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.

Interstate 5 Volunteer Cleanup  Olympia, WA   November 9, 2003
Eklund/Price/Rounds Help Give Back to Community

The Mt. Hood ClubRally:   Hood River, OR  October 25, 2003
Eklund/Price Take 2nd Overall in the ClubRally

The second running of the Mt. Hood Rally went smoothly and the 50 mile event ran from noon into the night (great format, just need more miles and shorter services!).  Ross Foster in his spanky new, rented EVO VIII was brutally quick and although the Primitive Team got back some time in the evening and night stages, they had to settle for 2nd place.  Early in the rally they were dicing it up with both the Hintz Brothers (2002 WRX) and Cavett and Lyden in the GC8 Turbo Impreza.  As night fell, the Primitive Team began setting top times (helped by being ahead of the dust) and finished almost a minute ahead of those teams.

The ORG RallyCross Championship:   Hillsboro, OR  October 12, 2003
Eklund sets fast time on course of his own design.
Paul Eklund designed a course that delighted 113 participants at the Washington County fairgrounds.  Heavy rains the day before and a little during the event keep the ground just slick enough to keep the water truck away.  The course was .7 mile long and had some great features including the "Fallen Log", the "Bus Stop" and "the car blocking the road in front of the bridge" which forced drivers to take an outside line into a narrow section of track while accelerating.  Paul finished 2nd in the OPEN clas driving the WRX rallycar.

The Mountains to the Sea Annual TSD Rally:   Pacific City, OR   September 27, 2003  
Eklund/Vohs Enjoy the trip to the coast!
Paul Eklund and Vicki Vohs drove the white Subaru Wagon on this long rally from Portland to the Pacific coast on a wonderful fall day with Kala Rounds.  The TSD was written by Bruce Tabor and featured some lovely roads and ended at the Bob Straub State Park in Pacific City with a tremendous BBQ bratwurst feed on the beach.  Paul helped prepare and cook for 65+ hungry rallyists and workers after the event and the bonfire and victory dance (of Russ Kraushaar and Katie Wood) went on late into the brisk night.  The Primitive team put on respectable performance using only a pocket calculator and running in the EQUIPPED class.

The ORG RallyCross Championship:   Hillsboro, OR  September 14, 2003
Eklund sets fast time on course.

Paul Eklund set the fastest single lap time for the OPEN and PGT class while driving his completely stock Subaru Wagon at this water-truck mudfest of an event.  He finished 4th in the PGT class.

The Wild West Rally:   Olympia, WA   September 5-7, 2003
Eklund/Price Take 3rd Overall in the ClubRallies on Both Days!

The team extended their lead in the Open Class of the Western States Rally Championship with consistent 2nd place finishes both days in the Open Class.  Scott Fuller in Group 2 was the winner on both days.

The Gorman Ridge Rally:   Gorman, CA   August 16-17, 2003
Eklund/Price to Compete in Round 5 of the Western States Rally Championship!

As points leaders, this event is important to maintain a chance for the overall championship title.  The team plans to use COURSE NOTES for the first time with co-driver Jeff Price.  Well, the team was in an safe 3rd overall position when they hit a dirt embankment and SNAPPED a forged lower control arm.  Despite frantic attempts to hold the suspension in place with the tow strap, the team could not make it back to service and were time barred 2 stages from the finish...

The Road Not Taken Rally:   Grand Rhonde, OR  August 9-10, 2003
Eklund/Rounds Tackle the classic all-night rally to the coast and back.

More on this gravel rally and round 3 of the Pacific Coast Challenge as info becomes available...  visit  www.trnt.com for info.
It was a long night and the team did OK finishing second in the Equipped Class.

Bremerton National Tour SoloII:   Port Orchard, WA  July 26-27, 2003
Eklund Finishes Fourth in Class in AutoCross.

