)
A lot of the fwd guys were taking this hairpin way too hot and oversteering (or trying to plow straight through the intersection). This was a great place to see who had good control and a good line through such an disadvantageous corner. Many of the awd guys were cutting the corner too wide and swinging into a dirt pile on the far oustide of the turn.
Spectator area 4 was our next goal. The 100 Acre Woods course took the drivers through this exact spectator spot again and called the spot Area 4. We just decided to stay, find a closer spot to stand, and wait the 1 1/2 hours till the cars returned. We were not dissapointed. We finally caught our first glimpses of the national guys. 5 minutes after the sweeper car tears through, headlights descend upon the trees to our right. Pastrana's hatchback Impreza screams up the hill and swings a beautifull wide sweeping drift in front of the crowd. It was a bit showy, but the crowd loves Pastrana! Next L'estage's Evo tears up the hill and attacks the hairpin with beatifully executed line. We hear the roar of Blocks ford next! Block buzzes up the hill and shifts the car so far sideways, he is aiming his car right at a cameraman on the apex! He cuts the corner SO TIGHT his bumper is 3 feet from the cameraman's toes. I am sure he smiled for that picture! Beautiful Turn!
After the last car, we made our way back to the hotel.
Day 2 we again headed down to the 2nd spectator area to beat the crowd for the first area. We found a great vantage point after the apex of another hairpin. This one was after a quick downhill and a dip, and before a curved uphill climb. Again, the national guys did not dissapoint! Pastrana was a bit flashy, and Block (now 2nd place) was amazing! L'estage IIRC fell a bit wide on this turn and Bacon (Evo) looked about 2nd best through this turn! I will let my videos speak here (should be uploaded this week or next).
We dodged up to Potosi in order to see the big Parc Expose there and to see the Super Special Spectator Stage. In order to get there we had to navigate some of the funnest paved hill passes we have ever encountered. Thansenite's Subaru did not dissapoint!
The Parc Expose was great! All the drivers with their cars were laid out in a huge grid. We got to snap a pic of Thansenite with Ken Block and a pic of myself with L'estage.
The Super Special stage was set up like a rallycross in a city park. It has a huge taped off spectator area in the center and you can watch every car from start to finish. Pastrana up first takes it a bit wide and flashy again. He came around an uphill hairpin too tight and clipped a bad ditch with his back wheel. This de-beaded his tire. He hobbles across the finish line. In rally you have to leave the control area without failure to complete a stage. Also, there was 1 stage left before they could have a service break. Pastrana parks his subie on the driveway exiting the park (just feet past the control line). He and his Navigator start swapping his spare on when they notice damage to one of his control arms. 20 minutes later, it is confirmed that Pastrana is too late to the next stage's grid and has a DNF for the event. I will let my vids speak for the rest of this stage again.
Lastly we stopped at the service area in Viburnum. Every team had a service crew waiting to tweak/fix the cars. They all have only 1 hour and were all very efficient during this hour. I have pics of Dave Mirra's subie tranny getting swapped out in about 15 minutes. Also, i got to watch L'estage's team work on the Evo X up close. We talked to him when there were just 5 stages left and he was in 2nd place. He was happy because he was quickening his pace, but was also holding behind Ken Block by 20 seconds -- Ken was getting faster too!
We took off for home while keeping an eye on twitter for the latest news and standings. Block (ford fiesta) ended up winning! L'estage (Evo X) was in 2nd place by 21 seconds, and privateer Bacon (Evo XII/IX) was in 3rd by over 3 minutes.
Feb 28, 2010, 7:24 pm · #1
