NASA/USA Rally Championship - Olympus Rally - For Immediate Release - May 25, 2006

*Click photo below for all of the rally action*

http://www.subiegal.com/Jamie-Matt-rally-med.jpg (http://www.subiegal.com/gallerymain/rallygallery/olympus2006/2006_olympus_rally.htm)

Driver Jamie "Subie Gal" Thomas along with navigator Matt Gauger took their car class win in both Regional rally events at the Olympus Rally as well as taking the podium placing 3rd overall in Saturday's rally. This brings the team back up to speed in regional class points edging them closer to the class lead.


The Olympus Rally (www.olympusrally.com) finally returns to USA Rally after a long and rich history. The Olympus Rally was part of the first US rally championship staged in 1973 and it later evolved to become part of the World Rally Championship from 1986 through 1988. This event is held in the north west interior rugged Washington state. The terrain is extremely rocky, rough, with soft spots back in the trees including mud, water traps and more. The roads go from fast and flowing to furiously twisty. There is a little of everything in this rally.


The team ran well setting very fast stages times during all of the Saturday long regional rally and found themselves 3rd overall and 1st in PGT (car class) at the end of the event. Sunday's regional rally proved a bit more trying with a huge navigating mistake cost the team over 5 minutes. The team regained focus, recovered and hung on to earn 1st in car class (PGT) to end a fine weekend of racing.


"These roads were a challenge, really slippy in spots, rocks everywhere." stated Jamie Thomas, team owner/driver, "We were under the gun just getting here between transmission issues, trailer issues, clutch issues the pressure was enormous. I'm so grateful to all who helped us make this event, we drove it well, my crew kept us on the road and we finished with much needed series points - can't ask for much more than that!"


Burnsie the Rally Wagon performed very well thanks to his recently rebuilt transmission from Smart-Service (http://www.smart-service.com/content-performance.shtml) as well as the newly fitted clutch from Clutchmasters (www.clutchmasters.com)

Next Event: Mountain Trials - Merritt, BC, Canada June 16/17 (http://www.rallybc.com/MtTrials/2006/2006mountain_trials.htm)

Subie Gal Racing team thanks 2005 season sponsors: PDXTuning (www.pdxtuning.com), EBCBrakes (www.ebcbrakes.com), COBB Tuning (www.cobbtuning.com), Smart-Service (www.smart-service.com), Nasioc (www.nasioc.com), ClutchMasters (www.clutchmasters.com), Shaneyfeltmotorsports (www.shaneyfeltmotorsports.com), Forced Performance (http://www.forcedperformance.net/), Rallispec (www.rallispec.com), FTL Performance (www.ftlperformance.com), Fleet Sign and Graphics (www.fleetsignandgraphics.com), Subie Gal Supporters

Very Special Thanks to: Crew Cheif Nick, and the Rodzinski's for the use of their trailer

For more information contact:
Info at subiegal . com
www.subiegalracing.com
©2006 Subie Gal Racing.com

Way to go Jamie! Continued success for the rest of the season!

Great finish Jamie!

:) nice job subie gal :banana:

Congrats!

My wagon is happy for its sibling too...

YAY!!! for Jamie!!!

Congratulations!

Wish we could have made it up to watch.

Just went through www.subigal.com

You've made an awesome site, cool to see the history of Burnsie. My wife and I have just begun running the ORG rally X events in our WRX. We both have a ton of fun, but being so new to it all we've only watched one stage rally (Oregon Trail) so far but it's inspiring.

congrats jamie

Congrats on the nice performance, Jamie.

What was the navigating error on Sunday? Results show an 11 minute time on SS11, but no road points. Prefer to not have to learn only from my own mistakes... :)

Hello,

Congrats!

Heh, in your list of linked supporters, you could make "Subie Gal Supporters" into a link too... and link it to the motorsports forum on nasioc :D

Joel

Congrats! Woo hoo! :banana:

Congrats on the nice performance, Jamie.

What was the navigating error on Sunday? Results show an 11 minute time on SS11, but no road points. Prefer to not have to learn only from my own mistakes... :)


Yeah, no road points... but a gigantor navvie error nontheless.

Here is how it went down:

Ralph, who is running 2 cars up from us, comes out of a nastly late L3
has an awful spin....
knocks down banner guard (you can already see where this is going)

Blake (car just in front of us) comes onto the intersection, pauses, continues on....

I'm next up...
we come into the intersection and we are HOT
I shout to my navvie "tape is down!! which way??!?!?"

navvie shouts: L3 into.....[pause] RIGHT 3! RIGHT 3!

yeah. no. that was the wrong answer :(

R3 was not the correct note for that intersection


Very deceptive corner - - there were no ruts to follow
Brand new stage and we were the 5th car on stage with 1 spin in front of us
the driving lines were all messed up

The way that the banner tape snapped, you COULD NOT TELL which way to go.

