Acid Flash Back
After two weeks in an acid bath the shell is ready to be seam welded and caged. It turns out that the alminum roof skin couldn’t handle whatever the toxic cocktail was and it disintegrated clean off of the car!!
EVO X Makeover
Universal Rally's latest project is starting to pick up steam. A 2008 Mitsubishi EVO X was dropped off for a two week spa session that will include chemical baths reaching 230 degrees. Once clean and phosphate coated, the shell will receive a healthy dose of seam welding and an FIA approve cage.
2009 CRS Moto Champion!!
Andrew Sutherland wraps up the CRS Moto Championship at the Prescott Rally
Universal Rally rider, Andrew Sutherland, contested the 2009 Prescott Rally riding a KTM 690 Enduro; scoring a win on Friday night in the Rally Moto Under 800cc class secured the 2009 California Rally Series (CRS) Moto Championship for the Under 800cc class and Overall. On Saturday, Andrew wasn’t able to match the speed of his Under 800cc competitor or the leader in the Over 800cc class and finished 2nd in class and 3rd overall on the day. The combined times from Friday and Saturday put Andrew 1st in class and 2nd overall for the weekend in Rally Moto.
This was Andrew’s first time on the Prescott Rally roads and without the assistant of notes and a co-driver, he lacked the confidence and local knowledge required to go flat out through the various high-speed turns and blind crests. This event hosted the fastest stages of the series as riders saw triple-digit speeds on almost every stage!
The inaugural CRS Moto Championship garnered a handful of competitors throughout the season with the number of entries growing at each successive event. Looking forward, there will undoubtedly be new faces and fierce new competition as the CRS Rally Moto class grows in 2010.
www.universalrally.com
www.Californiarallyseries.com
www.Prescottrally.com
Photo courtesy of Lorne Trezise - http://www.frozenmotionphotos.com/
Gorman Ridge - Rally Moto
After a several month hiatus from riding, Andrew Sutherland tackled the Gorman Ridge Rally roads aboard his 2008 KTM 690 Enduro, round 5 of the United States Rally Championship and the backbone of the California Rally Series (CRS) series.
Since the competition in Rally Moto was non-existent at this event, Andrew focused on beating as many rally cars as possible. After 12 stages at race-pace on the physically demanding Gorman roads, Andrew finished 6th overall and 1st in Rally Moto. An off course excursion on the second to last night stage cost Andrew a couple minutes and at least one position in the overall standings as he struggled to find a path back to the road.
Andrew’s finish cemented his CRS Rally Moto Championship lead in the under 800cc class.
Next stop, the high-speed roads of the Prescott Rally – www.Prescottrally.com
www.unitedstatesrallychampionship.com
Heartbreak in Idaho Part Duex!
Team Universal Rally had another tough year at the 2009 Treasure Valley Idaho Rally, round 3 of the United States Rally Championship (http://www.unitedstatesrallychampionship.com). The duo of Andrew Sutherland and Amar Sehmi left the road 5 miles into the first stage on day 1 while negotiating a tricky lefthand corner that became increasingly narrow at the exit. Andrew's Open class Subaru was basically running in rear-wheel drive mode due to a nonfunctioing center diff. The lack for front grip and constant oversteer didn't help as the rear of the car was sucked off the road and down a 30 foot ravine where it came to rest on some boulders just above a stream.
The team will definitly be back in Idaho next year for another shot at the overall victory.
Heartbreaker in Idaho
Team Universal Rally made the trek up to Mountain Home, Idaho to compete in round 3 of the United States Rally Championship (http://www.unitedstatesrallychampionship.com). After the first day of competition, Andrew Sutherland, along side co-driver Amar Sehmi, was leading the overall standings by less than 15 seconds. Day two of the event saw nail biting competition and a dramatic race to the finish. The Evolution Racewerks/Sutherland Bros Racing Subaru came to a slow stop 3 miles into the final stage of the day with a blown headgasket, ending the teams chances of an overall win!
More Pictures to come....
North Nevada Rally Win!
Team Universal Rally driver Andrew Sutherland and co-driver Amar Sehmi put their brand new Subaru Impreza Open Class rally car on the top of the podium in this years revitalized North Nevada Rally with a NASA Rally Sport Open Class and Overall victory!! The team was still putting the final touches on the car the night before the event and had only completed a very limited number of "shake-down" miles before the start of the rally.
The new car going through tech inspection.....more action photos to follow...
2008 Plans 12-12-07
Universal Rally is still in the planning phase for 2008 and a Rally America class selection and schedule of events to attend has not been decided. Progress on the Open class car has been good (see below) but there are still several key componetnt that need to be installed to make the first event of the year, Sno-Drift (www.sno-drift.org) on January 25th, 2008.
The other option is to prepare the teams current recce car,a 2006 Subaru WRX, for the Production GT class. This would allow the team to compete for the Subaru Plan A contingency payouts which is much needed boost to the team budget.
Idaho Success 6-16-07
Andrew Sutherland and co-driver Josh McConnell earned a 2nd overall and 1st in class in the inaugural Idaho Rally. This event was Andrew's first rally on a sealed surface and it was Josh's first time ever in a rally car. A two pass recce was provided which provided an extra level of complexity to an already challenging situation.
The team piloted a rented Ford Escort from Jim Peirce Motorsports (www.advanceoffroad.com) . The car is typlicaly used for endurance road racing and was modified to meet rally regulations. With only 130 naturally aspirated horsepower the key to success was carring as much speed as possible. The plan worked as the team quickly secured 3rd overall and 1st in class during the morning stages. By the final stage they had moved into 2nd overall and remained 1st in class.
Update 12-5-06
Group 5 Champions!!
Andrew Sutherland wins Group 5 at Reno! The 2006 Reno Rally was the finale for the Southwest Cup Rally series. Andrew’s victory at Reno gave him enough points to take the Group 5 Driver Championship and place 2nd Overall in the series. Co-Driver Chrissie Beavis also took top honors in the series despite her entry as a Group 2 Driver at Reno.
- Andrew Sutherland 2005/06 Group 5 Driver Champion
- Chrissie Beavis 2005/06 Group 5 Co-driver Champion
Read more here: http://www.universalrally.com/6.html
11/20 - Update
With less than two weeks until Reno things are looking a "sparse"
11/01 - Update
Finally! I know it’s been a long time since we updated the website and I apologize…it’s just really hard finding good web-gurus that work for free!
In the last year and a half a lot has gone on. I’ll give you the consolidated version:
- We won day one of the 2005 Reno Rally, 1st overall and 1st in our class.
- We placed 2nd overall on day two of the 2005 Reno Rally and 1st in our class.
- We finished the season 2nd overall in points for the Rally America Western region.
- We went to the Rally America Regional “run-offs” in Missouri to race for the overall club Group 5 championship.
- We led the Group 5 championship race from the first stage….all the way until we rolled 2 ½ times into some trees.
We’ve been rebuilding ever since!
The rebuilt and revised car will debut in December at the 2006 Reno Rally http://www.renorally.com
Here’s a sneak peek…
More to come!!