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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

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.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The Kickastra Rally team wish all its sponsors, friends, fans, supporters and competitors a happy and joyous Christmas and best of luck in 2012.

Kickastra Rally Team

8th OVERALL IN 2011 BADD SEASON!

After a consistent season, Jackie with her "grandma wagon" Corolla, affectionally nicknamed "snowflake", achieved a commendable 8th place overall in the 2011 Barbados Association of Dragsters and Drifters (BADD) championship. Dwight Alleyne took #1 spot in his Subaru Impreza WRX with 531 points. Jackie accumulated 353 points and was just 5 points behind Jason Kirton who took 7th spot.

Well done Jackie!

Kickastra Rally Team

THE END OF THE LINE
After not having driven on gravel for two years, the Barbados Rally Club's autumn double header promised much in terms of seeing how the revised suspension on the MK3 would handle things. The rear had been modified some time ago to be independant and the spring rates had been lowered all round. The event was tackled using the tyres left over from 2009. They had been stored out of the sun but none of them were new. There were two almost new tyres, two slightly used and four well worn. The plan was to do the practise and two of the three official runs on the wellworns and then switch to the decent tyres for the third and hopefully quickest run. Then,when the stage was reversed do the same again.

The course was excellent with a nice mix of fast flowing sections as well as some tight technical bits. On the practise run I found the car handled very neutrally and absorbed the undulations amazingly well. The first official run was taken a bit more aggresively and still the car took it in stride. I was quite surprised at the grip from the worn tyres. Indeed, after the first official run I was the second fastest 2WD and trailed the Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift driven by Ian Warren by around 2 seconds. Not bad I thought.The first part of the course was the tight and technical part and the latter part quite quick. After a medium right the was a fast right over crest, a long flat kink left and a flat slight left over crest. On the practise and first official run the crest was taken hard over on the left but it seemed that the crest was less severe towards the right and so the line over the crest on the second run was adjusted.

It was here that everything came apart - literally. On landing after going over the crest in 4th gear, the back came out slighty and I corrected. Then the car flicked hard right. I piled in an armful of lock to correct it but it was too late and it headed into the grass verge. From this moment I was a high speed passenger. My recollection of the accident entails seeing the front of the car plowing through the grass at high speed, feeling the car lift up in the air and then...I climbed into the wrecker that took what was left of the car to the service area. There is a lot missing that I have no recollection of. Piecing together what happened with the help of the incar along with a photographer's still sequence, after the car shot through the grass it hit a pile or mound of debris/soil/piled-up stuff of some description and then flew though the air for quite a ways. On landing the car went into a series of barrel rolls, the first of which was quite violent. On the second roll, the left side glass broke and this is where the gopro camera was left behind. It had been mounted on the inside of the passenger window to get a view of both the driver and out through the windscreen. When the glass broke, the camera was left staring up and the sky and one could see the car cartwheel out of camera shot. The car ended up upside down and it was from this position the the medics removed me from the car.

Later inspection of the car and equipment drove home how well the safety equipment works when used properly and just how voilent the accident was. When the car climbed the mound of whatever, it crushed the drivers side sill upward and inward effectively shortening the car and causing the drivers side door X to bend.


By virtue of the cage being tied into the front suspension, this in turn pulled the right front suspension turret backward and downward. The drivers seat was pushed inward bending the seat brackets and pulling the left rear seat bolt through the side mount bracket leaving the seat anchored by three bolts.


The car landed heavily on the back leaft corner pushing that downward and forward. The right rear wheel has about 30 degrees of negative camber - the rear beam being well and truely bent and the shock bent to boot.


The right side fabricated TCA broke and sometime during the accident found time to crush the oil filter. The left front strut was ripped out of the wheelhouse panel. I haven't inspected this yet but judging by the external appearance of the front left corner I would be very surprised if it is not bent. Finally, after a careful inspection of my helmet after the accident there is clear evidence of the helmet hitting the rollcage.

Net result - we need a shell,cage,suspension,radiator,helmet,belts and a seat.
Best result - I am able to sit here and write about the biggest accident I have had in 24 years of rallying with no ill effects.

Pictures here (courtesy of JustBajan.com)

Kickastra Rally Team

SUN & STARS RALLY REPORT
The Sun and Stars rally turned out to be one heck of an event. The two stages to be used were both entirely new in the configuration used. The Luke Hill to Lamberts stage used part of the familiar Luke Hill stage and part of the also familiar Lamberts stage, but the two had never been joined before and was a joy to drive. The car worked well and the newly rebuilt engine pulled strongly - very pleased with it. The car handled well and with son Dominic calling not only the notes but also instructions - hold the gear, flat, go go go and the like, the times looked pretty good also.

