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May 28 Just how much work does it take??Sorry I've not been in here for a bit, work work work. Seems that all this sport is. life is. Oregon Trail rally came and went, I did so much work to make that event. It took all of my energy to get the car in 100% tip top shape for this event... and it looked like it was paying off. Middle of the day at Oregon we found ourselves WINNING the regional rally OVERALL. Fantastic and unbelievable at the same time seeing that my race car is "stock" class and utilizes only OEM internals and engine bits. Wouldn't you know it though? fate smacked me right in the face. With 9 miles left in the day, the car refused to go into 2nd gear. I cannot race that car without 2nd gear..... sigh... we came to a halt leading the race by more than 30 seconds. I don't cry when things go wrong, but I am crying now.... I was exhausted physically and mentally, and this was the final straw. frustrating. I didnt do anything wrong! I was doing it right! the car just had had enough.... On the flip side, I had nearly 4 full years of racing on the same gearbox 4 years of perfect performance - I really should be grateful... but wow.... could the timing have been worse? I mean really. Oregon Trail rally disaster behind me, I had to focus on the Olympus rally. I spent the next 2.5 weeks in agony as the transmission was rebuilt. Smart-service.com rebuilt the transmission flawlessly, it just took time to get all of the needed parts gathered up. And, it took time to get the clutch kit together (clutch was toasted when the transmission gave up) Stressful does not begin to describe it. Day of the Olympus Rally press stage arrives and I have to cancel out. The car is simply not ready. Day of recce for the Olympus rally arrives, I have to cancel on that too. Now I'm at a disadvantage not having seen the rally stages... I arrive barely in time for Tech... and register... barely able to hold my eyes open due to spending the past 3 days crunching on the car. I begin the rally 7th on the road in a basically untested car, untested tranny, untested clutch. And it worked! Everything worked, well. End of the first full day of racing and I was 3rd OVERALL and 1st in my car class... simply amazing - tired, wiped out, but satisfied - we had done it! You get out of this sport, what you put into it. I've put my heart, soul into this... and finally, a fantastic run! Now let's see if I can keep up the pace for the duration of the season...  Jamie~ February 22 rally season is here again...Well it's been a while hasnt it? Silly season is here again - yep, rally time has arrived. This sport is tough. On comes the new season. A new year. A clean slate Time to make sure the car is fixed - solid. Time to make sure the support vehicles are in good order Time to coordinate with sponsors Time to round up crew Time to renew licenses, fees, registrations. Man... this sport is rough without a deep pocket book. Sponsors tend to use you for a year or so and let you go without so much as a thank you. Tires you thought were good... are comepletely destroyed. Crew are getting harder and harder to find... and Money... *laugh* wow. Very hard to come by these days. The past two weeks, every waking moment outside of my 50-60 hour work-week has been spent making phone calls, ordering parts, chasing sponsors, and of course working on the car. It's insane. This rally stuff is just nuts. My hands ache, my back hurts, I'm so tired I cannot sleep (ever get that way?) It's Wed evening and I'm due to tech in 2 days... I have approx 24 hours to get a new caliper installed, header wrap the new exhaust, clean the car and remove any unneeded tools, swap fluids, bolt down loose ends, install tires, do one more end to end inspection, then load him up.... Nevermind that I still have my kiddies to take care of And a full time, very hectic, very demanding job to manage. Man I love this sport. Nobody would work this hard for something they did not love.... would they??? updates soon..... ~Jamie December 17 What do you do when your Hero is gone....The hero is known for
achievements; the celebrity for well-knowns. The hero reveals the
possibilities of human nature. The celebrity reveals the possibilities
of the press and media. Celebrities are people who make news, but
heroes are people who make history. Time makes heroes but dissolves
celebrities.--Daniel J. Boorstin Richard Burns was a hero to me, and to many others, and now he is gone - and I'm not taking it very well I' m afraid.... I'll babble on a bit here, and maybe that will help. Richard Burns, my hero, one of my inspirations, my idol.... England's only World Rally Champion. A genuine guy, A great soul. A good heart. What a fighter. Not just in the race car and on the rally stages. But in life. He fought to get where he was. He fought to attain his dreams, and he made them a reality. But then, along comes the biggest fight of his life. An astrocytoma, a form of brain tumor, the battle of all battles. He fought. Like the champion that he was, like the hero that he is and always will be. He fought, with everything he had. Ultimately, Richard lost this battle with disease, but he retained his determination, his fighting instincts and he never gave up. A champion never gives up. A true champion is someone who wants to make a difference, who never gives up, and who gives everything she has no matter what the circumstances are. A true champion works hard and never loses sight of her dreams.--Dot Richardson Thank you Richard for being an inspiration, a hero. Thank you for sharing yourself with us all. Thank you for putting up a brave battle For a while there, I HAD given up.Started to let my dreams go. I know now that I cannot let that happen. I'll keep fighting. And you will continue to inspire me. Always. May God Bless you & Keep you. Jamie November 02 Rally Insomnia?So... This morning I woke at 5am. Typically I get up more around 6am, but not this morning... This morning my thoughts were going 100mph literally... I woke from a dream about a rally. Seriously! How sad is that? 
