Last Ditch Racing Blog

Rally is a fickle mistress....

Started the light day of Rallye Defi today and had two stages that we ran multiple times.

All were fairly smooth, but very fun. The latest iteration of T-4 was squirrelly on the first stage and I was sure that something was wrong until I heard other drivers complaining of similar handling issues.

Jennifer Daly, latest addition to the LDR co-driving roster, was doing a fantastic job of calling the notes and the LDR crew was doing their usual job of swarming on T-4 at service along with the help of Tim Chevallier and Nate Sockalexis. Duncan, Ken, Alex and Nigel all worked their derrieres off to keep us on the road.

Prior to the third stage, the first run through the awesome Palomino stage near town, we fueled up. As we exited the fueling area, the car died and wouldn't fire. I had no idea what I could have done to cause the car to die. We raised the crew on the radio and I got out and popped the hood.

Some fellow competitors suggested that we take the penalty for illegal service and get the car back in to the service area and sussed out. Iain from Planet Motorsport and Stewart Ho from CanJam came over and they quickly suspected a fuel issue.

The fuel line was taken off the filter and the pump cycled. Out came some sort of Quebecois Frappe that bore no resemblance to 109 octane race fuel. :-(

I had wanted to bring some extra fuel to the race as the car had been thirsty at the recent New England Forest Rally. We filled a few jugs with fuel from some half full drums that we had around. It was clear that water had somehow found their way into the drums.

After draining the fuel tank and replacing the filter, the crew got some fresh fuel in T-4 and she fired right up.

We were late. How close to max lateness, we didn't know. All the other cars were in Parc Expose downtown Ste. Agathe. We knew they'd still be there and decided we'd head down and check in to the control and continue on in the rally.

Arriving at Parc Expose, we found no control in place and Jen discussed our case with a couple of event officials. She was told that we were probably max late. Despite this, we decided we'd continue on according to the rally structure and discuss the issue with event stewards after the last stage.

Unfortunately, the event is not broken up into separate regional events, rather a national and regional event that span both days. We had exceeded permitted lateness and therefore were listed as DNF in both events and deemed unable to start Saturday's portion of the event.

Once again having to stare our old friend Force Majeure in the face, we were gutted. I explained the situation to the crew, who were working hard preparing the car for Saturday's stages. Once the shock wore off, we did what we always did and packed the service rig and headed out for dinner.

Some well deserved food and good company found us in better spirits.

So, what does a rally team with a perfectly good car do when there's a rally going on without them!? Well, some of the crew will be helping to provide service for the WASHPA racing team and I'll be heading out to the stages with photog Mark Fleming and uber-tanned friend Ryan.

It's possible that we may have to engage in the ancient rally tradition of displaying our own version of astronomical bodies to passing competitors, but that depends an awful lot on the weather and the density of biting insects! ;-)

Thanks to all who have wished us well for this event. A special thanks to Jennifer Daly for strapping into the right seat and doing a great job on recce and on the stages in the beast known as T-4. :-)

We're sorry that we couldn't complete the event and will not get a chance to experience Elmit, Lac Barbiche, Mulgrave or some of the other gnarly stages tomorrow.

As always, we'll regroup and be out on the stages again soon, pitting ourselves against the elements, our competitors and ourselves in this awesome sport we simply call rally.

Thanks to B. Gilles LaCroix for organizing a fantastic event.

Cheeers! John

Well, it's all play really, but every day between now and Rallye Defi will involve some sort of work on T-4.

Tonight, I installed a new proximity probe for the rally computer. The probe creates a signal when something ferrous is in close proximity to it. We put a nut on the driver's axle with some metal based adhesion goo and then routed the wires up to the computer. We spun the wheels by hand and she works! :-)

Drew stopped by and we spent the rest of the evening removing items so that we can take the tranny out for a clutch change. For those of you changing clutches at home, don't forget the nice clutch fork rod, which lives in both Subaru 5 and 6 speed trannies! :-)

I'll pull the tranny tomorrow, install the new ACT 6 puck clutch and pressure plate and then put it all back together.

Bronson will show and work his magic fusing different types of metal and aluminum together. We're hoping to tie up some of the welding projects that need to be completed.