The Isolation Road to Springvale stage was even more different in that the first part, from Isolation Road to the junction at Baxters had been used a few weeks previously, but now instead of turning right up White Hill, we continued straight out to Springvale adding about another 2 km of new stage. This would have been an incredibly challenging stage in the dry, but, the gods seemed to be in a playful mood and it rained cats and dogs. On the second run through this stage there were torrents of water flowing across the road in various locations and led to a number of totally out of control aquaplanning moments. A badly fogged up windscreen did nothing to help matters. Unfortunately, due to an electrical outage in the area as a result of an accident, we did not run this stage again in order that the power company could effect repairs and restore service.

This meant that we did two runs through the Isolation Road stage and nine through the Luke Hill stage. The car worked flawlessly and we were rewarded with a first in class and 9th overall finish. Although this might be Dominic's last stint as co-driver for a while as he has to concentrate on his studies, he will have a trophy to show for his efforts.

Next on the calendar is a gravel sprint early in October. There are no plans to make any major changes to the car although we hope to make a bit of a change to how the sumpguard mounts making it quick and single handed to remove. Stay tuned...

Check out incar from the rally at the links below:
Luke Hill - Day
Luke Hill - Night
Isolation Road - Just plain mad!

Pictures here (courtesy of JustBajan.com)

Kickastra Rally Team

DIVIDE AND CONQUER
The Kickastra Rally Team springs into action again this weekend as brothers Adrian and Jonathan share driving duties...in two different cars!

German based Jonathan teams up with wife (you will never get me in a rally car again) Alecia as the zero car in Rallye Grunhein while Caribbean based Adrian teams up with son Dominic for the Sun and Stars rally in weekend of family motorsport on both sides of the Atlantic.

Jonathan is using the event more for fun, but also to get some more seat time in the Astra OPC and more practice with pace notes. After many years codriving and the ocassional speed event sharing the team's former Astra GTE, Jonathan is re;atively new to pacenoted rally driving and is looking to pick up his pace and consistency. Last minute dramas with both front gravel and tarmec suspensions developing faults were solved by Team AutoScharf (team friend and car preparer) lending the Proflex front suspension from his similar Astra OPC.

In Barbados things have taken a slighty different tack. After the disappointing retirement in Rally Barbados 2011, the team had put the standard engine back in the car pending repairs to the JRE unit and ran like this for the Isolation road to Baxters sprint. The car worked well and gave the team another class win but filled the catch tank with oil in the process indicating worn rings. The engine was taken out with the intention of using the standard head on the JRE bottom end while the other bits were overhauled. When the standard head was pulled we discovered that two of the valve spring caps were split and would have failed very soon so it was quite a timely move. Adrian took the opportunity to play around with a Dremel and a flexi-drive to not only clean up and decarbonize the head but also do a little judicious porting based on the modified head we had and the valves were reseated. A little bit of mixing and matching took place at this point since the standard head was the earlier coscast head that carries the square section timing gear teeth with the longer belt whereas the bottom end was the later unit with shorter belt and rounded cross section teeth. Having only the new later timing belt we had to use the verniers from the JRE head instead of the standard ones.

The engine was fitted two nights ago and after a few swings to bring up the oil pressure, fired up first time. After warming up and checking for leaks - there was one, from the distributor blanking plate courtesy of an o-ring that was as hard as rock - we went for a test run. The engine pulled well and really gets going around 5500rpm - almost feels like it comes on cam. I would like to think it has something to do with the porting I did... For the Sun and Stars rally we decided to lower the car a little and we will see how this affects the handling. While we have not rechecked the alignment, the car now feels so much better in a straight line: previously the car would be very nervous accelerating in a straight line - a condition we attributed to a very aggressive diff. Whether lowering the car has altered the geometry and counteracted the action of the diff I cannot say, but we will certainly put the car on the alignment machine to see what we've got.

Pacenotes have been done and we are eagerly looking forward to the event and hoping to play around with the newly aquired GoPro camera as well.

Kickastra Rally Team

DRAG RACING
The kickastra Rally Team has added a new dimension to its repertoire in the form of drag racing. Jackie, regular co-driver for Adrian always wanted to race herself, but unlike the rest of the team, her heart lay in drag racing. With the advent of the Barbados Association of Draggers and Drifters (BADD) in October 2010, this dream was realised. Competing in her bog standard automatic Toyota Corolla, she competed successfully in the 1/8th mile in the 12 second class in the inaugral event.

