No,
it's not a new rally hair style but TeamIlluminataMotorsport
(TIM)
is excited to be represented at the 2010 X-Games by non other than
Travis Hanson in his Subaru WRX.
"Travis
is a Michigan native and a terrific competitor. We are glad to be
able to help him participate in the X-Games his year" said TIM
owner Paul Eddleston. Travis and will be using BRAID's Winrace
Acropolis gravel rally wheels to conquer the dirt and jumps of
the upcoming event held every year in down town Los Angeles. BRAID
wheels are imported to the USA by Team Illuminata and have gained
great acceptance in the rally arena since their introduction just
two years ago. They build wheels for all forms of motorsport including
rally, track, three piece, forged, Fuchs replicas and classic. See
www.BRAIDusa.com for more information.
Hanson
has competed all year long with no sponsor and has become known as,
“That white Subaru,” by the fans. On news of his upcoming X Games
competition his grassroots movement has gained speed and many fans
have been donating money and purchasing M22, a Michigan lifestyle
company, provided t-shirts at Hanson’s web-site (http://hansonrally.weebly.com/donations--sales.html).
Hanson will be competing against some of the great names in rally
and racing including, Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, and Indianapolis
500 winner Kenny Brack, who won gold at the X Games last year.
Hanson’s
efforts have captured the imagination of his fans across the country
and this has become an American dream in the making. Hanson got his
start in rally racing in 2005 after spectating for the first time
at the Sno*Drift rally near his home in Michigan. He has gone through
leaps and bounds in the sport, competing at the X Games once before
and becoming a rally instructor. His current trip to the X Games has
given his fans inspiration that if someone puts some heart and hard
work into their dreams that they can come true. That’s why they are
escorting their hero all the way to the historic LA Coliseum in Los
Angeles, California where the battle for gold and glory will take
place. Follow T. Hanson Motorsports on Facebook @T. Hanson Motorsports;
Twitter @thanson523; or blog http://t-hanson-motorsports.blogspot.com/,
and web-site http://hansonrally.weebly.com/.
Look
for the car kicking butt on ESPN Saturday, July 31 2 - 6 p.m. and
7 - 11 p.m.
June
28th, 2010
Hyper-Good
Time @Hyperfest
This
time last weekend we were just recovering from an amazing motorsports
experience at HyperFest 2010.
We took the new TIM Rally Van down to the event at Summit Point in
WV along with Dmitriy and his Talon. Unfortunately David Allan had
to bow out at the last minute due to yet another strain of kiddy virus
he has never before encountered. Undaunted the one car team soldiered
on. Arriving at the track after dark we snagged the first adequate
space we saw, cracked open a bottle of wine and discussed practically
every topic under the sun (or moon) until we crashed around midnight.
The scene that greeted us in the morning was unbelievable: cars tents
and RVs (proper ones, not rally vans) as far as the eye could see.
And that was just the NASA track event people.
We
soon bumped in to Anders Green of NASA RallySport and he directed
us to the Rally Encampment which was actually outside the track paddock
on a nice gravel road on the outside of one of the fastest turns on
the track. Saturday's festivities were to consist of ride alongs for
the HyperFest crowd who were gathering for their madness on the other
side of the track. All told we ran around 120 ride alongs on a short
but muddy dirt road coarse cobbled together from existing roads and
RallyCross trails. The cars and drivers took a real beating in the
heat but we managed to get through the day in true rally fashion.
With
HyperFest over day 2 was for us to play in the dirt. Anders came up
with a fast RallySprint format using more or less the same roads as
the previous day but this time the course had dried out and dust was
the order of the day. We ran the same course back and forth all day
until, exhausted, we called it quits and added up the times.
This
was a great and relaxed weekend and so much fun to spend with the
rally people who are normally too busy to really get to know. A great
PR exercise and fantastic test and tune opportunity. Thanks to Anders
for making it happen and everyone who brought their cars out to play.
No,
it's not what you think. it's our new "RALLY VAN". A Dodge
Sprinter with BRAID rally wheels. Come and see it at HyperFest
this weekend at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia. We will be
taking down our WRX rally car and Talon rally car which will be competing
in the rally section Sunday. We will also be giving rides in the cars
on stage on Saturday so that's a "must not miss" opportunity
to get inside a rally car at speed.
Visit
our stand for free give aways and to see the collection of BRAID rally
and street wheels on display.
