Last Ditch Racing overcame adversity to clinch the 2009 Rally America Eastern Regional Open Class Championship at this past weekend’s New England Forest Rally held in Bethel, Maine. Round 6 of the 2009 Rally America Championship, the New England Forest Rally is a driver’s favorite and has a reputation for being somewhat rough and rocky.

Friday’s stages consisted of two super specials and the famous Concord Pond stage. Hoping to better their top 10 stage time from 2008, it became apparent to Cassidy and Getchell early in the stage that the car was down on power. The team did what they could to minimize time losses, with Cassidy driving the car a bit further into corners and trying to carry speed where possible. A failing driveshaft was later identified and fixed during the overnight service.

Saturday saw the start of the Berlin Rally and the first two stages saw the team setting competitive regional times. But it was not to last. Cassidy could see white smoke trailing(and entering) the car as early as stage three. In service, oil seen on the skidplate and the crew surmised that there was an internal engine issue that was overpressurizing the crankcase, forcing oil out under load.

The team were battling with the Team O’Neil team of Knox/Wilburn in their Group 5 Mazda Speed3 for the Rally America Eastern Regional Open Class Championship. Knox had been leading the Eastern Regional Championship after a strong run in an Open Class Subaru at STPR. But Knox was having issues of his own-a gearbox leak causing concern.

The situation forced Cassidy/Getchell to change their mental approach to the race – ignoring the smoke and whine from the engine under load while still pushing as hard as possible took all energy they had. They had to resort to carrying supplemental oil onboard to top of the car before and after each stage. The final stage saw the two teams separated by mere seconds. With a 30 mile transit back to the finish at the Sunday River Resort after the stage, Cassidy/Getchell were carrying a full fuel load and 6 liters or supplemental oil. “We were the heaviest we’d been all day, and we knew the car was sick. We also knew that we had to pull out the best run of our day on our third run through the short, tricky stage,” said Cassidy.

The stage went without incident and the crew felt they were clean and tidy. Now the long transit back to Sunday River, and the final MTC, began. The crew stopped every 12 miles or so to pour more oil into the engine. “It was all we could do to nurse her home. Every time we’d put the engine under load uphill, I’d see a thick fog of smoke blowing out the back. I don’t think the line of cars behind us appreciated it very much, but we were in survival mode.”

The team arrived at Sunday River and Co-Driver Wilburn found Cassidy. Cassidy/Getchell were 5 seconds quicker their last time through the stage and secured the final podium spot for the day, and the Eastern Regional Open Class Championship by a mere 3.3 seconds! The regional competition was very close, and all of the competitors agreed that it made for some good drama during the day. “We all came to race, and having to fight for seconds at the end of a physically and mentally taxing day is something we soon won’t forget,” said Cassidy.

Cassidy ended the 2009 Rally America Eastern Regional season first Driver in the Open Class and second in the Overall driver points. Getchell took second overall Co-Driver and second in Open Class. Last Ditch Racing has secured the Eastern Regional Open Class Championship the last three years in a row and the Eastern Regional Overall Championship in 2008.

Once their engine issues are sussed, the team is looking forward to competing in Canada later in the season as well as returning to the Rally America Regional Rally Championship in Missouri in 2010.

And finally, Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2009 Partners for their support:
Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Mark Fleming Photography: http://www.markflemingphoto.com
Team O’Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com

For photos, videos, team blogs and more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com
Social Networking: To follow us on twitter, please visit: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing or find us on Facebook and/or Myspace and sign up as a friend or fan!

For LDR Videos, check out out Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing

To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing

Photos copyright Pete Kuncis, 2009, http://www.onalimbracing.com

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Racing in his hometown of Bethel, Maine, Chris Duplessis and co-driver Catherine Woods finished first overall in the Max Attack! two-wheel-drive championship this past weekend. The pair also won both regional rallies, the Drive To Your Future Rally and the Berlin Regional Rally, held in conjunction with the New England Forest Rally.

On Friday night of the event, the famous Concord Pond special stage was run and Duplessis stunned thousands of spectators with the seventh fastest time of the night on the stage. The duo beat many highly powered, all-wheel-drive cars on the stage even though Duplessis’ two-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf only has 140 HP. Also competing during the weekend was Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana, Ken Block and Dave Mirra.

