Double-Take Rallysport experiences hardship at the Rim of the World Rally.

[gameboy]

PRESS RELEASE:
For Immediate Distribution – May 10 2003

Double-Take Rallysport experiences hardship at the Rim of the World Rally.

Seattle, WA – Double-Take Rallysport (DTRally) made its first foray outside the Pacific Northwest last weekend at the Rim of the World ProRally. The team joined a record number of rally teams as the ProRally circuit descended on the small high desert community of Palmdale, California. The Rim of the World is considered the roughest event in North America and is well know to test the limits of the teams and the mechanical limits of their cars. The Double-Take brothers learned this first hand as the weekend unfolded.

Day One- Dark thunderheads hung on the afternoon horizon as the rally got of to a spectacular start at the fantastic new Pelona Vista soccer park in Palmdale. The forecast called for thundershowers during the weekend. For a city that boasts 360 days of sunshine a year this was the first time in the history of the rally that rain would greet the competitors. The first day’s stages were run at night. Stage 1 went without a hitch with the team setting a very competitive time on the tarmac hill climb known as “Magic Mountain.” Unfortunately, this good start would soon unravel. The Mini’s new rally suspension soaked up the abnormally rough roads with ease but the conditions proved to be too rough for the stock suspension parts. By the end of the second stage, it became apparent that the team would have major problems as the rear right wheel had collapsed into the wheel well. The upper control arm had bent and broken in 2 places and the brothers were then forced to slowly nurse the car through the third stage and back to service where they retired. The final stages of the day were canceled due to the rapidly deteriorating weather and road conditions which unintentionally saved the brother from a DNF for the first day.

Day Two- The day dawned brilliant and sunny as the clouds parted over the competitors and gathering crowd of spectators. The brief respite in the storm would prove to be fleeting as the day wore on. The Double-Take service crew took advantage of the break in the storm and worked frantically to repair and strengthen the damage to the control arm. With literally minutes to spare, they had the car back on its wheels and the team on its way with a final caution to “go easy.” This advice proved to be prophetic as the overnight rains had thoroughly saturated the rally roads. On the first stage of the day, “Del Sur South,” the brothers were slowed to a crawl as the Mini’s wheels spun frantically and often futilely for purchase in the deep mud. The conditions were worsened by a sudden torrential downpour, accompanied by high winds, which left small lakes in its path. After regrouping at the top of the hill, the competitors readied for the return trip down. It soon became apparent that this trip would be even worse than the trip up the hill. One ascent in particular was so steep and the mud so slick, the Mini, along with over a half-dozen competitors, was unable to scale the hill. After being unceremoniously towed to the top, the team picked its way to the finish and believing they had re-broken the control arm during the stage, decided to retire. Shortly after, the organizers again canceled the remaining stages.

Despite the frustrating weekend, the team’s spirits were buoyed by the enthusiastic response the fans gave to the Mini. Many commented they were glad to see a Mini return to its rally roots and the comment “cute car,” was often overheard. Despite the mechanical difficulties the team has been experiencing, with each rally, the team is earning more about the strengths and weakness of the car. They believe this teething process will soon translate into podium finishes.

Double-Take Rallysport would like to extend a sincere thanks to Greg Hightower, Adam White, and Rob Giovenale for their help in service; the Tabors, and the Dodge SRT-4 team for their generous support in lending equipment and help to repair the Mini’s suspension; and Mini Mania (www.MiniMania.com) for their support and technical assistance, as well as all the workers and organizers who braved everything that mother nature tossed at them to make this rally happen.

www.DTRally.com

pics:
http://dtrally.com/RimoftheWorld/aftermath.jpg
http://dtrally.com/RimoftheWorld/delsur1.jpg
http://dtrally.com/RimoftheWorld/delsur2.jpg
http://dtrally.com/RimoftheWorld/lights.jpg
http://dtrally.com/RimoftheWorld/lightson.jpg

eugene

[TBDAugs]

ahh, now there's a way to get more negative camber on the stock Mini, rally the thing and bend up the control arms...

Great showing guys, love the front view of those lights!

AXAugs

[collibosher]

eugene.. good luck!
i will be following your progress.
are you affected at all by the recent decisions to put some of the events on hold?

[HarryHBMCC]

Tough luck, Eugene. I hope the next one goes better. Are you going to replace the rest of the stock suspension parts for the next one?

I'm leaving for this month's TSD rally with my MINI Cooper in about an hour. Should be fun, rained cats and dogs last night, showers and thunderstorms today.

Harry

[DerekR]

Eugene - what exactly is your "new rally suspension"??

I'm rallying an MCS and using Bilstein coilovers. Interested in hearing what suspension others that actually rally MINIs are using.

[chiph]

Great post, Eugene! You can sure tell the suspension is in trouble in pic #2 (delsur1.jpg). Hope things get better for the next time.

Chip H.

[gameboy]

hey all!

collibosher: unfortunately, the SCCA's decision to suspend all clubrallies impacts us directly . 2 rallies have already been canceled here in the northwest and more in california are on the chopping block.

Harry: we intend to plate all of the rear control arms to prevent them from bending again. we also think that the failure was due to the rear suspension bottoming out. this caused the arm to impact the underside of the body, bending it, which eventually lead to it breaking.

Derek: the new suspension is similar to yours. it's built around bilstein inserts and H&R springs. it's fabricated by the same company that built the suspensions for the "italian job" stunt cars.

we'll be headed up to canada in a few weeks since these venues are the only ones avaliable due to the US rally suspension. i'll let you all know how it goes!

eugene

[HarryHBMCC]

Eugene, do you have SS or SS+?

Come on up to Canada! The Canadian Association of Rallysport is quite good. You just missed Rocky Mountain last weekend and Big Horn the week before but Pacific Forest is coming up in two weeks.

I'm a member of the KWRC affiliate here in Ontario. I do TSDs and help out in TSDs and performance rallies in Ontario like Tall Pines (one you might have heard of). Not sure you'll head out east but if you do, let me know for sure.

Pics of aftermath of my rally last weekend: http://members.rogers.com/hpulley8/discoverontario.html

Harry

[gameboy]

hi harry,

we don't have SS or SS+, we're using an aftermarket rally suspension. (check out my previous post)

We'll be visiting BC in a few weeks for the Pacific Forest rally. Since the local clubrally (the week before PFR) was canceled due to the SCCA's decision to supsend divisional events, a few Northwest teams will be making their way across the border that weekend- us included.

stay tuned!

eugene

[HarryHBMCC]

I already see you on the entry list along with another 6 teams from WA. This is already the most entries they've had in a long time at PFR and there are still several Subaru Canada Rally Teams to confirm (which plan on attending). A club member or two from KWRC are signed up as well.

Good luck!