April
12th, 2010
Close
But No Cigar
In the fourth round of Detroit's RallyCross
program held this past weekend Team Illuminata drive Paul Eddleston
was just pipped to the post by Mitsubishi EVO driver Kevin Wilbourn
finishing just 5 seconds down after 12 runs through the twisty, sandy
course. Mitsubishi
Talon driver Scott Harvey finished in an unaccustomed third place
after picking the slow lane in the slalom in the afternoon and being
unable to break the habit until his fifth run. This was an unusually
low penalty event for Eddleston as he only managed to nail three cones
all day for a total penalty of six seconds. It didn't go unnoticed
that this was just slightly more than his losing margin emphasizing
yet again the importance of keep it clean in these events. "I
tried to to take it easy this event and just keep it clean and I did
for the most part until the final run where I just lost it coming
into the finish" said Eddleston after the event. Apart from one
outstanding clean lap his times were consistently slower than most
of the M4 competitors but they were all collecting cone penalties
on the majority of their runs which eventually put paid to their chances.
Once
again the Detroit Region put on an excellent fun event event with
plenty of seat time for the drivers. Next event is Eastern States
Rallycross Championship on May 22nd.
Mar
28th, 2010
MIROC
Sponsors
Announced
Michigan
Race of Champions
is a new form of motorsport which is a combination of US style Autocross
WRC Super Special, Race of Champions and X-Games Rally. Conducted
on a 100% paved course, cars start of at half a lap apart and pursue
each other over the course of a lap or two of the tight and twisty
track. First car back to its start position wins. Often an event will
consist of timed heats with the fastest 8 drivers going head to head
in a knockout competition to determine the overall winner. Points
are awarded throughout the season to determine the season champion.
More info: www.teamilluminata.com/miroc.htm
The
first event is fast approaching (May 9th) so we would like to take
this opportunity to thank our sponsors without whom non of this would
be possible.
Building
on many years of support for the local RallyCross scene Team Dynamics
are backing MIROC with a full set of wheels for the overall
series champion. Team Dynamics wheels are manufactured by Rimstock
Plc, the largest wheel manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Rimstock
Plc supply product for the original equipment, aftermarket and motorsport
arenas. In Rallying, Team Dynamics wheels have provided the durability
and strength to help Jonny Milner win the British Rally Championship
in 2002 and 2003. The 2004 season saw a large uptake of these wheels
in many classes all over Europe. In Touring Cars they are used in
the British, French and European Championships with PCD and Center
Lock applications, and we are the exclusive championship wheel supplier
to the British Touring Car Championship for the 2004, 2005 and 2006
seasons. Team Dynamics are sole suppliers to the exclusive Peugeot
RC Cup. The wheels on offer are those from the Team Dynamics Motorsport
selection up to size 17x8. You can see the options at www.teamilluminata.com.
As part of the agreement with Team Dynamics All competitors must display
two Team Dynamics decals on their cars during their runs. www.teamilluminata.com/Shop/TeamDynamics/TeamDynamics.htm
Thompson
Racing Fabrication has been building race cars and performing fabrication
work in the Michigan area for a good few years now and we are glad
to welcome them to MIROC. As a major supplier of ODYSSEY BATTERIES
they will be offering a lightweight PC680 racing battery and custom
tie down to the best placed 2wd finisher at the end of the season.
Thompson Racing Fabrication specializes in the fabrication of customized
components for all performance vehicles. They can create Roll Cages,
Intercooling Systems, Custom Aluminum Radiators, Turbo Systems, Manifolds
and Headers, and complete Exhaust systems, nearly any custom metal
component for any performance needs. They accept all sizes of projects,
from battery trays and over flow bottles to roll cages and complete
rally car preparation. For any component requiring modification or
constructing, TRF can be your source. TRF strives to serve those who
have a desire to have the highest quality custom fit components available.
Every part is custom tailored to suit the exact needs of each application
and customer. Using only the highest quality components along with
premium TIG and MIG welding, our components look just as good as they
perform! www.thompsonracingfabrication.com
Drake’s
is a specialty roaster producing small batch, custom-roasted coffee
for people who appreciate the better cup. We’re dedicated to getting
the best from every bean, every batch. Compare a homegrown tomato
to February’s store-bought; or freshly baked bread to week-old rolls.
That difference in quality is what you experience when you brew with
our selected, fresh roasted beans. They will be providing a pound
of the freshest finest coffee available to the winner of each event.
www.drakescoffee.com
Based
in Belleville, Michigan, EXEDY is the undisputed world leader in sports
and performance racing clutches. EXEDY Globalparts Corporation (USA)
is a wholly owned subsidiary of the EXEDY Corporation of Japan. EXEDY
(Japan) was founded in 1923 and its clutch manufacturing business
and prominent brand name Daikin Clutch are known throughout the world
for supplying quality powertrain products. Their pursuit of perfection
and the assurance of safety underlie their famed quality and reliability.