Duplessis’ goal for the weekend was to not have to jack-up the car during the rally. As a testament to Chris’ fast but safe driving, only fuel was added to the car. No tires were changed or rotated. The service crew only had to perform minimum work to keep the rally car on the road to victory.

The young team of Duplessis and Woods are hoping to make the trek out to Bemidji, Minnesota to compete in the last event in the Max Attack! series. The competition at the Ojibwe Forest Rally will be fierce with Duplessis looking forward to going head-to-head against Lauchlin O’Sullivan, winner of the first round of Max Attack! at Rally Idaho.

Duplessis is the reigning two-wheel-drive National Champion and has won six Regional and National championships over the past three years.

For more information please check www.rally-america.com , www.max-attack.com and www.ojibweforestrally.com

Photo: Neil McDaid

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Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana overcame a close battle with his Subaru teammate Ken Block to win the New England Forest Rally, Round 6 of the 2009 Rally America National Championship. The Subaru duo of Pastrana and Block, each driving identically prepared 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally cars, fought all weekend with former Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L’Estage. Mechanical trouble for L’Estage and a late spin and tire puncture for Block handed Pastrana the victory on the final stages. The win extends Pastrana’s points lead and puts him one step closer to winning his fourth consecutive Rally America National Championship.

The 2009 New England Forest Rally featured highly technical and rocky gravel logging roads near the Maine/New Hampshire border. Pastrana, partnered with his co-driver Christian Edstrom, entered the rally with a 21-point lead over his closest challenger and said his strategy from the start was to avoid taking unnecessary risks and get his car to the finish in one piece. “I wasn’t the fastest driver here this weekend,” said Pastrana. “It was hard to keep up with Block, but we were just close enough to capitalize when he hit some trouble at the end of the rally.” The win at New England is Pastrana and Edstrom’s fourth win from six events this year.

Ken Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino were the pace setters for most of the 2009 New England Forest Rally, winning five of the eleven competition stages. However, a spin and a puncture on the final loop of three stages cost Block over twenty-five seconds and allowed Pastrana to slip into the lead. “It’s extremely frustrating,” said Block at the finish. “I put myself in the right position to win and it didn’t work out for us.” Although it wasn’t the victory Block had hoped for the strong 2nd place points haul lifts Block from 5th to 2nd Overall in the Rally America National Championship standings.

A highlight of the rally again this year was the Concord Pond stage, a favorite among drivers and fans for its numerous jumps and serpentine-like flow. Block was able to crush his stage record on the 5.6 mile stage by an impressive eight seconds. “Our Subaru was perfect and the grip was amazing,” said Block. “That stage means a lot to Alex (Gelsomino) and I so to break our record and by such a large margin was really exciting for us.”

In the Super Production Class, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Dave Mirra and his co-driver Derek Ringer were battling for the class lead all weekend when they were hit with an engine problem. With a long stage to go prior to the next service stop Mirra and Ringer opted to retire from the event in order to prevent further damage to the engine.

A contingent of Subaru Rally Team USA heads next to Germany for the Baja 300 Powerdays, where Ken Block will be in has been invited to compete in his Subaru Rally Team USA 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car. The event will feature a stadium style, two-mile stage in Lausitz, Germany that will feature side-by-side racing with jumps similar to the X Games Rally event. Invited drivers include WRC stars Petter Solberg, Gigi Galli, and Kris Meeke as well as off-road racing and motorcycle racing stars.

Following the promotional Baja 300 Powerdays event will be the much-anticipated X Games 15 to be held again at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The Rally Finals are scheduled to be televised live on ABC television on Sunday, August 2nd, from 3pm EST – 6pm EST.

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, GReddy, and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit www.rally.subaru.com and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

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Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom sailed to their fourth win of the season at the New England Forest Rally Saturday, to further extend their lead in the national championship.

Pastrana entered Round 6 of the Rally America championship with a 21-point lead over his closest challenger, and said his strategy from the start was to avoid taking unnecessary risks and get his car to the finish in one piece.

