In our July 2008 episode our featured guest is two-time Rally America National champion co-driver Christian Edstrom. Christian has competed in the US, Canada, and in the WRC. Furthermore,  we'll bring you up to date with rally news, results and upcoming events. Enjoy!

Have an idea or your own audio for a show segment? Contact us! We want SNR to cover as much of the US rally world as possible and also serve as a soundboard for event and series organizers. We're also looking to work with audio taken at events. We're open to your ideas.

In addition to rally news, results, and upcoming events, in this episode we are proud to present a new segment called Rally Tech by SNR contributor Kris Marciniak. Kris will discuss the pros and cons of buying or building your first rally car.

Also, our guest in this episode is Eric Burmeister.  Eric rallies a factory supported Mazda 3 and is also co-founder of the Max Attack series. We discuss his rally roots, his take on sponsorship, and his intent and vision for the Max Attack series.

Surprising news came out today when Christian Edstrom confirmed rumors that he will no longer be co-driving for Travis Pastrana citing the desire to focus on his family and career.  The pairing of Edstrom and Pastrana had great success in the Rally America National Championship winning the last 2 consecutive years in 4wd open class.

We wish Christian success in whatever he chooses to do and hope he continues to be a part of the rally community. Plus, he's a NY Rangers fan!

Posted by Eddie.

Kyle Sarasin impressed all taking third overall at Sno*Drift this last weekend in Atlanta, Michigan. Driving a 1994 Subaru Impreza, Kyle was only outpaced by Antoine L'Estage/Nathalie Richard who took first, and Andrew Comrie-Picard/Marc Goldfarb who took second, both teams fielding cars at least 12 years younger. 

At under 20 years old, Kyle is a former Rally America Rookie of the Year and MaxAttack Overall Drive of the Year. He is clearly one to watch. Congrats Kyle!

Sno*Drift is the first rally of the season for the 2008 Rally America National Series and takes place on the snow and ice covered roads of the Michigan LP.

From  Bruce Weinman:  Just a reminder that you only have a few days left to enter the MaxAttack raffle for a Team O'Neil School. One entry for each $10 donation to MaxAttack.

Mail entries must be received by Tuesday, January 22, 2008...so it's probably too late to send them now. Entries via PayPal will be accepted through midnight Friday, January 25 at Max-Attack@earthlink.net. The drawing will be held at the awards banquet at Sno*Drift on Saturday night.

About MaxAttack:
Max Attack is raising the level of two wheel drive rally racing. The Rallysports Group of America (RSGA) will pay out a total cash purse of $24,000 USD to be divided amongst the fastest teams competing in the MaxAttack!

We discuss the latest rally news and Anders Green, organizer of the Sandblast Rally takes us inside the mind of an organizer.

Rally New York media issued a statement yesterday announcing a three year agreement with the local municipalities that host Rally New York to guarantee access to a variety of tarmac and gravel roads. Erik and I had a chance to run that event in 2001 and we found it to be very unique. Having both tarmac and gravel surfaces, often on the same stage, makes for a challenging event. Congratulations Ivan and good luck with the your events.

"Rally New York organization is the promoter and the organizer of the Rally New York USA, the first round of the United States Rally Championship, scheduled for April 4 – 5, 2008 with the headquarters at the Nevele Resort in Ellenville, New York and the International Rally New York, the final round of the United States Rally Championship with a year-end Championship Awards Ceremony, which will take place on October 31 – November 1, 2008."
Posted by eddie.

After concern that the event might be cancelled due to lack of entries, the Tim O'Neil Rally will press on for January 18-19, 2008. Part of this success is attributed to a colaboration with Safe Drives which will provide R3 H&N restraints to competitors at cost built into the entry fee (although its unclear how many additional entrants can be attributed to this program). In any case, it makes us wonder if any other regional Rally America events might have similar programs should entry lists be short due to a perception that potential entrants are turning away due to the H&N requirement.

Posted by eddie.

HANS* down there is big news for H&N restraint options.

According to a recent press release, "HANS Performance Products is excited to announce their brand new HANS Device - the Sport Series. The design is guaranteed to provide the same level of industry leading safety as existing HANS Devices, but retail at just $695." Word is initial shipments will go out early January 2008.

Not to be outdone, according to Charles Buren at Safe Drives,  Safety Solutions, have announced at PRI that two new versions of the R3 and Hybrid will soon be available.  The Hybrid is SFI 38.1 certified at present. The R3 should have its certification by the end of January if not before.  The R3 will sell for $695 and the Hybrid will sell for $735.
There is now also a womens R3 and Hybrid available.

Thus we have a classic example of competition in the marketplace benefiting the consumer.

(*Pun stolen from Eli Gilbert)

Posted by eddie.