It has been 2 years since driver Paul Eklund has competed in a major SOLOII event and the rust shows.  Jumping into a 2002 Nissan Sentra Spec V running in the D-Stock Class, Eklund could not keep the Acura Integra Type R's and the BMW 330CI behind him.  He picked up he pace on day 2, but fell back to fourth after hitting a cone on his final, and best run.

Oregon Trail ProRally:   Hillsboro, OR July 12-13, 2003
Primitive Takes 2nd Place in ClubRally on Both Days.

It was a very somber event after the terrible racing accident involving championship driver Mark Lovell and his long-time co-driver Roger Freeman who were fatally injured when their rally car hit a tree on the opening leg of the rally.  The team apparently misjudged the high speed corner and hit a large tree at the exit of the turn.

When the rally resumed, the Primitive Team kept a safe pace and finished second on both days.  Because the Oregon Trail rally was part of the Western States Rally Championship, the second place points keeps Eklund and Price well ahead of the other competitors in the Open Class.   More on this rally later...

Larison Rock Hillclimb:   Oakridge, OR July 5-6, 2003
Primitive Makes an Attempt at the Record.

After becoming a member of the "Under 2-Minute Club" last year in the venerable USX, Paul returned for a 1-day assault on the 1.9 miles of paved hill located just outside of Eugene, Oregon.  This time he brought the 2002 WRX rally car, lowered and on 225x50x16 race rubber.  He hoped to beat his 1:59 second run and beat the 1:56 class record.

The new car was fast, setting a fine 2:02 on the first run.  But on the second attempt, after hitting 76.1 MPH on the straight following the carousel corner at mid-course, Eklund locked the left front brake coming into Turn 10.  The car had been on a record breaking pace, but those hopes vanished as he lifted off the brakes and wrestled the car into turning at the corner.  The car briefly left the course and as he pulled back onto the track he knew the run was finished.  The THUMP, THUMP, THUMP ended up being a flat spot on the front tire right down to the steel belt...   Better luck next year!

Dyrad Quest RallyFest:   Shelton, WA June 7-8, 2003
Primitive Makes Lemonade from ClubRally Suspension Lemons and Takes Home Some Trophies.

The team wins one gimmick Rally and takes top prize for the Equipped Rally Car Class in this ClubRally turned RoadRally.  To meet landowner, township, and sponsor commitments, the rally format was quickly changed from a performance rally to a series of TSD and Gimmick Rallies in which 30 teams entered.

"The only event that we didn't do well in was the Poker Run," says driver Paul Eklund, "and that was just bad cards..."   Due to the current suspension of SCCA ClubRallies, the Dyrad weekend format was changed.  It was one of the first TSD events for co-driver Jeff Price and made for a lot of calculation and a little bit of getting lost on course.  The 3 parties (Jaegermeister welcome party, Saturday night Budweiser Pizza Feed, and traditional Awards Banquet) made the weekend even more enjoyable.

No Alibi Rally:   Ephrata, WA May 25-26, 2003
Primitive Enjoys a Terrific, 600 Mile Jaunt Through Washington

This watersplash along the 600 all-gravel route of the No Alibi Rally was just one of the highlights.  It was part of the Pacific Coast Challenge, which is a 4-event series of brisk, gravel TSD rallies.  The course went from Snoqualmie Pass to Spokane and back over a 2-day period.  The team of Kala Rounds and Paul Eklund suffered from a failing Alfa Elite Rally Computer and finished 12th overall.

Rim of the World:   Palmdale, CA May 2-3, 2003
Primitive Survives Rim of the World!
3rd in Club Class Both Days

"Wet and Wild" Describes the 20th Anniversary
Rim of the World Rally! 

About 40 Club Class cars and 40 Pro Rally Cars arrived sunny Palmdale, California on Friday May 2nd.  but the sun breaks soon turned gray as a massive storm system settled over central California bringing inches of rain, flash floods, and general havoc.  Teams looked to the darkening skies as ominous flashes of lightning bouncing off the hills they knew that they were heading for.  Some contemplated tire choice, others their lights (or lack of fog lights), but team Primitive was thinking about all those unfortunate course workers who were standing in whipping winds, driving rain, and even hail just to let us play. Indeed it was raining and the mountain was enveloped by cloud cover when the rally began.

