Photo: Matthew YoungTravis and Terry Hanson take father/son all the way
to the podium.[blockwood: Sno*Drift was a pretty serious race. Glare ice on all fronts. A couple standouts: Ken Block debuted the Monster World Rally Team Ford Fiesta only to have suspension failure late in Day 1. You can imagine he drove cautiously and was looking for a finish in this slippery event. Travis Pastrana had collarbone surgery less than a week before the rally. Travis Hanson had a great drive and finished 1st in SP - fifth overall. And, my favorite standout: Carl Decker and Adam Craig popped a turbo on their old Subaru, headed into the open class and ran around 8th all weekend - pulling out the stops and finishing 5th overall in Open.]

From Rally America:

Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom built a solid early lead and continued to put time on the rest of the field over the course of the two-day rally - despite a badly injured left shoulder.

"Man, I'm really excited," said Pastrana. "Everybody next rally is going to come with a sling."

Pastrana broke his collarbone last Sunday during a motocross ride and had to undergo surgery this week to plate it back together before he could drive. But, ever the optimist, Pastrana said the injury actually helped his performance.

"As slick a the roads were out here, I drove as smooth as I could for the shoulder and it made me focus a little bit more," he said at the finish. "It was probably the best thing that could have happened for us."

…..more

Photo: Courtesy Rally AmericaPastrana leads after Day One.Apparently just prior to the weekend, the International Olympic Committee scouted Sno*Drift as new Curling practice area. Ice being the number one, two, and three condition on the stages. The result? Drivers being so cautious that people have said the driving looked "boring." Everyone is going "slowly" because the roads are pure ice - obviously a different story for the teams. It is absolutely amazing how slick the roads actually are, and nevertheless, Day 1 of Sno*Drift is in the bag.

From the top it's Pastrana, L'Estage, Bacon, ACP, and Mirra in Open class. Hanson and Hanson lead SP. And it's no surprise that Chris Duplessis is leading 2WD, and 10th overall.

After all the anticipation, Ken Block's weekend ended early with a spin and a mechanical late in the day, coming to rest behind a blind corner and nearly getting smoked by ACP when he came around - definitely a tough event to debut a car.

Check the coverage and a video on Rally America, here.

[blockwood: Though ACP has a familiar car on his side, the Evo 9 RS hasn't always been the most reliable car - however, ACP's track record in the snow is quite solid. Along with fellow Canadian competitor Antoine L'Estage, ACP surely has the most snow rally experience of the 2010 Sno*Drift competitors.]

From the Press Release:

ATLANTA, Michigan (January 27, 2010) Defending North American rally champion Andrew ACP Comrie-Picard is heading for a snowy season start in Michigan this weekend at the first round of the 2010 Rally America championship.

The NOS Energy-backed rally team will take on Sno*Drift in their familiar, top-spec Evo IX. Despite tough competition from factory-backed teams, Comrie-Picard remains a favorite for the win.

"I'm feeling good about our chances this weekend," says Comrie-Picard. "Between the heavy development of the Subaru team cars and the new threat from Ken Block in that European Ford, there's a lot of amazing new machinery out there -- but we've got reliability and experience on our side."…..more

Hey all, quick post to help you keep up with the teams on the roads at Sno*Drift. Follow http://twitter.com/blockwood/rally. I built this list includes ACP, Block, Pastrana, Chris Duplessis, Mirra, Mark Fox, etc - it's like one-stop shopping for 36 different twitter feeds, including the stories you won't hear through the normal channels. We've got people on the crews, in the organization, wives of drivers, maybe even a dog. Check it.

Ken Block's brand new Monster World Rally Team build of a 2009 Ford Fiesta takes on Rally America's Tech Inspection. Ford Fiesta's weren't sold in the US in 2009 and this Rally-prepped has never been through tech. The questions remain - how much of the Ford Fiesta has been changed since X Games?