Ramada Express International Rally USA 2004
December 10-12, in Laughlin Nevada

Eklund and Price finish 3rd in Open Class
Place 6th overall

After fitting the Primitive Racing Subaru Rallycar with a new 6-speed transmission and R180 rear differential, the team used the "nation's largest and richest rally"  for its shakedown. race. Considering the time and effort just to get to Laughlin (read "Getting There" note), it was potentially a risky decision.  Often referred to as America's Grand Canyon Rally USA, the first stages are close to Bullhead City, Arizona, followed by the Windy Point Hill Climb. Saturday's race was through the western Grand Canyon and Hualapai lands.. Because of recent rains, the scheduled course outside of Peach Springs, AZ, became a lake and the course had to be modified.  

This rally has 2 days of  reconnaissance  over the stages to add to notes and three days of racing.  Snow and mud cancelled two of the long stages into the Grand Canyon (45 miles total), so the Diamond Creek stage which runs almost to the bottom of the canyon (16 miles) was run twice to gain back a little stage mileage.  It is a beautiful stage and is part of a rally video game called "Richard Burns Rally".

The team did well on the first stage despite coming over a crest at speed and running wide on a tricky left turn,  ripping the air dam and rear bumper and severely bending the right rear suspension.  Some hasty roadside repairs were made to get the bumper back on, but the stage had to be rerun downhill with the rear tire pointed funny before getting to service and replacing the bent parts.  The team lost time and the third overall spot.

On the massive hillclimb outside of Chloride, AZ, the Primitive team tried its best, with a solid drive, but cars with much more horsepower were able to get up the 2000 foot elevation gain (from 4000 to 6000 feet) faster.  By the end of the day we were out of the top 5 and would need more technical stages to get back into the quest for the lead.  Those stages never came, as Saturday's Grand Canyon Stages were 100mph+ blasts uphill and with few curves, still favoring raw horsepower over handling.  Attrition caught a few cars, but the stages were generally wide and smooth.  A missed shift during the Diamond Creek stage saw over 9000 RPM on the Primitive tachometer.A valve apparently hit a piston and bent slightly causing a small miss and smoke to come from the engine.  There were grave concerns whether the motor would hold together for the additional runs, but it did, with increasing smoke on each start.

By the time Sunday's SuperSpecial stages started (1.1 mile Rallysprint in a large flat field) the team was 3rd in Class and 6th overall and would remain there until the finish.  The motor was pouring smoke, but Eklund exactly matched the faster Victor Kuhns (Group N Subaru) across the finish line on the final side-by-side special stage run.  Champagne flowed and the awards banquet was great.  This event clinched the Western States Rally Championship for the team!

See the complete results at www.rallyusa.com.

Totem TSD Rally 2004
November 13-14, British Columbia

Good Conditions, Very Tight Rally...

The 2004 Totem Rally was a lot of fun, with conditions that varied from moist dirt to light mud to frozen mud, snow and even a tiny bit of glare ice. No mud bogs, huge puddles, or ice chutes. The roads were scenic and challenging as usual and made for great fun whether out for the overall win or simply enjoying a brisk TSD thru the woods. See www.rallybc.com for info on this event or the many others they put on throughout the year--each with a distinctive flavor. The next is the famous Thunderbird Snow Rally in Jan/February. It is a hoot!

Lee and Rod Sorenson won Totem in their indominable Subaru 2.5RS sedan. These 2 brothers have shown that they know how to dial in the factors in slippy conditions and zero'd nearly every control for a total score of 11. Gary Webb and John Kisela managed to keep their Day 2 score to only a 4, and took 2nd place with a total of 14 points. Third place went to Ron Sorem and Max Vaysburg with a score of 15 and 29 zeros. Fourth place went to 2004 BC Championship team of RJ and Ren Carroll also with a score of 15 and only 27 zeros (a zero is a perfect score past a hidden checkpoint). The top 4 cars were Subarus.

Fifth place went to the dynamic duo of Satch Carlson and Russ Kraushaar with 16 points in a BMW 325 iX. The Primitive team of Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds took the 6th place with a score of 19. It was Kala's 14th TSD rally ever and 3rd using a Timewise Rally computer. Seventh place went to Steve Richards and Gary Reid with 20 points.

