PoR Week 28 Recap – A week of firsts (and near firsts)

[spspears]

There was no letup after a very strong showing last week, as Aaron and Bryan led Press on! Rallysport to new heights in week 28. Their performances, in conjunction with a great team effort, helped maintain our second half momentum.



Aaron broke through for PoR's first victory, driving his Peugeot 205 Rallye to first place in class N1 and 39th overall the Rallye X Trem in Madagascar. He finished with a commanding lead of more than 9 minutes in a rally that lived up to its billing. Competitors faced fog, rain, and finally ice and snow on 17 treacherous special stages. The win also propelled Aaron to a first place tie in the Trophée Madagascar Dirt & Dust Tour standings.



Rick Smith was also in Madagascar, making an impressive debut for PoR. He piloted his Prodrive Subaru Impreza N14 to 9th place in class N4 and 35th overall. A great result, especially given the awful conditions! We're glad to have Rick aboard and look forward to watching him progress up the charts.



As fine a job as our guys did in Madagascar, Bryan nearly stole their thunder. He narrowly missed both group and class victory at the Course de Cote de Dunières, which is part of the French Hillclimb Cup. Bryan's two-run total was a scant 0.16 seconds behind the the Group N winner. While he was no doubt disappointed to miss victory by such a slim margin, his 6th place overall was the best ever finish for a PoR driver. Brilliant stuff! It's just a matter of time before we see Bryan on the top step of the podium – possibly in the overall standings!



Bret also spent his week chasing a Cup in France, in his case it was the Rallye du Foie Gras et de la Truffe – seven stages of delicious twisty tarmac. It wasn't just the technical stages that kept Bret busy. A couple of near misses with a deer challenged his powers of concentration as well. Through it all, he brought his Citroen Saxo S1600 home 7th in the tough A6K class.



Finally, Steven was off to the Açores for the 7th round of the International Rally Challenge. The changeable weather over three legs and 20 stages kept things challenging. Steven ran a steady rally in his Peugeot 207 R3T, which has performed brilliantly over two IRC and one WRC events in the last four weeks. With the exception of half spin and light contact with a tree on SS12, he kept it on course en route to 19th place in 2WD and 49th overall.



It was another great effort by the drivers here at Press on! Rallysport. Each week we seem to reach a new level both individually and as a team, and a lot of that can be chalked up to sharing knowledge and helping each other along. As a result, our virtual mechanics (not to mention the director of finance) are happier. We are seeing far fewer wadded up rallycars back at the shop these days- though I just negotiated with Citroen Sport for their remaining stock of Saxo front bumper covers and radiators. That should keep Bret supplied for a few more weeks anyway!