Some more brake system fittings ordered from California today. They'll arrive Tuesday and we leave Wednesday AM. Never enough time.....

Cheers! John

Fellow native and award winning photographer Mark Fleming is documenting our prep and journey to the upcoming Rallye Defi St. Agathe in Quebec in about a weeks' time.

His first pic is up on his blog. Check out Mark's fantastic work!

http://markfleming.pixyblog.com/

Cheers! John

Sorry everyone, but I sometimes get some tied up in working on the car, I forget to update you all!

The question I've been getting lately is, "How's the car coming?" Next popular is, "Will it be ready for Defi?" Answers are good and yes! :-)

More detailed updates below.

1.) Got the AN plumbing from, where else, anplumbing.com. Great folks at the Earl's Store in Cali. Got the bulkhead fittings installed. Dry fit all the lines to the master cylinders. Installed the residual pressure valves. These are important if the master cylinders are below the level of the calipers. Pedal box still not mounted yet, but that's the next step.

2.) Clutch slave cylinder. Had to put the new AN line on the clutch slave and had to open up the gap on the top of the slave to accept the wider diameter of the new line. While the clutch slave was out, I employed a common rally mod. The slave mounts to the tranny(both 5 and 6 speed) with two bolts. These are difficult to get out quickly with the starter in place.

So.....I found a bolt with the same thread as the stock one and placed it in the rear and cut the head off. In the front, I installed a stud with a nut. So, when/if the clutch slave needs replacing, then you remove a single nut off the front stud and pull it off. MUCH easier.

3.) The power to the rally driving lights comes off a couple of relays on the passenger side of the engine bay. Pretty standard stuff. Problem is, when the lights are connected, you can't open the hood. So, another standard rally mod is in the works. Bought two orange extension cords at Home Depot tonight and will wire those to the relays and then secure them to the bottom of the hood so that the pod lights won't restrict access to the service crew.

A small, simple, cheap modificaiton that could make a world of difference for the service crew and improve the reliability of the car.

Thanks for checking in and keeping up to date with the LDR crew!

Cheers! John

Don't worry, the X-Games write up will come-who knows when, but it'll come! :-)

Prepping T-4 for Rallye Defi St. Agathe.

Focus on the car varies between races, depending on what system needs improvement and what damage we've done at the last race!

Improvement has progressed steadily this season, and that's reflected in our finishes.

The brake system is our current focus, although no system in the car exists without affecting another.

So....I decided that we really needed to rectify my driving position. My seat was too far forward(and high) as we were using the stock, firewall mounted Subaru pedals. We had been using the stock master cylinder(without vacuum assist) to our Group N brake calipers.

To say that the system didn't work well would be a bit of an understatement. I mean, I could stop the car, but braking late and hard is the name of the game. In order to do that, we needed to re-engineer the whole system.

A couple of e-mails late and a floor mounted pedal box was on its way from England. A few more magical clicks on the internet and three new Wilwood compact master cylinders were on their way. Heating up the debit card a bit more resulted in a bunch of AN stainless plumbing heading across the US of A to Triple Caution Farm.

So, what else did we need to do?! The list only got longer. Floor mounted pedals meant that we could move my driver's seat back. Moving the seat rearward meant dropping the steering column a bit as well.

Removing the stock brake and clutch master cylinders meant some aluminum patches needed to be cut and riveted to the firewall to plug the holes. The remote reservoirs for the new dual brake master cylinders and the clutch master will be mounted in the engine compartment.

Each change to the car is made with specific concerns in mind; safety, speed, reliability.

The brake system/floor mounted pedals/changed driver's position result in numerous positives.

The position change of the seat allows me to enter and exit the car easier. This becomes even more crucial in an emergency situation. I am now sitting on level with the B-pillar, which puts more metal between me and the scenary. Never a bad thing!

The floor mounted pedals move some weight closer to the floor and further back in the car, helping to lower the center of gravity and change the polar moment of the car(moving my heft back does way more for this, but you get the idea!).

The dual master cylinders should allow for improved braking performance and the balance bar will enable me to change the bias from front to rear brakes as the conditions dictate.

What's the next system for an upgrade? Probably the turbo system, but that's a story for another day.

