After a few weeks of negotiating, we closed the deal for a 2006 Dodge Sprinter 3500, 158" wheelbase. This truck will replace our 2002 Ford E-450 box truck as LDR-1UH(UH=ultra heavy). Since the Sprinter is made by Mercedes, we like to call the new truck, LDR-1 Uber Heavy! ;-)

We'll be working on making the truck into the perfect rally support vehicle for us and we'll be thinking about the layout long and hard before cutting/welding/fabbing.

Next race is the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs at the end of June. Check out the event website at www.rallyebdc.com

Cheers! John

LDR Podcast #1 2007.m4a

Musings on the 2006 season and the outlook for the 2007 season.

LDR_2006.mp3

Our first crack at a podcast. Many thanks to my close friend and rock bandmate Dave Goff for supplying the music you hear in the background. We try to use as much original music as possible. A lot is dependent on our time...and talent.

LDR Corona 2006 Final Report.mp3

Tune in to see how our daring duo-driver Senor Spank and his intrepid co-driver El Diablo Blanco get on!

LDR Corona Podcast Friday.mp3

A bit of a blast from the past, this is our podcast direct from the Corona Rally Mexico, a round of the WRC. We drove a Peugeot 206 front wheel drive Group N car in the event, and did extremely well except for a meeting with some local scenery. ;-)

As far as we know, LDR was the FIRST rally team in the world to podcast from an event!

Anyway, the podcasts give you a glimpse into the fun that we had. Be sure to check out our Corona Rally video, which was shot the year before we ran the event.

Cheers! John

Just back from a whirlwind day at the Team O'Neil Rally School in Dalton, NH.

We went down for a, "test and tune," day. What the heck is that, you ask!? Well, it's a day where our rally guru Tim O'Neil checks out the car, the driver and the co-driver and offers suggestions on how we can improve our game.

We had a classroom session, followed by some time with Tim on some test stages, then some pace-noting work. T-4 held up well, but we found some issues with the brakes and alignment settings. We lost a power steering belt after a bolt on the pump backed out enough to contact the pump pulley. This stopped the pump in its tracks and Tim brought the car in smoking as the shredded belt hung off the front of the engine like a dead snake!

Another belt sourced and I got some time on the stages. Working on timing and intensity of braking, crests and up and downhill sections. Erik Lee hopped in the co-driver seat for Emilio Arce to help him out with the pacenoting section.

Dave hopped in T-4 after he was done helping teach the, "Rally Experience." course and we went off to write our own pace notes for a small stage which Tim had Jemba notes for. We then compared what we had versus the JEMBA and we all discussed what worked for each of us individually.

Fantastic day in the White Mountains, except for swallowing a few black flies! ;-)

Cheers! John

With over 180 photos on our flickr account spanning out entire career, we'll be adding more from our gigantic collection over time! All the way from the time of Fireball, our Honda CRX, to the 2007 season in T-4, it's all(almost) there. :-)

LDR on Flickr

If you're one of the intrepid rally photographers that has snapped us in action, and you see one of your pic(s) on the site without credit to you, please e-mail me so I can credit you! :-)

Cheers! John

We've received our new tire changer and balancer. Purchased from Greg Smith Equipment, http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/default.asp , this is a HUGE upgrade from the team.

In the run up to a rally, we usually carry with us 12-15 wheels/tires. Most tires only last an event. So, the process in the past was: 1.) Load up 15 wheels/tires in the truck with 15 new tires. 2.) Drive to the tire shop and unload the whole lot, 3.) Pick up the whole lot and load them into the truck. 4.) Bring them back to Triple Caution Farm and unload them and then put them on the rally car and into the truck/on the trailer.

I'm not really interested in lifting 30 tires/rims 3 times prior to each event, thus the new machines. We can change tires in our spare time, on site and have control over the quality of the process. Vive le Revolution! :-)

As an FYI, our next event is the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in Quebec at the end of June. http://www.rallyebdc.com

Cheers! John

LDR got a couple new livestock at the farm this weekend! We received our new tire changer and wheel balancer from Greg Smith Equipment. After much research, we purchased these unit due to their quality/price combination.

The tire changer has dual assist arms, which should help us mount the difficult rally tires. A rally tire has such thick sidewalls, that mounting is difficult.

Why purchase these machines at all!? Well, it's a large investment in our infrastructure, but here's an example. For each event, we usually take 12 tires/wheels. This means that I get to load 12 mounted tires and loose tires in the truck and take them to the local tire shop. Then I unload them. Then, I return and load them all back in the truck for return to the shop. Finally, they get loaded into the rally truck and onto the trailer and car for the event.

Sooooo.....potentially 24 tires that I get to move 4 times. Not to mention the travel time. We've been thinking about this for some time, so it's an exciting upgrade for L'Equpipe!

In other news, T-4 is getting a new oil pan, fresh steering rack, an intercooler spray tank and some general TLC. Out Peltor intercom(which is on the fritz), has been sent out for service.

Out next event will be the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in Quebec June 27-28, 2008.

Cheers! John