In 2011 the team attempted to make the little car faster, first by modifying the exhaust from the extremely restrictive standard system to a less restrictive side exit setup. This dropped the 1/8th mile time from 12.25 to 11.7 seconds. Next there was a change of exhaust manifold coupled with the removal of the cat. Jackie's best time is now 11.05 seconds.

Although driving one of the few automatic cars in competition in BADD, and the only female to date, Jackie thoroughly enjoyed her events and set her sights further afield with a view to getting formalised training and
experience. After some investigation, The Frank Hawley Drag Racing School was chosen. Jackie attented this couse at the Bandimere International Speedway in Denver Colorado - host to the Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals - on July 26-27, just two days after the NHRA event. After two intensive days of classroom sessions and six runs down the strip in a 770hp super comp dragster, Jackie left with a memorable and exhilarating experience and a 5.687 second 111mph 1/8th mile blast down the track to boot.

So whats next for the diminutive speedster? Certainly another trip north to put in the few more runs needed to get her NHRA competition license. But whats that I hear about something with a little more pep to take over from the trusty Corolla? Stay tuned to this space....

Photos of the Drag School can be found here

Kickastra Rally (& Drag) Team

SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2011 REPORT
The leadup to RB 2011 was a bit of a trying time for the Barbados based component of the team. With a much needed engine refresh due at the end of 2010, the engine was sent to the UK early in 2011 for a rebuild. Due to some unforseen circumstances, there were delays both in sending the engine as well as shipping it back to Barbados. Unfortunately, the differential from the Sadev box was also sent to the UK so the team was not able to use the standby standard engine to get seat time and championship points. The engine finally arrived and was installed in time for the King of the Hill event - the sprint held the week before Rally Barbados for seeding
purposes.

Unlike previous years, brother Jonathan was teamed up as co-driver with the German contingent's Berndt Kneupfer and Jackie was taking a break from what is the longest and most arduous event in the local motorsport calendar. This posed a challenge since up to this point, the team had always been a strictly family affair. Father Denis had long since hung up his helmet and was not in the island anyway, and sister-in-law Alecia was not available in spite of a brief (albeit enjoyable) foray into the passenger seat some time ago for a loose rally. Who then was to fill the seat? After trying (unsuccessfully) to drag him away with wild horses, son Dominic bowed to considerable pressure and was persuaded (barely) to co-drive.

Needless to say, he had an absolute blast and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He co-drove on King of the Hill as his first ever motorsport event and debuted on RB2011 as his first rally.

The rally itself was bittersweet for the team. Day 1 went well, the new engine had a much stronger mid-range punch than the previous engine and we were alternating between 1st and 2nd in the class for most of the day until Daryl Clarke had a problem that dropped him out of contention. In spite of loosing some time to cautious runs in the last two downhill canfield stages the team ended up leading the group going into Day 2 by around 19 seconds.

The Day 2 stages were centered in the middle of the island and were more of a favorite with Adrian. Indeed, the team added another 14 seconds in the first 3 stages. Then, just after the start of the fourth stage of the day, the fan belt broke and went between the timing cover and the head causing the timing belt to jump some teeth and put us out of the rally. Dominic gained some valuable experience and seat time in the co-driver's seat and it is only a matter of time before he gets behind the wheel. For now, we will put the standard engine back in and then strip down the big boy to determine the extent of the damage. Hopefully, the worst of it will be bent valves - kind of expected considering the belt skipped teeth at about 8000rpm. More
to follow...

Photos of the Sol Rally Barbados 2011 can be found here.

Kickastra Rally Team

RALLYE WARTBURG 2011
The 52nd Rallye Wartburg-has come to an end, and there were two exciting days for the team. With the crews, Bernd Knuepfer / Alex Hirsch, and Jonathan Linton / Marco Tausch, the team went into this challenging race. After a Suspension defect on the Linton-Opel resolved shortly before the start, both teams went into the first
Special Stages and come up with good times. But after short time the rain came, and there began a frantic
tyre choices and gambles. Unfortunately Knuepfer / Hirsch did not have good luck with their tyre choice. With an adventurous ride with slicks on soaking wet road, they lost some time and were glad to have completed the tests with a whole car. Linton / Tausch had a curb contact which resulted in a bent suspension arm fixed in the service.

