Rally withdrawal...

It's been 5 weeks since Rally Tennessee and we're getting really restless. After tearing the car down to check out the wear and tear we were surprised to find very little wrong with it. Of course the tyres and pads look like they've seen some abuse but nothing out of the ordinary. We raised Tammy's seat a little so she could see over the dash and she'll test it out at the next rallycross in 2 weeks time.
We need to get the Terratrip fixed or replaced as it stopped working before it's very first MTC! It most certainly is a faulty unit so should be under warranty.

Some new Team Dynamics Pro Rally 1 wheels are on order thanks to Team Illuminata Motorsport so we'll get the Hankook's mounted as soon as they arrive.
We're hoping the roof vent arrives before August so as to keep the cabin a little cooler. I need to rewire the light pod harness for no other reason that it looks untidy and annoys me! Change the oil and fluids and we'll be ready for the next stage rally, round 3 of the NASA Atlantic Rally Cup, Rally West Virginia on August 1-2nd.
August will be a busy month what with the very first Super Rally event in Michigan on the 16th; details can be found at misupermoto.com. The following weekend sees the 4th annual 28th St Cruise in Grand Rapids so bring the family out to see some cool classic cars and keep your eyes peeled for a few rally cars during the weekend!

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend in Tennessee

NASA Rally Tennessee, May 24th, was a rally to remember for the TIM/Alba Rallysport team.
It truly was a rally of firsts for the new team. First time on tarmac, first event using stage notes and the first rally in the freshly built Super Stock class WRX. “We aimed for nothing more than a finish and to bring the car back in one piece”, said driver David Allan who continued, “Our crew did an outstanding job putting the final touches on the car right before scrutineering on Friday. It wouldn’t be rallying if it wasn’t last minute!”
With modest goals for the weekend the team was overjoyed at being awarded 2nd place in SS class and 8th overall out of 22 entries. “We’re speechless”, commented co-driver Tammy, “We made some small mistakes during the day but generally we just took it easy and kept the car on the road. Forgetting to switch the intercom on for the long 8 mile Hohenwald stage was the biggest hiccup and that caused us to overshoot the L1 about 6 miles in”. With a non-functioning computer the crew was glad they had the opportunity to complete recce.

To the relief of the service crew there was very little drama during the day although for the car crew the lengthened transit mileage in the latter stages made getting to the next stage on time somewhat entertaining. The team attributes a successful first event to car preparation, “The Speed Industry tuned engine was superb right from the start and the Hankook tyres held up well on the twisty, high temperature, coarse road surface”, said David with a grin.
Team Illuminata Motorsport owner, Paul Eddleston, summarizes the weekend, “It was a great experience working with Tammy, Dave and the experienced service crew. It is amazing they finished so well up in the rankings considering how carefully they were driving, a testament to their skill and the well built, superb looking vehicle; a work of art. We are very proud to be associated with this team and look forward to more fantastic experiences in the future."
The car is still in the early phases of development and the team identified some areas for improvement but nothing that can’t be resolved before the next event in West Virginia on August 2nd, which is the third round of the Atlantic Rally Cup.

Photo by Judson Bartlett @ Square Spot Design

The TIM/Alba Rallysport team would like to thank;
Chad @ Racecraft Engineering
Jan and Tony @ speedindustry.biz
Stan @ Delta Subaru of Grand Rapids

teamilluminata.com
albarallysport.blogspot.com
rcmvinyl.com
nasarallysport.com/arc.php

Time to Tackle the Tarmac of Tennessee

Next weekend, NASA Rally Tennessee will be the first event for the TIM/Alba Rallysport team in their freshly built Subaru WRX. The joint partnership between Michigan based Team Illuminata Motorsport and Alba Rallysport began with local Detroit SCCA rallycross and TSD events. “Stage rallying, it’s the obvious next step ain’t it?” stated TIM owner Paul Eddleston. The team has set themselves modest goals in their first stage rally together, “We are looking to learn but equally important is getting out there and having some fun.” said driver, David Allan who continues, “I’ve been around rallying since I was a wee lad so although it’s great to finally have the opportunity to drive we’ll be happy just sitting at the back of the pack, biding our time and doing our best to keep the car on the road.”
Since completing two rallies in 2007, Galway-Cavendish and LSPR, the husband and wife crew have been eager to get back out on the stages; the team has 3-4 events on the calendar for 2008. Team co-driver, Tammy, clarifies the crew’s strategy, “What happens in the car stays in the car! We had a couple of heated moments at LSPR but are better for it and now we’re looking forward to this season in the new car. As long as my driver keeps his mouth shut and does as he’s told we’ll be fine.”
The last 4 months have been filled with long hours and late nights in preparation for the TIM/Alba Rallysport trip to Linden, Tennessee. David highlights, “Paul at TIM has been instrumental in getting us up on all four wheels so to speak. He’s supplied many of the parts required in putting together a safe, reliable package from brakes to seats and harnesses, even Team Dynamics wheels.”Paul enthuses, “Team Illuminata Motorsport is very excited to be involved with Alba Rallysport in their campaign to participate in Rally Tennessee and other rally events throughout 2008. We are looking forward to great challenges, great fun, great camaraderie and great feedback on our performance products.”

