streetwisemotorsports » California Rally Series

PikaSports – Great Speeds at Prescott Rally 2011

Admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:31:24 +0000

Prescott, AZ (Oct 1, 2011) – Driver Katianna Pihakari (Anaheim Hills, CA) joined by co-driver John Dillon (Thousand Oaks, CA) took the PikaSports team to another great finish at the Prescott 2011 Rally last weekend. This event, held in the surroundings of Prescott, AZ, on September 30^th and October 1^st, was sanctioned by National Auto Sports Association (NASA). The Prescott Rally 2011 was the final round of the United States rally Championship’s (USRC) Pacific Division Series. It also consists of two events for the California Rally Series (CRS).
“We had a great weekend,” commented the PikaSports driver Katianna Pihakari. “The roads were fast and fun and the event was really smoothly organized. The volunteers made our day as their support and smiles made us fly through the stages.”
“The Streetwise crew did a wonderful job preparing the car for this race. The car just could not have worked better,” Katianna continued. “We did hit a large rock during the roughest section of the stages on Saturday morning. This damaged the left rear wheel bearing but our crew did a wonderful job and changed the parts in less than 20 minutes during the service break.”

“We were determined to bring our overall speeds up during this rally and I am very pleased to see that we obtained our goal,” explained the crew chief Doug Nagy from Streetwise Motorsports www.streetwiseparts.com. “This specific rally is quite demanding for the whole team. The race starts with night stages and the visibility is often limited by the standing dust in the desert. The huge exposures (drops next to the roads on the sides of the mountain) are quite unsettling for most drivers and this will reduce the overall speeds. The long 21-mile stages on Saturday morning are demanding for the drivers and it will be difficult to focus through the longer stages. This is approximately twice the length of a typical stage here on the west coast. ”
“The long straights might be the fastest here on the west coast. We, for example, obtained speeds of 93 mph on loose gravel!” continued the co-driver John Dillon. “This team is a true pleasure to work with and I am impressed to see how quickly Katianna is improving as a driver. Also, because we can fully trust the quality work of Doug and the crew, Katianna and I can fully focus on our jobs within the team. We were lucky to have Steve McNaughton, Ken Shaver, Jon Coltrane and Ralph Kosmides (a former national rally champion) turning wrenches with Doug when we needed help replacing a wheel bearing. They are a big part of our success.”
“We, the whole team, were hoping for slight rain for Friday night to keep the dust down in the darkness and sunshine for Saturday,” mentioned Katianna. ”Luckily the weather man granted our wishes and we had a wonderful weekend at Prescott Rally 2011.” PikaSports campaigns a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com). Lights are provided by Anzo USA (www.anzousa.com). PikaSports races in partnership with the Widget Rally Team www.widgetracing.com. Photos courtesy of Motorsports Memories www.motorsportmemories.com

PikaSports – A Solid Finish at a Rough Gorman Rally 2011

Admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:55:25 +0000

Frazier Park, CA (Aug 28, 2011) – PikaSports obtained another solid finish in the Gorman Rally held August 27, 2011 in Frazier Park CA. The driver Katianna Pihakari (Anaheim Hills, CA) and co-driver Bret Norgaard (San Diego, CA) were racing the PikaSports’ 2002 Subaru WRX prepared by the crew chief Doug Nagy from Streetwise Motorsports. This event was sanctioned by NASA and is a part of the United States Rally Championship (USRC) and California Rally Championship (CRS) series.
“What a fantastic race! Bret and I were having such a great time in the car”, commented driver Katianna Pihakari immediately after the race. “The car could not have been prepared any better. Knowing that the Streetwise crew always does a great job with the car preparation allows me to focus solely on driving. The roads were exciting with little jumps although some scary exposures were present too. My favorite spot was probably the three jumps, one immediately after the other, over waterbars on the stage called North Boundary. “

“I am pleased how well this car handles and flies over the jumps”, said the co-driver Bret Norgaard. “The Streetwise crew really built a solid rally car and it is a pleasure to work with the whole PikaSports team. The enthusiasm in this team is just captivating.”

“As Gorman is known as one of the roughest races in the California Rally Series, I am very pleased that we finished the race. And this well.” commented the crew chief Doug Nagy. ”The rough conditions are not harsh only on the car but also exhausting for the driver and co-driver. Especially the tight and twisty roads after the sunset and in the end of a long day are strenuous.”

PikaSports campaigns a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com ). Lights are provided by Anzo USA ( www.anzousa.com ). Photos
courtesy of Castle Island Photography.

