As is often the case in motorsports, the drivers (and navigators in the case of rallying) get the glory. The truth of the matter is, that in most cases, without the service team keeping their machines in top running condition between and during the races, the competitors would not be able to get the peak performance out of their cars.

We decided to follow two service teams around at the Rally Of The Tall Pines, the final round of the Canadian Rally Championship.

Rocket Rally Racing, who maintain the Subaru Impreza STIs of Pat Richard/Alan Ockwell and Max Riddle/Aaron Neumann.

Open Road Motorsports, who are a sponsor of Peter Kocandrle to service his VW Golf GTI. Peter’s co-driver is Alex Kihurani. Open Road were also servicing the Subaru Legacy of Matt Oldford and Andrew Proudfoot, who came all the way from Newfoundland to compete.

The prep before the rally consists of setting up the service area,

And giving the cars a once-over to make sure everything is ready. The alignment on Pat Richard’s subaru is checked.

And adjusted by technician Gord Ryall.

Rocket rally keeps their spare parts neatly organized and mounted to the wall racking in their massive trailer.

While Peter has his organized plastic tub system.

During the pre-race festivities, Peter and Open Road Motorsports’ Glen Clarke check out the competition.

While Gord keeps Pat Richard entertained and attempts to psych out 2011 Canadian Champion Antoine L’Estage.

Andrew Sorenson charms the crowd and sells Subaru Swag.

Service crews have to be quick thinking and prepared for the worst. As Peter arrives to the first service of the day, he informs the crew of an issue with the drivers’ side driveshaft.

As soon as he pulls into the work area, the crew dives in and starts the repairs.

The driveshaft is removed and the inner axle repairs begin.

Things are all systems go with Pat. Only minor suspension setting changes and brake bias adjustments are requested.

Meanwhile, the inner axle on Peter’s GTI is repaired and secured.

Final items are checked as Peter gets ready to head back to the stages.

The refuelling is completed in a designated area after the car has left the service park.

The timing of the services is very closely monitored by the co-driver. Open Road only had 20 minutes to complete the axle repairs.

Alan Ockwell uses a specific sheet to track any ongoing issues and notes to relay to the service crew when they arrive.

Between services, the crews take care of odd jobs, from cutting rally tires to alter the tread pattern,

To hanging sweet cereal themed clocks.

The second service for Rocket Rally was a bit busier, having to replace one the front shock absorbers on Max Riddle’s after a hard impact caused the shock to fail.

While Pat’s Subaru started to show the scars from hard driving on the bumpy forest roads.

Working around the TV cameras is a normal experience for the Rocket Rally guys, providing of course the cameras stay out of the way.

Sadly for Peter, his axle failed again on the third stage and he was forced to withdraw from the rally. This is where the poor VW sat for the rest of the day.

Max, however was all fixed and still in the running for a solid top ten finish.

Let’s take a look at some of the other drama going on around the service park. The rough roads and unpredictable weather at this rally always keeps the service crews busy.

Welding control arms together is never a predicted service activity.

Nor is cutting a strut apart with a hack saw. The Nissan 240SX of Martin Walter and Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff was having a rough day.

Flat tires plagued many teams throughout the day. Martin Donnelly does it in style.

It’s important to have a good set of spare parts around. The team of Ryan Huber and John Vanos was prepared. Their service crew, like many other small budget teams, consisted of family and friends. No paycheques here. Pizza and beer are accepted methods of payment instead.

Rocket Rally had to replace the transmission and rear differential on Pat Richard’s Subaru during the third service of the day. As usual, the guys did an amazing job and got it done in under 20 minutes.

The Open Road guys’ day was not done, however. The front wheel shoved into the fender is not a good sign. Oldford/Proudfoot made it through the day though, and made history by being the first Newfies to complete a round of the Canadian Rally Championship. Nicely done, boys.

Sadly for the Rocket Rally Racing team, their day came to an end on stage ten. Pat’s second gearbox decided to call it a day, and Max crashed his Impreza into the scenery. It was time to pack up for the day and collect the broken cars from the woods.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the challenges of a rally service crew. These guys have to endure long days, long nights and deserve all the credit in the world for their dedication and versatility.

