We came in on a tow strap from the eleventh and final stage Saturday night. That's the kind of day we had. We're still in the event but they were inspecting the spark plug and found chunks of metal. There may be damage but the engine still runs.
We're going to see what we can do. We've contacted someone in Portland who says he can fix the problem and keep us in the event tomorrow. He's on his way now. I mean there are only four stages left in the event. We have to finish and get the points. Our closest competitor for the championship, Travis Hanson, didn't even come. We need these points!
It'll be a late night but at least we'll be running. The car has to be in Parc Expose at 10 AM and the first car out is at 11 AM. So we have time. We have to fix this engine, though. We can't put in a new engine according to the rules.
But today was one thing after another. The worst was the brake issues that are back. It's the same issues we had at 100 Acre Wood. We thought those were all behind us. We had intercom issues where Lauchlin could hear me but I couldn't hear him.
I mean it was just a laundry list. But even with all those problems we were the third fastest overall on SS8 and the fastest Super Production car on SS7. Maybe that was because we didn't have any brakes and Lauchlin was trying not to need them! We didn't even have a handbrake to use on those two stages.
On SS9 the turbo hose came off so the power went away. but with that we caught a car in front of us so we were caught in that dust for about two miles. That was exciting when we arrive five feet off his bumper because he didn't see us. It wasn't malicious because once he saw us he moved over right away. On SS10 we started losing power then on SS11 we reached the end of the stage but needed to be towed back to the time controls at the end of the day. If we can fix the engine we're still fine.
I don't see the possibility of getting the podium anymore. We just need to get to the end and get points. You do your best to avoid it but you do your best, you know? It's just part of rallying. Just press on regardless!
After SS8 Lauchlin O'Sullivan and co-driver Scott Putnam are 12th overall and fourth in the Super Production category at the Oregon Trail Rally east of Portland in a resort community called The Dalles. At the second service of the day the crew is fourth in Super Production 2:38 from third.
We've had lots and lots of issues with the car. Everything from brakes going out to brakes locking up. We had a broken brake line after coming off a stage. We were late leaving the last service because we didn't have the stuff to fix the brake problems right away. I think we lost 15 minutes with the problems today but I think we can still get to the Super Production podium by the end of the event.
We came into service and we were very down on power. The brakes were still sketchy but the crew is working on that. We'd hit the accelerator and the turbo boost would go up to about 15 pounds then immediately drop off. We're having problems with the intercom. I can't hear Lauchlin he can hear me. We're not going to screw with that at this time. The front suspension feels loose. It's just a laundry list of things at this point.
We were hoping that the car issues were behind us but clearly that's not the case. These stages are absolutely brutal. You're going down the stage and hitting rocks. We hit one so hard that we broke the wheel. We had to change it on the stage and put the wheel in the back of the car. That cost us about four minutes because we had two cars pass us while we were working.
It's just been a fairly eventful day so far. We were 16th after six stages. Now we're twelfth after eight stages. We have one stage then a 20 minute break in Dufur, Oregon. Then one more stage before the day is over and we return to The Dalles for the overnight break.
Basically we got through the Friday stages. The first couple of runs were getting used to the different tarmac tires. We had a little spin on stage one but the time was OK. Then on stage three we were really flying quite a bit faster. But we went a little wide and the rear wheels hit the grass and we went around. The incar must be great though. Lauchlin kept his foot in it and we went around and kept going. We were only down about a tenth of a second to the first time through the stage. We were going much much quicker.
We ran on rallycross tires in the first stages and gravel tires through the last stage going across the grass that immediately got torn up. We were slip sliding through the grass and trying to manage our trajectories the best we could.
Now, the Saturday morning stages will be very busy and could be the separators for the rest of the weekend. We'll get it right off the bat. The rest of the staes get progressively easier. The whole thing is to make it through this morning. Fir Mountain South we do twice as stages five and seven. On my side of the car it'll be pretty busy. It'll be a challenge keeping up to Lauchlin.