The top calculator car went to class champs Martin Chung and Christa Monasch with a score of only 28 and the amazing Fealk brothers, Dan and Stuart ripped Paper Class with a score or 66 using only a pencil, paper, a watch and the car's stock odometer.

So the scores were very tight since the conditions were good and the weather mild. One 2-wheel drive pickup truck had problems going up one of the icy hill sections, a few control workers got lost on their way to their checkpoints, but it was mostly uneventful for the 24 cars that accepted the challenge of this wonderful brisk TSD. p.s. The band at the pub in Clearwater was pretty rockin' and we now know who the real rally party animals are (right Brandon!?)! pe

SEMA 2004
November 2 - 5, Las Vegas

Look for Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds at the Subaru booth... with the snappy 2004 Forester Turbo, the Alcan phenom car!

Night On Bald Mountain Rally 2004
September, in Cle Elum, Washington

Eklund and Rounds take fourth place
in Unlimited class

Brisk TSD rally... very brisk...

Wild West Rally 2004
September 11-12, Shelton, Washington

"First, we went off - way off. Then the brakes failed - completely. Then we won."

Eklund/Price take First Overall in sharply fought three-way contest

Primitive Racing finished 1st Overall in a tight battle between Matt Iorio/Phillip Ho in an EVO7 and the Hintz Brothers in a 2002 WRX. Those teams eventually tied for second place with exactly the same time after 130 stage miles. We finished 10 seconds ahead after suffering complete brake failure on the last stage (rock ripped apart rear caliper draining all fluid). Here's a story from the local newspaper, The Olympian.

Primitive Racing now leads the Western States Rally Championship and the NORPAC Divisional Championship for 2004. We would like to thank SILVERSTONE for great rally tires and TURBO XS for their powerful engine management system.

Sneak Peek at the new Primitive Rallycar - the WRX STi 2.2!
September 6, Portland, Oregon

The Primitive Racing STi 2.2 is taking shape...

The Subaru WRX will make its first appearance at the Wild West International Rally on September 11-12th in Shelton, WA. The car features a Turbo XS tuned motor; DMS 50mm suspension; Carbon Kevlar seats by Momo; Pyrotect Harnesses and Silverstone Rally Tires.

Later this year, we'll install the heavily modified 2.2 DOHC rally motor and 6-speed transmission. This will significantly increase horsepower, torque and transmission strength.

Primitive strongly endorses Subaru Performance Tuning parts and exciting, safe rallysport in the USA. Our team has continuously raced and rallied Subaru Imprezas for longer than any team in the USA (over 7 years) and continues to be successful in all venues challenged.

• 2004 Winner Class 3 Alcan Winter Rally (Alcan 5000), Subaru Forester XT
• 2003 NorPac Open Class Divisional Champions
• 2003 Western States Rally Champions (Open Class)
• 2002 NorthWest Region Class 1 Champions
• 1998 SCCA ProRally CoDriver National PGT Champion

Primitive Racing currently leads the NorPac Divisional Championship and the Western States Rally Championship for 2004.

Rally Round PIR 2004
August, at Portland International Raceway in Oregon

Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds
take first place overall

Fun, fun, fun!

ORV Rallysprints 2004
August 7 -8, in Montesano, Washington

Eklund/Thomas first place overall
driving SubieGal's PGT WRX

Thanks, SubieGal!

Rally Driver goes 60 mph - without vehicle
August, in Oregon

What we rally drivers do
to slow down and relax...

ORG Rallycross #2  2004
June 27

Eklund enters his daily driver in Open Class

Paul had such a good time at this event...
that he forgot to send us a report

No Alibi brisk gravel TSD Rally 2004
June 19-20, Ellensburg, Washington

Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds enter Subaru Impreza Wagon in UNLIMITED class

"The rally was GREAT!  Super weather, great, wide smooth gravel roads, spectacular scenic views, Hell's Canyon, farm land, rolling hills.  Scoring was fast and effective...  We were 10th overall out of 27 entries and 9th out of 12 Unlimited Class entries.  Not our best effort, but getting used to a new rally computer is sometime difficult." PE

No Alibi 2004 report

Dryad Quest/
Shitepoke ClubRallies 2004
June 5 - 6, Shelton, Washington

After thrashing the car at Rim of the World, Eklund/Price make a comeback! First Overall for Weekend

"Well, we did it!  After a huge amount of work and effort by Richard Buckner of Royal Moore Subaru and crewmates Scott Huhn and Jeff Price (and Kala) the STi V5 transmission was rebuilt and installed.  The DMS suspension was also rebuilt with new top bushings and grease. The car performed well and the team took 3rd overall on Saturday's Dryad Quest ClubRally (~65 Stage miles!), behind Tim Patterson in the quick EVO4 and just behind the Hintz Brothers in the white WRX.

