Rally New York 2009

Ulster County Legislative Representative, Susan Cummings (R-C-I) Starts Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino @ Rally New York 2009

"The Excitement is Back" Rally New York, 2009
Report and pictures by Neil McDaid

Ellenville, New York - After a long and snowy winter rally fans in the Northeast finally got back out onto the stages for the 2009 running of Rally New York. This was round one of the United States Rally Championship. Despite the wind, a couple of torrential downpours and a few snow flurries for good measure, rally fans were treated to some high speed action and a front row seat to some big moments over the two day event. The 2008 Rally New York champion, Team Subaru USA driver Ken Block, and co-driver Alex Gelsomino were back seeking a repeat. And repeat they did in dominating style.

Despite the still struggling economy [in case you needed reminding] Rally New York enjoyed a healthy entry with 39 cars set to take to the stages on day one. Much excitement, anticipation and speculation swirled in the weeks and days leading up to the rally with this very competitive lineup in place.
After a ceremonial start in Kerhonkson, NY, the rally finally got underway on Friday morning. The first stage was just a few miles from Rally Headquarters, which was at the newly renovated Honor’s Heaven Resort in Ellenville. SS1, named once again in honor of wounded gulf war veteran Sgt. Eddie Ryan, would give the crews a taste for the conditions that lay ahead.
As returning champions Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino would lead the charge. Block would drive his 2007 car, as his new style ‘09 spec Subaru was already on its way to the Olympus Rally on the west coast.

Subaru Rally Team USA Drive Ken Block at full tilt on ss14

Block was followed on the road by the Donegal duo of Seamus Burke and Eddie Fries in their Mitsubishi Evo 9. Third on the road, coming out of a semi-retirement from rally, representing the Co Louth, "Lawless by name and lawless by nature" - Tom Lawless. He had big hopes, or should I say big predictions, for his newly developed Mitsubishi. Otis Dimiters, flying the colors of his native Latvia, would start fourth on this opening day. Rounding out the top five was the promising newcomer to rally, Joseph Burke.

Unfortunately for Joseph and co-driver Ole Holter in their Kearney Motorsport Subaru, their Rally would come to a spectacular and sudden stop just several miles into the very first stage. Joseph has had some very successful outings on gravel, but the tarmac and SS1 at Rally New York are definitely proving a challenge for the young gun. Not 200 yards from where he rolled in 2007, Joseph went off hitting several large trees. Thankfully, both driver and co-driver walked away unharmed.

As most slipped and slided through the first stage, struggling for traction on cut slicks, Ken Block and Team Subaru had clearly made the correct tire choice and ran on full wets. They were rewarded with the stage victory, some 7 seconds faster than Tom Lawless who claimed second.
At the first service stop of the day, with six stages complete, Block had already put a 25 second gap between him and the rest of the competitors. Otis Dimiters was sitting second, with Tyrone man Charlie Donnelly in third.

After an impressive start, Seamus Burke would limp into service with a mangled right
front corner on his Mitsubishi. Burke had been caught out on a slippy crest near the end of SS6, where he got up close and personal with a section of Armco barrier at over 95mph! Burke dropped to fourth. Tom Lawless and Brian Sharkey rounded out the top five.

Robert Martai became the second victim of the rally, when he slid wide in his brand new Evo 10 on SS4 and relocated an outhouse. Thankfully, the facility was vacant at the time. Robert was able to make repairs and return under the super rally rules later in the day.
Rain and thunder continued to pummel the undaunted fans as they lined up on SS7 for one of three passes for the very popular and exciting "stone pillar hair pin." Again, Block would set a blistering pace on the short 4.1 miles stage, Block was a second a mile faster than Dimiters who was stilling on the 2nd place.

Brothers Josh and Jeremy Wimpy had been dominating the pace among the two drive cars in their VW Golf, but late use of the hand brake on SS9 ended their rally as they demolished two of the stone piers resulting in a broken axel.