The plan is to work for the podium, race and try not to make any mistakes. Everything seems to be going good so far. There are no problems with the car.
At the Oregon Trail rally it's typically about the roads. The roads here are spectacular. I love three, four, even five day events, three hundred miles worth of stages, I'm there. Give me 25 mile stages. I don't get a chance to practice so the longer stages and lots of miles equal longer events and they get me warmed up behind the wheel.
To me, what gets me going are the roads and these roads are really cool. There are some beautiful places, especially the Dalles, Water Falls and mountain ranges green as can be. On the stages they can be dark through the forests, or wide open plains. The roads are mostly smooth, but with gotcha ruts & ditches with big rocks too. It's a blast to drive these roads. I’ve won regional championships up here on similar roads. I grew up on these kinds of stages in California, Washington and Oregon. This is kind of a home rally for me, I guess.
As for the rain, I'm a bit of an all-a-rounder. So bring on the rain. It doesn't bother me at all. Just a different kind of cut on the tires and lets go. In '03, when I was in the factory Evo, seemed like every single event we did was in the rain. It doesn't rally matter to me. Either way I'm good. I like the night. I like the day. Just give me a car and get me on the roads and let’s have fun.
In my memory of one of my favorite stages at the Oregon Trail Rally, the vision I have is three-foot tall grass and a real winding road. You come down off of a hill and get onto a real twisty road but it’s fourth gear stuff so you're really on it. There are houses and mailboxes and people on their porches and you're on their main road. Those were the old roads over in Tillamook forest. These newer roads have different characteristics. Sadly, I have yet to run on them, due to an engine fire last year on Friday at the racetrack, so I never got out there.
With stage notes nowadays, I don’t take in the scenery on stages anymore. Me, I'm pretty focused and I miss a lot of peripherals. That memory of Oregon was before we had pace notes. I'm actually 100 percent on the road and listening to the notes. Some people can remember certain corners, or whole stages for that matter but for me I dump it right away. If it was a mistake, it’s gone. If it was spectacular, I smile and go on to the next thing. I think concentration is a part of going quick. It's good to remember a stage but I remember more the feel of a stage than the particular corners. I kind of have to work that way. I definitely harken back to the good times and forget the bad times and move on. It's not worth it.
But, can’t wait this time, Recce felt good.
The next event in the championship is the 2012 Oregon Trail Rally. Scott Putnam, my codriver, and I are tied for first in the Super Production championship with last year’s SP champions Travis and Terry Hanson. We both have a win and a second in the first two events. Oregon Trail is the third of six events in the championship this year.
Personally I'm ready. With our budget there's not much we can do in the way of testing. The car has done one regional event since the last round of the national championship. The car owner ran it. They had had a couple issues that have been straightened out. At the end of 100 Acre Wood we had the car working right for the first time this year. Hopefully that translates into a clean run at Oregon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
We just need to get through the 4 stages on Friday. There's a lot of standing around and talking with people. Hopefully a lot of fans show up and enjoy the day. I've DNFed a couple times in that event on the first day with engine and car on fire problems. I've learned to take it easy on the road course stuff. It's a day that can definitely hurt you. You can’t make up much time on Friday but you can lose everything.
We believe if things go right for us this event we will be battling for an overall podium. I'm hoping we are able to take the fight to the well represented SP class and some fast open class cars. We are especially interested to see how (former Belgian champion) David Sterckx and Crazy Leo go, as like us they have had issues this year. That's why I'm hoping the car will be running right all weekend. Whatever happens happens after that. One starting point is not what we're going for. We're looking to put a Super Production car on the podium. That's what we're going for.
We have some better bits on the car. We believe in the parts we've put on the car. I believe in my guys and they say it's a go. I have a good feeling about this event. We just have to go out there and do what we can. This car is treating us well. We've battled with it. But now that we have all the bugs ironed out it's time to attack.
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