The rally cars left the beautiful grounds of the Pelona Vista Park promptly at 7:00pm towards the wonderful Magic Mountain tarmac stage.    The grip was still very good and the Primitive Team had a great run on the 90% tarmac.  Unfortunately, on the 10% dirt near the end, Paul Eklund was looking for a left hand turn when the road went right and the lizard-shod 2002 WRX went into the dirt and rock berm on the left side of the road.  The impact was gentle, but enough to flatten the left front tire.  They finished out on the flat, but the team was still about 11th overall despite the flat tire.   Co-driver Jeff Price was beginning to feel a bit "green-in-the-gills" with the constant turns, fog pressing in, and looking down into the route book.  It turns out that dozens of co-drivers got motion sickness despite pills, bands, ginger...

After the tire change and short transit to Stage 2, the team pressed on charging hard into the dirt and rock.  Despite the rain, the stage was not yet muddy, but many of the infamous "rockadillos" began to appear in the road.  These are LARGE rocks (shoe box size and larger) that begin to emerge from the apexes of corners and from below as the first cars disturb them from their resting place deep within mother earth.

Many teams sport large creases in skid plates, broken shocks, bent wheels and yes, flat tires from these critters.  For Primitive, it was unfortunately the latter that affected them early in the stage.  After crashing hard through some rocky areas, a rockadillo tore a hole through a right front tire flattening it instantly.  The tire thankfully held onto the rim, but steering was greatly impeded.  Doug Havir and his spanky yellow Prodrive WRX caught the pair by the end of the stage.

Bummer to lose a bunch of time.  Bigger bummer not to have brought 2 spares.  After exiting the finish control, the Primitive team spied a blue WRX amongst the control crew cars.  Team captain Eklund shouted to the dark hillsides, "whose WRX is this!  We need to borrow your mini spare!"  After some confusion, a young gent named Josh came forward and said "it's mine."  Primitive quickly moved a rear tire to the front and then mounted the "donut" onto the rear of the car.  Thanking Josh and roaring off into the night to try to make up time on the toughest transit, Primitive barely made it to the start of Stage 3 on time.

Needless to say, the handling of the WRX was not quite the same with a mini spare, but Primitive finished the stage with a decent time (despite one 360 degree spin and stopping to make sure that Doug Shepard was OK in his rolled Neon--no triangles or OK showing).  Stage 4 was the great Gleason Mountain hillclimb, and the Primitive pair set a top-ten time (with a fresh tire from service).  The stage is mostly paved, but HEAVY FOG made it a matter of who had proper lighting and the biggest commitment to the turns.  The last stage of the night was a re-run of Stage 3,  this time slick with accumulated mud.

Stages 4 and 5 ended up being thrown for the ClubRally due to an ambulance coming off the mountain with a person (course worker?)  reportedly suffering from hypothermia leading to chest pain and fear of heart attack.  It's not all clear exactly what happened yet.   In the end, Primitive was 3rd overall in the ClubRally, just a bit behind Ralph Kosmides in his Impreza.  Leon Styles was further ahead, enjoying a great run in his EVO (and eventually finishing 4th OVERALL in the ProRally!!!!).

Day 2 started with rain delay as course workers determined whether the stages were even passable.  The answer in general was "no."  Most stages could not even be reached, let alone raced.  Paramedic locations were adjusted and it was determined that only Del Sur and Leona could be reached and raced safely.

The run up Del Sur was a muddy mess.  The Primitive Racing Team took it easy, maybe just a bit too easy.  It was not known at that point that the rally was already very near the finish, so there would not be enough miles to relax even a moment.  The team posted a 16:26 up, and then pushed hard down posting a good 16:29 on the way down.  Going down was hair raising, but somehow more fun than going up!

