So we've just completed a last minute brake install on the Forester XT. They were pretty bad. Unfortunately we sheared the lower bolt on the front caliper hanger. Luckily we managed to get the whole assembly apart then installed a hanger from the WRX. The pads and rotors have been bed in and now we're ready to rock tomorrow. Stay tuned for an event report and WRX rally car build update soon...
Friday, April 4, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Yet more progress…
It’s been a tiring couple of weeks working on the Alba Rallysport WRX rally car, often working late into the night. Progress isn’t moving along as fast as I’d like and we’re about 2 weeks behind schedule. Little things like life and work always get in the way don’t they?
After the cage was completed we labeled all the wiring harness connections before removing some of it for shell prep. It’s helpful to have a complete service shop manual on DVD. As this will be a production class car the wiring harness will be reinstalled. We wire wheeled the seam sealer and stitch welded all the major seams. We also removed the sound deadening material using dry ice (from your local Meijer!) and an electric scraper (sold by Bosch in Europe). Many people will tell you this is a nightmare task but it took two of us less than an hour. It’s handy when you have the right power tools! After test fitting the seats and steering wheel (making broom broom noises of course) we pulled them back out along with the tail lights and taped up all the areas that we didn’t want to paint. We used a lot of tape. This week, we’ll paint the entire interior with white enamel. Stay tuned.
After the cage was completed we labeled all the wiring harness connections before removing some of it for shell prep. It’s helpful to have a complete service shop manual on DVD. As this will be a production class car the wiring harness will be reinstalled. We wire wheeled the seam sealer and stitch welded all the major seams. We also removed the sound deadening material using dry ice (from your local Meijer!) and an electric scraper (sold by Bosch in Europe). Many people will tell you this is a nightmare task but it took two of us less than an hour. It’s handy when you have the right power tools! After test fitting the seats and steering wheel (making broom broom noises of course) we pulled them back out along with the tail lights and taped up all the areas that we didn’t want to paint. We used a lot of tape. This week, we’ll paint the entire interior with white enamel. Stay tuned.Buffing seams with a Craftsman Professional 20v Lithium-Ion drill.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
More progress...
The cage is near completion. Most of the major tubes are in place. The door bars have been bent and will be welded up this week, with gussets. We test fitted the seat location and like a tailored suit the car now fits perfectly around us. Built beyond RA and NASA requirements we're confident this cage will keep us safe. After all, I’ll have the most important person to me sitting along side as we fly through the forests.
Next step, paint.
Next step, paint.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Open Season
We were all hoping for a great season opener but nobody expected what turned out to be the best snow & ice event we’ve had to date. The Detroit Region SCCA Team Illuminata Motorsport rallycross season got underway in spectacular style under sunny skies.
Granted, temperatures were well below freezing but this didn’t prevent 46 cars from competing against each other over 8 runs. With many new competitors in attendance word of the successful 2007 season had obviously spread.
For Alba Rallysport, the time had come for co-driver Tammy to exercise her skills behind the wheel. With the WRX out of action the team’s Subaru Forester XT recce car was brought in to contend with a 14 strong SA (Stock AWD) class. Equipped with sump and diff guards the only thing it lacked was a set of snow/ice tyres, however the BFG T/As performed better than expected.
The first two runs were taken with caution to get the feel for the course and the varying surface conditions yet managing to fend off the #77 Sti. We pushed hard on run 3 then backed off for a few runs until run 7 where Tammy achieved her fastest time of the day. It wasn’t quite enough however and we dropped a position on the final run after a spin. Not entirely the driver’s fault, I did shout for her to get on the gas just a little too early coming out of the first turn causing the car to over rotate and hit a snow bank. Refusing to check her times after every run was the tactic of the day and it paid off, taking only 1 cone penalty (better than any of my events last year!) and a well-driven 12th place. Consistency was the goal for this first event and with that in mind we consider it a resounding success.
See you in Fowlerville on March 15th!
Granted, temperatures were well below freezing but this didn’t prevent 46 cars from competing against each other over 8 runs. With many new competitors in attendance word of the successful 2007 season had obviously spread.
For Alba Rallysport, the time had come for co-driver Tammy to exercise her skills behind the wheel. With the WRX out of action the team’s Subaru Forester XT recce car was brought in to contend with a 14 strong SA (Stock AWD) class. Equipped with sump and diff guards the only thing it lacked was a set of snow/ice tyres, however the BFG T/As performed better than expected.
