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1:Re:I vote for Matt to drive for SRT USA! by Matt 2:I vote for Matt to drive for SRT USA! by solbey11 3:Re:Awww Eve... by USM Ty Ty 4:Re:Awww Eve... by Matt 5:Awww Eve... by USM Ty Ty |
| Sno* Drift 2007 |
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The 2007 Rally America season began in Atlanta Michigan this past weekend. 50 cars entered the snow rally, including a lot of top competitors vying for an X Games spot. Subaru, Monster Energy Drink, Hyundai, K&N Filters, Rockstar Energy Drink, Syms, Slow Boy Racing, Abode, and Shamrock Construction all arrived to put on a show. The Paladin Rally team, sporting RalliSpec and QuantumWorx stickers was not about to let the race go without a fight. An apparent bad tire choice put driver Matt Iorio at an early disadvantage. “We were a little too early on the road to be running intermediate tires. Every time the car got into more than an inch of snow I could feel the drag.” Floating over the snowy surface the Paladin open class car couldn’t put the power down to the road. On day one, after the last service of the rally a freezing rain began falling. Eve, the Paladin car, was showing a water temp of 140 degrees. Typical operating temperatures are in the 180 190 range. The cold temperatures meant that the already high efficiency radiator cooled too much. The defrost was too cool to melt the ice that formed on the windshield. Before a stage Iorio chipped the ice off the windshield. During the stages the visibility was reduced to 2 inches at the bottom of the windshield. Iorio removed his seat cushion in an attempt to sit low enough to see out the window. The ice left the team in 8th position 3 seconds behind Shamus Burke, going into day 2. Crew chief Phil Ho devised a low tech solution. He cut a cardboard rectangle to block the air to the radiator. Once nearly all the air was blocked, Eve once again ran at her optimal temperature. Saturday morning, with a more favorable road position and good visibility Iorio made a push to regain some lost time. He was setting times faster than many of the rally leaders when a polished corner put the car backwards into a dirt bank, and then spinning. Eve’s purpose designed skid plate deformed to absorb the impact, and left no other damage to the rally car. All the time gained in the morning was lost. At this point with nothing to gain, and everything to lose, Iorio decided to stop pushing and just finish the rally. Interestingly the next car to that corner rolled, proving just how treacherous it was.
The Paladin Rally Team finished eight overall. While not the best finish for the team, it is far better than the roll in 2006. Besides some hammer work on the skid plate, Eve is ready for the Perce Neige Maniwaki Rally. |
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