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| What had begun as a real positive
event rapidly hit some snags. On the very first stage we hit
a sharp rock with the corner of the skid plate hard enough to
dent the metal and crack the gearbox case. At the beginning
of SS2 I was able to get out of the car and evaluate the situation,
we were losing gear oil but not rapidly enough to cause a problem
as long as we kept the 'box topped up. The gearbox was topped
up at the beginning of every stage after that. |
While we were posting very good stage
times there was a timing mis-communication that was costing
us 2 minute penalties for every stage we ran! Once this was
realized we settled back to just finish the event. Between the
gearbox problem and the timing errors there was no point in
pushing it hard.
We didn't fall off the pace that much and even caught the car
in front of us on the 15 mile stage (SS5). Since this was a
fast open class Evo IV we were very pleased to have caught and
passed it! Dirk actually got some footage of us shortly after
we passed the Evo, check
it out here. |
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| However, as likely as it was looking
for us to finish another event the Rally Gods are fickle. While
running SS8, a tarmac stage, it came to a crashing halt. We
were negotiating a R4 into L4 and as we passed the apex
on the L4 the rear end started to dance. At the speed
we were going, 85mph, it was all over in a matter of miliseconds.
The car skipped off the road on the outside, turning 90 degrees
as it did. This positioned us to get broadsided by 2 trees on
the driver's side. My co-driver was ambulanced to a nearby hospital
where he was treated and released. I was airlifted to Valhalla
Hospital with amnesia, partial collapse of the left lung and
a broken ankle. |
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| The seats, harnesses and more importantly
the cage and car itself did their jobs very well. The trees
impacted on the A pillar and B pillar respectively and the only
major crush zone was at the A pillar. Everyone who has seen
the car feels that it performed very well from a safety point
of view. This makes me feel good about the integrity of a Saab. |
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| Here are some good shots of us negotiating
the beautiful stages of Rally New York. The car really was performing
very well and we had no mechanical difficulties other than the
leak in the gearbox. It really is a shame that we couldn't finish
the event. There were many people at the event to root for the
green Saab and enjoy the Spring day. |
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I was hoping to give all the people
that came out a good finish so we could celebrate afterwards
but alas it was not to be. My one consolation is that everyone
said we were really moving along, as fast as the open class
cars and faster than most of the field. We were posting consistent
top 20 stage times and only seconds behind the leading Group
5 car (not counting our penalties).
Enjoy the photos of the green machine, unfortunately these are
the last photos that were ever taken of it. It makes me sad,
the car was really starting to look good. Thanks to everyone
that came out to the event and thanks to all the photographers
who snapped some photos of us! |
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