Ford has shown they can be a dominant force in rallycross, with an all Fiesta podium at the X Games this year, and Chris Duplessis is showing how it’s done in two wheel drive.

So what’s the real, off-the-showroom floor Ford Fiesta like? Flatovercrest.com had the chance to find out last month, when Ford hooked us up for our annual trip out to Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs, in New Richmond, Quebec.

The showroom Ford puts out a lot less grunt than the rallycross Ford, but as compensation, we were told it would get slightly better mileage, a boon given the nearly 1400km trip – one way – out to Baie. But how big a price do you pay in fun for all the fuel economy?

The Fiesta comes with a 1.6l engine, putting out about 120hp, in our case, channeled through a five speed manual gearbox. The result was a car that didn’t exactly knock you back in the seat, but was quick enough around town, and had enough go to pass comfortably on the highway, provided you’re willing to gear down. Where the Fiesta was most entertaining was on anything twisty, where its small size and light weight translated to a nimble ride. Even with an hour spent stuck in Montreal traffic, the car managed 5.5l/100kms over the whole trip. That’s just a little more than half what my road car gets despite the Fiesta carrying three people and our stuff.

The seats are also great. Front or back, they’re all well bolstered and a slimmer than average fit while still being very comfortable on the long drive.

Of course, not everything is great. A fancy keyless entry and ignition seems a bit too smart for its own good. Or at least too smart for me. Additionally, the Microsoft Sync system didn’t like out iPods, and wouldn’t let my passengers sync their phones via bluetooth while I was driving. Still, once a user gets everything working, the Sync system should offer up a great way to safely use a phone or listen to your mp3 collection.

On the plus side – though extremely frivolous – the car has mood lighting. In seven colours plus an off mode, it lights up various pockets in the car to help you express yourself, or at least offer up distraction on a long drive to rural Quebec.

Of course, the most exciting thing about the Fiesta is the R2 package, available direct from Ford. The kit, when applied to a stock Fiesta ups the power by approximately 40%, while making the most of it using Reiger and Eibach suspension and a sequential gearbox. The kit also includes the necessary safety equipment – seats, belts and a cage. When finished, the owner will have a ready to race Ford Fiesta that will be the same spec worldwide. All you need is a Fiesta – used ones should start popping up any time, and the kit was announced at SEMA last year, for $30,000 USD. Including the price of a new Fiesta, you’re looking at a very well equipped car that will cost about half the build of a comparable quality Open class car.

Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the North American rally community.

The move to another car is one that Kocandrle has been considering for a while.

“I’ve been toying with getting into an open car, even thought about renting a car to do Pacific Forest Rally,” said Kocandrle in a recent interview. “I don’t want to be someone who stays in two wheel drive so long that I can’t adapt, but I know I still have more to learn too.”

Already, the young driver seems to have cheated an inordinate amount of skill out of the time he has put into competition. A closer look at his background, and one begins to understand just how that skill has developed.

A former ski racer, and now conditioning coach, Kocandrle came to driving with a sense of speed and an eye to keeping grip on a slippery surface. He also had the advantage of a gravel laneway at his home.

“I remember after driving around the laneway, practicing, I’d go and rake the gravel so my dad didn’t know what I’d been up to,” laughs the driver known as “Petey K.”

From there, Kocandrle tried his hand at rallycross, and eventually bought a Suzuki Swift, one of the ten built by Four Star Motorsports at the start of the 1990′s. This car was no coincidence. Kocandrle, having grown up north of Milton, Ontario, had already been working at the Georgetown based rally shop, soaking up whatever he could learn from the owners, Frank and Dan Sprongl – Canadian and North American rally champions many times over.

At his first national event – his third rally ever – and with a new co-driver, Jimmy Brandt, The young driver put the Suzuki firmly into eighth place in a starting field of 43 cars.

“We passed more cars in this one event than I have in the last five or ten years added together,” said Brandt, who hails from Michigan and had been competing in the US prior to joining Kocandrle for the last two seasons.