With the rain finally letting up the teams would make the transit to Monticello for the final four stages on day one, a high speed attack down the service road that ran through the middle of Concord Golf Course. Block would take three of the four stages in Monticello, with Otis Dimiters eking out a .06 advantage to take the stage victory, SS15, which was the last stage on day one.
As crews returned to Ellenville for the overnight halt, it was clearly Ken Block’s rally to lose. He was now ahead of Dimiters by 51 seconds. Despite their hair rising moment on SS6 and turbo problems on SS7, Burke and Fries fought and scratched their way back to third. Further down the field Dan Brosnan and Shane McCann in their Mayo Group sponsored Nissan were taking control of the 2WD class.

Day one would also see the retirement of Charlie Donnelly and Barry Smyth despite being well in the hunt early in the day and setting the fastest time on SS9. Rally New York is Charlie’s Achilles Heel, as he just can’t seem to finish the event.

Tom Lawless, getting back in form after being missing from competition for some time.

Day-two, with the sun making a brief appearance, drivers were quickly awakened with the steep and twisty challenge of SS 16-17 "South Gully." Tom Lawless, with the bit between his teeth, managed to better Block by a few ticks of the clock on the first test. Keeping things in check, Block took the second charge up the hill, to claim his 14th stage win of the rally.
The rally would then move some 70 miles northwest to the town of Walton for the final six stages. Rally New York lost a great member of their team earlier this year to a medical condition, Steve Bogart. In his memory three of the six stages in Walton were named in his honor.

As the crews started the first of the Walton stages, the weather again rapidly deteriorated. Winds gusted to 30mph with rain and occasional snow. These were some of the fastest tarmac stages seen at Rally New York in years, and they were made even more treacherous by the mud and gravel pulled onto the roads with each pass, as the front runner cut the corners to shave time. Average speeds were well in access of 80mph.

Otis Dimiters and co-driver Dominik Jozwiak had a heart stopping spin on SS18. The
car would aquaplane on some standing water and rotated 360 degrees, at well over 110mph. They mowed down several small pine trees before coming to rest on a grassy lane. Somehow the cars sustained only minor damage and were able to continue. The entire moment was caught on in-car video and is making the rounds on YouTube. Tom Lawless set a blistering time on SS21, Houck Mountain 2 to take his second stage win of the rally.

After two very challenging days Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino were joined on the podium by Otis Dimiters and Dominik Jozwiak in second and Seamus Burke and Eddie Fries in third. Daniel O’Brien [Kerry] and Paddy Brennan [Cavan] took fourth and fifth to round out the top five.
Dan Brosnan and Shane McCann had the tri-color flying as they celebrated taking the win in the2WD category. Another great time @ Rally New York was in the bag.
Next up: Block heads west to continue his pursuit of his first Rally America Championship. For the Irish it’s onto round two of the USRC @ Rally Tennessee in May, Block has also confirmed he will attend this rally, and will debut his newly prepared Mk11 Escort, I hope he got a few spare taillight and bumpers.

Schedule change for Rally New York 09

Forestburgh, New York (January 30, 2009) Rally New York organization has announced a change of the date for its 2009 Rally New York USA.

The 2009 Rally New York USA will take place on April 3 – 4, 2009, which is two weeks earlier than previously announced.

We are forced to make this change because of the conflict with the tail end of the spring holiday season in New York, which would have severely limited the availability of hotels for the rally. We regret any inconvenience this change may have caused to those competitors who already made arrangements to attend the rally.

The all-tarmac 2009 Rally New York USA is the first round of the 2009 United States Rally Championship. The event includes two one-day rounds of the New York Rally Championship. Rally New York USA is a unique event in the United States. It is one of the only two all-tarmac rallies in the country.

The United States Rally Championship is taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. The Championship structure minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship. Pacific Division teams will be again competing for $12,000 in travel subsidies to attend the final round in New York.

Rally New York, Ltd. also presents the International Rally New York on October 23 - 24, 2009. This gravel event is the final round of the 2009 United States Rally Championship. All Rally New York events are conducted according to the international rules with reconnaissance on Thursday and two days of racing on Friday and Saturday. Most events in the United States Rally Championship allow for reconnaissance of the rally course.
More information on the United States Rally Championship can be found at www.usrallychampionship.com. Information on Rally New York events and on New York Rally Championship is at www.RallyNewYork.com.

