Sliding to the Finish

HOUGHTON, MI (October 25, 2017)

Escudería Boricua Rally came to the 2017 Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) hoping to learn their new car, a 2013 Subaru BRZ built by Thompson Racing Fabrication. Driver Santiago Daniel Iglesias (Royal Oak, MI) began the weekend tepidly, as he received a DNF here last year after a radiator puncture in his BMW 328. Navigator Boyd Smith (State College, PA) was excited for his first modern LSPR, having raced the original Press On Regardless rally when it was sanctioned by the SCCA. The modern event takes place around Houghton, Sidnaw, and L’Anse in Michigan’s upper peninsula.

Santiago approached the first stage (Baraga Plains) gingerly. The MRF tires supplied by Team Illuminata Motorsport (TIM) were soft compounds and it was unseasonably warm. The BRZ was incredibly composed and could clearly be driven much harder. After a short service stop, the team went out to run the first Sidnaw loop. Unfortunately, the car began stalling on stage 3 (Far Point.) The team was able to make it part of the way through stage 4 (Estes Lake) but stalled on stage. The great volunteers running heavy sweep towed the car back to service, where diagnostics began.

With the help of TRF, the team was able to get the car running by disabling the direct injection (DI) and running solely on the port injection. Being down on power, the team pushed to brake later and carry more speed into every corner. By the end of the first loop, the team was comfortably in 3rd place in the Group 2 class, a career high for the driver. Stage 11 (Silver - Arvon) was the team’s best, coming just 13 seconds behind the class leader over almost 10 miles and 11 minutes.

Santiago commented, “This car is incredible! It’s much faster than my last car, but the balance is excellent so I’m comfortable pushing hard.” Navigator Boyd mentioned, “This was the first time in a while that I haven’t had time to look up from the notes. Ohio (Southern Ohio Forest Rally) was just as twisty there, but [Santiago is] much faster now.”

LSPR has a reputation for being brutal, and Escuderia Boricua didn’t escape that. On stage 13, a hard impact on a washout caused the car to only rev to about 2800 rpm. The team was able to finish the stage, but not before losing approximately two minutes and a potential trophy. Stage 14 was transited because of a competitor roll, so no time was lost there even though the car was stuck at idle. The generous team at River City Rally - RCR offered to tow the BRZ to the regroup control before stage 15.

Since the car could still idle, Santiago was able to nurse the car home by idling in every gear and completing the spectator street stage in downtown Houghton at approximately 20mph in 6th gear, plus a very small handbrake slide near the end. After the rally, it was discovered by crew member Josh Mills that a piece of plastic had jammed the throttle body. During the impact, the air box appeared to have made a hard impact with the oil cooler lines. Still, once that piece was removed, the car ran happily and the team celebrated making it to the finish line knowing that they will be fighting for podiums from here on.

LSPR is the last stage rally for the team until 2018, but they plan to continue testing the car at local SCCA rallycross events as well as practicing gravel technique in DiRT 4. You can follow their adventures at @escuderiaBoricua on Instagram and Escuderia Boricua Rally on Facebook.