Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing, defending 2007 Rally America Eastern Open Class
Champions, took the overall and Open Class wins in both the Mexico
Regional Rally and the Berlin Regional Rally at last weekend New
England Forest Rally.  Their performance was enough to earn them a
fifth place overall in the national portion of the event, after
starting 16th.  The team set several top 10 stage times and set
personal team records on seven stages.  The New England Forest Rally,
held in Western Maine and parts of New Hampshire, is Round 6 of the
2008 Rally America National Championship and regarded as one of the
roughest and difficult events in the Championship.

The team began 2008 by taking the overall win at the Team O’Neil Rally
in New Hampshire in icy conditions.  The team continued on their
winning streak by taking an award for the longest jump at the recent
Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in Quebec and finishing 10th overall in the
national event.  The recent wins at the New England Forest Rally give
the team a commanding lead in the Rally America

Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell drove a tidy and quick
event and brought their 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STi home relatively
unscathed.  Said Cassidy, “This result is the equivalent of a win for
us.  To be 5th overall after a past production car world rally
champion and two series contenders is amazing.   Maine is known as a
rough event and this year was no exception.  We kept out of the
scenery and had only one puncture, with the tire going flat after we
were done with the stage.  Dave and I were at the top of our game and
reached a new level of performance in the car.  We were definitely
pushing and this is an event we’ll remember for a long time!”

Some not familiar with the team were surprised with their impressive
finish, but Cassidy expects more of the same in their remaining events
this season.  “We really struggled with development of our current car
early on, leading to some poor finishes and a season where we went
from fourth in the Championship to not scoring any points at all.
Since last fall, we’ve hit our stride with the car and recent
additions to our service crew have bolstered our confidence.”

The team had close battles with Dave Mirra and Jeff Moyle, both
piloting Subaru STi’s prepared by Vermont Sportscar.  “The cars we
were racing are quite advanced relative to ours.  Our ace in the hole
was our experience and perhaps our advancing age!  Both Dave and Jeff
were right there throughout the event and our ability to avoid drama
put us in a position to take 5th.  On the final stage, we caught two
cars near the end and literally had to stop in the thick dust because
we just couldn’t see the road.  Mirra told me when he came through he
didn’t have any dust to contend with and that made me worry that he
had perhaps caught us.  He took 30 seconds out of us, but it wasn’t
enough and we held station.”

The Maine Forest Rally 1999 was Cassidy’s first event in a Honda CRX.
“The team has made obvious significant strides over the last 9 years.
We’ve still got plenty of room for improvement, but our hard work over
the years as a privateer team is starting to pay dividends when we
achieve a result like this.  To have our career best finish at home
after such a long time in the sport is a dream come true.  It
definitely fuels us to strive for bigger things in the future.  We’ve
been asked recently if we’d consider a full US national schedule next
year, and while we’d love to do that, we’d need far more external
support to do it properly.  TIme will tell!”  The team’s next event
will be the Rallye Defi-St. Agathe in Quebec, Canada.

John and Dave would like to thank their crew for their hard work and
support, both on and off event:  Bronson Crothers, Duncan Matlack, Ken
Anctil, Drew Simpson, John Cassidy V and Rob Sockalexis.

Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2008 Partners for their
support:

Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Hydra EMS, http://www.hydraems.com
Team O’Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com

For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit:
http://www.lastditchracing.com
To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit:
http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing
For more information on the New England Forest Rally, please visit:
http://newenglandforestrally.com/
For more information on the Rallye Defi-St. Agathe, please visit:
http://www.rallyedefi.com/

Photos Copyright Onalimbracing.com/Pete Kuncis 2008