Wild West 2005

The Primitive cars were out in force...

Paul's WRX



The new 2.5RS, in the capable hands of Kala and Mustafa



and even his old USX (which as it turned out had better fortune than we did)



It was oddly quiet without the customary Fling Pu rotaries (RX-7 and RX-3) but Pat and Shadd had fun in the Datsun



Since Doug Heredos wasn't running either, Rick Schmelling was the lone representative of the rotary cabal, in his re-painted RX-7.



Victor was out in his Quattro and charging hard by all accounts



And who could miss Kristen and Janice Tabor in their squirrelcharged Geo Metro!




Friday

As usual, things were pretty serious in the Primitive pit...



They called me a trunk monkey - the cheek of it! :p

We got the 2.5 RS finished and both cars past tech, then adjourned to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.
Just don't mention 'Crazy Frog'. ;)


Saturday

The service area for both days was a lumber yard



With a stunning view of the Cascades, once the clouds cleared a bit



By the first service, it was clear the Hintz brothers (white WRX behind us) were hungry for the win and setting some scorching stage times.



Then disaster struck... after losing a tire on stage Paul tried to continue but the Rim fragged, forcing he and Jeff to stop and change it. When they got back into service, we found the brake disc was chewed too. Though we got the car turned around, they were now several minutes adrift of the lead and out of contention.



Sunset in the cascades brought out some strange wildlife... Anyone for the Timewarp? :)



Servicing at night is always interesting




Sunday

Sunday morning didn't look a whole lot different than Saturday



and it didn't get any better when we discovered that we hadn't quite found all the previous day's damage - the object between the rim and disk (above) is a ball joint from the bottom of the suspension arm. We had to work fast to replace it and to jury rig some replacement wheel well protection before the driver's meeting.



With the problems fixed, Paul, Jeff and the WRX were running much better, pacing right up with the leaders.

Unfortunately, the suspension monkey that Kala and Mustafa had been concerned about on Saturday came back with a vengeance and we rushed to swap out first the rear struts, then the front, at successive services. The effort was worth it though, with both Kala and Mustafa declaring the car to be a whole new ride!



But Wild West had one more surprise in store for us - after gaining the lead for the day (though not the weekend), the WRX's handling deteriorated on the very last stage, costing them time and two places.

Paul's initial guess of a broken front swaybar turned out to be wrong. In fact the damage was much more serious - part of one front A-arm had sheared, leaving the weaker part of the structure to bear the load of a rally car at speed. Thankfully it held and they finished the rally in one piece.



The Hintz brothers (Rick & Dave) took their well earned place on the podium, having driven a great rally in their open class WRX, with Carey Wright & Leanne Junnila second in the USX and Jamie Thomas & Matt Gauger an impressive third in her PGT WRX wagon, Burnsie.



Last but not least, a (partial) photo of the Primitive Crew...



Unfortunately, I didn't get one of the whole crew but then I don't think we were all stood still in one place the whole weekend - life was real busy with two cars to service and half the crew being first-timers in the Primitive pit but everyone pitched in and performed brilliantly!

Duncan, Greg, Joe, it was a pleasure crewing with you guys. Mark, wish you could have stayed longer. Ron, you were missed, I hope your folks are doing better.

Jeff, Paul, always a pleasure working with you.

Kala, we love you too.

Mustafa, you sir are a raving loonie and a damn fine one at that!

Viva Ductanium!!! :)