Leona is a terrific stage, and even in the fog and light rain it held up well.  Primitive was catching up to Kosmides on the sandy stage, but after the Spectator Area, Eklund's IQ dropped near zero and he put the car off the road onto a large sand berm.  Co-driver Price reminded him to be gentle engaging reverse and after some coaxing, the car slowing pulled itself off the embankment.  The team continued, but had lost precious time.  And when it was announced in service that the rally was officially finished, that time became critical, dropping the team from a solid 2nd into 3rd place.  Still, not a bad finish to a wild rally.  Leon Styles had indeed turned up the wick and finished minutes ahead of all other ClubRally competitors.

Adding up the times, Primitive would have still finished 8th or 9th in the overall ProRally had they chosen to enter the Pro.  The team retains its first place standing in the new Western States Rally Championship.  The next WSRC event is Dryad/Shitepoke in Shelton, Washington on June 7th-8th.

Due to the rains and visibility, Rim was actually much easier on cars this year, with fewer DNF's and much less car damage.  Maybe next year.  Maybe next year...

The rally ended back at the Pelona Vista Park, where Nicky Grist had been wandering around giving autographs, the Pirelli girls were displaying Lycra, and many vendors had set up booths to display their wares.  Most were Subaru-related as Subaru Western Region had done a lot to give the rally a professional look and provide the amenities to attract a lot of fans.  And despite the "iffy" weather, the field was packed with fans and vendors (like www.get-primitive.com) reported heavy foot traffic and good business as people took advantage of "at-the-show" specials.

Forgive any lack of info about all the other teams, but I am sure that info like David Higgins winning overall in the Mitsubishi is well covered by SCCA... More info and leg scores available at:   www.rimoftheworldrally.com.

Thunderbird Rally Course

Thunderbird Rally -- British Columbia;  Merritt - Kamloops - Merritt   February 15-16 Primitive Racing nets 2nd Overall With treacherous mud, mud/ice mix, gravel, and just plain snow, the 32nd Thunderbird Rally presented unusual challenges to driver and co-driver/navigator both. Well over 500 kilometers in length, the rally course also featured an icy hill popularly dubbed "The Luge". The Primitive Team, driving a Subaru 2.5TS Wagon, noted that the rear end was trying to pass down this slope, but Paul managed to get things straightened out. Kala Rounds, Paul's novice navigator, quickly learned the intricacies of the Alfa Elite rally computer, and with careful driving to minimize wheel slippage, the team attained all zeroes except for a 3-point penalty on Day 2. With just 35 points total, the team managed 2nd overall, edging out the team of Hill and Bishop. The winning team (Lee and Rod Sorenson of LA) scored 22 points.

September 21, 2002
PORTLAND RALLY SPRINT 
Just a "fun day" of tarmac racing

."Running the tarmac" is a little different, but Eklund and his Subaru WRX demonstrated that rally cars can do all right there too. For those familiar with the track, Paul did lap times of 1:42 from a standing start in the hot pit area using the chicane, hitting 105mph at the chicane braking point. Not bad at all ... for a fun day.

August 14-22, 2002
Kirkland,  Washington to Jasper, Alberta
ALCAN RALLY 2002
Another Eklund helps out in R.Dale's Winning Subaru WRX

[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: We don't get personal in these Web pages (except for biographies), but you should know that Paul isn't the only racing Eklund. His older brother Ken has lots of rally time, mostly co-driving, and now has added 4500 miles of experiences.]

The team of R.Dale Kraushaar, Larry Richardson and Ken Eklund came in first in Class I, and 2nd overall, in the 2002 Alcan Rally. You'll remember that the same Kraushaar team (but with the other Eklund) were first overall in February of 2000.

The details are elegantly covered in Ken's website www.writerguy.com/rally.
The team was sponsored by Subaru of America and Cooper Tires.

