An update from the third L'Anse Service
-Jan and Jody Zedril, in the #708 Mitsubishi Lancer, were disappointed that they could not run Stage 14. Stage 15 was good and dry, although they were four seconds slower the second time through. Baraga Plains was softer, but it was a fun stage. The car is good, no drama, and with two stages remaining they just want to bring it home.
-Joseph Burke, driver of the #115 Ford Fiesta, sheepishly admits that it did not click in his mind that Saturday was a new regional event. He was getting times for Dillon Van Way from co-driver Alex Kihuani, but he thought it was for the weekend. They are down by about 15 seconds today. He was disappointed that Menge Creek was transited, as he does better on the twisty stages whereas Van Way is quicker on the faster stages. "Horsepower is king," says Burke.
-Dillon Van Way, driver of the #600 Ford Fiesta, said that Stage 15 felt awesome. He and co-driver Jake Blattner say that the stage felt like the best of the weekend. They were slower through the stage than their first time through, and he is waiting to see some other times. There is nothing to lose so he's MaxAttack!'n it. The car is running the best it has ever been.
-Matt Himes, co-driver to Silas Himes in the #535 Honda Civic, says that Stage 15 went OK. They are just riding it out to the end, and that they are fine with where they are in the standings.
-Billy Mann, driver of the #37 Honda Civic (with co-driver Mary Warren), was 15 seconds faster through Baraga Plains than the first pass. He is close to the Himes brothers, there is less than a minute separating them and the Himes brothers with two stages to go. The stage just felt better, like he had a better rhythm than last time. The front end is still dancing around a bit, but he has been playing with the brake bias which he says has improved things a lot. The rear end is stepping out a bit more under left foot braking, which he likes.
-Chris Czyzio, driver of the #244 Volvo 240, was disappointed to have to transit Stage 14. It is, in his estimation, the premier stage of the event. He and co-driver Jeff Secor did well on Baraga Plains. The car is handling great, and he is looking forward to the final two stages.
-The Ford Focus, #824, of Cameron Steely and Josh Buller has no problems to report. The brakes are fixed, and the team shaved 10 seconds off their first pass through Baraga Plains. They have more confidence, and are doing better.
-Steve Brockelman, driver of the #262 GMC Sonoma, says nothing broke, there were no blown out tires, and he is happy. He is enjoying the stages, and that Menge Creek was "ridiculous" in the best of ways. He and co-driver Dustin Masters were disappointed not to be able to run it a second time.
-We have not talked much this weekend with John Kimmes and Greg Smith, drivers of the #751 VW GTI. Due to illness, John was not able to race on Friday, so he was a little concerned with how today would go. They had a minor electrical problem, but it was fixed. He is having a great day today, and he is happy to support MaxAttack! even though he was only able to race one day.
-Local boys Mychal Summers and Ryan DesLauriers, in the #128 Mazda RX-7, are having fun today. The co-driver is behaving and the car is exceptionally good. They just want to finish tonight, and not record another DNF.
-David Grenwis and Drew Burkholder are going well in the #654 VW GTI. All is good, and they are having a great time. Today's stages are more fun than yesterday; they are smooth, flowing, and most of all dry.
-Stage 15 was relatively trouble-free for the #841 VW GTI, which, as you may remember, was fitted with an Evo windshield following an earlier rollover. Driver Daryn Chernick confirmed that it was Art Gruszka who was the good samaritan that provided the windshield. The Evo windshield worked perfectly, and it made him feel faster than before. They are still running without an odometer. Co-driver Matt Conte noted that they were going to go back and re-run the stage on which they rolled. The driver is pumped up now, but they really just want to finish.
-The #551 VW GTI of Kristofer Yahner and Tony Benusa is going well, and the team is having a lot of fun on today's stages. The car is running well now, although they are going deaf because they don't have fifth gear and fourth gets a bit wound out on the transits.
-Erik Hill and Oliver Cooper, in the #864 Eagle Talon, discovered that a front sub-frame support had cracked. The fit a plate, welded it in, and everything is now fine. The road surface of Stage 15 was loose, but they picked up four seconds from the first running. They are looking forward to the last two stages.
-The #240 240SX of Ian Seppanen and Daniel Clark is doing awesome. They are enjoying the beautiful Michigan weather. The team is sad they had to transit Stage 14, but they are looking forward to another run through Herman. The car has a bit of a clunk in the front, but it is taking a lot of abuse and just won't give up.
Here are the standings through 15 of 17 stages:
1. Zedril/Zedril (Mitsubishi Lancer) 2:09:02
2. Burke/Kihurani (Ford Fiesta) 2:11:14
3. Mann/Warren (Honda Civic) 2:21:02
4. Himes/Hims (Honda Civic) 2:21:48
5. Czyzio/Secor (Volvo 240) 2:33:12
6. Seppanen/Clark (Nissan 240SX) 2:45:28
7. Brockelman/Masters (GMC Sonoma) 2:46:11
8. Steely/Buller (Ford Focus) 2:48:25
9. Chernick/Conte (VW GTI) 2:54:20
The list of DNFs remains the same.
We'll try to get a word with teams as they check into the final MTC.