The TIM/Alba Rallysport team extends their thanks to Chad Klungle from Racecraft for a cage that is quite simply a work of safety engineered art. Thanks also go to Stan in the parts department at Delta Subaru of Grand Rapids for sourcing many of the OEM spares. Of course a huge thanks to the whole RCM gang, you know who you are!

teamilluminata.com
rcmvinyl.com

Update...

After being apart for the last few months the car is suddenly coming together, and quickly. It's matter of bolting everything back on now, putting in new fluids and firing her up...sounds easy, right?!

Dash back in place for wiring

RS&SP coilovers and Brembo discs

32mm turbo restrictor (prototype 1)

2 weeks to go!

It's been a while, but we've been rather busy over the last few weeks. We've had a few issues with the turbo restrictor fitment and as a result have to machine our own. Minor setback but nothing we can't handle.The underside of the car is complete and we just picked it up last night from Racecraft where the stainless exhaust was fabricated to mate up with the Injen downpipe from Team Illuminata Motorsport.

It's coming together and looks fantastic. This weekend we hope to have the car running after finishing the wiring; rally computer, intercom, cut off switch etc. Then we’ll install the dash, seats and harnesses. Finally the graphics will be applied before we trailer the car to Detroit next weekend to have it dyno tuned...2 weeks until we leave for Rally Tennessee!
Nervous?
Very.

Christmas at Alba Rallysport

Two of the key design goals with this project from the start have been to build a safe and reliable car. We want to be sure that if, when, we go off the stage we reduce the risk of harm to ourselves. To that end we enlisted the help of Chad at Racecraft to build a fantastic cage to a specification well beyond the basic requirements of all sanctioning bodies in North America. Secondly, with today's entry fees we want to complete all stage miles and get the most value for money. How frustrating is it when you DNF because of a mechanical failure? That would just p!ss me off.
Of course you can achieve both these goals and add to that a healthy turn of speed if you have a healthy cheque book. Sadly that's not reality so we've been selective in what to spend our hard earned cash on. A recent post I read on a Subaru forum highlighted that some people don't recognize what it takes to turn a regular road car into a safe, reliable rally car. The photo below shows just some of the parts we decided were vital to that goal.
Thanks go to our primary team partner Team Illuminata Motorsport (teamilluminata.com) for stepping up and helping out with sourcing many of the parts required.

Moving along

In the past couple of weeks after getting the car back from McCleery's paint shop, Zeeland we dropped the drivetrain and rear suspension destroying a few recip saw blades in the process. Two winters of MI roads pretty much seized up all the important bolts under the car. After a quick call to my friendly parts guy at Delta Subaru in GR I had a whole new set to replace the old corroded ones. Although it's been a huge PITA project I'd rather swap the bolts out in the dry warmth of the garage than in the middle of the night at a remote service somewhere. It'll pay off.

Once the gearbox was out we fitted an Exedy stage 1 clutch. The gearbox hadn't been removed since the car left the assembly line in 2004 so it took a large chisel, a mallet and some creative swearing to get it off. Again, better here than at a rally. We gave the underside of the car a good cleaning, washing off several pounds of dirt and clay from the last two years of rallycrossing. We painted her up real purdy too! ;o)

As you can see, the engine compartment now has a few blank spaces where parts used to be. The AC compressor and condenser are now gone, and the stock downpipe will be replaced with a performance piece. The turbo just arrived last night having been machine fitted with a 32mm restrictor.
We've test fitted the seats and positioned drivers and navvie footrests, map lights etc. so now it's just a matter of bolting it all back together, doing some wiring and firing her up...sounds easy right?!