Our RallyNY story with photos and a video.
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Our RallyNY story with photos and a video.
"Speed Method and USRally Team tackle Rally New York"
For immediate release:
The Speed Method and USRally Team VW Golf GTI has undergone major reconstructive surgery in the past 8 weeks leading up to the Rally New York event. The car was stripped to a bare shell at this time and received fresh paint both inside and out, changing the GTI from its original white exterior to a variation of the new VW Golf R32's blue with a respray of the roll cage and all interior metal in bright white.
A fresh 2.0 liter, 8 valve engine was selected for duty, warmed over with some go fast goodies including a 268 grind camshaft with adjustable cam gear, eurosport header, full race exhaust, autotech's massive ignition wires and computer chip as well as added cooling and oiling capacity to handle the abuse dished out during a rally. This engine combination is mated to the ultra exotic VW Motorsport/ Quaiffe competition 6 speed dogbox and limited slip differential. The suspension was also completely rebuilt and adjustable spherical bearing strut tops were grafted in place. Also Speed Method did some reinforcement work and added spherical bearings and polyurethane bushings to the lower control arms.
The Speed Method team worked every spare moment to prepare the car for its re-debut. "This wouldn't have been possible without hard and meticulous work by Brandon and the boys at Speed Method; I can't thank them enough." says driver and car owner JD. So with a fresh new face and every nut, bolt and wire from nose to tail replaced the GTI was ready to rock again.
Nov. 4th: Around noon the service rig is being loaded up with tools, spare parts and tires while driver, JD Ackley, service tech, George White, and crew chief, Brandon Lewis, are being poured on by soaking rains. By 3pm the team hits the road for a 180 mile drive in heavy rain with their mkIII VW Golf GTI rally car in tow. "Well the weather can't get any worse." - George
Early arrival helped all of the pre-event paperwork and activites go without a hitch. Race registration was handled Thursday night upon the arrival of our co-driver Scott F. Williams of the USRally Team.
Nov. 5th: Friday was un-seasonably cold and windy with snow flurries in the morning and early afternoon. While Scott and JD were out in the Subaru Impreza writing notes on the reconnaissance, Brandon and George were left with having the rally car's annual inspection done and pre-event tech inspection. The annual and tech inspection were a breeze and the tech inspectors were very impressed with the car. Scott and JD finish up the recce both saying "This is gonna be a blast".
Nov 6th: Saturday was race day. The GTI was in Parc Expose by 7am and the team was ready to go. Car number 44 was assigned and also dictated the starting order. Stage 1 was tarmac and went very smoothly, the car was running great and handling was razor sharp. The first service stop went quickly and during which the crew switched over wheels and tires for the gravel stages ahead. The next service intervals following the first two gravel stages were to be a bit more hectic. JD radioed ahead to the team waiting in the service park that stage 3 was very rough and the car took a hard impact on the skidplate that protects the underside of the engine area. There was no notable damage but the service crew was hurried as they had to give the car a very through damage check as well as add fuel, change 5 tires and clean the mud from the car in just under 9 minutes.
The service stop after stage 5 was also to be very eventful. The GTI had a tire blow out just after finishing the stage and delayed the car's arrival to service, further shortening the already tight service schedule. Stage 8's roughness had jarred loose a power steering line fitting at the rack and pinion which had to be corrected and the fluid had to replaced and bled. The headlamps were also rattled loose along with the VW emblem and the grill. All of these issues had to be addressed as well as the standard service stop duties, plus another changing of 5 tires within 15 minutes.
JD and Scott set very competitive times throughout the day and the remaining service stops were routine and after one final tarmac stage in the dark the day would be done. The Speed Method service crew packed up and headed back into town for the rally's official finish in downtown Monticello. JD and Scott were at the finish and the car was fully intact and still running well... They had made it unscathed but very worn out from the long day and the rough conditions. Speed Method owner and crew chief Brandon went on to say, "I'm proud of them, this was a tough event on the car and the crew. They kept it on the road and everyone had a blast.". JD and Scott both agreed, "This is the best the car has ever felt, everyone's combined effort made this rally a success and we can't wait to get out and do it again; another big thank you to George, Brandon of Speed Method and the USRally Team".
Rally New York was a great event, the organization was top notch and the volunteer workers deserve credit for their help.
After the final results we tabulated the team's road penalties due to tire failure dropped them a little further down the order but still finished a respectable 5th in the M2 class and 22nd overall, ahead of many 4WD and much more powerful cars.
The next event for the team is the NASA sanctioned SandHills Sandblast Rally in Cheraw, SC. This is the first event on NASA's Eastern States Rally Championship 2005 schedule. Hope to see you all there.
