In big MaxAttack! news, Dillon Van Way and Ben Slocum, who had been running second in MaxAttack!, have withdrawn from the rally following Stage 9. Ben reports that 4.5 miles into the stage the engine cut out completely. It came back on, they ran for a bit, and it cut out again. It did this about a dozen times before the end of the stage. The oil pressure was off the chart, and the temperature was skyrocketing. After a conference with some experienced ralliests at the end of the stage it was concluded that it would be most prudent to withdraw. They suspect the ECU, but don't have a definite diagnosis.
Michael Reilly and Josh Benthien, the #100 Ford Focus, are reported to be stationery at the side of the road on Stage 9. No further details are available.
Matt Bushore posted details of his DNF at http://www.specialstage.com: "Felt the car bogging down about 3 out from the finish of 8. Thought it was a flat. Then saw the wheel fly up into the air. We finished on the stub of the rear axle, but holed the fuel tank and retired. We are still waiting on crew to pick us up. I need a beer."
Other reports from service after Stage 8:
Luke Sorensen, Driver, #699 Saab 99 – The first two stages of the morning went alright. On the stage that goes into Berlin, the second chicane was much tighter than it looked , and there was a ditch on the outside. At the first chicane they came in a little too hot for the second one, hit the bank (a couple other people did the same thing), and were lucky enough to sort of bounce out of it. Some other people actually took out their radiators. They made it out alright, tweaked the alignment a little bit, but they're doing well. There have been a lot of people getting off, and then pulling together and getting back on, which is great.
Kevin Turner, Driver, #689 Subaru Impreza – Yesterday went pretty well for them. They had a good day. They got a little off on their notes on the long stage and lost about 30 seconds in the process, but other than that they had a good couple stages out there. This morning has been great, they've had a prevalent miss all day, but it's not holding them back too bad, it's just more of an annoyance than anything.
Kristin Przybysz, Driver, #148 Subaru Impreza – Yesterday it was a miracle that they got back on the road. They broke a strut top and wheel cylinder on probably the first half of the longest stage. They ran the rest of the stage with no strut where it's supposed to be, and the brakes failed before the flying finish. She slowed it down by gearing down and e-brake, then they hobbled back to service. She called the crew ahead of time, they sourced some parts from competitors and friends, and they had it all put back together and ready to run. This morning is going alright. It's pretty soft, the car's kind of all over the road, so they made some adjustments and she's looking forward to the next stage, Middle Dam, which is a lot of fun and has a lot more grip.
Mike White, Driver, #900 Saab 900 – They keep finding big rocks and whacking them. They bent their axle again, and were able to straighten it with a new and improved rally alignment kit. Mike states, "You get a 20-foot tow strap, a 30 pound rock, and five Irish guys. You get the five Irish guys on the end of the tow strap, you pull the wheel, and then the driver (in this case) throws the big rock at the wheel from the other direction." They managed to get it bent enough that they could finish the Dillon-Success stage, so now the boys have a Portapower and some chains. They straightened it and now they're welding a piece of angle iron so hopefully they can make it through the next few stages. Weak Saab axles.
Jim McClelland, Driver, #724 Toyota MR2 – The first two stages were great for this car. They're pretty flat and flowing with a lot of 5's and 6's. They set some really good times for them. If they can average about 60mph on stage in this car they are just smoking. Those two stages were awesome for us.
David Furey, Driver, #32 VW Golf – Went out yesterday due to the fuel pump. The morning is not bad so far.
