Round 1 Round up:

As reported in my last update there were major problems leading up to the start of the Rally, With the origional car banned a new car had to be found, dialled in and all of the TORA paper work had to be put in order all within just 8 Hours of the meeting starting. Not the best of starts, however Slider managed to find a new car with massive help from his title sponsor Rockstar Energy Drinks who provided Slider with Tanner Fousts old Subaru Impreza WRX STi '05 which he campaigned in Rally America and drove to A Gold and a Silver Medal in the X Games Rally. Armed with this impressive and historic piece of machineary Slider was fired up as he lined up for the first stage.



Stage 1 went well with Slider finishing second in his Lobby just behind the SBR Boss Sam Billing1991, However Slider felt more could be squeezed from the Impreza if he was a bit braver on the brakes and felt his time could be improved significantly on the repeat stage later.



Stage 2 was a similar affair only this time Slider was beaten by General TsO in his Privateer Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX who was putting in a McRae-esque Foot to the Floor, Milimeters from disaster performance which could only be admired. However for Slider it was becoming Clear that his main fight would be between himself and SBR's Sam Billing1991 as the pair were trading times so closely it was hard to believe.



Stage 3 was a repeat of Stage 1 and Slider put in another solid Run, beating his previous Time on the stage but once again loosing out to General TsO and the Charging ColinMcRae555. However it also saw the end of the SBR boys battle between their privateer machines with Sam Billing1991 picking up a heavy penalty for being late to the start of Stage 3, No doubt this battle will be resumed later in the season.



And so to the 4th and Final Stage, Slider was flying and several seconds up on his previous run through on Stage 2 when out of sight of the Cameras Slider Slid off the Road heavily Damaging the Engine of his Impreza and loosing approximately 6-7 seconds from his estimated time. Obviously dissapointed and Fustrated Slider had little to say, Only that things had gone really well considering the situation the Team had been in just Hours earlier and that theres hopefully more to come from him and the Impreza.



Round 2 - TRC Eiffel Rally - Nurburgring, Germany. - Preview:

There are a few changes to both the car and the Team for Round 2 of the TORA Rally Championship. After the official results of Round 1 were anounced and Slider saw that his accident in stage 4 had cost him approximately 3 places he was furious and stormed down to the Pirelli Tires turck in the pit complex, barging his way past several of the infamous Pirelli girls before Slamming the door behind him. Reports say that the Front Left tire on Slider's Impreza exploded as he hit the brakes and caused his Stage 4 crash, However neither Pirelli Tires or Slider's Management would confirm or deny these stories.



As a result of this when Slider's Rockstar Impreza was rolled out and onto the Track for a shakedown on Wednesday it was sporting new tire Sponsorship in the form of Slider's Long term Drift tire supplier Falken Tires. when asked about it Slider had this to say, "Falken are a great Tire company and have established themselves in several of the more specialised and Tuner based motorsports, when they decided to try and appeal to a more mainstream audience on the world stage i couldnt resist the opportunity to team up with them."



Another change is to the powerplant, The origional motor as used by Foust was irreperably damaged in the Stage 4 accident at Round 1. As a result Slider will have a new experimental motor from Engine sponsor Lyndale Race Engines. "Its great!" Said Slider when asked about it, "its both lighter and more powerful than the origional motor so its win win, But i do feel so bad for destroying a piece of history and a car ive respected for so many years before i got to drive it for myself."



Hopes are high here at Rockstar Subaru, with more preparation time and hopefully more luck we feel that we could be on for a really good finish, but we know its going to be really tough, with new drivers entering this round as well as some on a charge trying to make up for things which went wrong in Round 1, things should definately be interesting, but we feel we can make our mark.

Emma Clements again returns as Slider's Co-Driver after doing such a great job in Round 1, "The partnership worked much better than expected and the trust and understanding we have as a couple really benefit us on the Stage." Commented Slider. "I'd like to say were one to watch but you never know until the night, but we will definately be pushing so we'll be worth a look one way or another."

Good Luck To both Mike and Emma in Round 2 aswell as all their competitors...