2009 Event Press Notes

2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #7 – Saturday early evening

25. The Dave Mirra/Derek Ringer Subaru Impreza WRX STI is a DNF, with a broken suspension after hitting a large rock on stage six. “It’s like getting kicked out of a good party early,” said Mirra, who was running seventh when the incident occurred. The same fate bit Burak Tuglu/Carrie Wilburn Ford Focus, also out for the rally. The Brian Deegan/Christine Beavis Subaru Subaru Impreza looked like a DNF pulling into service after nine stages with damage from an off-road excursion, but they finished the last stages of the rally.

26. It looks like Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino Subaru Impreza WRX STI will win the rally, and now one was more pleased than Block. After ripping off the exhaust in stage seven, and losing 30-seconds for speeding on a transit, the team hung in to win the event – Block’s first STPR win since 2005. Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom will finish second in their team Subaru, and retain the championship points lead. The William Bacon/Peter Watt Mitsubishi Evo IX will be third – a great effort from Bacon, who battled Pastrana all day for the second slot.

26. Here are the results after 12 stages– with only the Super Stage left. With a maximum time of one minute slower than the fastest time, all the top guys have to do is push it across the start line to keep their position.

1 , 43, O, 1 , Ken Block / Alessandro Gelsomino,2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 1:56:35.3, 0:00.0, 0:00.0
2 , 199, O, 2 , Travis Pastrana / Christian Edstrom, 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 1:57:18.0, 0:42.7, 0:42.7
3 , 68, O, 3 , William Bacon / Peter Watt, 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX, 1:57:49.3, 1:14.0, 0:31.3
4 , 176, O, 4 , Andi Mancin / Ryszard Ciupka, 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutio, 2:00:06.9, 3:31.6, 2:17.6
5 , 61, SP, 1 , Piotr Wiktorczyk / Grzegorz Dorman, 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 2:03:02.2, 6:26.9, 2:55.3
6 , 59, SP, 2 , Patrick Moro / Jeremy Wimpey, 2005 Subaru STI, 2:03:35.6, 7:00.3, 0:33.4
7 , 17, O, 5 , Antoine L'Estage / Nathalie Richard, 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, 1:26:13.7, -30:-21.-6, -37:-21.-9
8 , 523, SP, 3 , Travis Hanson / Terry Hanson, 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 1:29:08.8, -27:-26.-5, 2:55.1
9 , 494, SP, 4 , Roman Pakos / Maciej Sawicki, 2006 Subaru Impreza STI, 1:30:42.3, -25:-53.0, 1:33.5
10 , 418, SP, 5 , Jimmy Keeney / Melissa Keeney, 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 1:30:46.6, -25:-48.-7, 0:04.3
11 , 198, O, 6 , Arkadiusz Gruszka / Lukasz Wronski, 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX, 1:31:06.3, -25:-29.0, 0:19.7
12 , 47, SP, 6 , Timothy Rooney / Dennis Hotson, 2008 Subaru Impreza Sti, 1:33:17.4, -23:-17.-9, 2:11.1
13 , 319, 2WD, 1 , Chris Greenhouse / Don DeRose, 1995 Plymouth Neon, 1:40:45.3, -15:-50.0, 7:27.9
14 , 20, O, 7 , Andrew Comrie-Picard / Marshall Clarke, 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutio, 1:48:13.2, -8:-22.-1, 7:27.9
15 , 289, 2WD, 2 , Gary Wiggin / Christopher Duplessis, 1991 Volkswagen GTI, 1:50:41.1, -5:-54.-2, 2:27.9
16 , 38, O, 8 , Brian Deegan / Christine Beavis, 2004 Subaru Impreza, 1:53:31.5, -3:-3.-8, 2:50.4
, 600, 2WD, , Dillon Van Way / Benjamin Slocum, 2002 Ford Focus, DNF: mechanical
, 101, 2WD, , Conor Malone / Glenna Chestnutt, 1986 Dodge Conquest, DNF: mechanical
, 41, 2WD, , Burak Tuglu / Carrie Wilburn, 2001 Ford Focus, DNF
, 40, SP, , Dave Mirra / Derek Ringer, 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, DNF
, 54, O, , Mark Fox / Jake Blattner, 1996 Subaru Impreza, DNF: mechanical
, 724, 2WD, , Jim McClelland / Darlene Jones, 1987 Toyota MR2, DNF
, 69, SP, , Evan Cline / Nathan Melnik, 2003 Subaru Impreza-tron, DNF
, 811, SP, , Jaroslaw Sozanski / Bartosz Sawicki, 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, DNF
, 888, O, , George Georgakopoulos / Faruq Mays, 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, DNF
, 146, O, , Patrik Sandell / Emil Axelsson, 2007 Subaru Impreza, DNF: mechanical

2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #6 – Saturday early afternoon

21.  After nine stages, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino continue to lead the rally in their Subaru despite a 30-second penalty for speeding on a transit. They still maintain a 35-second lead over their Subaru teammates Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom. Another 30 seconds behind Pastrana is William Bacon/Peter Watt in a Mitsubishi Evo. Pastrana won stages seven and eight, while Block came back to win stage nine.