“Upper Old Hastings was the first stage. During recce I had asked Peter what his goal was for the event. ‘To finish’ he said. This was to prove a masterful understatement… Things got progressively faster and faster throughout the day. I was checking the scores but didn’t share too much with Peter in order not to get him too cocky,” said Brandt of their first event together. “All this from a 1300 cc, non-turbo, with a whopping 76 bhp. Truly amazing.”

Since then, the pair have enjoyed mostly success, though the pace has taken it’s toll on the car. The Swift has been fitted with a dogbox transmission and is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in car preparation. As he drives closer to the limits, Kocandrle has occasionally found them, the results shown in bent panels here and there.

For the 2010 Rally of the Tall Pines, the Swift will get a break, as Kocandrle steps into the Hot Bits VW Golf R32 owned by Peter Reilly. The Golf runs in open class, complete with a turbocharged engine, all wheel drive and big brakes.

The change in car is a one off deal for now, and is the result of a comment Kocandrle made while at Four Star.

“I was at Four Star having lunch, and said I wanted to get into a four wheel drive car and see what I could do.”

Also sitting at the table were Frank and Dan Sprongl. Later in the day, Dan made a call to Peter Reilly, suggesting that the two businesses partner to put Kocandrle into Reilly’s Golf.

“They called me and asked how would I like to drive the Golf for Hot Bits and Four Star at Tall Pines. I said yes. We all know each other, so it was easy,” said Kocandrle, during a test day where he was able to try out the Golf for the first time.

“The car is a big change, it just goes,” said Kocandrle after his first few runs in the VW. “I really have to adapt to the powerband, and the brakes are good, though you really have to get on them. I also have to approach corners differently, staying out really really late.”

During the test day, Kocandrle had a chance to learn from both Reilly and Frank Sprongl. Meanwhile, Flatovercrest.com sat down with Robin Fleguel, Reilly’s business partner, who explained the motivation behind the offer.

“You see guys working on the car and driving and trying to generate support all at the same time. It’s overwhelming. We’re hoping to take over a lot of that so they can focus on rallying.” said Fleguel, who also arranged for Alex Kihurani to co-drive. “These guys are a unique combination of young and experienced. It’ll be great to see what they can do.”

The decision to have Kihurani in the car came out of a desire to have someone with more all wheel drive and open class experience, and Kihurani has it. Also known as Rallybrat, the young American got involved with rally early, hitching rides to events as a teenager before moving into the right seat. Since then, he’s co-driven for Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra and 2010 Rally America Rookie of the Year Joseph Burke.

“It’s a one event deal for now,” said Fleguel. “We’re considering continuing next year, and we’ll take a look following Tall Pines. It’s fun, not many people have done this sort of thing before.”

The team is officially looking for a top ten finish, though it’s clear to see that there’s a more ambitious, though unspoken goal.

This may be a new deal, and a new team, but make no mistake, there’s no shortage of experience. What has come together is a great example of the collaborative nature of rallysport. Make sure you come to the Rally of the Tall Pines, and in the mean time, see what Kocandrle has done with his Swift by checking out his You Tube channel.

“To break Travis’ beautiful record in our first full season is great,” said L’Estage. “The reaction has been seen around the world, the news has been picked up in Poland and Great Britain.”

The team finished on the podium at every one of the six events on the Rally America calendar, including wins at STPR and New England.

“When we were leading the points after 100 Acre Wood, John (Buffum) said I had to go to the Western events,” said L’Estage, who finished second in each of the two opening rounds. The western swing proved critical for L’Estage who notched another second and a third.

Usual championship heavyweights could not match the reliability and consistency of the Rockstar team. Travis Pastrana suffered DNFs at two events over the season, effectively putting him out of contention. Missing two more events for other commitments made it impossible to launch any assault on a fifth title.

Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino struggled with their Ford Fiesta, winning the 100 Acre Wood rally, but failing to score anything other than start points at each of the remaining events.

