JEAN, Nevada. (November 5, 2014)—The dust will fly when 22 stage rally teams take on the gravel-and-dirt roads at the Seed 9 Rally this Saturday. The entry list runs the gauntlet from world-renowned motorsports competitors to grassroots rally enthusiasts.
The last round of the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series, presented by Lucas Oil, offers stage rally racing on a challenging desert course used in the prestigious off-road race, the Mint 400, and other Best In The Desert events.
The rally begins at 2:30 p.m. from the parking lot of the Gold Strike Casino in Jean and ends approximately 10:30 p.m. The organizers will host a post-event awards ceremony for competitors, crews and volunteers at the historic Pioneer Saloon, a century-old building that boasts a wooden bar from the 1800s. There are no official spectating areas, but volunteering to help secure stage roads or to work on a timing control team offer some of the best rally spectating—no experience necessary and includes free training.
“We have 35 stage miles of competition and consider the Wilson Pass Stages as one of the competitors’ favorites in the Southwest,” said Seed 9 organizer Denise McMahon. “We have a strong competitive field consisting of national and local teams to bring excitement to the event.
Rally fans will be able to follow the event with highlights such as live streaming, provided by Surfrat TV, and near-live scoring by RallyData.com. Live coverage via social media from a variety of sources will also keep enthusiasts in tune with up-to-the-minute action.
Competition should be fierce, especially in the four-wheel-drive classes. David Sterckx, of Los Angeles, California, and John Reed, of Hillsboro, Oregon, will bring out their AlwaysEvolving/FY Racing Subaru WRX STI and stand at the top of the speed ranking. Sterckx has quite an impressive resume of motorsports experience. He was the 2013 Rally America Super Production champion and in 2014 joined the Always Evolving Racing team, competing in the GTS class in the Pirelli World Challenge road racing series, driving one of the team’s Ford Mustang Boss 302S. He and Reed, a well-respected and sought-after engine tuner will use Seed 9 as a testing event to prepare for Sterckx’s 2015 rally racing season.
The 2013 Seed 9 overall winners Tingwu Song, of Erie, Colorado, and co-driver Martin Brady, of Galeway, Ireland, return with their Mitsubishi Lancer to challenge their title against second-place Tato Motorsports’ George Plsek, of Del Mar, California and Rob Morrow, of Cardiff by the Sea, California, competing in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.
Professional drifter and rallycrosser Stephan Verdier will return to his roots. He started rally racing in 2001 with the regional-level California Rally Series, moving into national stagerally with the Sports Car Club of America’s ProRally Series. His kudos also include taking victory at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 2005. He began rally racing in 2001, driving a 1988 Mazda 323 GTX, finishing the season in second place in the California Rally Series’s PGT class. A few years later, now driving a 2002 Subaru WRX, he saw numerous podium finishes and was the first team to win an event overall in the PGT class and ended up winning the national championship.
Seed 9 welcomes national team Nameless Performance with Chris Duplessis, of La Center, Washington, at the helm, driving a Toyota GT86. Duplessis leads the speed ranking in 2WD, but he should watch his mirrors for the Mini Cooper of husband-and-wife team Markus and Alicia Saarinen, of Mesa, Arizona. Other contenders include Widget Racing’s Brian Scott, of Phoenix, Arizona and John Dillon, of Thousand Oaks, California. The two both have well over 75 rallies and impressive championship titles under their belts.
Several teams are in contention for winning championships within the Bilstein SWRC Series. ODD Racing’s Cameron Steely, of Greeley, Colorado and Preston Osborn, of Boulder, CO have an excellent chance to grab the Racetech Southwest RallyCup overall championship as they currently stand only five points out of first place. The team has already cinched the Lucas Oil 2WD Championship and the Rally Group 2 Championship. Brent (Hercelinksy) Lee, of San Diego, California has grabbed the Bilstein Cup Championship’s driver award, while John Dillon, the co-driver award.
However, whether a team has decades of experience at various levels of rally racing, or are just die-hard and dedicated regional competitors, Seed 9 Rally is all about the grassroots rally competitors and enthusiasts. They do it for the passion of the sport, the camaraderie of their fellow competitors, and because they have competitive spirits.