On Sunday, the second day of the rally, the Barbadian-German crew drove the mixed conditions constantly with
adverse weather conditions. With this performance they reached the seventh Place in her class.

Knuepfer / Hirsch even provided a hand to help with service under the tent. The hunt for lost seconds from the previous day resulted in contact with a hay bail of the Opel Turbo which had to be patched. The mechanics Joerg Trültzsch and Phillip Mueller gave it their best. They fixed the car back in good order so that Bernd and Alex could again attack to the end of the rally resulting in a class win and 11th place overall.

Tobias Scharf could then also enjoy reaching the end of the event, but with a twinkle in his eye "that hopefully not every rally be so nerve-wracking!"

Photos from Rallye Wartburg can be found here.

Your Rallye-Team Scharf

RALLYE WARTBURG 2011
Geschafft saß das Rallye-Team Scharf am Sonntag Abend im Servicepark in Eisenach. Gerade war die 52.Wartburg-Rallye zu Ende gegangen, und es lagen zwei aufregende Tage hinter dem Team. Mit den Besatzungen Bernd Knüpfer/Alex Hirsch und Jonathan Linton/Marco Tausch war man in dieses anspruchsvolle Rennen gegangen. Nachdem ein Fahrwerksdefekt am Linton-Opel kurz vor dem Start behoben wurde, konnten beide Mannschaften auf den ersten Prüfungen mit guten Zeiten aufwarten. Doch schon nach kurzer Zeit kam der Regen, und es begann ein hektischer Reifenpoker. Leider hatten Knüpfer/Hirsch dabei wenig Glück. Bei einem abenteuerlichen Ritt mit Slicks auf patschnasser Strasse verloren sie einige Zeit und waren froh, das Etappenziel mit heilem Auto erreicht zu haben. Linton/Tausch mussten sich nach einem Bordsteinkontakt mit verbogener Achse in den Service retten.
Am Sonntag, dem zweiten Tag der Rallye, fuhr die barbadisch-deutsche Mixed-Besatzung dann konstant durch die widrigen Wetterbedingungen. Mit dieser Leistung erreichten sie den 7. Platz in ihrer Klasse.
Knüpfer/Hirsch sorgten dagegen für ordentlich Arbeit unter dem Servicezelt. Bei der Jagd nach verlorenen Sekunden des Vortages hatte der Opel Turbo einige Fremdkontakte und musste immer wieder geflickt werden. Die Mechaniker Jörg Trültzsch und Phillip Müller gaben dabei ihr Bestes. Sie brachten das Auto so gut in Ordnung, dass Bernd und Alex am Ende der Rallye nochmals angreifen und den Klassensieg sowie Platz 11 in der Gesamtwertung einfahren konnten.
Darüber konnte sich am Ende auch Tobias Scharf freuen, der allerdings augenzwinkernd bekannte, dass nicht unbedingt jede Rallye so nervenaufreibend sein muss.


Ihr Rallye-Team Scharf

DISAPPOINTING OUTING IN SOL RALLY BARBADOS 2011
The Kickastra/AutoSchrf Rally teams fielded a two-car team jointly in the largest motorsport event in the Caribbean - Sol Rally Barbados. Both teams uncharacteristically failed to reach the finish.

The Kickastra Vauxhall Astra GSi featured the debut of Adrian's son Dominic as codriver. The crew were comfortably in the lead of group M7 despite some strong competition and battling more powerful cars in the group. Going into Day 2, it looked like "business as usual" for the Kickastra team with a strong finish and group M7 victory. Shortly after the start of a stage midway through Day 2, the fanbelt came off at high RPM resulting in the debris knocking the timing belt out a few teeth, which meant immediate retirement. Despite the dissappointment, some satisfaction can be found in Dominic's successful debut and the fact that the car is still competitive against even stronger competition in 2011.

The Autoscharf Opel Astra OPC Turbo made steady pace on the event. Codriver Jonathan Linton made some pacenote mistakes on Day 1 resulting in some lack of pace and a small off, but the team worked on ironing these out on Day 2 and going into the final stages of Day 2, were the fastest 2WD overseas crew and the fastest overseas group N car, beating more powerful and 4WD cars. With the end in sight on the 2nd last stage, a CV joint failed on the Astra resulting in retirement. Team Autoscharf were dissappointed but chalked the event down as experience and an adventure they will never forget, being the first event for the team outside of Germany.

Photos of the Sol Rally Barbados 2011 adventure can be found here.

Kickastra Rally Team