22.  On stage nine, three cars went off the road and had to be pulled out by sweep, but they all hoped to continue the event. They were the Eric Hansen/Kim DeMotte Dodge Neon, the Brian Deegan/Christine Beavis Subaru Impreza, and the Subaru Impreza of Poitr Fetela/Mariusz Malik. The Fetela started a small engine fire which went out right away.

23.  The Finger Lakes Regional – consisting of the first six stages – is over, and the results are available on this Web site in several formats (HTML, delimited text, and PDF).

2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #5 – Saturday noon

15.   Thirty-six cars took the green flag from the Wellsboro Town Green this morning under sunny and warm conditions – a contrast from last night’s cold and mist. Two cars which dropped out of the event last night have been given permission by Rally America to run today’s stages, but not for points. They include the Van Way/Slocum Ford Focus and the Fox/Blattner Subaru Impreza. A large crowd greeted the rally drivers as they lined up in front of the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce and headed towards stages #4 and #5.

16.  The good news is that all 32 cars that started stage #5 finished stage #5. The bad news is that number means four cars did not make it through stage #4. For the second day in a row, the Mark Fox/Jake Blattner Subaru had a mechanical breakdown an dropped out of the event. A similar fate was experienced by the Wilburn/Crescenti Subaru Impreza and the Sozanski/Sawicki Subaru Impreza. The Toyota MR 2 of Jim McClelland/Darlene Jones, the final starter on the Green this morning, went off the course, and, while sweep was able to pull them out, they determined they could not continue the rally and headed back to Wellsboro.

17.  A couple of STPR old-timers, no longer officially involved with the rally, are here this weekend, sharing their stories of the past 33 years, and lending their expertise to present committee members. They include Mary Worthington, former executive director of the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce; John McArthur, former STPR Chairman, Bob Henderson, long-time STPR committee member, and Bill Bradshaw, former SCCA National Chairman and one of the founders of STPR.

18.  It has not been a good event so far for Andrew Comrie-Picard (ACP)/Marshall Clarke and their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. First, there was the fueling penalty yesterday, and now their car has rolled on stage #4. The car has continued down the stage, and the crew will attempt to fix the damage, including a broken windshield at service in Germania.

19.  The Dillon Van Way/Ben Slocum Ford Focus went off the road and into some water on stage #6, but the sweep vehicle pulled them out and they were able to continue with the sweep. Also on stage #6, the Evan Cline/Nathan Melnick Subaru Impreza is off the course and has called for their crew and trailer.

20.  After six stages – all of which have been won by the Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino Subaru ImprezaWRX STI – Block has a lead of one minute, 18 second over his Vermont Sports Car teammates Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom. Third, only six seconds behind, is the Mitsubishi Evo of William Bacon/Peter Watt, while the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo of Andi Mancin/Ryszard Ciupka sits fourth, another one minute, 43 seconds back.

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2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #4– Saturday morning

14.  The Finger Lakes Regional Rally consists of the first six stages, of which three were completed last night. As you can see from the results below, Wyatt Knox/Martin Headland lead the regional overall, as well as the Open class, in their Subaru Impreza STI. Scott Wilburn/Aaron Crescenti are second overall and first in Production GT in their Subaru WRX, while Chris Greenhouse/Don DeRose are leading G2 and running third overall in their Plymouth Neon. Eric Hanson/Kim DeMotte lead the Production class and are running sixth overall in their Dodge Neon.

Finger Lakes 2009 – After 3 Stages

2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #3 – Friday evening

10.   Follow the event on Twitter. If you don't have an account (or are wondering, "What is Twitter?") just point your Web browser to http://twitter.com/stpr_rally. If you are a Twitter user and don't shy away from terms like "tweet," "hash," or "RT," then please "Follow" us. If you are at the event (or are following using an application such as TweetGrid), please use hash #stpr09 and/or #ra5.

Also, did you know you can post photos from your phone? Just send your photos to stpr_rally.4860@twitpic.com.

11. For those of you following the results online, or watching our press notes, you are probably wondering about some of the top cars which are not ranked in the top spots after two stages. Here’s the rundown:

• Pastrana/Edstom Subaru – broken front suspension part on stage two; completed the stage with no front dampening – currently in third place
• L”Estage/Richard Mitsubishi – turbo hose came off halfway through stage one – currently running fifth.
• Comrie-Picard/Clarke Mitsubishi – was running second after two stages, but was penalized ten minutes for re-fueling in an unauthorized area – now last in the national event.
• The Brian Deegan/Christine Beavis Subaru Impreza STI broke two half-shafts during stage 2, considerably slowing their progress.

12. Almost 2000 people packed the Tioga County Fairgrounds for the Super Special Stage which was run where the county fair usually stages their rodeo. No one had rally-ending problems in the stages, which was little less than a mile long, although a broken radiator and a broken strut were among the ills suffered. Rally leaders Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino turned the fastest time, with their Subaru teammates Pastrana/Edstrom second.