“It’s hard to know you’ve got that little more speed in reserve and not use it, but it’s that little more that can get you,” he said. “We weren’t the fastest here this weekend, but I’ll take the win however I can get it.”

Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino set a blazing pace at the start, but lost more than 20 seconds to a spin early Saturday afternoon, then had a flat tire. They were unable to make up for lost time in the final stages of the day and finished in second-place overall.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” said Block at the finish. “I put myself in the right position to win and it didn’t work out for us.”

Even so, the result moves Block into second place in the championship, behind teammate Pastrana.

Canadians Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard were also in the running for a win early in this event, but they lost time to a power steering failure in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Saturday afternoon and finished in third.

“It’s good to taste champagne again, but I really wanted to win,” said L’Estage after the ceremonial champagne spray. “I thought this morning we had a shot at it.”

L’Estage is developing a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that debuted with Tanner Foust in the US earlier this season under a sharing arrangement. He hasn’t had much luck with the car so far, battling the teething problems that are typical with a new car build. But he says the car has potential and he’s looking forward to the next round.

Bill Bacon and co-driver Peter Watt finished in fourth place; Art Gruszka and co-driver Lukasz Wronski rounded out the top five.

The Super Production class win went to Roman Pakos and Maciej Sawiki in their Subaru STi, while John Conley and Keith Rudolph took the two-wheel drive win in their 2003 Dodge SRT-4.

The roads on this event are generally wide and fast, but peppered with massive rocks that can do big damage to competition cars. As is typical, attrition claimed a number of contenders. Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer were out with engine trouble on Saturday, while Andi Mancin and co-driver Maciej Wislawski retired after Day 1, apparently with engine issues of their own.

It was tough luck for both drivers. This event presented a good opportunity for Mirra to make up some ground in the championship against Super Production rivals Piotr Wiktorczyk, Jimmy Keeney, Matt Johnson and Pat Moro – all drivers who are sitting out this round as they prepare for X Games.

The X Games contest is the biggest event on the calendar for invited teams and cars are due on the other side of the continent in just over a week. Open class drivers Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and Tanner Foust have also opted to sit this event out while they prepare for the Los Angeles contest.

The two-wheel drive competition was fierce this weekend, with more than two-dozen drivers running the weekend’s two regional events: Friday’s “Drive Your Future Rally,” presented by the National Guard, and the “I Can’t Drive 55″ Rally on Saturday.

Among those teams is the interesting last-minute entry of Lucy Block and Chrissie Beavis in a Volkswagen Golf. Block is married to Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block and this was her first-ever event as a competitor. Chrissie Beavis is a regular championship co-driver for Foust and competes in California as a driver in the regional series. The duo swapped driving and co-driving duties over the weekend.

Twenty-one teams also signed up to run this event for the MaxAttack! subseries, designed to raise the level of two-wheel drive rally competition. Chris Duplessis and Catherine Woods set the fastest two-wheel drive times in their 1990 Volkswagen GTi during the weekend’s regionals.

For 2009, organizers will pay out a total cash purse of $15,000 USD to be divided among the fastest teams competing in the MaxAttack! events.

All results are considered informational pending official race processes.

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Vermont SportsCar, North America’s premier rally team, will provide Salem, Oregon based rally car driver Mark Fox with an Open Class Subaru Impreza WRX STi rally car at this weekend’s 2009 New England Forest Rally based in Newry, Maine. The Vermont SportsCar prepared 2007 Subaru provided to Fox will be emblazoned with striking Army National Guard artwork. Fox, co-driven by Jake Blattner, seeks to step up his campaign to earn Rally America Rookie of The Year honors by driving the higher specification Subaru.

