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2006 (National) Rally New York (USA) - 7-8 Apr 05

Posted: September 27, 2006 5:27 PM - 6455 Hits

Round 2 - 2006 United States Rally Championship
Round 3 - 2006 Eastern States (USA) Rally Championship.

  • A 55-minute movie by Creative Edge Events from the 2006 Rally New York USA is now available free on line.
  • Lawless/Quinn Narrowly Win Rally New York USA – Event Report
  • Irish Dominate event. - Results available

Posted: September 27, 2006 5:27 PM

A 55-minute movie by Creative Edge Events from the 2006 Rally New York USA is now available free on line.
Lawless/Quinn Narrowly Win Rally New York USA – Event Report
Tom Lawless and Graham Quinn (in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) achieved victory by the slimmest of margins in Rally New York USA, the opening round of the 2006 U.S. Rally Championship. At the finish they were a mere three seconds ahead of Seamus Burke/Chrissie Beavis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo). The two teams finished also finished first and second in the Open 4 class, for extensively-modified, four-wheel-drive, turbocharged cars.

The special stage roads in the Catskill Mountains (only pavement, for the first time in this rally) were dry during Thursday’s reconnaissance. But light to moderate rains began before the mid-Friday start in Monticello, and continued for most of the day. Many teams fitted wet-weather tires or made extra cuts on the treads of their dry rubber, some while the cars were in the display area before the start. But reigning national champion Lawless gambled that the roads would not deteriorate too badly and chose to stay on dry tires – incorrectly, as he would later admit. By the time that the teams reached the first service stop, Lawless was in second place, 29 seconds behind Burke (who won this event last Spring).

What followed was a classic rally, with the two teams trading fastest times on the special stages (speed tests), and with Lawless generally cutting into Burke’s lead. By the time that the cars reached the overnight stop in Monticello, the gap was reduced to 24 seconds. Lawless continued to close on Saturday, under clearing, windy, cold conditions. Going into the last special stage on Saturday evening, he had reduced the deficit to eight seconds.

The tactical situation for co-drivers Quinn and Beavis was complicated by the presence of chicanes – composed of plastic barrels and cones – on the fastest stretches of road, to slow the cars. Because reconnaissance was conducted at “regular” road speed (per regulations), and the barrels and cones were NOT in place, the first time that competitors actually negotiated them was during the rally. Most of the top drivers knocked down a few markers, with a ten second penalty for each charged against their times.

On the final test, Lawless was once again fastest – by one second. But Burke nudged two markers on the stage, to Lawless’s one, and that ten-second difference gave the rally to Lawless when they reached the finish line in Liberty.

David Anton/Robbie Durant (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) placed third overall and first in Group N (production), nearly four and a half minutes down on the top two, but comfortably ahead of the Open 4 class cars Matt Iorio/Jeremy Wimpey (Subaru Impreza) and Daniel O’Brien/Stephen Duffy (Subaru Impreza WRX STi). For Anton this was the first rally that he had driven with entirely paved special stages, and he admitted that he paced himself during the Friday rains. But his speed proved enough to earn a podium position at the end.

In the rally-within-the-rally for two-wheel-drive cars, Mark Lawrence/Robert Maciejski (Volkswagen Golf) were the winners by 16 seconds from Eric Burmeister/Dave Shindle (Mazda 3 turbo). Burmeister was in command on Friday night, but a penalty for an overly long service stop (when his crew had to change an axle joint) cost them first place. Bruce Davis/Jimmy Brandt (Dodge Neon SRT-4) finished third in the category.

Each of the two days of Rally New York USA counted as a round of the Eastern States Rally Championship, both of which were won by Lawless/Quinn. (Burke/Beavis were not entered in the divisional.) Second went to the up-and-coming team of Jeremy Drislane/Carl Williamson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4), who were faster than the national cars on two special stages, and would have placed third overall in the national rally if they had entered it.

Results by Championship

position, driver/co-driver (car), class position

U.S. Rally Championship event:
1 Tom Lawless/Graham Quinn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8), 1st O4
2 Seamus Burke/Chrissie Beavis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo), 2nd O4
3 David Anton/Robbie Durant (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 1st Group N
4 Matt Iorio/Jeremy Wimpey (Subaru Impreza), 3rd O4
5 Daniel O’Brien/Stephen Duffy (Subaru ImprezaWRX STi), 4th O4
6 Brian Scott/John Dillon (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 5th O4
7 Otis Dimiters/Alan Ockwell (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 2nd Group N
8 Mark Lawrence/Robert Maciejski (Volkswagen Golf), 1st 2wd, 1st O2
9 Eric Burmeister/Dave Shindle (Mazda 3 turbo), 2nd 2wd, 2nd O2
10 George Georgakopoulos/Faruq Mays (Subaru Impreza WRX), 6th O4
11 Bruce Davis/Jimmy Brandt (Dodge Neon SRT-4), 3rd 2wd, 3rd O2
12 Brian Street/Dave Weiman (Toyota Celica), 1st SS

did not finish:
Craig Studnicky/Jeffrey Hagan (Toyota Celica), drive shaft
Patrick Farrell/Bernard Farrell (Subaru Impreza), transmission
Hampton Bridwell/Joshua Katinger (Toyota Celica Alltrac), rolled

