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Press Releases by Jamie Thomas
September 14, 2005
Jamie
"Subie Gal" Thomas Takes 3rd Overall at the FIA Wild West
International Rally
Kirkland, WA - Pro Rally Driver Jamie Thomas and Navigator
Matt Gauger worked just about as hard as possible to make
it to this event. The crew braved long nights and early morning
struggles to help get Burnsie the Rally Wagon ready for one
of the roughest events of the 2005 Rally Season. The work
paid off as the team took home 3rd place overall as well as
first in their car class (PGT) for the weekend.
The Wild West International Rally is an FIA event. Basically,
this means that service/pit times are very brief, damages
have got to be kept to a minimum if a team wishes to be successful
at this event. There is not much margin for error and the
service crew has no time to waste. A rough, very fast, rock-filled
event, Wild West is one of the toughest rallies in the country.
"This rally is fast, it's dusty, it's rough. One of
those events where you find your limits." stated Jamie
Thomas, team owner/driver, "The car held on. It got iffy
towards the end, but all of the prep that went into this event
paid off. I'm very proud of my team. Making the top 3 overall
was never on the list of expectations. What a fantastic bonus!"
"I think we get better as a team each time we go out
there," stated Matt Gauger, team co-driver, "This
was a hard rally, a fast rally, we did great. I'm just glad
we hung in there." Matt Gauger has clinched the Western
States Rally Championship for PGT Co-driver for the 2nd year
in a row - congratulations Matt!!!
"Burnsie the Rally Wagon" (a 2003 Subaru WRX) once
again sustained some damages. Due to the extreme roughness
of the rally itself, the rocks were unavoidable. On the 2nd
day of the rally, Burnsie took a rock on the passenger front,
slightly bent a control arm. Jamie had to focus on saving
the car, making it to the finish. The team had a decent lead
in their car class, as well as the overall, so she eased up
to guid the car to the finish, just as the control arm could
take no more and bent back into the body of the car. Very
rough rally, good run, great fun.
Next Rally: Mt Hood Rally; MT Hood, Oregon
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