In this dream, my car was not "ready" - we were not "ready" - the
car was nearly "unsafe" to compete, yet we were going to chance
it. Far From the truth?Not really. Right now my funds are tapped. Our monies have been spent, and in 4.5 weeks, I have a race I want to attend, in Reno NV. Hmmmm... tough haul when you live in Seattle, WA NOT TO MENTION the current state of the car. Ooooh boy... the car.... He needs an entire new exhaust. Head to toe, it is destroyed. The car also needs a new control arm, possibly crossmember, oil pan and yes, skid plate. The last rally was rough, very rough, and nearly destroyed all of the underbody. There is no money left, and a skid plate alone will run nearly $300. It's starting to look like I may be done with this racing thing for 2005 It's just too much. Too expensive. Too stressful. I have a "real" job and a family to take care of, and as much as I deeply desire to race and race and race, reality sets in at times - - and I will NOT race on "Visa" - If I cannot source the funds, I wont go. Have I given up? Not just yet - I'll see what I can come up with. I WILL work on the car and put forth my best effort to get him tip-top again. I WILL give it a shot... and if I cant make it? I will be disappointed, unfortunately that also is part of this zany sport of rally..... Hopefully, I'll get something sorted out soon so I can get some sleep. For now? I'm going to go get some coffee and get started on another wickedly fast paced day..... cheers! Jamie September 27 So I Tried to Fix it MyselfYep. I TRIED to fix it myself, but this time, gave up. I'm tired. I work a full time, very demanding job. Then, in my 'spare' time try to keep the rally car, rally team going. There just is not enough time to do everything ALL OF THE time. Although I try.Sometimes to the point of exhaustion. After the last rally, (Wild West FIA Rally), my car really took a beating. Yes, we won our class and Yes we placed 3rd overall, but believe me. The car is nothing short of thrashed. I've got to get it sorted before the next event - 4 weeks away. I have to start.... NOW! One of my sponsors wants to have the car at their shop so they can assist in a rebuild. Sure! But their shop is 3 hours away. So, the dilemma is how to make the car drivable to get it to them, or do I simply trailer it 3+ hours round trip with the trailer? Aaaarrggh! Gas prices are so horrible, I'm really low on 'racing' related funds after this event and the expenses involved... I've opted to try to fix the car and drive it rather than pay the cost of towing this beat in my 8mpg tow rig. Must fix the car....... The car is at my place, I dropped it there after the rally. I have minimal tools on hand and can get a lot done but, this time, the car is hurt pretty good. It needs a new RH side control arm, new skid plate, new doj seal RH side, and an entirely new exhaust. The exhaust on the car a the moment is nothing short of scrap metal. So I come home from work, push up my sleeves, and after 1.5 hours of trying to get just the skid plate off, I gave up. The bolts which hold the skid plate in place are literally GONE. They are flattened by the rocks and rock damage. I cant budge them. I dont have a plasma cutter here at the house ya know?? If I cannot remove the skid plate, I cannot change the bent control arm. If I cannot swap the control arm.... I can't very well DRIVE the car down the freeway can I??? Can I? Well I swapped the rally tires for street tires. This gave me about 5mm more clearance than I had previously. Nice! And I figure, I've rallied-raced on this car with a control arm in worse shape..... so what the heck. Down I-5 I went - severely bent control arm, exhaust crushed and making a horrible noise, undercarriage protection at times touching and dragging on the ground. It's almost silly. But the car made it and is now in the capable hands of my sponsors - Now we can concentrate on a good, solid repair.... *whew* And who said racing wasn't fun????? Jamie~ September 19 A Sad Day in RallyTragically and with a shattered mind and half broken heart, today I write about a brother lost.
World Rally top co-driver Michael Park was killed in a horrific accident at Rally Great Britain Yesterday 09/18. This is a shock to everyone and really hits home with me. Michael was a brother to all in the rally world.
The rally family worldwide is quite a huge family and we all know the risks, we all take those chances...oh it's just horrifying when horrible things like this DO actually happen. I'm gutted. Very saddened. Sad for Michael, his wife, his children. Sad for Markko. Sad for all friends and fans of this great rally team.
There arent many times I sit at my PC and cry. Nope. not many, but this was one of them. Tragic. Sad. and Scary. This is a reality for everyone involved in this sport. It can happen to you, to me, to anyone involved in rally or motorsports as a whole. Like Michael, I too have 2 small children looking to me to take care of them, to be there for them. Nobody likes to think this kind of thing can happen - yet it does. And it is horrifying.
So what now? What does Markko do? What would i do?
I dont know.
I do know that this is a very sad day.
We've lost one of our own and I am just so shattered for everyone invoved.
My thoughts are with eveyone who has been touched by this life.
Best wishes and love to all friends, family, fans and rallyists everywhere.
Jamie~
September 18 Blog SchmogWell everyone is doing it... so why not me? I figure I'll get in on this blog thing but what will I blog about? ha! This is not a test people, I am an open book. I live Rally. and I live Subaru. I plan on blogging about the entire angle of the sport: What it's like to be on a rally racing team. What it's like to rally a the Subaru WRX. What it takes to get it done and have some successes. The real deal, dirt, passion, and grit of the sport. Or so I hope. I suppose some days I may blab on forever. Others, I wont have much to say - so I dont promise this to be the most intriguing blog on the internet, but it will be honest, and I hope, informative. You see, the motor sport of Rally was once a dream of mine. A goal. I've been chasing and following that dream for the past 5 years now and I'm living that reality. I think it's time to share openly the experience of obtaining a goal, reaching at your dreams and insight in to all of the hard work that goes along with it. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading from and learning from these shared experiences. More soon.... Rally On! Jamie |
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