Instead, Bill Bacon found himself moving up the standing, the result of consistent speed and four podium results. Bacon, in his first year running the whole Rally America season, finished the calendar in second place.

L’Estage also suffered problems through the season, nearly every event threatened by technical problems or flat tires.

“In Oregon, after a puncture we went 12/10ths, but we really only push when we have to,” said L’Estage. “We were not so confident at the start of the season, but we ended up spraying Champagne at every event.”

The lack of confidence is understandable given the heartbreak suffered by the team on the final stages of their bid for a third Canadian Rally Championship. Late rally drama at the Rally of the Tall Pines looked as if it may have secured the title for L’Estage and Richard when main rivals Pat Richard and co-driver Alan Ockwell broke their Transmission and had to use a regular street going gearbox. However, problems with the clutch system on the final stages stranded L’Estage, who watched not only competitors but both the Canadian and North American titles pass him by.

“People said it would make up for last year, but nothing will make up for last year,” said L’Estage. “After two Canadian championships and two North American titles, I really wanted to win all three. This shows where we are, the first Quebec based team to have done this.”

With the performances so far, L’Estage and Richard have nearly clinched the North American Rally Cup. Though currently done on points in the Canadian championship, they could still win their home title, making them the second team in history to accomplish the North American hat trick, Pat and Nathalie doing the same in 2004.

“I’ll toot my own horn and say I’m a good co-driver, but I have been lucky enough to be with great drivers,” said Nathalie Richard. “Titles might be partly in thanks to me, but not because of me.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the Canadian season, the team is cautiously optimistic.

“If we’re going to have a hat trick, this is the year,” said Richard. “More seat time is great, and Antoine is really comfortable in the car. It’s not a new car any more.”

Before the team can think about the rest of the Canadian championship, they will compete at X Games, taking place July 31^st, 2010.

“Going to X Games as champion feels great. This time it is my car, my team, it’s going to be different than in the past,” said L’Estage.

Still, the event is going to be a big challenge. Teams with bigger budgets will heavily modify cars for the event and bring in drivers not typically seen in North American rally. Perhaps the biggest difference will be that Richard will not be in the car with L’Estage.

“It’s going to be weird for both of us,” said Richard. “I’ve never seen him compete from outside the car before. This time, I’ll be a full on team manager. I just want him to get comfortable being alone in the car.”

The team has found a new confidence after winning the title, and has likely built more confidence with key sponsors as a result of their win.

“We only had the budget for four US events, so we had to find money to do the extra two events,” said L’Estage, regarding the team’s position to head west. “Rockstar were able to put in more money to help us with the extra two Rally America events.”

L’Estage has often pointed out that the team is not a factory backed effort.

“I compare what we do with what Petter Solberg is doing,” said L’Estage. “Sponsors give us money, but it is up to us to manage it, to make decisions. We may get help here and there but really, we’re just five people on the team, me, Nat, John and two crew guys. It feels great to be able to beat the factory teams.”

Once X Games is behind them, the team will focus their energies on the remainder of the Canadian Rally Championship. Mathematically, it is still possible for the team to win the title, but it will require wins at all the remaining events, and even then, the results will depend on how Pat Richard and current points leader Bruno Carre perform.

Be sure to watch Antoine and Nathalie take on X Games rally on Saturday July 31^st, 2010. Check your local provider for TV listings.

Photos courtesy of Coyote Rallye

One of the most significant rally cars of all time made its introduction to the world in 1980, with the unveiling of Audi’s rally contender, the Quattro. The Quattro was the first rally car to take advantage of the new rules permitting four-wheel-drive for rally competition, but there were some initial doubts about four-wheel-drive’s suitability to rallying. Some thought it would be too complex and heavy to be competitive. The critics were quickly proven wrong.

The Quattro won its first rally on its first outing, the Austrian round of the European championship in 1981: the four-wheel-drive experiment was an instant success. The Quattro went on to win a couple rounds of the world rally championship, and Audi gained additional exposure when Michèle Mouton won the 1981 San Remo rally, the first woman to win at the international level. The 1982 season looked set to be an Audi tour de force.

