“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

“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.

The USRC has always appreciated the time and investment required for teams to compete for a national championship. Sadly, many championship point formulas favor teams that can invest a huge amount of both time and capital. That is why the USRC has designed a structure and events that allow more teams the opportunity to compete at a national level. This season, competitors are allowed to count one out of Division event towards their championship points total. This way a team that misses an event in their local Division due to a schedule conflict or suffers from a poor finish can attempt to better their position by attending events outside their home Division.

In a bold move to encourage more head-to-head competition while holding down the costs to teams, the USRC is providing some added incentives. This season, teams competing outside their home division will be given a free entry to any out of Division event they enter. These incentives also include the final round of the Championship that is being held in the Atlantic Division at the International Rally New York in October.

The 2011 United States Rally Championship is comprised of five events with three rallies in the Pacific Division and two in the Atlantic Division. Rally New York USA, on March 25 and 26, offers competitors their first chance to score valuable USRC championship points. This all-tarmac event will challenge competitors on 100 stage miles of paved surfaces. The event is headquartered in Walton and Monticello, New York.

The Championship then heads out West for Rally Idaho, June 18-19 followed by the Gorman Ridge Rally on August 26-27 in California. The last event for the Pacific Division is the Prescott Rally in Arizona on September 30–October 1 before moving back east for the final round at International Rally New York on October 22-23.

Additional event information is available at www.USRallyChampionship.com

New York Winter Rally, January 15 – 16, 2011 (snow/gravel)

Rally New York USA, April 15 – 16, 2011 (tarmac)

Rally Idaho, June 18 – 19, 2011 (gravel)

Gorman Ridge Rally (California), August 26 – 27, 2011 (gravel)

Prescott Rally (Arizona), September 30 – October 1, 2011 (gravel)

International Rally New York, October 22 – 23, 2011 (gravel)

The United States Rally Championship will continue taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. 161 drivers and co-drivers participated during the 2010 season of the United States Rally Championship. As in the previous years, it is the largest competitor participation of any series in North America with an influx of new drivers and co-drivers.

The United States Rally Championship consists of a combination of snow, gravel and tarmac events. Events of the United States Rally Championship allow for two-pass reconnaissance and pace notes. Snow, gravel and tarmac, full reconnaissance and pace notes make the United States Rally Championship unique in North America as no other series in North America encompasses all these features. More information on the United States Rally Championship is available at www.usrallychampionship.com.

During the first race day, Friday night, two out of the four stages were raced after sunset. The conditions were made more difficult by the dust sitting stagnant due to the lack of breeze. With the bright rally lights the dust forms a solid white wall in front of the car. Some drivers follow the berm looking through the side window instead of the front one. The PikaSports’ Subaru has a combination of HID and LED lights in addition to the regular driving lights. The LED lights, brand new design for rally from AnzoUSA, showed their value during the dusty stages providing better aid through the dust than the more powerful HID lights.

After the first tentative stage, during which the communication skills of the new partnership were established, the ladies picked up the speed. The car behaved marvelously and the ladies were able to keep the tires on the road. Even the random cattle yielded right of the way to the car #18.

The second day, Saturday October 2nd, started with faster pace and the Subaru was flying. “We felt great”, comments Katianna about the Saturday morning stages. “Our communication was flawless, we maintained clean driving lines and great car control. These three things were our goals for the race. Accomplishing these kept increasing our speed throughout the day. ”

“It was clear to me that Katianna was becoming more comfortable with the higher speeds throughout the race. On the longer straights we were flat out on the fourth gear going approximately 90 mph. This is the fastest we have ever driven in a rally”, continues Marie.

“After the service break, when I heard from my radio that our car was stuck in a tree on stage 7, I thought we were done for the day.” told Doug Nagy, the crew chief of the team. “I was thrilled to hear approximately 15 minutes later that the car was back on the road and the ladies were in the car determined to continue racing.” “They finished the stage only one minute left of the ‘maximum permitted time’, i.e. only one minute from being disqualified.”

“Understandably the last stage was noticeably slower than the earlier ones. Their main focus had switched into ‘finish-safely’ mode,” analyzes John Dillon. “Katianna did remember an important lesson: In order to finish first, you first need to finish.”

“This was her first serious ‘off’ during a rally race and she handled it extremely well.” comments Steve McNaughton over the phone. “I believe she was a little shaken by the excursion because she told me how the roads suddenly got really narrow towards the end. The intimidating exposures on the last stage must have made her even more cautious for that section. ”

“It was wonderful to get to the end of the two last stages when all the voluntary course workers were applauding to our progress”, said Katianna. “Perhaps the best moment was passing the finish line. This was the first time we were sure we made it. Almost a hundred people were waiting and cheering for our finish. One of the best sights at the finish line was to see the big smiles on our team members’ faces. That crowned the day.”

“We were a little surprised not to hear any jokes about female drivers associated with the tree branch that was sticking through our left front fender”, commented Marie after the awards ceremony. “We had a great race filled with excitement. Definitely a weekend to be remembered. I am already looking forward to getting into the car with Katianna again!”

PikaSports vehicle of choise is a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com).  Lights are provided by AnzoUSA (www.anzousa.com). PikaSports functions under the umbrella of Widget Racing (www.widgetracing.com).