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04 May, 2012 |
RALLY LUZICKE RALLZ REPORT - Pt1
We were eagerly looking forward to this rally from both sides of the Atlantic. It would be a chance to reunite in the same car in nearly 3 years - the last time we drove together was WRC Rally Finland in 2009. How time flies. Speaking of flying, it took some arial gymnastics to get me there and back. 9 flights in six days to be exact. As it turned out, I missed one of them - the flight from Frankfurt to Dresden due to a delay of the previous flight from Heathrow to Frankfurt. With no other flights fitting the tight time schedule, I ended up renting a car in Frankfurt and driving to Dresden - a whisker under 5 hours drive. After arriving in Dresden at 12:30am, meeting Jonathan, and then driving over the the Czech Republic, we arrived at the hotel at 2:30am to wake up at 6:45am!
In spite of this, we were ready to recce the stages on Friday morning. There were 4 stages each repeated twice. The first two were a little over 10km, the third 6km and the last just under 14km for a total of nearly 84km. I have always been pleasantly surprised at the variety of surfaces and conditions on the European rallies we have done and this was no exception.
SS1 was interesting to say the least. Starting with a narrowish and in places very dusty and gritty tarmac road, it twisted in and out of the trees - somewhat reminiscent of Finland. Finland you say - over a bridge and onto a very narrow almost loose track densely lined with trees and stakes on the inside of most corners to stop the cutting (many were missing or bent over by the end of the first pass through the stage). On the exit of a right hander at about 2.55 one can see one of the early victims of this stage - an evo standing vertically on its nose amongst the trees. The stage then transitioned into narrow tarmac again with a fast downhill section culminating in a double S bend that caught out a few people, notably Danny Galle who has in the past serviced for us along with Tobias Scharf but on this occasion was driving his RWD Kadett.
All in all, a very nice and tricky opening test.
The incar from SS1 is here.
More to follow...
Kickastra Rally Team
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02 May, 2012 |
RALLY LUZICKE HORY PHOTOS
Rally report coming soon.
Please check out photos from the rally here.
Kickastra Rally Team
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18 Apr, 2012 |
DRS GERMAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP? CZECH!
The Kickastra Rally Team have been confirmed as one of 32 entrants in the Deutsche Rallye Serie ( www.drs.ag), one of two major German Rally Championships.
The team is making final preparations to enter the season opening Rallye Lužické Hory ( www.rallyluzickehory.cz) based in the Czech Republic. The one-day event will take place on 28 April, 2012, with the recce and scrutineering taking place on 27 April in a compact format. The stage mileage has been increased from previous years to approximately 84km, which should give ample stage mileage to stretch the legs of the team's German-based Opel Astra OPC.
The team is working on reshelling the Barbados-based Astra following a major accident in 2011. It was hoped to debut the new rally car in the recent Hammer Time speed event, but the team is delayed by lack of some driveline parts, which were not anticipated. Driver Adrian is looking forward to the Czech republic event as it will be the first event following the accident and a chance to put it behind him. It will also be the sixth country that Adrian has competed in.
Sachsen-based team friends Team AutoScharf are working on changing the car's final drive and installing new suspension which should make the car faster. The Kickastra Rally Team will also join three other cars that are entered for the championship coming out of the AutoScharf fraternity. In addition to AutoScharf's own Opel Astra OPC Turbo with driver Bernd Knuepfer and codriver Alex Hirsch, team mechanics Joerg Trueltzsch in his Peugeot 205 and crowd favourite Danny Galle in his RWD Opel Kadett, who travelled to the SOL Rally Barbados 2011 to support the team, are also registered for the championship.
Live results should be available on the rally web site, and the team will post regular updates on www.kickastra.com.
Kickastra Rally Team
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07 Feb, 2012 |
KICKASTRA RALLY TEAM ENTER GERMAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
The Kickastra Rally Team will combine rally championships on both sides of the Atlantic in 2012 by entering both local events in Barbados and rounds of the Deutsche Rallye Serie (www.drs.ag).
The Deutsche Rallye Serie (DRS) is a national German rally championship run by the ADMV, which was previously the East German motoring federation. The series is well subscribed and focuses mostly in the Sachsen area of Germany. The 2012 DRS Championship consists of 6 rounds as follows:
27.04.2012 - 28.04.2012 1. Rallye Lužické Hory (CZ)
08.06.2012 - 09.06.2012 2. DMV Rallye Thüringen (D)
13.07.2012 - 15.07.2012 3. Rallye Bohemia (CZ)
10.08.2012 - 12.08.2012 4. ADAC Rallye Wartburg (D)
30.08.2012 - 01.09.2012 5. AvD Niederbayern-Rallye (D)
02.11.2012 - 03.11.2012 6. rallyesprint.eu (D)
The first and third rounds will be held in the Czech Republic, where rallying is very popular and well subscribed. The Kickastra Rally Team will not likely enter all rounds but is currently planning to enter the season opener Rallye Lužické Hory. The one day event consists 76km of tarmac as is slated for 27 and 28 April. Adrian will be at the wheel of the team’s Opel Astra OPC which has completed three rounds of the WRC and five German rallies. The decision on which further rounds will be entered will be made throughout the season, which may include codriver Jonathan at the controls.
As with all Kickastra European exploits, team friends Team AutoScharf will provide on event support as they will also be entering the championship in their Opel Astra OPC Turbo with driver Bernd Knuepfer and codriver Alex Hirsch.
The team will post regular updates on our preparation plans leading up to the rally and will give regular updates from Finland on www.kickastra.com.
Kickastra Rally Team
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05 Jan 2011 |
KICKASTRA EVO IV ON THE WAY...
Having crashed the MK 3 Astra in spectacular fashion in the October gravel sprint at Black Bess, the Kickastra Rally Team has had time to assess not only what is salvagable from the MK 3, but also to plan its successor.
Apart from the obvious body damage sustained in the multiple roll accident, the damage list includes but is not yet limited to bent rear shocks,bent rear beam,front left shock ripped out of the wheelhouse panel,broken rightside TCA and severely crushed right side sill which in turn put a small bend in the door bars on that side. Also on the list is a damaged helmet - there is mark on the side of the helemt that matches the B pillar support, stretched seat belts, bent seat brackets and possibly a compromised seat - one of the seat side mount bolts ripped through the bracket leaving the seat anchored by three bolts only.
The safety gear did its job and the seat, seat belts and helmet will be replaced. Thats the easy bit.
A new evo iv build page on this website and a Zhaust.com thread simultaneously will chronicle the rebuild of the Kickastra Rally Car into a MK4 Astra. Enjoy.
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