While the Audi was clearly the fastest and one of the most revolutionary rally cars in some time, it did have a number of shortcomings. The Quattro was rather heavy, its front-engine, monocoque chassis gave the car clumsy and unwieldy handling characteristics, and the car had problems with mechanical reliability. The car did win the 1982 championship for constructors, but Walter Röhrl took his first win of the year and the championship on the final event, the Ivory Coast rally, after Michèle Mouton’s Quattro suffered a broken transmission.

Audi Sport Quattro S1

The 1983 season was another bittersweet season for Audi; the introduction of the Lancia 037 promised fiercer competition (despite the 037 still being rear-wheel-drive), and the 037 delivered. Audi’s #1 driver, Hannu Mikkola, won the 1983 driver’s championship, but Lancia pilots Markku Alen and Walter Röhrl finished in the points frequently enough to give Lancia the constructor’s title. The 1984 season was Audi’s most successful year in rallying. Stig Blomqvist’s sideways driving style plus the introduction of the short-wheelbase, more powerful (450+ hp) and more advanced (six-speed transmission, kevlar bodywork) Sport Quattro combined to take both titles for the 1984 season.

However, the 1984 season saw a new challenger to Audi’s crown: Peugeot launched their brand new 205 T16 in Corsica for the 1984 Tour de Corse rally. The new 205 differed from the Quattro in several key respects: it was rear-engined, it had a space frame, and it was a generally smaller car with less weight. Peugeot driver Ari Vatanen nearly won the 205′s first rally, except a crash prematurely ended his rally. The Peugeot caused enough concern that the Audi team managers sent messages back to the engineers in Ingolstadt, reminding the engineers to keep up development, and not to be complacent with the current success.

The title of “king of the hill” was transferred to Peugeot at the start of the 1985 season. The Sport Quattro was simply unable to keep up; its handling and reliability was poor compared with the 205 T16. Audi never ceased development despite losing its crown, and the radical Sport Quattro S1, introduced at the 1000 Lakes rally in 1985, proved to the rally community that Audi was very serious in its attempt to regain its previous form. The S1 had more power than any other rally car in history, reaching over 600 horsepower in 1986, and it had huge wings to aid with traction on faster stages. Faced with ever-increasing competition, the S1 only managed a single victory, on the San Remo rally in 1985.

The curtain call for Audi’s Group B program came with the death of Henri Toivonen on the Tour de Corse 1986; following Toivonen’s death, Audi, along with Ford, immediately pulled the plug on its Group B rally program. The Quattro in its various iterations competed for four and a half years, winning four championships, and changing the face of rallying forever.

Pikes Peak Hill Climb

While the Quattro was attacking the world rally championship, Audi decided that it needed to increase exposure in America. Audi decided to send its American works driver John Buffum to Pikes Peak, to compete in the annual hillclimb. The Quattro’s first attempt was impressive: Buffum set a time which was only beaten by eight purpose-built hillclimb racers. The 1983 event was similar to 1982, with Buffum finishing sixth overall. In 1984 and 1985, Audi sent Michèle Mouton to America, and in 1985 she set the fastest time ever recorded on the mountain. 1986 came, and Audi hired American racing driver Bobby Unser to drive. He won. In 1987, Walter Röhrl won again for Audi, setting another overall record. The following year, Peugeot sent Ari Vatanen to America with a 405 T16, and he broke Röhrl’s record by less than a second. Vatanen’s record stood for a number of years, when it was finally broken by Rod Millen’s supermodified Celica hillclimb special. The Group B cars not only changed rallying, but they impacted hillclimb racing as well.

Perhaps the most incredible feat Audi ever achieved in rallying never made it to rally competition. After the cancellation of Group B in 1986, Audi announced they had built an engine for rallying with more than 1000 horsepower! The engine was tested in several hillclimbs, but the drivers reported that the car was completely undrivable, with an unsettling tendency to simply go straight in the corners. The Audi engineers never ceased to amaze rally observers during the Group B days, and even today, rally fans remember the Quattro with a mixture of awe and respect.