Their advanced engineering and patented innovations have also made
them the leading OEM manufacturer in the world for Clutches and other
powertrain components. We are pleased to welcome them to the Michigan
Race of Champions series. www.exedyusa.com/race
Team
Illuminata Motorsport (TIM) was established in 2005 to provide competition
parts for rally, rallycross and other forms of motorsport. They import
BRAID wheels from Europe and are also a dealer for Team Dynamics wheels,
Primitive skid plates and Rally Armor mud flaps. They campaign a 97
Outback Wagon in RallyCross, Autocross, Track Days and MI Race of
Champions events as well as supporting a handful of stage rally participants.
As part of the agreement with Team Illuminata all competitors must
display two TIM decals on their cars during their runs. www.teamilluminata.com
Feb
24th, 2010
TIM
Announces Unique New Race Series
Michigan
Race of Champions is
a unique new form of motorsport which is a combination of US
style AutocrossWRC
Super Special,
Race of Champions and X-Games
Rally. Conducted
on a 100% paved course, cars start of at half a lap apart and pursue
each other over the course of a lap or two of the tight and twisty
track. First car back to their start position wins. Often an event
will consist of timed heats with the fastest 8 drivers going head
to head in a knockout competition to determine the overall winner.
More seat time per dollar than almost anything else you can do without
a cage. Points are awarded throughout the season to determine the
season champion.
unique
head to head knock-out format
two
cars on track at a time, not door to door
challenging yet safe, sinuous all tarmac course
production based vehicles
limited safety equipment requirements
In
his first ever rally new Team
Illuminata
Motorsport
sponsored driver Dmitriy Martinov scored an impressive second in class
and fourth overall in the Sand
Blast Rally in South Carolina, a far cry from the conditions in
his home state of Michigan. Aided by rookie co-driver, but accomplished
driver, Billy Elliot, the crew drove a steady but fast event on the
sandy and wet roads of South Carolina passing many of the higher seeded
teams on their way. The weekend was not without incident, It wouldn't
be rally if it was all plain sailing, as the crew suffered through
such things sick service team members, water coming up through the
floor, poorly aimed lights and a poorly running engine but pressed
on regardless in true rally spirit. Martnov said afterwards "Thanks
to Paul / Team Illuminata for supplying the BRAID wheels and pretty
much all of the other rally equipment on the car. Everything worked
great! The BRAID Hankook combo performed flawlessly, with all of the
tires holding 100% of their pressure through the whole rally, despite
the the huge ruts and bumps."
The
crews next even is planned to be Rally
Tennessee on May 24th.
Videos
below:
Feb
3rd, 2010
TIM
/ Alba Rallysport
Ice*Drift Report
Well
that was our first attempt at Sno*Drift and it was more like ice skating.
The stages around Atlanta, MI were the slickest conditions I've ever
driven a car on. There was more traction on the ice lake last year
during testing! Unbelievable. To see the times of the top guys, I
have no bloody idea how they control a car along stages at those speeds.
We did everything we could to keep the TIM WRX out of the trees and
I still missed 4 junction turns (L2 and L3s off long straights), spun
twice and got stuck between ice banks (no snow), the second time requiring
a tow but the guy behind us had spun too so was minutes back. As a
result we dropped down from 5th to 8th in the regional. It was a silly
mistake. I just gave it too much gas through a L4 uphill and that
was all it took to wedge us in the road. Sadly that second spin ended
our rally. Tammy got out of the car with the triangle, slipped on
the ice 3 times finally blowing her knee when she went down hard.
We were on a hill so that didn't help and it looked bad. Knees aren't
meant to bend that direction. We packed it with ice (plenty of that
around) crawled through the last two stages, got her checked at the
MTC by EMS then one of the crew guys took her to Gaylord ER where
it was x-rayed and strapped. She's now on crutches, a healthy dose
of drugs and not allowed to put weight on it for two weeks. I'm all
for pressing on regardless but it's game over when one of the team
gets hurt. We didn't restart for the Drift regional on Saturday. I
think most people didn't realise just how icy it was out there. I'm
not talking packed snow, I'm talking inches of clear ice. Here we
are trying to race along straights doing 80mph (the top guys over
100mph!), 40-60mph in the corners, it was scary as hell. Add darkness
to the equation and it was just insanity pushing all your senses to
the limit. There was no room for error, somehow we got away with the
mistakes I made. Amazingly the tires still look new, the car isn't
even dirty, not a scratch or dent on it. The exhaust is bent a little
from reversing into banks but that's it. It'll live to fight another
day but it may not have had we continued on Saturday... It was a mad
rally. I'm glad it's over and looking forward to some gravel. We saw
loads of TIM supporters out there this weekend so thanks to you all
for coming out and facing the cold. Our crew guys Brian and Corey
did a fantastic job getting us ready for the event and making adjustments
to the car throughout the weekend. Finally, thanks to Paul from TIM
for all the parts that kept us going. The WRX ran flawlessly. What
next? David Allan.
