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Brent Lee Motorsports triumphs at Desert Storm Rally

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[size=+1]Brent Lee Motorsports triumphs at Desert Storm Rally [/size]
Competitors come from as far as Colorado and Oregon



Nine teams contested for a variety of championship points in the Lucas Oil Desert Storm Rally yesterday. Although the entry this year was small, those who tested their rally racing skills on the dusty dirt roads set the bar for the rest of the season. Taking home the gold was Brent Lee Motorsports, of San Diego, Calif., driving a 2012 Ford Fiesta R2.

Driver Brent Hercelinsky, with co-driver Alex Orozco, kept his eyes in his mirror as Cameron Steely and Ray Piloto kept the Ford team on high alert. They persevered and took the top position on the podium.

The event offered stage rally racing competitors a challenging course of unpaved desert roads offering an array of sweeping, fast curves to tight, technical off-camber corners, covering nearly 86 stage miles.

Hercelinsky said he tried not to push too hard, and with the setup in his new Fiesta working perfectly, staying in the lead meant there was no room for driver error.

“Cameron, Ray and I had a great battle the whole rally, they were really fast,” Hercelinsky said. “I was trying to pace myself accordingly. I didn’t win all the stages, but the ones that best fit my driving style.”

Steely, of Greeley, Colo., with co-driver Preston Osborn, of Broomfield, Colo., took second place in a 2004 Ford SVT Focus, finishing only a minute behind Hercelinsky.

The ODD Racing team diced back and forth for the lead, but it was the Focus that had the advantage on the brisk, smooth stages, but Steely said it was Hercelinsky who had the edge in the rougher sections of the course.

“It was a great battle between the three of us. First off I would like to congratulate Brent for the win and Ray for pushing Preston and me and keeping both of us on our toes,” Steely said. “I felt like we had the edge on the fast flowing stages and that's where I wanted to try and take the lead or gain back time from Brent which we were able to do. I really just wanted to have a good, clean race.”

Also finishing on the podium, in third place, was Ray Piloto, of Henderson, Nev., driving a 1998 Subaru Impreza. Co-driving was rookie Tyler Deal, of Rosemond, Calif. Piloto only began rally racing last year, winning Rookie of the Year in the Bilstein SWRC Series in the all-wheel-drive car.

My strategy was to preserve the tires until the last couple stages,” Piloto said. “It was working well until the final stage. The front passenger tire got punctured than tore off a couple miles before the finish.”

Although fourth-place finisher John Black, of Running Springs, Calif., has a quiet, calm demeanor, he seems to roar like a lion when he’s rally racing his Black Ops Racing 1994 Ford Ranger in the Production class. He said he’s not one to pay attention to his stage times.

“I know where I need to go faster,” Black said. “I race to have fun and only race against myself. The roads at Desert Storm are awesome, very fast and flowing. This event is the best-kept secret of regional rally races.”

For Desert Storm, Laengworks Racing put in a new engine.

“Tom Laeng did a great job with the project. We were only able to get 200 miles on it before the race,” Black said. “We did have some small problems but again Tom did an excellent job at service to correct them. Rally racing can be tough and unpredictable. At Black Ops Racing we never give up.”

Veteran co-driver Katianna Pihakarai, of Anaheim Hills, filled in for Black’s regular co-driver, Lori Stone, as she had a prior commitment.

“I have to thank Katianna for filling in for Lori and co-driving with me. She is a true professional and a great co-driver. We raced together before and it was easy to get up to speed fast,” he said. “Lori was really disappointed she could not make the event. Desert Storm is one of her favorite events.”

Both Hercelinsky and Steely will have the opportunity to duke it out again as they are both planning on entering several upcoming events in the Rally America National Championship.

“My goal this year is to finish the rest of the national events and a few regional events. I’d like to get some more hardware finishing on the podium at least a couple more times this season—that would make my sponsors happy!” Steely said. “I would like to thank my dad for his support and sponsorship because without him I could not race, and I would like to thank Denise for organizing the rally and all the volunteers— without them I wouldn’t be able to race.

The rally weekend began late afternoon on Friday with a spaghetti dinner fundraiser hosted by the Blythe Fire Department and a “parc exposé”—an open exhibition of the competitors cars—at the fire department. Blythe is located in southern California where the Colorado River meanders through, creating an oasis in the middle of the surrounding desert, and dividing California and Arizona.

Bright and early on Saturday, the teams began the first of eight stages southeast of Blythe.
Then returned to town to run the Lucas Oil/Bilstein Super Special, a slalom exhibition course set in the grassy infield just before the Modifieds race, filmed by the cable channel MAVTV. The stock car fans cheered as the competitors ran the Rallycross-style course, which included a pedal-to-the-medal spin on the circuit.

“I’d like to thank everyone who made this event such a great success,” said organizer Denise McMahon.” Without the support of our sponsors, especially Lucas Oil and Bilstein, and our dedicated volunteers and passionate competitors, this would not have been possible.”

Desert Storm Rally is the first round of the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series, presented by Lucas Oil and sponsored in part by Streetwise Motorsports and Subenet, and this year celebrated its tenth running. The rally is also part of Rally America’s South West Regional Rally series.

In the U.S., stage rally (or performance rally) teams have a driver and co-driver (or navigator) for each car and competitors race in segments called stages on closed public roads, trying to get from the beginning of the stage to the end as fast as they can. Unlike other forms of motorsports, there is no practice allowed and the course is not revealed to the competitors until the co-driver receives the route instructions just prior to the start of the rally. The co-driver then gives the route instructions—often through the use of an intercom, sometimes at speeds in excess of 100 mph—through forest, desert and logging roads throughout the country.

The cars, all street legal to allow driving on public roads between rally stages, are compact and sub-compact cars with varying amounts of performance modifications depending on the class in which they are running.

Round Two of the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series will take place at the Lone Pine Time Trials, a high-speed event held on the abandoned Manzanar Airfield located in the Owens Valley of California, on May 18-19. More information on the series can be found at www.southwestrallyseries.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BSWRC.

Results and detailed information about the Desert Storm Rally is available at http://www.desertstormrally.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DesertStormRally and Twitter at @DStormRally.

About the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series: Formed in 2004, the series was established to provide high-performance stage rally events in the Southwest U.S. Its objective is also to encourage participation and promotion of the sport, especially at the grassroots level.

About Rally America: Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship, the premier performance rally championship in the U.S. and a number of regional rally championships from coast to coast (http://www.rally-america.com).


Photo credit: Sebastian Krywult/turndriverside.com
 
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