Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino at the starting line of Rally New York 09.

Photo: Neil McDaid

Forestburgh, New York (January 16, 2010) Earlier this week, the Town Council of Walton, New York approved the special use road permits for the 2010 edition of Rally New York USA. Together with the three-year contract with the Town of Thompson that encompasses the Village of Monticello, Rally New York, Ltd. has road permits for the event in place.

Rally New York USA, a two-day tarmac rally, is unique in that it is the only National Championship event in North America that is run entirely on tarmac roads. Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino won Rally New York USA in two previous years. Ken Block recently announced the formation of Monster World Rally Team and its participation in the 2010 World Rally Championship.

2010 Rally New York USA will be entirely based and headquartered in Walton, New York. The rally is a round of the United States Rally Championship (www.usrallychampionship.com) and allows full reconnaissance of the rally route and pace notes. Each of the two days is a separate round of New York Rally Championship (http://www.rallynewyork.net/nyrc.htm).

The program is as follows:

Thursday, April 15 – afternoon/ evening: Registration and scrutineering of competition vehicles
Friday, April 16 – morning: Reconnaissance of special stages in Walton
Friday, April 16 – afternoon / evening: Reconnaissance of special stages in Monticello, Ceremonial Start at Sullivan County Center in Monticello, racing at Concord Resort in Monticello, return to Walton in the evening
Saturday, April 17 – all day: Restart in Walton, racing in Walton, Ceremonial Finish at Delaware County Fairgrounds in Walton, post-event party and dinner in Walton
Sunday, April 18 – morning: Awards Ceremony

Rally New York, Ltd. is headquartered in Forestburgh, New York located ninety miles northwest of New York City in spectacular southern Catskill Mountains of Sullivan County. It is dedicated to furthering the sport of stage rallying in the United States.

The United States Rally Championship will continue its bold steps to make national competition in 2010 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. As a result, 207 competitors, drivers and co-drivers, participated during the 2009 USRC season, nearly twice as many as in any other championship series in North America.

Atlantic Division teams will be again competing for coveted cash travel subsidies that will be awarded to top six teams in the Division. The total of $12,000 in subsidies will be distributed to Atlantic Division teams to assist them with travelling to the final round of the 2010 United States Rally Championship in Prescott, Arizona.

The Championship season consists of a combination of snow, gravel and tarmac events. Rallies in the United States Rally Championship allow for reconnaissance and pace notes. Tarmac events, 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.

Source: Rally New York Media.

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.

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.

Round six Rally America Championship

Pastrana Takes Top Spot in Maine
By Neil McDaid
New England Forest Rally - Newry Maine, July 13, 2007. Defending Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana gets back to his winning ways as he takes top honors in round six of the ‘07 Rally America Championship. It would be no easy victory for Pastrana as he was pressured all the way to the last stage by the defending Canadian Rally Champion, Antoine L’Estage.

Just two days before the rally a massive rain storm hit the Newry area, resulting in scattered flash flooding which took out some sections of road around the rally headquarters. Despite the damage to the main roads there was little or no damage to the forest stages.
The rally would get underway on Friday afternoon with a super special format run twice around the ball park in the town of Mexico. For the second year the rally organizers built a massive clay jump along the back straight of the ball field. It would give spectators and locals a great opportunity to get a ring-side seat to all the high flying action.

Amy shows the boys how it's done [photo Neil McDaid]

After some big air antics last year, most drivers were somewhat cautious over the jump with the exception, that is, of the only lady driver in the event. Amy BeberVanzo would charge the jump hard and launch her Mitsubishi high in the air. Speaking with Amy later in service she commented, “I gave it a little too much power.”
With the super special being only a half a mile long there was very little difference in times between the cars. Nonetheless, Travis would set the fastest time the first run through while his Subaru team mate Ken Block would claim the fast time on SS2.

SS 3-4, “South Arm,” was run as a turnaround stage. At 9.9 miles it would be first true test of the rally. With intermittent rain falling, Pastrana would push his #199 Subaru hard over slippery conditions. He was rewarded with fastest times on both SS3 & 4. L’Estage, in the aging Libra Racing Tiburon, would edge Ken Block out for second on both stages. Multiple time SCCA National Pro Rally Champion Paul Choiniere, in the second of the Libra Racing Hyundai Tiburon’s, would suffer a small fire on SS3, which resulted in his early departure from the rally.

The last stage on day-one, SS5 “Concord Pond,” was a redemption of sorts for Team Subaru driver Ken Block. On this same stage last year, Block had a big moment on this short 5.6 mile technical test that almost ended his rally. Obviously, the memory of last year’s off had little affect on Block as he and co-driver Alex Gelsomino charged the stage setting the fastest time. Just one second separated L’Estage and Pastrana for second and third.
At the end of day one it was Pastrana, L’Estage, Block and Matt Iorio in fourth. Seamus Burke, the top seeded Irish driver was just about holding onto fifth. Once again mechanical problems plagued the Donegal man. This time the gremlins had worked their way into the gearbox; the car was not staying in gear. Burke had to hold the car in fifth through the last two stages on Friday.
In a massive effort by Burke’s service crew, and a few helping hands, they managed to swap out the gearbox and get the car back to Parc Ferme. Unfortunately, the car was checked in a little later than the allotted time, for which Burke was given a two minute penalty.