Eastern States Rally Championship event #1:
1 Tom Lawless/Graham Quinn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8), 1st P1
2 Jeremy Drislane/Carl Williamson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4), 2nd P1
3 Maciej Przybysz/Dominik Jozwiak (Subaru Impreza), 3rd P1
4 Martin O’Flynn/Bernie Obry (Mitsubishi Eclipse), 1st SS1
5 Enda McCormack/Mark McAllister (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6), 4th P1
6 Daniel O’Brien/Stephen Duffy (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 5th P1
7 Patrick Brennan/Sean Moriarty (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 6th P1
8 Darrell Pugh/Jonathan Barnes (Mitsubishi Eclipse), 7th P1
9 Emilio Arce/Sarah Gardescu (Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS), 2nd SS
10 Donal McGivney/Noel Gallagher (Subaru Impreza WRX), 3rd SS
11 Mark Lawrence/Robert Maciejski (Volkswagen Golf), 1st M2
12 Dan Brosnan/Paddy McCague (Nissan Sentra), 2nd M2
13 Michael Cosgrove/John O’Reilly (Mitsubishi Eclipse), 4th SS
14 Andrew Frick/Simon Wright (Volkswagen Scirocco), 3rd M2
15 Alex Kuhner/Peter Monin (Subaru Impreza L), 1st P2
16 Per Schroeder/Jason Grahn (Subaru Impreza), 2nd P2
17 Otis Dimiters/Alan Ockwell (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 8th P1
18 Seamus McKiernan/Martin Shekleton (Eagle Talon AWD), 5th SS
19 David Furey/Brian Heneghan (Volkswagen Golf GTI)
20 Craig Studnicky/Jeffrey Hagan (Toyota Celica), 6th SS
21 Marcelo Zuleta/Johnny Merida (Subaru Impreza WRX), 9th P1
22 Ronald Vecchioni/Levi Magyar (Mazda RX-7), 1st S
23 Brian Street/David Weiman (Toyota Celica), 10th P1
24 Larry Duane/Eamon Sweeney (Toyota Corolla), 5th M2
25 Gerard Coffey/David Dooley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8)

did not finish:
Charley Donnelly/Barry McCann (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 2), head gasket
Brian Rutledge/Declan Brady (Subaru Impreza), in ditch
Michael Hall/Dave Stockdill (Mitsubishi Might Max pickup), motor broke
Patrick Farrell/Bernard Farrell (Subaru Impreza), transmission
Colin Bombara/Larry Duva (Dodge Neon), oil pressure
Hampton Bridwell/Joshua Katinger (Toyota Celica Alltrac), rolled into dirt


Eastern States Rally Championship event #1:
1 Tom Lawless/Graham Quinn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8), 1st P1
2 Jeremy Drislane/Carl Williamson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4), 2nd P1
3 Otis Dimiters/Alan Ockwell (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 3rd P1
4 Patrick Brennan/Sean Moriarty (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 4th P1
5 Gerard Coffey/David Dooley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8), 5th P1
6 Daniel O’Brien/Stephen Duffy (Subaru Impreza WRX STi), 6th P1
7 Emilio Arce/Sarah Gardescu (Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS), 1st S
8 Darrell Pugh/Jonathan Barnes (Mitsubishi Eclipse), 7th P1
9 Seamus McKiernan/Martin Shekleton (Eagle Talon AWD), 2nd SS
10 Donal McGivney/Noel Gallagher (Subaru Impreza WRX), 3rd SS
11 Robert Lawrence/Robert Maciejski (Volkswagen Golf), 1st M2
12 Dan Brosnan/Paddy McCague (Nissan Sentra), 2nd M2
13 David Furey/Brian Henegah (Volkswagen Golf GTI), 3rd M2
14 Andrew Hadjiminas/Alex Kihurani (Subaru Impreza), 8th P1
15 Per Schroeder/Jason Grahn (Subaru Impreza), 1st P2
16 Andrew Frick/Simon Wright (Volkswagen Scirocco), 4th M2
17 Alex Kuhner/Peter Monin (Subaru Impreza L), 2nd P2
18 John Arango/William Doyle (BMW 325i), 1st S
19 Micheal Cosgrove/John O’Reilly (Mitsubishi Eclipse), 4th SS
20 Martin Egan/Tommy Byrne (Toyota Corolla Twincam), 5th M2
21 Marcelo Zuleta/Johnny Merida (Subaru Impreza WRX), 9th P1
22 Brian Street/Daive Weiman (Toyota Celica), 10th P1
23 Joao Ferreira/Niall Johnson (Volkswagen Golf GTI), 6th M2
24 Larry Duane/Eamon Sweeney (Toyota Corolla), 7th M2
25 Ronald Vecchioni/Levi Magyar (Mazda RX-7), 1st SS
26 Colin Bombara/Larry Duva (Dodge Neon), 8th M2