Seed 9 Rally organizers are proud to be sponsored and supported by Team O’Neil Rally School, Racetech, Jim Beaver’s Down & Dirty Radio Show , Turndriverside Motorsports Photography, Action Pacer Media, OPTIMA Batteries, Nellis Amateur Radio Club, ODD Racing, Brent Lee Motorsports, Surfrat TV, Pioneer Saloon, Gold Strike Hotel and GamblingHall,
Detailed information about the Seed 9 Rally is available at www.seed9rally.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Seed9Rally. On Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, follow the hashtag #seed9rally.
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What is Stage (or Performance) Rally?
In the United States, performance rally teams have a driver and co-driver (or navigator) for each car, and the competitors race in segments (or stages) on closed public roads, trying to get from the beginning to the end of the stage as fast as they can. Unlike other forms of motorsports, there is no practice allowed, and the course is not revealed to the competitors, generally until the navigator receives the route instructions before the start of the event. The navigator then barks out the route instructions while the drive proceeds, sometimes at speeds exceeding 100 miles-per-hour, through forest, desert, and logging roads at events around the country. The vehicles, all street legal to allow driving on public roads between racing stages, are compact, sub-compact, and trucks with varying amounts of performance modifications depending on the class in which they are running.
Seed 9 Rally 2014: Entry List (as of November 5, 2014)
Driver / Co-Driver,Class, Car
David Sterckx / John Reed, Rally Open, 2011 Subaru WRX STI FY
George Plsek / Rob Farrow, Rally Open, 2006 Lancer Evo
Tingwu Song / Martin Brady, Rally Open, 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer
Chris Duplessis / TBD, Rally 5, 2013 Toyota GT86
Doug Chernis / Piers O'Hanlon, Rally Open, 2004 Subaru WRX STI
Jason Copt / Cameron Meng, Rally Open, 2007 Subaru Impreza STI
Stephan Verdier / Scott Crouch, Rally Open, 2004 Subaru WRX
Markus Saarinen / Alicia Saarinen, Rally 2, 2003 Mini Cooper
Brian Scott / John Dillon, Rally 2, 1971 Datsun 240Z
Marco Zapata / Francisco Arellano, Rally Open, 2002 Subaru WRX
Jeff Price / Shane Erisoty, Rally O.L., 1993 Subaru Impreza
Cameron Steely / Preston Osborn, Rally 2, 2011 Ford Fiesta
Brent Lee / Ryan Scott,Rally 2, 2012 Ford Fiesta R2
Hong Bin Duan / TBD, Super Pro, Subaru Impreza STI
John Black / Brent Ellzey, Rally Prod, 1994 Ford Ranger
Rui Huang / TBD, Rally Open, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
Alejandro Perusina / Synnove Wise,Rally 2, 1986 VW Golf
Javier Olivares / Gian Castellanos, Rally 2, 1992 Ford Escort
Steve Egger / Shelby Martinez, Rally Prod, 1991 BMW 318i
Tracey Gardiner / Tracy Manspeaker, Rally Prod, 2007 Toyota Yaris
Christian Arboleda / Jonathan Correa, Rally 2, 1989 Suzuki Swift Gti
Richard Burden / TBD, Rally 2, 1991 VW Golf
Seed 9 Rally 2014 Schedule
Time/Date, Event Description / Activity, Location
Friday, Nov 7, 2014
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Volunteer Registration #1, Gold Strike Casino Lobby Area
Saturday, Nov 8, 2014
7:15AM, Recce Meeting, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot (Area TBD)*
7:30 AM-10:30 AM, Two-Pass Recce (Competitors), Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot (Area TBD)*
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM, Volunteer Registration, Gold Strike Casino Lobby Area
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM, Volunteer Meeting, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot (Area TBD)*
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Competitor Registration, Gold Strike Casino Lobby Area
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Tech Inspection, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot (Area TBD)*
1:15 PM, Posting of Official Start List, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot (Area TBD)*
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM, Novice Class Meeting, Location (TBD)*
2:30 PM, MTC – Out ( Start of the rally), Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot
6:15 PM (approx.), MTC – IN, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot
6:15 PM – 7:45 PM (approx.), Service Break, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot
7:45 PM (approx.), MTC OUT, Gold Strike Casino Parking Lot
10:00 PM (approx.), MTC IN, End of Stage 6
10:30 PM (approx.), Provisional Scores Posted, Rally Party/Awards, Pioneer Saloon
About the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series: Formed in 2004, the series was established to provide high-performance stage rally events in the Southwest U.S. Its objective is also to encourage participation and promotion of the sport, especially at the grassroots level.