The first two runs were taken with caution to get the feel for the course and the varying surface conditions yet managing to fend off the #77 Sti. We pushed hard on run 3 then backed off for a few runs until run 7 where Tammy achieved her fastest time of the day. It wasn’t quite enough however and we dropped a position on the final run after a spin. Not entirely the driver’s fault, I did shout for her to get on the gas just a little too early coming out of the first turn causing the car to over rotate and hit a snow bank. Refusing to check her times after every run was the tactic of the day and it paid off, taking only 1 cone penalty (better than any of my events last year!) and a well-driven 12th place. Consistency was the goal for this first event and with that in mind we consider it a resounding success.
See you in Fowlerville on March 15th!
Photo by chrisamosphotography.comThursday, February 21, 2008
Progress...
Just a quick short post to update the rally car build. Most of the cage tubes have been bent and tacked in place. We've positioned the seats, wheel and harness so that the seat tubes can be tacked in. We should have the shell complete by the end of the month.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Off season? Nah…
Since the final round of the 2007 rallycross season it’s been all go at Alba Rallysport. With a short break over Christmas and New Year we jumped on a plane and visited our sibling team Alba Motorsport in Perth, Scotland. The weather was somewhat wet and windy, normal for December. Sadly we didn’t have the chance to test drive the team Land Rover, a rather special vehicle. Recently completed in 2007 and purpose built for off-road challenge events, the coil sprung 90” truck cab chassis features a 2” lift. Powered by a 3.5L Rover V8 it’s equipped with an external roll cage, Warn winch, auxiliary lights and a host of recovery equipment. RCMVinyl.com of course supplied the graphics.
Upon returning to Michigan on New Years Day we started a major rally project for 2008. The WRX interior was stripped out in readiness for stage rally preparation. This project is expected to last the next 4 months and will include a full custom-built roll cage, various chassis strengthening modifications, all the necessary safety additions and a wide range of under body protection. Check back for updates as the project progresses.
January was a busy month for Alba Rallysport and naturally we attended the Detroit SCCA annual awards banquet. Despite the cold, snowy weather, the food, drink and company was warming. Having the chance to celebrate and congratulate all the class winners of the 2007 season is a wonderful thing. The region’s rallycross program has come a long way and we were honoured to receive the 1st place award for the Rally Prepared AWD (PA) class from Paul at Team Illuminata Motorsport. Congratulations to all the other rallycross class winners and runners up. I’m sure the 2008 season will be an even greater challenge.
Photo by Chris Amos, chrisamosphotography.comThe last weekend in January saw the season opener of the Rally America Championship, Sno*Drift based in Atlanta, MI. It was a freezing weekend in the ‘Tip of the Mitt’ but I spent two days in one of the 000 lead cars, this time in the unusual position of co-driver. An incredible amount of work and effort goes into organizing and running a stage rally and having the chance to experience it from a different perspective makes me appreciate the dedication of the workers that allows us competitors to partake in a sport we love.
Sno*Drift winners Antoine L'Estage & Nathalie Richard, photo by Uwe Reher
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Grand Finale
The ninth and final round of the Detroit SCCA Rallycross Championship, presented by Team Illuminata Motorsport, was held at an old favourite site, Fowlerville Fairgrounds. Going into the final round of the PA championship, Alba Rallysport had a large enough points lead that allowed the freedom to have more fun than usual. However, with a field of 8 cars the outcome could have been quite different. It was a bitterly cold day as we jumped out of the car to register. We were there to battle it out for 2007 PA (Prepared AWD) class bragging rights with regular RS twins Dmitriy (#42) and Jennifer (#64). Fowlerville isn’t one of Dmitriy’s favourite events with a history of vehicle carnage and bad luck so needless to say he remained somewhat restrained. The rest of the class comprised of long lost faces Micah (#88), James (#3) and Todd (#33) and rallycross newcomers Billy (#555) and Brandon (#1555). The recent arctic temperatures had reduced the track to conditions that resembled a snow-covered ice field but the day was to reveal constantly changing driving surfaces. Our favoured multi-lap format was the order of the day with 5 runs, 2 laps each. On the road trip to the event we had decided it was all or nothing. I wanted to go out with a bang and we were on the hunt for FTD and the Primitive Rally $25! I did, however, try to take it easy on the first run. Much of the snow had been swept away by the modified cars so we searched for traction on the polished ice. We didn’t find much but did find about 10 cones. Although it wasn’t a good start I felt we’d found the best turn in points so on run 2 we kept the car tight to the inside and crossed the finish line with a fast clean time. The secret in rally driving is to set the car up for each corner and turn in early. This is particularly important when faced with a sequence of tight turns. It’s a similar technique taught in ski racing where rhythm is crucial. We lost that rhythm on the first lap of run 3 where we tore down the back straight carrying far too much speed. Not finding enough grip on the icy, muddy slush to slow the car for the series of chicanes we lost it and went off course picking up 12 cones on the way. Despite having to stop and get back on course our raw time was still fast so we knew FTD was in our grasp. For now, Doug Harvey held the honours. 