did not finish:
Craig Studnicky/Jeffrey Hagan (Toyota Celica), drive shaft
Hampton Bridwell/Joshua Katinger (Toyota Celica Alltrac), flipped in the dirt
Charlie Donnelly/Barry McCann (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 2), head gasket
Patrick Farrell/Bernard Farrell (Subaru Impreza), transmission
Results

Pos Driver/Co-driver/ (Car) [Class] Time Class
1 Tom Lawless - IRL/Graham Quinn - IRL (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 [Open 4wd] 01:29:58
2 Seamus Burke - IRL/Chrissie Beavis - USA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo [Open 4wd] 01:30:01
3 Jeremy Drislane - USA/Carl Williamson - UK (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4 [Prototype1] 01:32:22
4 David Anton - USA/Robbie Durant - GB (Subaru Impreza WRX STI [Group N] 01:34:25
5 Matt Iorio - USA/Jeremy Wimpey - USA (Subaru Impreza [Open 4wd] 01:36:45
6 Patrick Brennan - IRL/Sean Moriarty - IRL (Subaru Impreza WRX STI [Prototype1] 01:36:54
7 Daniel O'Brien - IRL/Stephen Duffy - IRL (Subaru Impreza WRX STI [Open 4wd] 01:37:50
8 Brian Scott - USA/John Dillon - USA (Subaru Impreza WRX STI [Open 4wd] 01:39:08
9 Emilio Arce - AR/Sarah Gardescu - USA (Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS [SuperStock] 01:42:25
10 Darrell Pugh - USA/Jonathan Barnes - USA (Mitsubishi Eclipse [Prototype1] 01:42:58
PRE EVENT NEWS
  • Provisional Start Order, Program, Itinerary and Course Maps are now available.
  • BOLD GOLD MEDIA GROUP AND RALLY NEW YORK, LTD. REACHED AN AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE RALLY NEW YORK EVENTS
  • Rallyists Prepare for Rally New York USA
  • Initial Entry List
  • Nicky Grist To Advise Rally New York USA
  • Regulations available
  • Pacenoting Course - Saturday, February 4, 2006
  • (National) Rally New York goes to Tarmac
30/06/03
Provisional Start Order, Program, Itinerary and Course Maps are now available:
25/03/06
BOLD GOLD MEDIA GROUP AND RALLY NEW YORK, LTD. REACHED AN AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE RALLY NEW YORK EVENTS
Bold Gold Media Group and Rally New York, Ltd. reached an agreement to promote the upcoming Rally New York USA on April 7 – 8, 2006 as well as subsequent Rally New York events.

Bold Gold Media Group (www.boldgoldmedia.com) owns and operates seven radio stations in New York and Pennsylvania. It owns the radio station Thunder 102 – Rally Radio for Rally New York USA. Starting several weeks before the event, Rally Radio Thunder 102 (www.Thunder102.com) will broadcast announcements, interviews, reports and finally the results. Thunder 102 will air live broadcasts from the event.

“We are excited to join forces with this experienced rally promoter that has been organizing automobile rally races in this area for the past five years. Our mission statement is to contribute positively to the growth and the development of the region. This endeavor fits perfectly our mission as Rally New York events are contributing significantly to the local economy and continue to grow” said Paul Ciliberto, Bold Gold Promotional Director and Radio Personality.

Ivan Orisek, President of Rally New York, Ltd. added: “Rally New York events are located only 90 miles northwest of New York City in the beautiful southern Catskill Mountains of Sullivan County. As our events grow in size, popularity and importance, mainstream media provide more and more coverage. This is the continuation of our efforts to take the sport of rallying out of the distant wilderness and present the sport to the public in the New York City area.”

08/03/06
Rallyists Prepare for Rally New York USA
The rally organizers are now putting the finishing touches on Rally New York U.S.A. 2006, and the teams are preparing themselves and their cars. The flag will be waved for the start on Friday, April 8.

