Now the first race in Rally America is finished for the OMSE-team. Unfortunately the rally ended prematurely with front suspension problems. The OMSE-team did however, a splendid work before, during and after the rally. For the guys from OMSE the adventure started two weeks before the rally. Already on the 18 of January five men went to Detroit to start rebuilding the Ford Fiesta that Marcus Grönholm drove up Pikes Peak. In Nynäshamn they had fitted all the new parts in one car before they disassemble it all and shipped it to USA.
For example a new radiator, exhaust system, turbo, heating system and a lot of new electronics would be installed. You can say that the team disassembled the car and rebuilt it. Parallel a firm hired by Monster did all the graphics.
“We also invested in a new trailer and a truck”, says Jan-Erik Steen acting team manager for this rally.
When the work was done it was time for test. Kalle Bäckwall, team coordinator, had some problems finding a test road but everything was solved in the end. On Monday before the rally the team tested on a road in Gladwin Michigan, two hours’ drive north of Detroit. Check out Block’s test here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K37p0vw9cU
Testing went well and the car was adjusted after Block’s wishes. After the test they drove up to Atlanta to do final preparations.
On Wednesday the rally organizers held an official shakedown that Block did only two times. The stage was almost impossible to run.
“The car attracted much attention. Both Ken and the car were followed by a film crew at all times. This investment is really important for Ford. Several people in leading positions were there to follow the rally. OMSE, a small Swedish company, is now an important player in the cooperation between Ford and Monster and so far they are pleased and impressed by our work”, says Jan-Erik Steen.
The rally started out in the best possible way. At the first stage Ken Block set fastest time and after the first service Block and his co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino was third, 30 seconds after the leader, in the treacherous conditions. These conditions later came to be Block’s downfall.
He went off the road and damaged the front suspension. But at the short following service they did not find any severe damages to the car and Block kept on going. On SS5 he gets a puncture and on SS7 the rally ends for the team. An attachment in the front suspension broke. They were then out of the race.
On Friday night the team packed it all together and on Saturday they went to Detroit again starting to prepare for the next round in the championship, Rally in the 100 acre wood, 26-27 February in Salem Missouri. |