PikaSports Still in the Lead for the 2011 Championship after North Nevada Rally

Admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:09:22 +0000

Fernley, NV (July 10, 2011) – The PikaSports team of driver Katianna Pihakari and co-driver Sean Gallagher were victorious in the Production GT class in the Friday night event of North Nevada Rally, held July 8-9, 2011 in the vicinity of Fernley, NV.
“I think the roads here close to Lovelock and Gerlach are some of the most fun roads of the season”, said Pihakari about the stages. “Our Streetwise crew again did a wonderful job with the car and the car could not have been better set for this event.”
“The roads here are a combination of fast sections that rapidly change into very tight technical sections over a single crest.” continues the co-driver Sean Gallagher. “This might catch many teams off-guard especially when the fatigue comes to play on the second day of the event.”
“Our goal for the event was to finish both days. Unfortunately I made a driving mistake on the second stage on Saturday which got us stuck on the berm. Although no harm was done to us or the car, we arrived six minutes too late to the next time control to be able to continue in the race.”
“The night stages are quite challenging. In addition to the darkness, hanging dust is often an issue.” said the crew chief Doug Nagy. “We have been quite pleased with our LED lights from AnzoUSA. They are valuable under dusty conditions.”
Sanctioned by RallyCar, North Nevada Rally is a coefficient 2 and 3 points paying event and is also part of the California Rally Series (CRS), the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series, and Rally America.
PikaSports campaigns a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com). Lights are provided by Anzo USA (www.anzousa.com). Photos courtesy of Paul McElligott, Castle Island Photography.

PikaSports Victorious in a Tough Desert Storm Rally 2011

Admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:58:35 +0000

Blythe, CA (March 6, 2011) – The PikaSports team with driver Katianna Pihakari and co-driver Marie Boyd were victorious in the Production GT class in all three events at the Desert Storm Rally, held March 3-6, 2011 in Blythe, CA and La Paz County, AZ. At the end of Sunday, the PikaSports 2002 Subaru WRX was one of only four cars still running. This victory placed PikaSports in the lead for both Rally America SouthWest regional Championship and California Rally Championship series.

“Katianna did what you have to do to win these events,” said co-driver Marie Boyd. “Finish with the rubber-side down [on the road] and the shiny side up.”

“It was a wonderful event and a great start to the 2011 season,” Pihakari said. “The terrain was rough and it was getting much worse each pass and still we were gaining time with every stage. It was great having Marie in the car and we are so fortunate to have Streetwise prepare and maintain the car.”

“Katianna is driving with greater confidence and that’s showing up in her increased speed,” Boyd added. “She’s braking later and being more aggressive in accelerating through the corners.”

Saturday night, March 5, featured a Super Special stage at the I-10 Speedway in Blythe, CA, where the surviving four cars put down a time over four laps on the tarmac of the quarter mile bull ring. “Being the ‘all-girl’ team, we got a big reaction from the crowd,” Pihakari said. “The Super Special was a blast. Denise [McMahon] put on a great event this weekend.”

“Katianna has made great strides as a driver,” crew chief Doug Nagy commented. “I am really optimistic about the rest of 2011. We are coming together as a team and should show some exciting progress which will be noticed by everyone throughout this season.”

Sanctioned by RallyCar, Desert Storm Rally is a Coefficient 1, 3, 2 points paying rally and is also part of the California Rally Series (CRS), the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series, and Rally America.

PikaSports campaigns a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com). Lights are provided by Anzo USA (www.anzousa.com). Photos courtesy of Castle Island Photography. For high-resolution images, contact pikasports@yahoo.com.

PikaSports Driver Pihakari Awarded a Coveted Galal Souki Memorial Award

Admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:35:56 +0000

Anaheim Hills, CA (January 29, 2010) – Katianna Pihakari received the Galal Souki Memorial Award for 2010. Awarded annually by the California Rally Series (CRS), the Galal Souki award recognizes competitors of the CRS GT and Performance Stock Class who typify the spirit of helpfulness among the competitors in his/her class. The first recipients of this award were Bruce Davis and Mike Neff in 1980.

“It is a great honor to receive the Galal Souki Memorial Award,” commented Pihakari at the CRS awards banquet on January 22, 2010. “This award is given for our helpfulness and enthusiasm. Although I am the recipient of the award, I believe it is the attitude of our whole PikaSports team that has been noticed. Every member of our team wants everyone in the race to do well. It might sound contradictory to wish that your competitors do well, but for the PikaSports team members it is more important to have a great time with the sport and provide everyone with the best chance they can have in the race. In the end, this is our hobby and we do it for the fun of it.”

PikaSports’ vehicle of choice is a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com). Lights are provided by AnzoUSA (www.anzousa.com). Photos by Bill Rogers, Motorsports Memories and CastleIsland Photography.