"On Sunday the team made just a few changes and set solid top stage times on the first two stages.  They give lots of credit to the SOFT compound Silverstone Rally Tyres (16/62 size) on the overcast, cool morning along with softening the rear suspension.  Their closest competitor, Saturday's winner Tim Paterson, rolled his EVO4 while giving chase on Stage 3.  The ever-quick Hintz brothers, who took 2nd overall on Saturday, finished just a bit behind the Primitive in 2nd place again for Sunday.  Primitive went on to win 5 out of 6 stages." PE --photo by Ken Perkins. Thanks, Ken!

ORG Rallycross #1  2004
May 30, Hillsboro, Oregon

Eklund designs course, sets fastest time in Forester

Paul helped the RallyCross series off to a good start with a FUN course design and well thought out layout.  Threatening skies brought little rain and the 100 or so participants had a great time...  Especially the 3 riders in the Forester...

Rim Of The World ProRally 2004
May 7 - 8, Lancaster, California

Eklund/Price have their share of troubles. And to think they could have had it all!

Visit  www.rimoftheworldrally.com for more info and entry list and RESULTS. Crewing for Primitive was Kala Rounds, Bill Maley and Shadd Foster - THANKS!

Oregon Trail Rally 2004
April 23-25, Hillsboro, Oregon

Eklund/Price Finish 2nd at Oregon Trail
and 4th in Trail's End ClubRallies

Friday night started with DRAG RACING for the ProClass cars and 2 other short, mixed surface stages.  Then off to Vernonia for days two and three of rallying in the woods!  Visit www.oregontrailrally.com for additional info and full results.  Scores are also available at www.rally-america.com.

We didn't push too hard for fear of falling off the steeply crowned roads, but made it to the finish, a small trophy and more season points!  Here are volunteer crew members Ian, Ron, Kimberlee, and Tim  in the back of the service van.

Doo Wops ClubRally 2004
March 6 - 7, Hoquiam, Washington

Paul Eklund and Jeff Price take second overall

With the Hintz Brothers pushing ever so hard with their quick WRX and Carl Jardeval staying ahead with a great drive in his Lancer EVO, the first event went well for Primitive, despite driver Eklund battling a full case of pneumonia contracted towards the end of the Alcan rally.  "My doctor said to stay at home (I was coughing up a little blood), but with the help of my team (Jeff Price, Kala Rounds, Mark Mattson, Ron Goins and Kimberly) I kept calm and hydrated throughout the 2-day forest rally." 

Day one featured the historic Brooklyn Tavern stage where records are kept, "I think we were about 2 or 3 seconds slower than our previous best--but we are on the T-shirt!" exclaimed a jubilant Eklund. (Actually, he was 4 seconds faster than in 2003.)   The Team finished 3rd on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday (behind Jardeval) but was second overall with the 2 days combined.  Rain soaked the Sunday stages featuring a terrific downhill run as a totally new stage.

The Alcan Winter Rally 2004
February 17-26, Seattle - Yukon - Arctic Ocean - Anchorage, Alaska

Paul Eklund, Kala Rounds and Gary Reid take first in Seat-Of-Pants class, an amazing third overall in the snappy 2004 Forester Turbo

This is a true adventure, a 5,000 mile long trek across the Arctic frontier. Too many stories to tell here, you need to go here for the full story. Long story short: it was an AWESOME RALLY and we KICKED ASS!

P.S. Subaru published an article on Alcan by teammate Glenn Wallace...

Thunderbird Rally 2004
February 13-14, Merritt, British Columbia

Paul Eklund and Kala Rounds Take First in Calculator Class, 6th Overall in Shakedown Effort

As the final shakedown for Alcan, the T-Bird is a great brisk TSD set on the snowy roads between Merritt and Kamloops in the beautiful mountains of British Columbia.  The team of Eklund and Rounds showed their math skills with an impressive low score and 6th overall position beating about half of the computer equiped cars.  Their Subaru Forester delivered the good and the team never missed a beat during the 2-day event.