 Sept 6-8, 2002
Olympia, WA; 
WILD WEST INTERNATIONAL RALLY  ProRally
Win Both ClubRally Events and 7th Overall in ProRally

 Despite a quick clutch change at service, the car would not re-fire.  Several top cars also blew spark plugs right out of the engines!   Big time boost!

In the Open Pro class, Rhys Millen in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO led practically from start to finish and dodged a rules infraction for speeding in the pit area to win Overall.  Paul Choiniere in the Hyundai Tiburon put in a great run and finished second overall.

More information is available at www.scca.org under the Performance Rally tab and at www.rallyracingnews.com.

JULY 6-7, 2002
Oakridge,  Oregon
LARRISON ROCK HILLCLIMB
Primitive Racing Joins "Sub-Two-Minute Club"

This hillclimb course is 1.9 miles of tarmac climbing about 1200 feet with 23 turns, offering lots of action in two minutes. Paul Eklund, driving his GC8 Impreza USX, made it into the 2-minute Club with a time of 1:59.7, good enough for 3rd place in the OSPO class. Over the 15-year history of the hillclimb, only about 45 drivers have ever broken the 2-minute mark, mostly driving formula cars or V8 hillclimb monsters such as the Datsun 280Z with a Ford 302 V8 that came in ahead of Paul in this race. The course record, set by a Formula Atlantic, is about 1:45.

R.Dale Kraushaar, driving a blaze yellow WRX, took G-stock with a time of 2:09.5.

Many of the attending hillclimb enthusiasts were impressed with the performance of both Subarus. Next year, Eklund plans to compete in the Rally Class with a co-driver on board. "We need to do a little work to really transform a rally car into a true hill climber ... I mean MORE BOOST and less weight! But the USX did a great job with the power it had on tap," said Eklund after the event. "It handled great on the asphalt, running with about 15 pounds of boost."

The Northwest Hillclimb Association ran a great event.

June 13-16, 2002
Shelton, Washington
DRYAD QUEST & SHITEPOKE CLUBRALLIES
Primitive Racing Takes First in Shitepoke

The Dryad Quest and Shitepoke ClubRallies were held in Shelton, WA. The weather was perfect, the roads terrific, and competition hot. Almost 50 teams were entered in the gravel event. Carl Jardevall was again the man to beat in his Lancer EVO4. Also running hard was Leon Stiles in the Audi 90 Quattro sporting 22 lbs boost and great rally heritage. Paul Eklund lead the Subaru contingent along with Gary Cavett, Lee Shadbolt, Richard Buckner, Andy Sharples and Mika Lepisto. Nate Tennis (Saab 99) and Scott Fuller (VW GTi evo) would duke it out for Group 2 honors while Jay Streets and John Lane, both in Volvos, would battle for Group 5. Mark Tabor in a Nissan went up against Jamie Thomas in a Subaru for the Production Class. PGT was a fight between Brian Scott in a Mazda 323GTX and Bob Trinder in a Subaru Impreza.

Day one's Dryad Quest featured the longest stage in SCCA Performance Rallying, a 28-mile extravaganza which set the tone early for the rest of the rally. Primitive's Eklund suffered a left-rear flat at just past the two-third's mark (which meant over 8 miles left to the finish!) and was forced to change tires, costing the team almost 4 minutes. Jardevall set top time at 28:38 which was over a minute faster than Stiles' 29:59.

By day's end, Jardevall would charge to a serious victory, followed by Stiles in the Audi, and Cavett, Shadbolt and Buckner all in Impreza Turbos. Eklund finished 8th overall after leaving the road on a medium left, late in the rally, and sideswiping a large stump. The impact left a crinkle down the entire right side of the car, sheered off the mirror, and bent an aluminum lower control arm. The team was able to back off the logs and motor to the finish.

Day two saw cooler weather and hotter competition. Jardevall again jumped to a significant early lead followed by Eklund and Stiles hot-on-his-heels. Cavett suffered early transmission failure. By the end of stage 3, Jardevall had a 1:51sec lead over Primitive's Eklund and Stiles trailed Eklund by 15 seconds.

