LLLLLET'S GET READY TO RRRRUMMMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!
That's right, we are on the cusp of another season of ditch to ditch, high revving, road scorching 2WD rally action!
Once again, I'd like to thank Danza del Sol Winery, for supporting yet another wild and competitive season as they help bring you the 2011 MaxAttack! Rally Series presented by Danza del Sol.
There are over 20 MaxAttack! entrants on the list for the 2011 Olympus Rally this weekend who are all looking for a dose of glory as they fight for the MaxMoney and begin their chase toward the 2011 Jake Himes Cup!
Meanwhile, once again the rookie codrivers will be chasing toward another MaxAttack! Rookie Codriver award valued at $500 from Alex Gelsomino!
The Stories- Olympus 2011
-At the top of the list we see some familiar faces coming back to their 2WD roots:
-Andrew Comrie Picard/Robbie Durant (CA/GB) , champions of the sport at ANY level, will be debuting a new 2WD rocketship in the form of their brand new factory support Scion xD. This meaner, leaner Scion features a turbo, and with a team as seasoned as Andrew and Robbie, it will be subjected to an excellent first test of the machinery in the forests of Washington. It's very nice to see Scion continuing in rally!
-Local hotshoes (and always smiling brothers) Dave and Rick Hintz (WA/CA) are no strangers to winning with just two wheel propulsion, either. Having left 2WD for a few years, we are excited to see them back in another rear wheel drive machine. A BMW M3 is the weapon of choice for the newest incarnation of MaxAttack! Hintz brothers. They have Olympus on their resume (CV) as well, so they are sure to be a threat.
-Some very fast MaxAttack! competitors coming back for another shot at the cash and the Jake Himes Cup:
-Wyatt Knox and Ole Holter (NH/CA) are back in the MaxAttack! fray this year with their potent Mazda Mazdaspeed3. Neither of these guys are strangers to intense 2WD competition and they'll be putting the turbo Mazda through it's paces to chase after some MaxMoney. Also of note, Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development is back again this year with the longest running manufacturer support program for 2WD rallying in North America! Thank you Mazda!
-Last year's winner of the Western Round, Dillon Van Way (LA) is back for seconds with codriver Jake Blattner (OR) in one of the new 2011 Ford Fiestas. At Oregon last year, he had a nail biter of a rally going down to the wire on the last leg. He knows what it takes to win at the MaxAttack! game, and with the well sorted Fiesta package and turbocharged power, they'll definitely be in the hunt for a shot at MaxAttack! glory. We're also very happy to welcome Ford Racing as another manufacturer who understands the value of racing in 2WD rally! Thank you Ford!
-Another fast team of brothers from the Pacific Northwest, the DemonRally team of Tom and Don Burress (WA) have had a year to sort their turbocharged Volkswagen GTI since their last MaxAttack! appearance. In previous years, they set blistering times and have earned lots of MaxAttack! cash. They were setting the winning pace last year at Oregon when they learned of the effects of turbo torque on axle shafts. We expect to see them fighting at the top again this year, as a committed grassroots team with the talent, equipment, and heart to run with the factory support teams.
-Adam Crane/Britta Nielsen (WA) always set fast times in a near classic Toyota Corolla. Adam knows rear wheel drive very well, and the lightweight Corolla usually gets tossed around the corners like a sprint car. MaxAttack! Fans are encouraged to report who makes the more spectacularly beautiful sideways RWD sweepers. My money would be on Adam and Britta or the Hintz brothers!
-Team AllWheelsDriven's (ironic?) Mazda Mazda3 will be again piloted by Dave (Hendo) Henderson and Terrence McDowell (OR). The car is well sorted and Dave and Terrence are ready to tear. Last year, their MaxAttack! bid ended early when engine parts on the inside suddenly decided they wanted to get out, but a year on, the car is poised to run fast, and being normally aspirated, will be shrieking at high revs through the forest! Another team chasing Mazda money as well as MaxMoney!
-Lots more great PNW teams with local knowledge and fast rally cars:
-If you know anything about Pacific Northwest Rallying, then you know the Tabor Family of Oregon. Rally supporters and competitors, they always welcome you with a smile and help anyway they can. At Olympus, two MaxAttack! cars will be piloted by The Tabor Team. The family patriarch Bruce Tabor will be teaming up with John Elkin (WA) in theNissan Sentra SE-R, while the daughter/mother team of Kristen and Janice Tabor will command the Acura RSX-S. Both cars will, of course, be shod with Silverstone Tires.
-Brian Gottlieb and Patrick Darrow are making a privateer run at the more expansive Rally America 2WD championship this year in their Honda Civic. The extra stage miles (not to mention truck miles) help a team find the weak points in the machinery, and sharpen the skills of the occupants. They'll surely put that knowledge to use as they come home to run Olympus.
-Dave Clark and Jenatte Clark in a classic RWD Toyota Celica vs. Kris Dahl/K. Edward Dahl in a lightweight FWDHonda Civic vs. Jason Staats/Billy Irvin in a heavier, but more powerful FWD Nissan Sentra Spec V. All starting on the road close to each other, with vastly different machinery, but all capable of earning a chunk of the $5,000.00 MaxAttack! purse!
-Other interesting entries:
-Erik Christiansen, former co-host of an excellent rally podcast out of Los Angeles called Stage Notes Radio, is again teamed up with Amy Floyd in their Volkswagen GTi. Getting started as a codriver on the east coast before moving to California, Erik has been a California Rally Series regular as of late, but this is his first trek to try his skill at MaxAttack! as a driver.
-Some call the car "vintage," some call it "historic," and some just call it "old." But whatever you do, do NOT call the1969 Saab 96 of Garth Ankeny and Russ Kraushaar slow! Last year, they were a team to watch for their SPEED, not just their novelty, and were on target to take home a chunk of money before a late rally malady. The old Saab engine screams through the forest and brings you back to the 70's showing just how good 2WD rally cars were!
-Another fast car to watch is the beautifully prepared Merkur XR4Ti (Ford Sierra) of Sean and Jenne Medcroft. The team was quick last year in the turbocharged German Ford and recently competed at the GRC rallycross event in WA. We're glad to see him come back to the forest with nary a dent!
In total, there are 11 marques represented by over 20 entries! We've got American cars, Asian cars, and European cars.
We've turbocharged boosters, high-compression normally aspirated screamers, and stratosphere revving rotaries. We've got front-wheel-drive rockets and rear-wheel-drive drifters.
We've got local hotshoes and national contenders from around the globe. We've got factory support teams and the rootsiest of grassroots contenders, all competing in a format that strives to put them on as level of playing field as possible, to let the talent and preparation shine.
We've got the best rally video production team in the country in NoCoast Productions putting up honest-to-goodness rally coverage for your enjoyment at www.max-attack.com
Who will win? Who will take home an oversized novelty check along with a pocket fattening REAL check that will plump up their bank account?
MaxAttack! at Olympus Rally! Come watch the story be told!
Special thanks to Danza del Sol Winery, Rally America, Olympus Rally, the Rally America Store, NoCoast Video Productions, Ben Bradley, Alex Gelsomino, Bob Olsen, Beryl Ann Burton, JB Niday, Bob Nielsen, Charles Buren, Shenandoah Bennett, Eddie Fiorelli, and Jake Himes.
Finally, thanks also to ALL OF YOU COMPETITORS who continue to make this series something that is emulated around the world and is proving itself as the most successful business model for the future of rallying! You all deserve a hand for this, because you all had a hand in building it.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's YOUR series. Make it what it can be!
-Eric Burmeister
