First Gravel Race of the Season

After doing some minor last-minute repairs on the wagon, we were all set for our first gravel rallycross of the season - the MLRC rallycross on June 26. On the one hand, we were excited to be racing, but on the other - scared to know how we would stack up against other drivers on gravel. We knew we were fast on snow and had grown fairly confident on it, but gravel was a completely different beast - speeds were faster, horsepower actually mattered, and at MLRC a gravel event meant the track was changed to run through a forest section that was riskier and that we haven't seen for a year.

Our Wagon Is A Little Broken

With just one week until the next MLRC Rallycross, our wagon seems to have developed a few minor gremlins - four blown shocks, an overheating issue, and both motor mounts completely sheared in half. Oh, and the transmission input shaft bearing exploded a bit taking out the front seal and pissing oil all over the clutch. Fantastic!

Gravel Practice

On March 19th we attended our second Race Lab event - because seat time is the best investment you can make and because it's been a very long winter and we completely forgot what it's like to drive on gravel. Following are some of our lessons learned.

Close Battles at the MLRC Rallycross

February 28th was the second round of the MLRC RallyCross Championship. Having done unbelievably well in the first event, the pressure was on and all three of us had our own battles to fight.

Swept The Podium at KWRC Rallycross

Last Saturday, on one of the coldest days all winter, the three of us attended the Kitchener-Waterloo Rally Club Rallycross at their new venue - Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga. The event had a new format for rallycross proposed by Jeremy Norris of RPR Racing - two stages, and a transit between them. This meant that competitors were split between the stages, and got twice the seat time! Brilliant!

Our 1-2 Finish at MLRC Rallycross

After spending a day at Crazy Leo's advanced driving school, we had so much newfound confidence that we started joking about taking first, second, and third place at the next MLRC rallycross. It would be a long shot though, as our NA AWD class at MLRC is full of very quick drivers who have beaten us numerous times in the past. It also didn't help that our Yokohama A034s were half-worn from the day at the school.

RallyWagon Goes To School

Last Saturday we were fortunate to spend a day at Crazy Leo's all new advanced driving school getting some much needed seat time and learning from the master of loose surface driving. The school is just outside Hamilton, about an hour's drive from Toronto and provides different packages for anyone - from die hard rally fanatics like us, to people who have never heard of the sport.