Ken Block dominates at Rally New York

By Neil McDaid

Ellenville, New York, April 4, 2008. Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, with co-driver Alex Gelsomino, claim top honors at Rally New York, effectively stripping the Irish of their grip on the rally from its onset. The victory now puts Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino ahead in both the United States Rally Championship and the Rally America National Championship, a position that has never been achieved before.
With the entry of Ken Block in this very popular east coast event there was clearly a heightened sense of excitement Thursday evening as legions of Subaru-driving rally fans began to descend into the quiet little Catskills town of Ellenville. The rally would be run over two days; each day would count as a separate rally. The total overall positions for both days combined would be scored as points towards the United States Rally Championship for 2008.

Drivers and co-drivers were given the opportunity Thursday to take a two pass recce over the special stages which were to be contested throughout Ulster and Sullivan Counties. Although the weather conditions for the recce were bright and sunny the forecast for day-one of the rally was bleak, to say the least. By 8pm on Thursday evening the local forecast was calling for overnight snow and rain. You could see a mild panic sweep through the service area as crews scrambled to make extra cuts in their tires in a bid to compensate for the unknown conditions that their drivers would face the next day.

As the first glimmers of morning light crested the Catskills it would reveal some very unpredictable conditions for the crews. Although it had only snowed lightly at rally headquarters, with the vast elevation changes in the Ellenville area it was anyone’s guess what surprises the stages would hold for the first cars out.
Just a few minutes before 9am on Friday morning, the first of some 35 cars were at the starting line. SS1 would be named in honor of Sgt. Eddie Ryan a local veteran injured in Iraq. As victor of the prior running at Rally New York in 2007, it would be the defending United States Rally Champion, Seamus Burke that had the daunting task of running first on the road. Unfortunately the wet, slick stage conditions would be the least of Burke’s troubles. This was the first time out in his open class Mitsubishi after it had been repaired following his big off in Laughlin last Fall. Based on Burke’s pace on the first test it was clear that all was not well with the car.

As if sensing Burke’s troubles, and despite the slick conditions, fellow Irish driver Charlie Donnelly attacked hard on the first stage, bettering Burke’s time by two seconds. But it would be Team Subaru driver Ken Block, seeded third in the start order, who would make his presence known early. Block would stop the clock 4 seconds faster than his nearest rival. He then went on to set fastest times on all but one of the first six stages of the opening day. Despite putting in a great run to match times with Block on SS3, Charlie Donnelly was down by 25 seconds at the end of section one. Polish driver Otis Dimiters would round out the top three. Ivor Wigham would be the first retirement of the rally after going off the road and hitting a stone wall on SS4.

As the crews set out for section 2 of the rally, things would really start to unravel for the Irish drivers. SS7 was the last we would see of both Seamus Burke and Charlie Donnelly. Their Mitsubishis would be sidelined with mechanical problems. A failed front differential would send Donnelly’s car to the trailer and a failed gearbox would end Burke’s hopes of retaining his Rally New York title. The abrasive tarmac stages would also take their toll on Enda McCormack’s Mitsubishi; Enda also retired with differential problems on SS7. Despite the loss of some of his top rivals, Block would not lift. Taking full advantage of his first full tarmac outing, he would continue to push and test his pace on the black stuff. A hard launch off the start line on SS9 would break a front axle on Paddy Brennan’s Subaru knocking him out of the running on day one.

At the end of section two and the completion of 10 stages, like an old tarmac pro Block was holding a one minute advantage over Otis Dimiters in second. Representing the Irish hopes, Martin Donnelly and Stephen Duffy were holding onto the final podium spot in third.
The rally would complete two additional stages in Ellenville before moving west to Monticello for the final 4 stages of day-one. Block would, again, dominate by setting the fastest times on all stages on section three.

