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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 16th, 2001
Contact: Erik Christiansen
echrist@princeton.edu
http://www.2097racing.50megs.com
Oct. 16th, Princeton NJ
2097 Racing recorded their fourth finish in as many rallies this weekend at the SCCA Rally New York held in the scenic Catskill Mountains of New York State. The team finished the event 29th overall out of 45 starters (and 31 finishers), and were sixth in their class (Group 2). The rally featured a challenging mixture of dirt, gravel and tarmac surfaces, often on the same stage! "I was nervous about the tarmac stages at first, but they turned out to be a lot of fun!" said driver Eddie Fiorelli. The team was a favorite among spectators, thanks to their crowd-pleasing "La Cucaracha" air horns announcing their arrival at the spectator areas.
The team almost didn't make it to the end when the radiator fan in their 1985 VW Golf died just before the start of the last stage. "We turned the heat on and kept our eye on the engine temperature, and the car ran fine," explained co-driver Erik Christiansen, "It got very hot in the cockpit, but we survived." This final stage was not only the longest in the event, but the most challenging with a constantly changing road surface combined with the darkness of night.
The sixth in class finish moves Eddie up to 13th in the SCCA North East Division ClubRally Group 2 (two wheel drive, under 2.4l) drivers championship. Combined, Eddie and Erik have enough points to be in the top ten, but they chose to share driving and co-driving duties throughout the season. "Our primary goal was to have fun," says Eddie.
"Now that we each have two finishes under our belts as drivers we should both be classified as seed 7 under the proposed rules for 2002," said Erik, "Our goal for next season is to start going faster. We've proven we can finish events; now it's time to think about becoming more competitive."
Pictures from the event and a full write up will be available on the team website: http://www.2097racing.50megs.com
Rally New York was the final event in the North East Division SCCA. Held amidst the beautiful fall foliage of the Catskill mountains, the eleven hour long event was a challenge for drivers and co-drivers alike, with a grueling mixture of road surfaces and tight turns. SCCA ClubRally follows a stage rally format where specially prepared cars travel down "special-stage" roads which are closed to the public at one minute intervals as fast as possible. The "special-stages" are linked by "transit-stages" where the participants are required to adhere to all local traffic laws. This form of motorsport is experiencing an explosion in popularity in the US and the national SCCA ProRally championship is televised nationwide on the Speedvision network.
Erik Christiansen graduated from The Cooper Union with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1996. Immediately afterwards, he began full-time graduate study at Princeton University where he studies flame instabilities and expects to complete his Ph.D. in January of 2002. Erik started competing in motorsports by autocrossing (SCCA Solo II) his daily driver Mazda Miata.
Originally from Staten Island, New York, Eddie Fiorelli graduated from The Cooper Union in 1997, and then went to work as a mechanical engineer at Marconi Aerospace (now BAE Systems) on Long Island. After two years at Marconi, he decided to return to school, and became a full-time graduate student at Princeton University in August of 1999. Conducting research in the field of Dynamics and Controls, Eddie's thesis work involves coordination and control of a group of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).
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To find out more about SCCA ProRally, visit the SCCA website at: http://www.sccaprorally.org
and the NEDiv SCCA ClubRally website: http://www.rallyracingnews.com/nepro/index.html
Results from the Rally New York, can be found at: http://www.rallyracingnews.com/scca/rny01-res.html