Stage 4 was a repeat of the 28-mile stage. Stiles blew the motor in the Audi at the 13-mile mark and Jardevall suffered catastrophic electrical system failure at about mile 17. Eklund finished the stage with the top time of a 29:34 after easing back just a tad. Whew.

The final stage was an exercise in caution as Primitive drove safely to the finish and won with a 1:35sec margin over Scott Fuller in the ex-Allister McCrae VW. Jay Streets was 3rd, John Lane 4th, and Carey Wright 5th overall. Shadbolt finished 6th overall (p.s., his incredibly quick STi-powered Impreza is for sale now that he has a WRX)

The Northwest Region hosted a pizza party Saturday night and a burger feed on Sunday as part of the awards ceremony. Despite a few incidents like Todd Lengacher doing the stump endo with his Audi, and the fast pace car sliding into a little ditch on a tricky, downhill, off-camber left, most of the DNF's were caused by mechanical failures. Almost every team had a spin or two (or a quick trip through the daisies), but the roads were great, the course marked superbly, and the event ran on time.

MAY 3-5,  2002
Palmdale, CA
PRIMITIVE RACING TAKES ON THE RIM OF THE WORLD RALLY!
Primitive 6th Overall -- 1st in both ClubRally events

I flew down to Palmdale, CA this weekend for a major rally event. 79 cars were in the entry field including drivers from England, Ireland, Mexico and all across the USA. We were invited to run the press stage Friday morning
(where we give reporters a ride in the race car to do stories for Road&Track and other magazines and newspapers), because the Taylor Made Labels Subaru Impreza WRXwas so spiffy looking, and we are a long-time supporter of the rally. I got to meet World Rally Driver Petter Solberg during the press runs and he helped me with the suspension setup on my new rallycar (I was having understeering problems under braking). He is a terrific young man, extremely personable and talented.

Unfortunately, after two runs on that Press Stage before the start of the rally, we broke our center differential gears. Major bummer, it was a near new, sealed transmission. We did not have a suitable spare. Spent 3 hours on the side of the mountain waiting for my service crew to arrive with the trailer. While waiting, I used my tools to begin removing the parts... Didn't think I would even get to start the race after having the car towed down 1000 miles... But as Petter and his team drove by on his way back into town, he said he would ask his crack Prodrive crew to lend me a hand if they could. Wow, that would be great, because I knew my spare tranny was very marginal.


 Something went right, as I got back into town just 2.5 hours from the start of the rally. I got a call that a substitute transmission had been located. I had to rent the $12,000 transmission from the Prodrive team, and gulped when I signed the "you break it, you buy it clause," but they said that there would be only a rebuild fee if I brought it back in good condition. Cool. We finished the repairs only a few minutes before the actual start of the race.

The new transmission was called a "dog-box" which means that it has no synchros for smooth shifts. It also means that is had no odometer/speedometer drive that we could utilize, and therefore we had no way to measure speed or distance (problematical for a rally team). That also meant that our engine control unit did not have a speed sensor, this later played a role how the car ran during the rally.

We started the race and did well on the first few stages. Our check engine light kept coming on, and the car would sputter and pop when we were driving it between each race stage (they take place in the Angeles National Forest above Palmdale). We had to disconnect the battery a few moments before the start of each stage to reset the ECU and give us a few minutes of good running before the "check engine" would appear again while racing. The race began at dusk and we were now running at night. The new transmission was working well. We had KC HID driving lights and PIAA corner lights for maximum illumination on our WRX

On stage 4 (there will be 16 race stages), our power steering system sprung a leak because the constant jumping and bouncing separated the fitting at the power steering rack. We lost power steering, but still finished 9th overall for that segment. On the next stage, I missed a tricky left turn (partially because of no power steering) and slid off the road, hitting an embankment. The right front fender was bent and the tire flat. We finished the stage, but slowly and dropped over a minute in time. We fixed the steering at the next short pit stop. It was now about 10pm.