It was quickly becoming apparent that unless Ken Block made a mistake or encountered a mechanical problem on stage, he was going to be all but impossible to reel in. At the conclusion of the first day’s competition, the top three were Block, Dimiters and C. Donnelly.
Day two would see the competition move to the township of Neversink for the first of six special stages. Some of the competitors that had dropped out on day one took advantage of the rally format and would re-enter. Irish drivers Enda McCormack, Seamus Burke and Paddy Brennan were all back. But for Burke it was all too short lived as he would retire after only one stage with continued gearbox problems.

Otis Dimiters set the pace on the opening test of day two, eking out a two second advantage over Block. As the morning stages progressed it was a repeat of day one - a total domination by Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino. Despite a spin and a flat the Subaru team would go on to take the overall victory by over four minutes ahead of Otis Dimiters. Martin Donnelly and Stephen Duffy would manage to salvage the final podium place for the Irish bringing their Mitsubishi home third.

Block was clearly pleased with his first outing on a full tarmac event. “I really enjoy the tarmac form of rally because it is so different and more technical than gravel. You have to be so precise, but that challenge is what made it such an amazing experience,” said Block. “We were here primarily to get some more reconnaissance experience but I have wanted to run a full tarmac event for a long while now. I adapted better than I expected to the tarmac and I am looking forward to racing some more tarmac events again sometime in the future.”

He has also shown interest in competing on some of Ireland’s world famous tarmac events. Both Donegal and Killarney had been mentioned, but at this time no confirmed plans are in place.
Other notable finishes for the Irish, from the New York area, were Gerald Coffey and Dave Dooly who managed to capture sixth overall despite multiple problems on day one. Brothers Michael and John O’Leary captured seventh overall and were definitely a big hit with the spectators with their “never a dull moment” driving style. Michael Cosgrove and Seanie “Legend” O’Reilly would claim first overall in pre-mod AWD on day one. Keeping the lights on for the Boston Irish was “Broslan” (Dan Broslan), who would take 3rd overall on day two in the 2WD open class. Next up for the Irish will be Rally Tennessee in May.

Rally Tennessee

The old dog for the hard road

Still looking for a trouble free run, Seamus Burke would have

to dig deep to keep Donnelly at bay.

By Neil McDaid

Linden, TN. May 5, 2007. Coming back as Rally Tennessee’s defending champion, Seamus Burke was looking to just finish the 2007 event. Burke, who has been plagued by mechanical issues in his last two outings, came into Rally Tennessee trailing his fellow Irish driver Charlie Donnelly in the 2007 United States Rally Championship.

Rally Tennessee is one of very few all tarmac tests in the USA. It is known as a fast technical rally;definitely not for the faint of heart. The rally got underway at 8.20am from the Perry County High School in Linden, TN.

Charlie Donnelly, with co-driver Noel Gallagher in the ex-Lawless Mitsubishi Evo8, would set off first on SS1. Donnelly stopped the clocks on the 5.85-mile stage with a time of 4mins 50secs. Running second on the road, the defending USRC Champion, Seamus Burke, with co-driver Eddie Fries, was determined to set the pace early on SS1, “Tree Farm Stage”.

By the end of the first test, Burke had placed his Shamrock Building Systems sponsored Mitsubishi in first with a time of 4mins 44secs.

Third fastest on the opening stage was the defending Eastern States Rally Champion, Danny O’Brien. Dominick Jozwiak would be charged with calling the notes for O’Brien in his newly built Subaru STI. O’Brien would set a time of 4mins 54secs. Eoin McGeogh and Stephen Duffy would set a time of 4mins 58secs to put them fourth overall in their Evo IV.

They were followed by Charles Sherrill, in a similar Mitsubishi, with a time of 5mins 5secs to put him fifth quickest.

Enda McCormack and co-driver Bernard Farrell would fall victim to a high speed spin in the first loop of stages. McCormack’s Evo would get light over a fast crest. Despite the best efforts of Enda the car would go off into a ditch with some large embedded rocks causing enough damage that the team could not continue.

Stage 2, Owl Hollow, would see Burke extend his margin by 5 seconds over Donnelly to lead by 11 seconds. Never one to hold back, Donnelly would charge back and take a full 6 seconds off Burke on SS 3, Tree Farm.

Eoin McGeogh would be the second of the seven Irish teams entered to retire with a broken half shaft in his Mitsubishi on SS3.