Stay tuned!

Cheers! John

Last time the LDR crew was in California was for the 2002 Rim of the World Rally. That was an epic adventure and we always said we'd come back.

Third in line(which is far back! ;-)) to win the wildcard invite to X-Games 14, we were really pumped with our performance for a bunch of locals working out of a barn/shop here Triple Caution Farm.

Anyway, I'm between jobs, and when we were talking about the X-Games, my wife suggested we go to spectate and take in the spectacle. Awesome! I love my wife! :-)

Unfortunately she and Cullen can't come, but John V and I, as well as past LDR co-driver and perpetual team member Erik Lee, will be flying out next Wednesday.

We'll be staying at the historic Biltmore hotel in downtown LA and are planning on having adventures every day! :-)

I'll try and post some blog updates from out there. We're hoping to hang with our rally friends and catch as much of the other events as possible. Of course, we're pulling for Dave Mirra to pull out the stops in his BMX events and will be rooting him on! :-)

Hmm, sushi? La Brea Tar Pits? Huntington Beach? Where to go and what to do. Three LDR dudes loose in LA for five days...we'll make some memories for sure! :-) Stay tuned!

Cheers! John

Hey everyone! Just finished putting together videos of a couple stages at the recent Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs. They're full stage videos, so enjoy! :-)

Just search for "Last Ditch Racing," on Youtube and subscribe to our video feed.

Cheers! John

For Immediate Release

July 16, 2008

Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing, defending 2007 Rally America Eastern Open Class Champions, took the overall and Open Class wins in both the Mexico Regional Rally and the Berlin Regional Rally at last weekend New England Forest Rally. Their performance was enough to earn them a fifth place overall in the national portion of the event, after starting 16th. The team set several top 10 stage times and set personal team records on seven stages. The New England Forest Rally, held in Western Maine and parts of New Hampshire, is Round 6 of the 2008 Rally America National Championship and regarded as one of the roughest and difficult events in the Championship.

The team began 2008 by taking the overall win at the Team O'Neil Rally in New Hampshire in icy conditions. The team continued on their winning streak by taking an award for the longest jump at the recent Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in Quebec and finishing 10th overall in the national event. The recent wins at the New England Forest Rally give the team a commanding lead in the Rally America Eastern Regional Rally Championship.

Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell drove a tidy and quick event and brought their 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STi home relatively unscathed. Said Cassidy, "This result is the equivalent of a win for us. To be 5th overall after a past production car world rally champion and two series contenders is amazing. Maine is known as a rough event and this year was no exception. We kept out of the scenery and had only one puncture, with the tire going flat after we were done with the stage. Dave and I were at the top of our game and reached a new level of performance in the car. We were definitely pushing and this is an event we'll remember for a long time!"

Some not familiar with the team were surprised with their impressive finish, but Cassidy expects more of the same in their remaining events this season. "We really struggled with development of our current car early on, leading to some poor finishes and a season where we went from fourth in the Championship to not scoring any points at all. Since last fall, we've hit our stride with the car and recent additions to our service crew have bolstered our confidence."

The team had close battles with Dave Mirra and Jeff Moyle, both piloting Subaru STi's prepared by Vermont Sportscar. "The cars we were racing are quite advanced relative to ours. Our ace in the hole was our experience and perhaps our advancing age! Both Dave and Jeff were right there throughout the event and our ability to avoid drama put us in a position to take 5th. On the final stage, we caught two cars near the end and literally had to stop in the thick dust because we just couldn't see the road. Mirra told me when he came through he didn't have any dust to contend with and that made me worry that he had perhaps caught us. He took 30 seconds out of us, but it wasn't enough and we held station."

The Maine Forest Rally 1999 was Cassidy's first event in a Honda CRX. "The team has made obvious significant strides over the last 9 years. We've still got plenty of room for improvement, but our hard work over the years as a privateer team is starting to pay dividends when we achieve a result like this. To have our career best finish at home after such a long time in the sport is a dream come true. It definitely fuels us to strive for bigger things in the future. We've been asked recently if we'd consider a full US national schedule next year, and while we'd love to do that, we'd need far more external support to do it properly. TIme will tell!" The team's next event will be the Rallye Defi-St. Agathe in Quebec, Canada.