Day one proved very challenging for Pinker [Photo Neil McDaid]

No joy either for Aussie Andrew Pinker. Pinker, who had just claimed a fine victory in round five of the championship in Pennsylvania in June, was definitely not having the same luck in Maine. 2 punctures along with some damage sustained from clipping a hidden rock slowed the charge of the very quick Jack Daniels sponsored car. At the end of the first day, Andrew found himself back in eighth place.

The River Valley Regional Rally, which was run in conjunction with the national event, would be contested over the first 5 stages on Friday. Mainer Christopher Duplessis would drive the door handles off his GTI Golf to take the overall victory besting out the more powerful all wheel drive cars along the way. John Cassidy and Dave Getchell would take second in their open class Subaru with the O’Leary brothers, Michael and John, taking third overall in their Mitsubishi.

On day two the rally would move west to Berlin, New Hampshire. SS6-7, “Dillon Success,” was again another turnaround stage.
Antoine L’Estage would attack hard on the opening stage on Saturday. His time on SS6 would be good enough for the stage win posting a time 5 seconds faster than Pastrana over the 15 mile test. Block managed third while maintaining his third overall position. Day two was proving to be no better for Andrew Pinker as he was some 29 seconds slower than L’Estage on SS6.
Despite the change of gear box Seamus Burke and co-driver Eddie Fries would park the Mitsubishi on SS6. Things were just not working correctly; sadly it was ‘game over’.
Otis Dimiters and Alan Ockwell, who had moved up from GPN to open class in a hope to be more competitive in their bid for an X-Games spot, also gave up the ghost on SS6 as they lost all gears in their Subaru STI.

A Roll on SS6 would also be the end of the rally for the up and coming team of Kyle Sarasin and Mikael Johansson in the G5 Focus. Fortunately, they both walked away unharmed.
Drama ensued on SS7. Pastrana, running first on the road, would meet a course worker’s car as they tried to remove a lost sump guard not knowing that the stage had started. Pastrana and Edstrom followed protocol and stopped at the first radio point and stopped the stage. After some back and forth the stage was eventually cancelled. With mere seconds between the top three cars the rally would now be decided over “Middle Dam,” one stage road that would be run four times in slightly different configurations to make up SS,8,9,10 and 11.
Pastrana would show massive commitment to the notes as he carved a fine line through SS-8 in an effort to hold off the hard charging L’Estage. Most thought that L’Estage was in Maine to grab the last X-Games spot, but it was obvious by Antoine’s pace that he was gunning for the overall victory as a priority.
Block would struggle through SS-8 & 9 with his Subaru clearly down on power. Rolling in to the final service all three top cars were showing the strain of a tough Maine Rally. Pastrana’s car was spewing fluids, L’Estage was concerned about overheating, and Block would just like to get back on four cylinders.

Pressure all the way from L'Estage [Photo Neil McDaid]

In one final attack L’Estage would push the Tiburon to the max, taking fastest times on SS10 & 11. Despite his great effort it would not be enough to unseat Pastrana who took the overall rally victory by just 7.2 seconds. L’Estage’s podium finish in Maine unofficially secures him the wildcard spot at the second X-Games rally competition.
Despite Block’s problems on the final stages he had done enough early in the rally to secure third. Matt Iorio almost did not make it to the final control as his motor let go on the transit back to the finish. In a fine show of sportsmanship Andrew Pinker and Patrick Moro took turns pulling Iorio home to claim his forth place.
I am sure that Andrew Pinker would rather forget Maine but, nonetheless finishing in 5th keeps him in the championship running. Pinker stays just nine points ahead of Pastrana in the race to the championship. Ken Block’s third place finish leaves him just 12 championship points behind Pinker. With only three rounds left, it looks like this year’s championship is going to be contested right down to the wire.

The Bethel Rally, the second of the regional events, was run over the Saturday stages. It was won by Allen Downs and Bernhard Obry, a great result for them considering that they broke an axle on the practice stage forcing them to miss the Friday stages. Duplessis slid the wee Golf into second with John Cassidy claiming third.
Further down the overall leader board, Michael and John O’Leary would claim the top finish for the Irish in 21st overall. The O’Leary’s would also claim 4th overall in the Bethel Regional Rally which, in all was a great weekend for the Cork men.

In only his first outing, seventeen year old Joseph Burke, the son of Seamus Burke, managed to put his G2 Acura on the podium with a well earned 3rd in his class. Joseph pictured here with his co-driver for Maine Chrissy Beavis. [Photo Neil McDaid]

From here it’s off the X-Games in early August for Rally America’s top drivers. They will be joined by WRC Champ Colin McRae and a few mystery drivers yet to be named. For more details check out http://www.rally-america.com/

Additional pictures from the event will be posted to gallery soon!