stage. It rains most of Friday afternoon and evening, with wicked slippy mud...quite entertaining. The nighttime tarmac stage at Concord Pond is like a freaking unlit skating rink with a BIG jump at the end in front of soaking-wet spectators. Air time, whoa!! Huge fat raindrops come whizzing at us like asteroids thru the glare of our rally lights. End of first night, we're 24th, less than 2 minutes out of the top 10.
Day Two:
Saturday morning's start order is reseeded by Day One results, so we line up ahead of cars run by guys we've idolized for years, much less ever imagined we'd be on par with. This presents a whole new, eye-opening view of the rally for us. Kind of amazing what a season's worth of seat time (not to mention an agile new car with 100 extra hp) can do!
Continue reading The 2003 Maine Forest ProRally aka "View from the right seat".