X GAMES 13 RALLY NOTEBOOK

Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino cross above Andrew Comrie-Picard/Marc Goldfarb.
Photo: Morgan J Segal/ESPN Images/Shazamm

IF YOU THOUGHT LAST YEAR’S X GAMES RALLY COULDN’T BE TOPPED, TAKE A LOOK!

X Games brought back rally as part of its show the first week of August 2007. Although held in the same location as the ninth and final stage of last year’s event – The Home Depot Center in Carson, California – the rally procedure was changed to one day of bracket racing on the Super Special course during the final day of the Games.

Subaru of America, Inc. once again fielded four STI-based rally cars, with driver/co-driver Travis Pastrana/Christian Edstrom in the Red Bull-sponsored #199, Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino in the Monster Energy #43, returning guest driver Colin McRae with co-driver Carolyn Bosley in the No Fear car #7, and guest driver Boris Said with rally legend John Buffum in the BFGoodrich #60.

Tanner Foust/Chrissie Beavis jump over Pat Moro/Mike Rossey.
Photo: Morgan J Segal/ESPN Images/Shazamm

NOTES ON SUBARU RALLY TEAM USA IN X GAMES RALLY

Wednesday, August 1

Stadium set up for motorcycles. Preparing the 70-foot rally jump on the stadium floor.

Crews set up service areas within the boundaries of the track. Not all the competitors had arrived. In fact, there was some question if one of them was going to make it – the #74 Mitsubishi of Ramana Lagemann/Mark Williams had suffered massive rear-end damage during jump practice earlier in the week.

Crews for the four cars made typical preparations to optimize car setups for the unique Super Special stage.

Around the stadium, protective barriers marked the two parking-lot portions of the track. Until Sunday, it was more accurate to consider them tracks. Sunday’s final rally configuration was to include start-up, jump, and a crossover on The Home Depot Center’s dirt-covered floor. However, the stadium portion wouldn’t be prepared until Saturday night. Until then, there were two tarmac tracks – one to the northwest and another northeast of the stadium.

The northwest track sported the longer straights. It ended with a turnaround that returned racecars along the same route.

The northeast track was the more technical, with two 90-degree corners that some drivers made into a long, sweeping turn. This track also had a tricky 180-degree turn and a third 90-degree turn. This track, too, ended in a turnaround.

The turnarounds were side-by-side, so competitors running head to head could see each other during the racing.

X Games 13 Rally was planned as a rally Super Special. No prior stages were to be run. Sunday’s event was positioned as single-bracket elimination racing: two cars racing each other and the car with the slower time eliminated. The format was unusual, and few in the service area knew how it would work … or even where portions of the track were located!

Thursday, August 2

The crew for #60 was still working on their car. Through the course of the day, they wrapped it in BFGoodrich graphics and applied the requisite sponsor decals.

The #60 car did not appear in practice due to Said’s other racing commitments. The field was split with half the cars practicing on one track and half on the other – one car at a time. Then they switched tracks.

After layout familiarization, segment times began to fall. However, some cars encountered barriers – both concrete and heavy-gauge plastic. Block/Gelsomino clipped both sides of #43’s rear bumper. One of the technicians remarked that the car would be repaired by Sunday, and that Ken Block was repaying him for an encounter on go-karts the previous evening!

Friday, August 3

Friday’s times seemed lower, although the split-track format made accurate timing difficult. At least the cars “looked” faster.

Top runners in the practice sessions appeared to be Tanner Foust/Chrissie Beavis (#34), McRae/Bosley (#7), and Pastrana/Edstrom (#199).
Photo: Scott Clarke/ESPN Images

Plus, the driving was smoother. The 180-degree turn seemed the most problematic, with drivers taking a variety of lines and approaches.

Pushing harder, more cars brushed barriers. Antoine L’Estage/Nathalie Richard turned the #17 Hyundai on its roof on the northwest track while exiting the turnaround on a slow, flat, 90-degree corner. L’Estage cut a little too close to the curbing, putting the car on the two right-side wheels, which initiated a slow roll.

The #60 car of Said/Buffum made its first track appearance, driven with authority by John Buffum, Said’s co-driver, who also happens to be the winningest FIA rally driver ever.

Saturday, August 4

There was no track time scheduled today. Instead, the Subaru teams made final preparations and celebrated the birthdays of Colin McRae and team owner Lance Smith.

Sunday, August 5

The Subaru factory driver/co-driver teams of X Games 13 Rally (left to right above, descending below): Alex Gelsomino, Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Christian Edstrom, Boris Said, John Buffum, Carolyn Bosley, Colin McRae. Photo: Eric Lars Bakke/ESPN Images/Shazamm

During the night and into the morning, X Games grounds crew completely transformed the floor of The Home Depot Center. They removed the multiple motorcycle jumps and in their place was a larger ramp intended to launch a car 70 feet, crossing above the track where another car would be traveling underneath. Teams had practiced a similar jump earlier in the week.

With practice scheduled for 8:00 a.m., drivers and crews anxiously waited for the grounds crew to finish. Teams brought their equipment into the stadium, lining up side by side along the north wall.

Practice finally started at about 10:30 a.m.

Competitors followed a lead car from the start line, around the jump, up the ramps to the two tracks, and back again.

Then each car had one practice run that included the jump. Significantly longer than last year’s jump, this one proved spectacular. Dust swirled throughout the stadium as the teams tested and eventually parked their cars in their pits.

Thirteen cars started the rally Super Special, and preliminary races narrowed them down to eight. The bracket racing was wild. During the first round, Block/Gelsomino punctured a tire and encountered a barrier in the northwest part of the track. They limped back into the stadium, where their adversaries weren’t to be seen. Having landed the jump just a little short, Comrie-Pickard/Goldfarb were unable to complete the northeast part of the course.

In the next round, Pastrana/Edstrom entered the stadium at the same time as Foust/Beavis, driving toward each other as they made the last turn. However, Pastrana overshot, pushing into the other car’s lane – disqualifying Pastrana/Edstrom and moving Foust/Beavis into the final round.

The McRae/Bosley-Block/Gelsomino dual was equally exciting, with McRae/Bosley rolling over at the start-finish line turn. With #7’s rear wheels hung up on a barrier, the team’s attempt for X Games 13 gold was over.

As a result, the final round was fought between Block/Gelsomino in #43 and Foust/Beavis in #34. Evenly matched, Foust/Beavis finished only 0.68 seconds ahead of Block/Gelsomino. Although the drama this year was different, a Subaru sweep of the X Games Rally remained intact.

Ready for next year? X Games Rally is scheduled for X Games 14.