Atlanta, Michigan. (August 5, 2017) – Maxxis renewed its partnership with Honda Performance Development to continue campaigning the 2015 B-Spec Fit and the 2017 2WD Honda Civic Sport at the third running of the Sno*Drift Summer Rally. This one-day rally utilized many of the same roads as the first round of Rally America competition earlier in the year. While the roads were familiar, driving them without the usual covering of snow was a first for the team.
The absence of snow and temperatures in the 70s were not the
only changes. This rally was the first
of the year to not provide stage notes or to allow ‘recce.’ This forced competitors to rely heavily on how
they could read the road, and much less on the co-driver’s instruction. With the team’s streak of podiums having
continued in the previous round at Rally Colorado, the pressure was on to
finish well at Sno*Drift Summer.
In preparation for the event, the HPD/Maxxis Civic underwent
a transmission swap. Out came the stock
CVT and in went a six-speed manual.
“While it is not quite the Type R engine and transmission swap that we
have in the work, it will be nice to be able to attack these stages with a true
manual transmission,” said driver James Robinson.
The event kicked off in Lewiston, Michigan, with 31 cars at
Parc Expose. The rally was broken into
two separate legs of around 20 stage miles each, split by an unusually long but
appreciated 90-minute service.
After the first leg of competition, both the HPD/Maxxis
Civic and Fit rolled into service in good shape and in good standing on the
time sheets. “The B-Spec car is having
to work very hard in the soft and sandy conditions,” driver Dan McCarron noted
at service. “We’ve gotten the hang of [having]
no pace notes and are ready to keep the momentum going into the second leg.”
With no major issues at service for either car, the team set
about clearing the sand and rocks from the Civic’s radiator and
intercooler. “We pulled some rocks the
size of baseballs out of the inside of the bumper,” detailed crew chief Steven Olona. At the conclusion of 90-minute service, both
cars fueled up and headed out for the final leg of the rally.
Continuing to show how competitive the Civic platform is,
the team of Robinson and Terry Hansen was able to finish second in 2WD, and
sixth overall. “I’m so impressed with
how durable this new Civic is,” observed Robinson before the start of the final
stages. “Even with the disadvantage of the stock suspension, it’s amazing that
we’re able to keep up with the top teams!”
The team of McCarron and Justin Lumbard built on its first-place
championship lead by winning in B-Spec, finishing fourth in 2WD, and 15th overall. McCarron/Lumbard left Michigan with a 48-point
lead in the B-Spec national championship.
“It feels great to come up to Michigan, run a strong race and leave here
with points and a car in great shape,” said McCarron afterward.