“I’m very excited about this car,” said driver Mark Fox. “I’m really looking forward to driving the rally in a highly competitive car. I was able to test the car for two days this week and learned it’s like nothing I’ve ever driven before; it’s accurate, precise, nimble and fast. The level of its build and preparation is top notch. This is my first time competing at the New England Forest Rally so the strategy will be to stay smooth and try and finish with a good result. I’m aiming for Rally America Rookie of the Year honors this year. ”

This year’s edition of the New England Forest Rally is receiving support from the Army National Guard and Vermont SportsCar owner Lance Smith, a former member of the Vermont Army National Guard, desired to help maximize that support. “We have a great relationship with the Vermont Army National Guard locally and we knew Mark Fox has been supporting the Army National Guard all year; for us this was a great way to help both parties out,” explained Smith. “The Army National Guard did a lot for me when I was younger and this is a way I can give back for the effort they gave me.”

The Friday Regional rally at this weekend’s New England Forest Rally has been named the “‘Drive Your Future Rally’ presented by the National Guard” and will be highlighted by a “Super Special” in the town of Mexico, Maine. Spectators will be have the opportunity to watch an entire gravel rally stage, complete with a jump, from start to finish right in front of them. Fans will also have the chance for an up-close look at the service crews as they take care of their rally cars at the Service Park which will also be based at the Mexico Recreation Area. As a special attraction for fans of all ages, National Guard units from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will be on hand at the Mexico Recreation Area with a large display of state-of-the-art military vehicles.

More information about the 2009 New England Forest Rally can be found at www.newenglandforestrally.com and www.rally-america.com.

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Maine’s own Last Ditch Racing heads to the the mountains of Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire for the New England Forest Rally, July 17-18.

Round 6 of the 2009 Rally America Championship will see Last Ditch Racing’s Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell celebrating their 10th anniversary in both the sport and the event itself.

“We’ve come a long way in ten years, and we owe it to our talented crew as well as all the talented crews that we’ve raced against that have shown us how to prepare a car, manage a team, and run an event. Very few people, other than fellow competitors, understand what we go through simply to get the car to the start of the first stage. We’re thankful to still have a passion for the sport and a desire to strap in and push ourselves to the limit.”

The event will see the LDR crew starting 16th amongst a field of 50 competitors from the US and Canada. 2008 saw the team place a career best 5th overall, narrowly missing out on a wildcard invite to the Summer X-Games in LA. “We had a dream race last year, and I’m hoping we can run a tidy and quick race. Above all, we’re going to have fun!”

Rally America Eastern Regional Rally Overall and Open Class Champions in 2008 and Eastern Region Open Class Champions in 2007, the LDR team is excited to be in the hunt for yet another regional Championship, currently sitting second in the 2009 Eastern Regional Championship. “We found a snowbank in February at the Team O’Neil rally and then had a power steering pump fail in Missouri. Both incidents cost us valuable time, but that’s what rally is about-keeping cool in the face of adversity and driving quick enough to scare yourself, but not quick enough to crash! We went on to finish both events and that’ll be the priority at NEFR-to finish.”

The team will pilot their Open Class 2003 Subaru WRX STi sedan, a car they’ve been continuously developing over the past few seasons. “The car’s in great shape and she’s ready to go play in the dirt!”

Friends and fans can find the team at the Phoenix House at Sunday River on Thursday night from 7-9PM. The crew will be signing posters and the team’s car will be on display!

For more information on the New England Forest Rally, please visit: http://www.newenglandforestrally.com

And finally, Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2009 Partners for their support:
Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Mark Fleming Photography: http://www.markflemingphoto.com
Team O’Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com

For photos, videos, team blogs and more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com
Social Networking: To follow us on twitter, please visit: http://www.twitter.com/lastditchracing or find us on Facebook and/or Myspace and sign up as a friend or fan!

For LDR Videos, check out out Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing

To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing

Photos copyright Mark Fleming, 2009 www.markflemingphoto.com

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Regional Rally Teams come from all over to claim their share of the MaxAttack! cash awards

With the first five rally events of the 2009 Rally America National Championship in the record books already, the top Regional and National rally teams from across the United States and Canada will soon be making their way to the tiny resort village of Newry, Maine for the New England Forest Rally – home to the Sunday River Resort and round #6 of the 9-event Rally America National Championship.

Set for Friday and Saturday, July 17 & 18, 2009, as many as 45 or more top-level rally teams are expected to be competing on some of the fastest gravel and forest roads in the country for top honors at this always-popular rally event.