13. The rally continues tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EDT from downtown Wellsboro.

2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #2 – Friday late afternoon

6. The STPR web site – www.stpr.org – has both these press notes posed as well as the latest Twitter “tweets” from competitors and media people on the course. Webmaster MaryAnne Shults is “re-tweeting” the messages, which you can view at http://www.stpr.org/news.html. The press notes are located at http://www.stpr.org/stpr09/press.html. We will post photos as well on the Web site.

7. We weren’t even able to talk about the Patrik Sandell/Emil Axelsson Subaru Impreza, which was an early favorite as the pair had WRC experience before their first trip to a U.S. Rally. But Wednesday during practice, the pair lost an engine, and then another one on Thursday practice. They rebuilt the first engine, but it let go as well, and finally today, during stage #1, they lost their fourth engine of the weekend and were forced to retire.

8.Similar luck has befallen 16 year-old Dillon Van Way and co-driver Ben Slocum, only their fate was sealed by driver error rather than mechanical failure. Their Group 2 Ford Focus went off the road early in stage #1, but was able to return to the fray, but, the second time they left the road, they went off too far and could not continue.

9. Similarly, on stage #2, three cars could not continue – we will have a report on why in a bit. The Conor Malone/Glenna Chestnutt Dodge Conquest, the Peter Hascher/Scott McGill Subaru WRX, and the Mark Fox/Jake Blattner Subaru Impreza all could not complete stage 2.

Susquehannock Trail Rally 2009 - Top 4 overall plus class leaders after stage 2

Pos O/A, Pos I/C, Class, Car #, Driver / Co-Driver, Car, SS-2, Total

1, 1, O, 43, Ken Block / Alessandro Gelsomino, 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 10:59.8, 22:05.9
2, 2, O, 20, Andrew Comrie-Picard / Marshall Clarke, 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, 11:23.1 , 22:52.0
3, 3, O, 68, William Bacon / Peter Watt, 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX, 11:30.7 , 22:59.0
4, 4, O, 199, Travis Pastrana / Christian Edstrom, 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 11:54.3 , 23:10.1
5, 1, SP, 59, Patrick Moro / Jeremy Wimpey, 2005 Subaru STI, 11:50.4 , 23:47.0, 24:08.8

18, 1, 2WD, 41, Burak Tuglu / Carrie Wilburn, 2001 Ford Focus, 13:39.9 , 27:10.9

Complete standings at www.stpr.org and www.rally-america.com – look for live updates and results.

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2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
Presented by Citizens & Northern Bank
June 5 – 6, 2009
Wellsboro, Penn.
Rally Notes #1 – Friday early afternoon

1. Welcome to the 2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally presented by Citizens and Northern Bank, round #5 of the Rally America National Championship series, and the 33nd running of this classic rally through the woods of North Central Pennsylvania. For the second year in a row, Waste Management, North America’s largest recycler, is sponsoring the event, with long-time supporter Citizens & Northern Bank as the presenting sponsor. This is also the second year of the Super Special Stages on the closed course at the Tioga County Fairgrounds (Friday night and Saturday night), and the second year of no night stages; and even only the second year of a two event.

2. The rally is a National Rally, approximately 264 miles long with approximately 114 miles of competitive stages. The Sherwood Forest Rally is a Regional Rally (for competitors who are not running for national Rally America Championship points), coefficient 2 that includes Stages One through Six and is approximately 47.4 miles. The Finger Lakes Rally is a Regional Rally, coefficient 3 that includes Stages Seven through Thirteen and is approximately 79 miles – both Regional rallies are run in conjunction with the full national event. 39 cars are on the start list, with the rally commencing from the Tioga County Fairgrounds at 2:05 PM Friday and heading towards the first two stages, which is a 12-mile road up and back on the grounds of the local Waste Management facility.

3. These first two Waste Management stages, going over 12-mile road created from a reclaimed ATV trail, a surface of old mine slag (fine rock fragments), muddy gullies, and trees very close to the road, the drivers have been cautioned to use discretion to ensure they stay on the road. The course is very twisty, with little run-off area and lots of places to make a mistake. First car on the road will be the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI of Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom – Rally America champions last year and points leaders so far after four events in 2009.

4. Speaking of Pastrana, ESPN recently packed Travis Pastrana's Subaru WRX STi with 3D high-def video camera technology and recorded what it would look like to run with Pastrana as fast as possible on gravel roads. The footage will be used in a nationwide theatrical release this summer. Pastrana is the top action sport star making a name for himself in the world of Freestyle Motocross, X Games, and his crazy stunts. Between landing double-back flips in FMX competition, jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, or performing on MTV's Nitro Circus, Pastrana devotes his time to rally racing.

5. Although the weather forecast has been for sunny and comfortable, the weather was not very pleasant as the field left the Fairgrounds headed for Waste Management. A cloud cover came over Wellsboro, and a fine mist started falling just before the cars started. A wet, clay-based road could turn very slippery for the first stage.
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