Burke responded on SS4, Owl Hollow. He was quickest by just 2 seconds to end the first loop of stages with a 7 second lead over second placed Donnelly. Danny O’Brien would hold on to third but was beginning to suffer from overheating problems. He decided to save the motor and pulled out of the rally.

On the second loop of stages Burke’s Mitsubishi would develop a fuel problem causing the car to run on three cylinders. Donnelly would take full advantage of Burke’s mechanical issues to claw back some time, narrowing the gap to just 5 seconds after eight stages.

While Burke and Donnelly battled it out for 1st and 2nd, Charles Sherrill was having a battle of his own keeping the Wimpey brothers, Josh and Jeremy, at bay for third.

Josh once again drove the door handles off his M2 VW Golf, staying within mere seconds of the faster Evo4 on several stages.

Thanks to his hard working service crew Burke’s Shamrock Building Systems car would leave the service area to tackle what was to be the final loop of stages, running on all four cylinders.

A cautious run by Burke on SS 9, Short Cree, in a time of 1min 28secs, would open the door for Donnelly to narrow the gap when he posted a time of 1min 26secs. Burke still held the overall lead but the gap to Donnelly was just 3seconds.

There was high drama for Burke on SS10, Hohenwold. About 9 miles in to the 11.5 mile stage, Burke’s brake paddle would go to the floor. Miraculously, he somehow managed to continue to the end of the stage posting a time of 9mins 9secs over the tricky 11.5 mile stage.

Despite his lack of stopping power, Burke was faster by 9 seconds over Donnelly, who would post a time of 9mins 18secs.

Burke had again widened the gap to maintain an overall lead of 12 seconds with two stages remaining. Knowing that Donnelly would charge all the way to the finish line, Burke would push his pace a little too hard on SS11, Short Creek, resulting in a hairy high speed off road excursion through some trees. Luckily for Burke and Fries they managed to get back onto the road unharmed, but lost about 5 second on their time. Heading into the final stage of the day SS12,Hohenwold, there was a mere 7 seconds separating first and second, Burke and Donnelly.

To add to the tension on the final stage, the skies would open and rain would begin to dampen the roads. With most drivers running on dry slick tires, nerves were on edge. Burke would put to good use his many years of experience on Ireland’s wet tarmac stages. He drove his Mitsubishi to victory on the final stage, setting a time of 9mins 31secs; a blistering 13seconds faster than Donnelly.

Seamus Burke and co-driver Eddie Fries won the 2007 Rally Tennessee. Burke covered the 70.96 stage miles in a time of 57mins 44secs, beatingDonnelly’s time of 58mins 04secs.

Unfortunately for Donnelly he would be handed a 5 minute penalty for a chicane infraction, relegating him to third overall. Charles Sherrill would take second place. The Wimpy brothers put in a fantastic drive to grab 4th overall, also taking 1st in the G2 Class.

Rally Tennessee counts as round two of the [ESRC] Eastern States Rally Championship and round four of the [USRC] United States Rally Championship.

Donnelly still holds a commanding advantage in points in the overall race to the 2007 United States Rally Championship.

Rounding it out for the Irish in seventh overall, brothers Michael and John O’Leary were very satisfied with their achievement. Making the long trek down from Boston, Larry Duane and Eamon Sweeney brought their Sea-Biscuit Racing Corolla home in eighth overall and third in G2 Class.

Roll on STPR!

Rally Tennessee

New York, NY, May 1 2007. Charlie [Celsus] Donnelly the current points leader in the United States Rally Championship heads south this week to Tennessee, where he hopes to keep his winning streak alive. Charlie [right] pictured here with his co-driver Noel Gallagher will compete in his open class Mitsubishi Evo 8 this coming Saturday at Rally Tennessee.
A welcome departure for the dusty gravel stages, Rally Tennessee will be an all tarmac event, and will count as round four of the USRC.
This will also be the second event on the east coast where we will see Motorcycles compete in the new RallyMoto series. Some 25 cars and 9 motorcycles are expected to start from the town of Linden, TN.

For more info on the event and results go to www.rallytennessee.com