Jan
25th, 2010
TIM
/ Alba Rallysport
To Tackle Sno*Drift
Birmingham,
MI based Team Illuminata Motorsport (TIM) is continuing their partnership
with Alba Rallysport for 2010, the third consecutive season. The weekend
of January 29th-30th will see the team tackle Sno*Drift, the first
round of the Rally America Championship. The husband and wife crew
will be piloting car #525 a 2004 Subaru WRX equipped with BRAID Competition
Wheels in the highly competitive Super Production (SP) class. “We’re
really excited to take part in our home event and see how we stack
up against the top SP drivers in the country.” said David Allan, team
driver who remains cautious, “This is our first true winter rally
so we’ll be taking it gently. I co-drove 000 car at the 2008 event
so have some insight as to just how tricky the stages can be.” The
team has enjoyed a fantastic 2009 season with class wins in America
and Canada however are very much focused on finishing the event and
building experience. “This is a new rally for us but we are confident
that we have a strong car, an experienced service crew and the best
safety and performance parts supplied by Team Illuminata Motorsport
(TIM).” said co-driver Tammy. Although entered in SP class the team’s
WRX is still in PGT spec. “I’m not concerned about having a smaller
32mm turbo restrictor.”
commented
David, “Suspension setup and tire selection are going to play a more
critical role on the snow and ice covered Michigan stages. With variable
weather predicted, we’re mounting all the tires we have onto BRAID
Competition Wheels.” As always, Paul Eddleston, owner of Team Illuminata
Motorsport will be overseeing the crew’s progress from the service
area and on stage, “I can’t wait to get up to Atlanta, MI and see
how our BRAID wheels perform in the snow. It’s going to be a fantastic
event. It’s always well run with a great group of organizers; we are
so pleased to be associated with it and supporting a rally team from
our home state of Michigan.” About Team Illuminata Motorsport (TIM)
Team Illuminata Motorsport (TIM) was established in 2005 to provide
competition parts for rally, rallycross and other forms of motorsport.
They import BRAID wheels from Europe and are also a dealer for Team
Dynamics wheels, Primitive skid plates and Rally Armor mud flaps.
There web site is at http://www.TeamIlluminata.com
Photo
by Jud Bartlett of Squarespot Studios
November
26th, 2009
TIM
Rally Wagon
Gets New Power Plant
IWell,
we've finally bit the bullet and comitted to swapping a new engine
into the Legacy rally wagon. We've been close before, thinking we
needed more power only to be proved wrong by lending the car to a
better driver who typically spanked the field with the current N/A
powered car. This saved a lot of money as driving schools are cheaper
than engines but now the 2.5l lump is getting tired and blowing quite
a bit of smoke out of the tail pipe and this lovely 3.3l H6 presented
itself for a very reasonable price.
3.3
liter H6 with ~60K miles out of a 94 SVX OBD1.
In
surprisingly the first outing on dirt this year for TIM
driver Paul Eddleston he came out on top this past weekend in the
Modified all wheel drive class despite the presence of ace RallyCross
exponent Scott Harvey. The event, the fifth of the Detroit Region's
RallyCross championship, was held at the Crystal Motor Speedway on
a grass surface that quickly turned to dirt. The trick seemed to be
to stick to a tight line and use as much of the remaining grassy areas
as possible as that's where the grip was. As usual, missing cones
was key and unusually for him Eddleston only hit one all day.
Surprisingly,
the M4 win was blown away by the times set by Nathan Usher in is Prepared
all wheel drive WRX wagon who now threatens to move up to M4 later
in the season. God help us when he does.
June
24th, 2009
SuperRally-X
After
a quiet start to the season Team Illuminata driver and owner Paul
Eddleston both promoted and competed in the recent season opener of
the new for 2008 SuperRally-X series
in Clio, Michigan. SuperRally-X
is a relatively new form of motorsport which combines the thrills
of Euro style RallyCross
with the relative safety of US
style RallyCross in a two car pursuit format similar to a WRC
Super Special,
Race of Champions or X-Games
Rally. Conducted on a 25% dirt, 75% paved course, cars start of
at half a lap apart and chase each other over the course of a lap
or two. First car back to their start position wins. Often and event
will consist of timed heats with the fastest 8 drivers going head
to head in a knockout competition to determine the overall winner.