Visit the following resources online:
www.speedmethodperformance.com
www.usrallyteam.com
www.nasarallysport.com
For event photos:
http://gallery.speedmethodperformanc...-New-York-2004
Reported from: Woodbury, NJ and Monticello, NY
by: Aaron Lariche
Thanks for looking,
Brandon
For immediate release:
The Speed Method and USRally Team VW Golf GTI has undergone major reconstructive surgery in the past 8 weeks leading up to the Rally New York event. The car was stripped to a bare shell at this time and received fresh paint both inside and out, changing the GTI from its original white exterior to a variation of the new VW Golf R32's blue with a respray of the roll cage and all interior metal in bright white.
A fresh 2.0 liter, 8 valve engine was selected for duty, warmed over with some go fast goodies including a 268 grind camshaft with adjustable cam gear, eurosport header, full race exhaust, autotech's massive ignition wires and computer chip as well as added cooling and oiling capacity to handle the abuse dished out during a rally. This engine combination is mated to the ultra exotic VW Motorsport/ Quaiffe competition 6 speed dogbox and limited slip differential. The suspension was also completely rebuilt and adjustable spherical bearing strut tops were grafted in place. Also Speed Method did some reinforcement work and added spherical bearings and polyurethane bushings to the lower control arms.
The Speed Method team worked every spare moment to prepare the car for its re-debut. "This wouldn't have been possible without hard and meticulous work by Brandon and the boys at Speed Method; I can't thank them enough." says driver and car owner JD. So with a fresh new face and every nut, bolt and wire from nose to tail replaced the GTI was ready to rock again.
Nov. 4th: Around noon the service rig is being loaded up with tools, spare parts and tires while driver, JD Ackley, service tech, George White, and crew chief, Brandon Lewis, are being poured on by soaking rains. By 3pm the team hits the road for a 180 mile drive in heavy rain with their mkIII VW Golf GTI rally car in tow. "Well the weather can't get any worse." - George
Early arrival helped all of the pre-event paperwork and activites go without a hitch. Race registration was handled Thursday night upon the arrival of our co-driver Scott F. Williams of the USRally Team.
Nov. 5th: Friday was un-seasonably cold and windy with snow flurries in the morning and early afternoon. While Scott and JD were out in the Subaru Impreza writing notes on the reconnaissance, Brandon and George were left with having the rally car's annual inspection done and pre-event tech inspection. The annual and tech inspection were a breeze and the tech inspectors were very impressed with the car. Scott and JD finish up the recce both saying "This is gonna be a blast".
Nov 6th: Saturday was race day. The GTI was in Parc Expose by 7am and the team was ready to go. Car number 44 was assigned and also dictated the starting order. Stage 1 was tarmac and went very smoothly, the car was running great and handling was razor sharp. The first service stop went quickly and during which the crew switched over wheels and tires for the gravel stages ahead. The next service intervals following the first two gravel stages were to be a bit more hectic. JD radioed ahead to the team waiting in the service park that stage 3 was very rough and the car took a hard impact on the skidplate that protects the underside of the engine area. There was no notable damage but the service crew was hurried as they had to give the car a very through damage check as well as add fuel, change 5 tires and clean the mud from the car in just under 9 minutes.
The service stop after stage 5 was also to be very eventful. The GTI had a tire blow out just after finishing the stage and delayed the car's arrival to service, further shortening the already tight service schedule. Stage 8's roughness had jarred loose a power steering line fitting at the rack and pinion which had to be corrected and the fluid had to replaced and bled. The headlamps were also rattled loose along with the VW emblem and the grill. All of these issues had to be addressed as well as the standard service stop duties, plus another changing of 5 tires within 15 minutes.
JD and Scott set very competitive times throughout the day and the remaining service stops were routine and after one final tarmac stage in the dark the day would be done. The Speed Method service crew packed up and headed back into town for the rally's official finish in downtown Monticello. JD and Scott were at the finish and the car was fully intact and still running well... They had made it unscathed but very worn out from the long day and the rough conditions. Speed Method owner and crew chief Brandon went on to say, "I'm proud of them, this was a tough event on the car and the crew. They kept it on the road and everyone had a blast.". JD and Scott both agreed, "This is the best the car has ever felt, everyone's combined effort made this rally a success and we can't wait to get out and do it again; another big thank you to George, Brandon of Speed Method and the USRally Team".
Rally New York was a great event, the organization was top notch and the volunteer workers deserve credit for their help.
After the final results we tabulated the team's road penalties due to tire failure dropped them a little further down the order but still finished a respectable 5th in the M2 class and 22nd overall, ahead of many 4WD and much more powerful cars.
The next event for the team is the NASA sanctioned SandHills Sandblast Rally in Cheraw, SC. This is the first event on NASA's Eastern States Rally Championship 2005 schedule. Hope to see you all there.
Visit the following resources online:
www.speedmethodperformance.com
www.usrallyteam.com
www.nasarallysport.com
For event photos:
http://gallery.speedmethodperformanc...-New-York-2004
Reported from: Woodbury, NJ and Monticello, NY
by: Aaron Lariche
Thanks for looking,
Brandon
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