John and Dave would like to thank their crew for their hard work and support, both on and off event: Bronson Crothers, Duncan Matlack, Ken Anctil, Drew Simpson, John Cassidy V and Rob Sockalexis.

Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2008 Partners for their support:

Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Hydra EMS, http://www.hydraems.com
Team O'Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com

For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com
To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing
For more information on the New England Forest Rally, please visit: http://newenglandforestrally.com/
For more information on the Rallye Defi-St. Agathe, please visit: http://www.rallyedefi.com/

New England Forest Rally weekend went the best EvAr. Best LDR team effort, best car, best performances on stage. Though field was modest size, it was quite top-heavy. At the start line, at least 20 crews were primed for top 5 finishes.

Field might not have been the biggest, but the quality was stellar: Irish Evo ace and former PWRC Champ Niall McShea showed up to vie for the coveted X Games wildcard invite, Pastrana with McRae's WRC-winning codriver Derek Ringer, Block/Gelsomino, Canadian champs Antoine L'Estage/Nat Richard(who've won 2 US events this year), R-A series leaders ACP/Goldfarb, Hankook/Rallispec's Matt Johnson/Jeremy Wimpey, US-based Irish stalwarts Seamus Burke/Eddie Fries, Cowboy Kenny Bartram/Dennis Hotson in the ex-Iorio uber-GC, etc etc.

Well, going up against all those speedy well-supported teams was a bit intimidating at first, so John and I concentrated on the regionals and let the National stuff sort out later. We just went out and tried to go wicked fast and not hit things...and by jeez, it worked. Our stage times were close to top 10 against the full National field, and we were running well ahead of the R-A East regional guys all thru Day One. Hmmm, which got us to
thinking...

On Day 2, the LDR game plan changed as the rough Maine forest roads started chewing up rally cars and we started climbing the national event leaderboard. Burke/Frie's Evo blew up on the first Super Special. Johnson/Wimpy, ACP/Goldfarb, and Cowboy Kenny all suffered at the hands of the rocks on the "stupid-fast" Dillon-Success stage, one of the fastest of the entire R-A series. Cowboy Kenny hit a rock going so hard and so fast, they not only tore the right rear wheel clean off, they had to walk back
down the road on gather up the pieces! Next thing we knew, we were sitting 10th overall and the rally was still young.

We kept on pushing, running clean and tidy. Of course everybody else was going fast, but soon they started hitting things. Block/Gelsomino got bit by a rocky crest and destroyed the left rear suspension, at almost the exact spot where they went out at Maine Winter Rally a few years back. Antoine and Nat's battlewagon Hyundai expired on the very last stage. And so, LDR found itself Very Much In The Hunt.

We ended up winning regional events both days, and had great battles in the national with Dave Mirra/Alex Kihurani in a fire-breathing VTCar STi, Bill Bacon and veteran Canadian navvie Peter Watt in an immaculateEvo VIII, Jeff Moyle/Scott Putnam in Colin McRae's ex-X Games car, and PGTseries leaders Pat Moro and Scott Crouch. We ended up ahead of all but Bacon/Watt--fifth overall--LDR's best result by far in a US national event.

Yeah! LDR's car T4 is the real deal--we're talking a wild, wild horses kind of ride. I got strapped in next to a madman this weekend, and we rode the wild pony past almost everybody else in the rally.

It's gonna be a tough week, climbing back into normal life, back to dealing with boat shows, house construction, girlfriends, families and stuff.....

Wow, what an event! The LDR crew dug deep over the past two days and pulled out our best result of our career!

We won the Mexico Regional Rally yesterday and again won the regional event today. We climbed from our 16th or so starting position to finish 5th overall in the national event! We were the third Subaru to finish and the top all US crew to finish(that's Dave's co-driver spin! ;-)).

A HUGE thanks to the fans that came out and to our friend and family for their support.

The biggest thanks go to our crew for keeping T-4 together and looking sexy all weekend! Ken Anctil, Duncan Matlack, Mike Rademacher, Rob Sockalexis, John Cassidy V and Kevin Sennett.

Look for more speed and success from the LDR crew in the future! :-)

Cheers! John