The
timed heats went off without much trouble, proving the timing system
we had come up with and producing eight qualifiers for the final knockout
rounds. Eddleston, running on R compound autocross tires, essentially
very soft slicks, managed to make the finals much to the surprise
of the other, non-R compound shop competitors. "In Europe, where
they do this sort of thing a lot" explained Eddleston "they
set up the car for the predominant tarmac and take it easy on the
dirt. I was actually surprised how much grip I had on the dirt section.
The car was surprisingly driveable and I probably could have gone
faster if I'd had more confidence in them."
Eddleston
survived the first round but was knocked out in the semi final by
Jon Armstrong in his Honda Civic who went on to finish second to Justin
Kollien in his STi. Full results can be found at the event web
site along with photos and videos. A great start to the series
the next event is on August 9th.
February
28th, 2009
Two
in a Row for TIM
Now, no longer able to refer to himself as a "tarmac
specialist" TIM driver and owner Paul Eddleston slithered his
way to his second snowy victory this year in Detroit SCCA's RallyCross
at Capac, Michigan. Held at the same venue and in similar conditions
where he made the said declaration after a dismal performance, things
turned out for the better this time. The course started out covered
in snow with two tight 180 degree turns at each end of the field connected
by sinewy, back and forth slaloms between them. The track soon revealed
itself to have hidden ice patches under the snow and that the two
180s were the key to fast times, by taking them slow. By the afternoon,
in the rising temperatures the course had developed a top layer of
slimy mud on frozen dirt making it even trickier than the morning.
One spin put Eddleston out of the overall top spot but he still retained
the lead in M4 and 3rd overall behind Doug Harvey and Steve Baumbach.
A
great shout out to the Cassidy's for once again letting us abuse their
lawn and to the organization for another great event. Some great video
of the wagon in action courtesy of Chris Lanctot (red Tacoma Pickup)
Not
what you think but the team did score a victory at the Rally America
event in
the Sno-X held at the special
stage venue.
The Sno-x was a rally-x style event using the same course that the
stage rally cars ran but without the full safety requirements. Kudos
goes to the organizers of this new for 2009 event as they had very
little preparation time and a narrow window in which to run the thing
but we all had a great time. I mean, how many opportunities does one
get to run a stage of a Rally America event?
It
was kind of appropriate that we won the sno-x but only coincidental
that we sponsored the Super Special stage in conjunction with our
new wheel supplier BRAID. The
stage was a great hit with spectators who lined the rim of the bowl-like
gravel pit to see the stage cars fly through the snow between the
piles of frozen gravel.
.
As
for the rest of the event we received a lot of attention for our new
BRAID wheels at registration,
Lewiston service area and the awards dinner and had a great time hanging
out with the Rally America people too. As part of our sponsorship
package we had our famous TIM stickers on every car entered in the
event and as a result are now exposed to a much wider audience. This
years event was blessed by much milder conditions than last year with
temperatures in the upper 20s most of the time. Still, with a stiff
breeze blowing through the Super Special gravel pit on Saturday appropriate
clothing was the order of the day which is probably why Brian Line
was so happy to win the TIM beanie by being the first
person to drop in and say "WOW, these BRAID wheels are really
cool. Now where's my free hat". Brian wasted no time hitting
us up at registration on Thursday afternoon.
Can't
wait for next year's event .
January
24th, 2009
TIM
off to Sno*Drift
It's
that time of year again, the annual migration North to witness and
join in the festivities surrounding the Sno*Drift
rally. This year there's a twist though as we are sponsoring the
super
special stage on Saturday and competing in the new for 2009 Sno*Cross
that accompanies it. We are using this opportunity to introduce our
new line of European Competition wheels from BRAID
and will have samples, pricing
and brochures available all weekend. We will be at registration Thursday
(Jan 29th) afternoon and
evening,
as well as Friday
morning then in the Lewiston
service area Thursday
afternoon and evening. Saturday
sees us at the super
special stage area north of Lewiston all day then over at
the awards dinner in Hillman.
No
TIMAlba
rally car in action this event as the crew is off having
a baby (lame excuse) so the rallycross wagon, in it's new BRAID livery
will have to carry the torch for us.
So
please stop by and say "Hi". in fact, there's a free TIM
beanie for the first person to drop in and say "WOW, these
BRAID wheels are really cool. Now where's my free hat".