The course is 427 miles long, starting at the Government Center in Monticello on Friday, and finishing in Liberty on Saturday evening. The 2006 edition is different from pervious versions of this spring classic because the roads which were selected are entirely paved (rather than a mix of pavement and gravel). This will prevent concerns about damage to dirt roads, should the spring thaw occur during April. All-pavement rallies are novel in North America, but are popular in parts of Europe. Rallying on the black-top is a specialty in Ireland, a country which has supplied some of the stars for previous Sullivan County events

There are 16 speed tests against the clock (rally people call them "special stages"), including sections at the Monticello Airport, in the town of Tusten (Narrowsburg) and in Liberty. Many of these will have areas for spectators. (For information about spectating, refer to the rally web site, www.rallynewyork.com.) The speed sections total 136 miles, approximately one third of the route. The roads selected by the organizers are described by the event's leader, Ivan Orisek, as "open," meaning relatively wide (generally two lanes, not 1-1/2), with gentle bends more often than switchbacks.

The tests are connected by road sections (called "transit zones"), in which the competitors must follow all speed limits and other traffic regulations. There will also be breaks for service, including refueling and changing tires.

Rally New York U.S.A. will be the first national auto rally in the Northeast since the winter lay-off. As such, enthusiasm should be high, as many teams will be eager to test their skills and their equipment. It will not be possible to say for certain how large the field will be until entries close, several weeks from now. But we can expect a selection of compact performance cars, many with all wheel drive, including the very popular Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.

02/03/06
The initial entry list for Rally New York USA has been posted for the April 7-8, 2006 event.
10/02/06
Nicky Grist To Advise Rally New York USA

Nicky Grist, a renowned FIA World Rally Championship competitor, will advise Rally New York USA and has agreed to serve as one of the Stewards for the event that will take place in Monticello, New York on April 7 – 8, 2006.

As well as a Steward, he will also conduct a one-day “Nicky Grist Codriving Course” which will be held on Wednesday, April 5, the day before the start of reconnaissance. The Rally New York USA starts on Friday and finishes on Saturday. There will be no time to rest for the Welshman, as there will be an autograph session at the event with Nicky and in cooperation with Rally World Magazine (www.rallyworldmagazine.com), the newly appointed official publication of the FIA World Rally Championship.

“I am looking forward to assisting this experienced promoter as well as US rallying in their efforts to attain World Rally Championship status for their rally. It has been a long time since the World Rally Championship visited these shores and as long as the organizers can meet the FIA standards, then I am sure they stand a very good chance of achieving their goal” said Nicky before departing for Rally Norway, an event he also worked for, which is a candidate for being included in the World Rally Championship in 2007.

Ivan Orisek, President of Rally New York, Ltd., confirms: “We are delighted and honored to have been able to secure assistance of a person of Nicky Grist’s experience and stature given his other commitments and busy schedule. We are looking forward to a long-term successful relationship with Nicky.”

Nicky Grist has incredible twenty-one FIA World Rally Championship victories to his credit as a codriver. He has co-driven for a host of professional drivers. More notably, he has worked alongside Juha Kankkunen in the Toyota Team Europe factory team, co-driving Juha to his fourth World Rally Championship title in 1993. He also and still sits alongside the 1996 World Rally Champion Colin McRae, firstly at Subaru then Ford and very recently the Skoda factory team notching up seventeen World Rally Championship victories together.

Only four months ago at the World Rally Championship Telstra Rally Australia, they were fighting for second place in a Skoda Fabia World Rally Car. With just three stages to the finish a routine clutch change went horribly wrong and they went over the time limit. This would have been Skoda’s best ever result in the World Rally Championship. More information about Nicky Grist can be found at www.nickygrist.com.

Rally New York, Ltd. is the promoter of Rally New York USA and International Rally New York, two of the events being held in the 2006 United States Rally Championship. The United States Rally Championship, America’s premier rally championship, consists of Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) internationally listed events sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC) and presented by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). More information on the Championship is available at the series website at www.usrallychampionship.com. More information on USAC is available at www.usacracing.com, on NASA at www.nasarallysport.com and on FIA at www.fia.com.

The registration for “Nicky Grist Codriving Course” is open at www.RallyNewYork.com.

18/01/06
Regulations are available on the rally website.

A Pacenoting Course is being offered on Saturday, February 4, 2006
Futher details on the rally website.
29/10/05
(National) Rally New York goes to Tarmac
Rally New York U.S.A. 2006 (April 7-8) will be an all-tarmac (pavement) event, not a gravel-surface rally as originally planned.

The gravel roads in the Catskills may be too soft and muddy during the Spring thaw to support rally cars. (Spring weather may come late in the mountains—we had two feet of snow on some of the roads on April 1, 2005.)

(National) Rally New York will be a round of the United States Rally Championship, which is sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC), and presented by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA).

The Rally is also a round of the Eastern States Rally Championship, which is sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport.

Topics: Rally New York (National) 

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