Sitting atop the Rally America National points championship right now and expected to be competing at this year’s New England Forest Rally is 3-time Rally America Champion and Freestyle Motocross legend Travis Pastrana who drives for Subaru Rally Team USA – the factory-backed rally team based in Colchester, Vermont. Along with his teammates Ken Block, co-founder of DC Shoes USA, and X Games & BMX legend Dave Mirra, the Subaru rally team will be looking for another overall rally victory at this year’s New England Forest Rally.

Also expected at the top of the charts at this year’s event will be Canadian rally Ace Antoine L’Estage along with his Co-Driver and fiance’ Nathalie Richard driving their John Buffum-prepared & Rockstar Energy-backed Mitsubishi Evolution X. A former overall winner of the New England Forest Rally, L’Estage is a very technical driver as well as a multi-time Canadian Rally Champion who can’t be overlooked regarding the overall victory in Maine.

New to this year’s New England Forest Rally will be a large contingent of Regional rally teams from across the Northeastern United Sates and Eastern Canada. These teams will be competing for their share of $15,000 in prize money as the Maine-based rally will be just one of three rally events in the United States that make up the 3-round MaxAttack! Championship for Regional rally teams for 2009 – the other two rally events include Rally Idaho and the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Minnesota.

Although the New England Forest Rally will be contested over two days and 125 plus miles of gravel and forest stages for the National competitors, the Regional rally teams will compete on the very same roads as the National teams, but in two separate 1-day Regional rally events run simultaneously with the National rally.

Friday’s Regional rally will be known at the “Drive Your Future Rally” presented by the National Guard and will be highlighted by a “Super Special” in the town of Mexico, Maine. Taking place at the Mexico Recreational Area located just off Rt. 17 in Mexico, spectators will be have the opportunity to watch their favorite rally driver or team complete an entire gravel rally stage, complete with a jump, from start to finish right in front of them. Fans will also have the chance for an up-close look at the service crews as they take care of their rally cars at the Service Park which will also be based at the Mexico Recreation Area. As a special attraction for fans of all ages, National Guard units from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will be on hand at the Mexico Recreation Area with a large display of state-of-the-art military vehicles to check out.

On Saturday, July 18, 2009, the rally action moves west along Route 2 to Coos County and the city of Berlin in Northern New Hampshire where rally teams will compete on a series of gravel and forest stages from Berlin north along the Androscoggin River to the sleepy village of Errol and beyond. A number of scenic spectator areas will be available along the competition stages where fans will be able to watch their favorite drivers compete. They will also be treated to a “Super Special” in Berlin on Saturday morning where teams will test their skills on a half-mile course that winds its way in and around the old Berlin paper mill site located on the north side of the city.

Also available throughout the 2-day New England Forest Rally will be a number of spectator buses provided by the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine. The buses will depart from a variety of locations and take interested spectators out to the designated viewing areas along the rally course. Tickets for the spectator buses can be purchased the day of the event and will cost just $5.00 per person!

Amateur photographers will again have the opportunity to participate in Rally America’s popular photo contest where they can submit their best shots from the New England Forest Rally for a chance to win great prizes – visit www.rally-america.com for all the details.

For ongoing live updates through out the New England Forest Rally or for more information regarding a detailed event schedule, lodging and an on-line Spectator Guide, please visit the official Rally America web site at www.rally-america.com.

Sponsors for this year’s New England Forest Rally include Subaru of America; DC Shoes; Endless Brakes; Exedy Racing Clutches; Q Racing Oil; the Army National Guard; Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine; the Team O’Neil Rally School from Dalton, NH and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers taking modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads known as stages.

The 2009 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events that take place throughout the United States in many different weather and road conditions. Top teams in the Rally America Championship are also invited to compete in ESPN’s Summer X Games, the leading action sports event broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. Eight top teams have already been invited to this August’s contest. Among the marquees typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

About Rally America, Inc.:

Based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2009, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Portland, Ore., to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street-legal rally cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow.

Additionally, through a partnership with the leading sports network regarding action sports, ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers are invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action-sport event that is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. For more information, visit www.rally-america.com.

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