I was as the mercy of my navvie.... and simply put, he got it wrong :(

To his credit, 2 calls up there really WAS a R3
We do not know if he freaked, flipped 2 pages at once in the notes
Or got "lost" when he glanced up when I yelled TAPE DOWN TAPE DOWN

Either way, he got it wrong, we went off course, just for a minute
but I REALLY took my time getting back on course but for a REASON...

1) didnt want to run the risk of meeting another car head on who may be making the same mistake

2) did not wish to ruin anybody's rally, so instead of pulling out onto the stage in front of the next car & creating a wall of dust... ;)
I waited for the next car to go by and followed him out of the stage

it just so happens that the car I followed out was driven by my better 1/2, so that was a VERY GOOD move :lol:

We had dropped to 29-30th place, moved back up to 10th overall by the time of the rally finish.


Errors happen. Both driver, and navigator, nobody is perfect.
This was a big one for our team and I'm not going to lie, we're having major discussions about it.

It is not the 5 minutes lost that concern me/us
It is being safe, being on target, on focus and knowing where you are at all times.

I completely trust the words coming out of my navvies mouth
He is "driving" the car, I simply do my damndest to keep it on the road :devil:

I'm sure we'll work it out and just chalk it up as another rally learning experience.... :lol:

Jamie http://www.subiegal.com/subiegal-smilie.png (http://www.subiegal.com/)

Jamie,

Well done.

It looks as if Burnsie is on the cover of the SubieSport DVD

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-68681334499733_1898_242005

dm

Why is your navvie waiting until you are on the corner before reading the note? I can hardly believe you would ever let that happen as a driver? A late note is as bad as the wrong note if you ask me. Sounds like he was already into the next note or two, you got to the corner and forgot what he had called for that corner when you saw the tape was down. When you screamed which way, he had to think back or look and he got confused or looked at the wrong note in the book. But hey, I could be crazy, and I was not in your car, I was just trying to make sense of what might of happened.

Wow, classy move, Jamie, blaming your co-driver in public.


As you said, "Errors happen. Both driver, and navigator, nobody is perfect." I hope you remember the successes you and Matt have had together when you're working as a team.

congrats!!!

Burnsie the Rally Wagon performed very well thanks to his recently rebuilt transmission from Smart-Service (http://www.smart-service.com/content-performance.shtml)

Sweet, I was planning on going to Smart Service to get a Accessport. But I was unsure as to their reputation, but if Jamie goes there they must be pretty good. :banana:

jamie,
Great Work!!!

Yellowstuff R's took CA Speedway in stride, but I green-faded on the first hard stop, so my bedding procedure was not enough. No problem, there was runoff space so I let up, took the time. After a few more cautious applications, things fell into place and the Sub ran like stink all day. Best track day I have ever had. Really flying. And the R's are fine for So Cal streets. Plan a little further ahead, but all works lovely and smooth as a baby's bum.

Tried LFB through linked turns where no gearchange was required and that works really well, but I need to work on my rhythm to make it repeatable. Practice, practice. The windshield washer analogy is perfect. Yee hah!

Congrats again! Keep you feet in it...

George

Wow, classy move, Jamie, blaming your co-driver in public.


As you said, "Errors happen. Both driver, and navigator, nobody is perfect." I hope you remember the successes you and Matt have had together when you're working as a team.

:lol: um.... okay.....

There is no bashing Matt here... I do not see where I have bashed or belittled my co-driver. I would not do that. I think you're being too sensitive.

We are totally a team

Matthew made a huge error and he will be the first one to tell you that

It cost us a 3rd place spot, and I thank God that is all.
We could have hit another car at speed, and that would have been a very, very bad thing.

It is how you LEARN from these errors and how you RECOVER that forms an even better bond between driver and co-driver.

We're discussing the issues and working out ways of improving our in car coordination - an ultimate decision on what to change has not yet been made.


Thanks everyone for the kind words.

and GEORGE - WELL DONE!!! dancing banana for you :banana:
get out there on the track and get some!! :D



Jamie http://www.subiegal.com/subiegal-smilie.png (http://www.subiegal.com/)

congratulations Jaime, very impresive. Hopefully you'll see some of The Gravel Crew out there doing some of the Western Sates races. Should be fun if we can get the funding to do some of the latter races, Reno for sure.
Peace out
Marvin
Gravel Crew Rally Team USA

congratulations Jaime, very impresive. Hopefully you'll see some of The Gravel Crew out there doing some of the Western Sates races. Should be fun if we can get the funding to do some of the latter races, Reno for sure.
Peace out
Marvin
Gravel Crew Rally Team USA


it'd be great to see you guys up here in the rain forest Marvin :D

til then, rally on and have fun!

Jamie http://www.subiegal.com/subiegal-smilie.png (http://www.subiegal.com/)

Congrats Jam~ :D