After a short break, a well-earned sandwich and a wee chuckle at Billy Connolly talking about childhood holidays by the beach we headed out for the final two runs of the day. The course was reversed and the surface was quite different to the morning, hard packed with only a smidgen of ice. Naturally, we attacked. It was a quick run but I felt we’d slowed at two points on the course that I just didn’t have to lift for. This was it, the final run of the day and the 2007 rallycross season. Nick the starter waved us off and we literally pinned the right pedal into the carpet all the way around the first series of turns, Tammy shouted at me to slow it up as we approached a tricky chicane. We made it through clean. As we ripped down the straight I didn’t lift as we entered the long left sweeper at the end. YEEEE HAAAAA! The WRX was popping off the limiter as I balanced the car around the corner, my left foot dabbing the brake as the surface changed from sand to ice to sand to ice again. One last icy jog to the right and we nailed the throttle over the finish line struggling to slow the car down in time for turning off the course and through the timing truck gate. Our run was clean, and ridiculously fast, but while we had plenty of safety run off after the finish we missed the gate at the timing truck, which landed us with a time penalty. Aaaarg! FTD had eluded us and was taken by Steve Baumbach in the PF class, an impressive drive. 
We’ve had fantastic fun, both on the day and throughout the season. Congratulations to Jennifer (#64) for taking the PA class win. Impressively consistent times and very little cone carnage! Dmitriy, as always had a clean day of driving but perhaps those gremlins were in the back of his mind all day. Micah is one to watch for 2008 so hopefully we’ll see him out on a regular basis. Thanks to all the organizers, workers, land owners and competitors for a great year. We’re looking forward to the 2008 season and hope to see the regulars and more newbs out there sliding around on the gravel/mud/sand/grass/snow/ice! Photos by Alba Rallysport and Chris Amos http://www.chrisamosphotography.com/
After a short break, a well-earned sandwich and a wee chuckle at Billy Connolly talking about childhood holidays by the beach we headed out for the final two runs of the day. The course was reversed and the surface was quite different to the morning, hard packed with only a smidgen of ice. Naturally, we attacked. It was a quick run but I felt we’d slowed at two points on the course that I just didn’t have to lift for. This was it, the final run of the day and the 2007 rallycross season. Nick the starter waved us off and we literally pinned the right pedal into the carpet all the way around the first series of turns, Tammy shouted at me to slow it up as we approached a tricky chicane. We made it through clean. As we ripped down the straight I didn’t lift as we entered the long left sweeper at the end. YEEEE HAAAAA! The WRX was popping off the limiter as I balanced the car around the corner, my left foot dabbing the brake as the surface changed from sand to ice to sand to ice again. One last icy jog to the right and we nailed the throttle over the finish line struggling to slow the car down in time for turning off the course and through the timing truck gate. Our run was clean, and ridiculously fast, but while we had plenty of safety run off after the finish we missed the gate at the timing truck, which landed us with a time penalty. Aaaarg! FTD had eluded us and was taken by Steve Baumbach in the PF class, an impressive drive. We’ve had fantastic fun, both on the day and throughout the season. Congratulations to Jennifer (#64) for taking the PA class win. Impressively consistent times and very little cone carnage! Dmitriy, as always had a clean day of driving but perhaps those gremlins were in the back of his mind all day. Micah is one to watch for 2008 so hopefully we’ll see him out on a regular basis. Thanks to all the organizers, workers, land owners and competitors for a great year. We’re looking forward to the 2008 season and hope to see the regulars and more newbs out there sliding around on the gravel/mud/sand/grass/snow/ice! Photos by Alba Rallysport and Chris Amos http://www.chrisamosphotography.com/
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