The last 2 stages of the night were up a steep hill on an asphalt road (which we did well) and back down the short stage were we had gone off on the previous run. This time we made it with no problems and took nearly a minute off our time. The day ended at midnight, and we found out that we had won the Club Rally and were in 6th place in the Overall standings. Not bad for thinking we would never even start given the transmission woes and "check engine" worries only a few hours earlier.

The next day, we tightened up any loose parts, fixed up the fender, and put on new tires for the day of racing. We started out a bit slowly, but gained big ground by pushing hard on stages 9 and 10. I had rolled my Opel rally car on both of these stages in 1985, but now I had a feel for the road. The DMS suspension was working perfectly. This time we stayed on the road, but I sheered off the entire exhaust system after a big jump. We thought it had merely come loose, but our pit crew informed us that it was MISSING at the next pit stop. We now belched orange fire under the car every time we shifted gears!

When the exhaust system went, it took out the oxygen sensor. Now our ECU (engine control unit) was really unhappy. No speed sensor, no oxygen sensor. The "check engine" was lit constantly and every few miles we stopped and reset the ECU. Luckily, it had not caused noticeable problems while on a racing stage--yet. The next stage was a long one called Libra Mountain, and for the first time, the engine began to cut out while on stage. Luckily it was near the end and slowed us little. The next stage was called Maxwell and was incredibly rocky and full of "water bars" (places where a berm of dirt is bulldozed across the road by the Forest Service to allow rainwater runoff to flow into ravines without causing road erosion). The car was airborne more than it was on the ground. We hit a rock with our rear wheel and knocked a chunk of aluminum out of the rim. It held air until the pit stop. We later found out that we were 7th fastest on that stage. Night was again falling and we had three stages left. We would re-run Libra Mountain and the awful Maxwell and have a final sprint to the finish called Grass Mountain.

We were 6th fastest on Libra II, but this time got a rear flat on Maxwell II and dropped a little time. We changed the tire by the side of the road after the stage in the dark. On the last stage, we were given the green light to push hard by our supporters at Subaru Western Region. The hillsides glowed orange with each gear shift on the tight stage. We had a terrific stage going, but made a driving error at speed and again flattened the right front tire. Ooops. We still finished the twisty stage with a good time, but not enough to catch the 5th place car. But it was enough to get the Club Rally win and kept us in 6th place overall for the 2-day event.

After the rally, we returned the dog-box transmission to Prodrive for rebuild. We will get new 1:1 rear transfer gears to repair our own transmission along with new synchros. We had broken 3 rims and used up 12 rally tires during the race. We will need a better designed 3" exhaust system before the next rally (June 15) with a new rear oxygen sensor, 2 front fenders, and a front bumper skin (the left front fender was damaged when the inner fender lining tore out after a hard jump). The power steering problem will be solved by stronger motor mounts and a redesigned connection to the steering rack (looking for a quick steering rack as well). We also found out that the car is about 350 lbs overweight, and will seek to lighten it up a bit.

But in the end we finished first in both Club Rallies (Friday and Saturday) and we took home the 6th place trophy for overall finish in the National Pro Rally. Our service crew, lead by Karen Price and Richard Buckner along with Chris Coffey, Kristen Tabor and Bill Maley proved invaluable as they made the many repairs in and under the car throughout the weekend in the dusty service areas.

I would like to acknowledge the terrific support I receive from Taylor Made Labels, Silverstone Tyres, Subaru Western Region, the crew from www.get-primitive.com , T-Scandia Motors, PIAA Professional Lighting, Turbo XS, Royal Moore Subaru, Vishnu Performance, and www.subaru.net. Special thanks to Prodrive for all the support and good cheer!

Paul Eklund
Car #32

Look for this race to appear on the Speed Channel (channel 607 satellite) in about 3-4 weeks. We were filmed from the helicopter and will probably have at least a few seconds of coverage jumping over a waterbar or two...