First Rally of the 2009 season!

The team is currently in final preparation mode for our trip to Ridgecrest, California to compete in our first rally of the season.  I will be driving, with Jack Penley co-driving, Deirdre Matthews as a back-up co-driver, and Scott Leonard as our one man pit crew and another backup co-driver.  The event is the first in the South West Rally Series (www.southwestrallyseries.com) and is a one day, coefficient 2 event.  In rally terms, this is a shorter event with a total of around 38 racing miles.  We plan to contend in the Group 2 class, and acquire some early points in the South West Rally Series.

Monday night I got the car back from New Custom Auto Paint in Pine Junction and made the difficult trailer ride down to Salta Motorsports in a nasty snowstorm.  It was a long day.  The car is currently sporting some killer  new custom steel fender flares, diamond plated lower body protection, a beautiful sunroof delete, and a super smooth body thanks to a lot of dent repair by Harry at New Custom.  The new hood, with lovers (small vents placed with a huge press) is in place and should help with engine cooling.  The car is now sporting some cool yellow bumpers - a nice european looking touch.  Unfortunately we didnt have time to put the car under race paint but we will try to get that done before the next rally.  That said the grey primer actually looks pretty darn sweet on the car!

Today I got an email from DHL advising me that the new HotBits inverted rally suspension was being delivered to the shop.  As far as I know, it is the only Mk1 VW that will be running this new high end suspension.  Hopefully we will have time to put it on before the race.  Thanks to Peter at HotBits Canada for designing this set up for the car.

I also spoke with Carl from Cam-Fx, our HD in-car camera sponsor, and we will have the new camera delivered to our hotel in California.  We are excited to get this in for the race so we can give you some awesome in-car action.

Tomorrow will be a huge workday. We will get some final details sorted out prior to our departure.  We should have some time in California to deal with any incomplete issues but our goal is to minimize the need for any significant on scene work so we can just relax and focus on the event.

Look for a detailed blog about our trip next week!

Roger Matthews

WildHare Racing

The Team

WildHare Racing is supported by Salta Motorsports.  

Our team would not be able to compete without extensive efforts from the following team members.

Driver

Roger Matthews

Co-driver(s)

Jack Penley

Brian Moody

Deirdre Matthews

Pit Crew

Sterling Chase - Pit Chief

Steve Bis

Erika Lucero

Scott Leonard

WildHare Racing is on the Air!

Thanks to help from my brother Mark, the computer genius, WildHare Racing has a new blogsite to update you on our latest activities, rally results, plans for the future, and sponsorship information.

What is RALLY you may ask?

Rally is a sport like no other.  There are no ovals, pace cars or rain delays.  Rally racing features real cars racing against the clock on closed-off sections of real roads that are usually unpaved and unforgiving.  Events can last several days and cover hundreds of miles through rain, snow, day or night.  This extreme test of skill, speed, and endurance is what makes rally racing the world's premiere and most exciting motor sport, one that is quickly growing in North America.

DRIVERS:

Insiders and even casual fans consider rally drivers to be the best all around drivers on the planet.  They must master every road surface and every weather condition while possessing the endurance and stamina needed to make it through long hours and hundreds of miles.  As the old saying goes, "Circuit racers see 10 turns 1000 time while rally drivers see 1000 turns 1 time!".

CO-DRIVERS:

The key to rally drivers' success are their co-drivers.  Rally drivers cannot practice the course and must rely on their navigators (or co-driver) to survive.  The co-driver uses a computerized odometer along with a supplied route book to communicate to the driver what lies ahead on he road.  The route book describes in detail the road ahead and includes warnings for hazards such as cliffs, trees and junctions.  Rally drivers determine what speed and angle to enter each turn or crest in the road by listening to their c0-drivers' constant instructions.

EVENTS:

Gravel logging roads, mountain passes, well groomed forest roads - these are what make up the tracks for rally drivers.  They are temporarily closed, actual public roads on which rally drivers can go flat out.  

THE CARS:

A rally car is the ultimate real world sports car: one that is capable of high speed, and incredible handling on any road surface and in every weather condition.  Fast yet strong, they must survive hundreds of miles and several days of torture.  As an additional challenge, all rally cars must be street legal, since they must traverse public roads with traffic between the competitive timed sections.

WildHare Racing will take on the Plan B Rally as its first "tune up" event in Ridgecrest, California on Saturday, January 31st.

Stay tuned for results, photos, and highlights!