From the
Parts Bin to the Podium At the Oregon
Trail Rally Ramana Lagemann hopes to reprise his recent winning performance – minus a shower knob.
By David Gee
Quick question for you. How
many parts are in a rally car? 2,000, 10,000, 20,000, or more? Well
it depends if you count every nut and bolt and weld, and whether a CV
joint, a fuel pump or an emissions computer is considered a single part
each, or multiple parts. The quick answer we can all agree on however,
is a lot.
Okay, now, how many of those
“parts” are available at your local hardware store? Maybe the previously
mentioned nut or bolt, electrical tape and the like, but this time the
answer we can all agree to is not a lot. Right?
Not so if you are Ramana Lagemann and his upstart Rally-Tire.com Super Production Subaru team. A last-minute, pre-Olympus Rally run to the Ace Hardware store in Ocean
Shores, Washington, resulted in $200 worth of parts that took them all
the way to the SP class win and a 5th place overall finish. Those parts
included a shiny new crystal-look shower knob that took its improvised
place on top of the Subaru’s gear shifter.
“We were supposed to have a Mitsubishi
Evo coming over from Europe, but it got held up in customs,” said
Lagemann, who first burst on the professional rally scene eight years
ago as a Subaru factory driver at the age of 22. “So team owner Burak Tuglu organized a back-up Subaru, which is a solid
car, but it was a little rough around the edges. It was leaking oil,
it died on us twice on the way to the first stage, but somehow we started
the rally and about three major issues fixed themselves. The shower
knob, though, was a stroke of genius, and our finish was better than
we could have expected all things considered.”
“For me this is an interesting event
because back in 2002 when I was co-driving for Doug Havir, who now owns Rally
America, we were running
as the only stateside commercial customer for Prodrive,” Putnam explains. “Ramana and his co-driver,
Michael Kidd, were in a Prodrive Subaru as part of the Subaru factory
effort, and since I was brand spanking new to the sport they both mentored
me a bit and took me under their wing. Now to go full circle on a way
and actually be sitting next to Ramana in the right hand seat is quite
a thrill.”
The thrills will begin in Portland Friday
night at 7:03 p.m. with the first stage of the Oregon Trail Rally. Before
the first clutch is dropped and the cars are launched though, there
will be a recce on Thursday for the drivers and co-drivers to get to
know the stages, and in the case of Lagemann and Putnam, each other.
“We’ll be trying to accomplish two
things,” stated Putnam in his methodical manner. “The first is the
actual reconnaissance of the roads of course. The second is figuring
out the nuances in terms of what information Ramana wants and how he
wants it delivered. At Friday night’s first stages we’ll find some
more things out about one another, Saturday morning we’ll make some
adjustments, and then I expect that by Saturday afternoon we’ll be
in a groove.”
“We’ll be back in the same Subaru
we had at Olympus,” continued Lagemann, whose recent performance was
even more phenomenal given he hadn’t been in a rally car for over
two years. “The engine’s been rebuilt though, and we’re confident
Burak and his crew will have the car in tip-top shape and I think we’ll
perform to a pretty high standard again.”
Certainly the Team Rally Tire crew can
tidy things up in the 2.5-litre production Subaru’s engine compartment
a bit, but with a 34mm turbo restrictor in place (a turbo restrictor is essentially a tube
fitted directly on the turbocharger's air intake that reduces the turbine's
air intake flow and, consequently, its output) the team won’t be able
to get the horsepower up to Open class levels by any stretch.
“Yes, you are down in torque that last
10-percent or so in the Super Production cars versus the Open class,”
Lagemann said. “The good thing though about these cars is they are
so great from the factory you can put good brakes and good suspension
in them and it doesn’t take much to make it into a pretty fast rally
car. It’s just committing to those fast corners that’s difficult
sometimes in the SP cars. The 4s & 5s you really need to have
confidence that your car is going to hold your corner if you want to
commit to driving it as fast as you can.”
At Olympus, Lagemann and Beavis
were pretty close to the times posted by Open class competitors such
as overall winner Travis Pastrana in the twisty stages, and Lagemann
is hoping for a repeat performance on the volcanic rock-strewn logging
trails in Oregon.
“Oregon Trail it’s always very challenging
and very technical. Car setup and tire choice is particularly important.
This is one of those rallies where an underpowered car can shine a little
bit more. If you have a car that you feel is predictable and turns in
well and maintains a good line through corners, you can really exploit
the car and use the roads to your advantage. There are a lot of cambered
and crowned sections that can catch you out, but that’s where experience
can come into play.”
There is plenty of experience for the
Team Rally Tire outside the car as well. Team owner Burak Tuglu grew
up rallying in Europe, and has over 20 years of experience as a rally
driver. He is glad to turn over the driving chores however to someone
with the pedigree of Ramana Lagemann, and says he can’t think of anyone
better to be out there promoting his rally performance products business.
“I met Ramana some time ago and I never
had any doubts he could jump into any car on any given day and be successful,”
said Tuglu enthusiastically. “He is very focused and we are just really
excited about being out there in the Rally America series and doing
what we can to promote this great spot and put on a good show for the
fans.”
One of the things the team is focused,
on believe it or not since they didn’t compete in the first two events,
is the Rally America Super Production Championship.
“Travis
Hanson and Timothy Rooney,
who are currently one and two in the Super Production standings respectively,
have done a great job,” conceded Lagemann. “It will be tough to
overcome their head start, but our goal is to try and catch them. I
am optimistic right now and have rediscovered how much I love this sport.
I am just super excited about Oregon Trail and the rest of the Rally
America season.”
And he’s also excited, no doubt, that
the only time he will be using a shower knob this weekend will be in
the bathroom back at his hotel.
Quick question for you. How
many parts are in a rally car? 2,000, 10,000, 20,000, or more? Well
it depends if you count every nut and bolt and weld, and whether a CV
joint, a fuel pump or an emissions computer is considered a single part
each, or multiple parts. The quick answer we can all agree on however,
is a lot. 
“For me this is an interesting event
because back in 2002 when I was co-driving for Doug Havir, who now owns 
At Olympus, Lagemann and Beavis
were pretty close to the times posted by Open class competitors such
as overall winner Travis Pastrana in the twisty stages, and Lagemann
is hoping for a repeat performance on the volcanic rock-strewn logging
trails in Oregon. 
