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From speedarena.com Team & Driver Features Q. What do a firefighter from Ohio, an engineer from Georgia and a little diesel engine from Germany all have in common?
The season started when he put together his team consisting of Ken Sabo, his main co-driver with Josh Westhoven filling in at a couple of events. Brett Fairbanks returns as Crew Chief with Jim Chenoweth, Rich Lipstreu, and Mike Jackson to fill out the service crew. Jon picked up his brand new Golf TDI from a VW dealer in October and it immediately went under the knife and was built into a full blown SCCA rally car in just two months. The car had the roll cage installed and plenty of gusseting, welding, and bracing to make sure the car could handle the massive punishment it would endure throughout the year. Racing seats and belts were also installed to keep the drivers safe and secure should the unthinkable occur. Once the car was finished, Jon and his crew were confident they had a winner on their hands. Building a rally car from scratch in such a short amount of time is quite an accomplishment, made even more impressive when you realize that it was done completely out of Jon’s own pocket. He has no factory support, no major sponsorship, and no unlimited bank account. This is quite an undertaking since competing in the SCCA Pro Rally is an expensive hobby. With entry fees alone totaling over $4000, fuel bills for both the car and the tow vehicle, hotel bills, food for the driver and team, and parts for the car, you are looking at a very expensive season. Jon knew this going in and prepared as best he possibly could. He wanted to win the championship and was willing to do what he needed. The only stumbling block was that he did not have quite enough budget to compete in every event. Some of the west coast races were looking like they would have to be skipped. That is when VW enthusiasts stepped up to help. With the assistance of www.motorsportvortex.com, www.vwvortex.com and www.tdiclub.com, money was raised through donations from members of these sites and this turned out to be just enough to allow RallyVW to attend some of those events that seemed out of reach. This also allowed the team to gain those very important points that led to the clinching of the championship.
January came and now that the car was ready and the budget, though not solid, was established, it was time to go to war. They headed out to the cold state of Michigan where they would start the season in the Sno-drift Rally. The Golf TDI was debuted, as was the unique fuel they were running. A new biodiesel fuel that is made from regular diesel and renewable diesel fuel distilled from soybeans. This is a much cleaner burning fuel than normal diesel and since it is derived from soybeans could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and provide more work for the farmers of this country. The car proved to be very reliable and tough. A ground clearance problem on the transit between stages 2 and 3 yielded a bent sub frame, control arm, and skid plate. Unusually warm weather had caused the normally smooth ice-covered roads to be much rougher than normal which lead to demise of the above equipment. Having fixed it during a break in the action, they then proceeded to run the rest of the weekend flawlessly and built up their lead to almost five minutes at the end, taking the first win of the season. “I was amazed the damage was as minor as it was; this proves the tough reliability of the Golf TDI,” Jon stated at the end of the weekend. They were off to the start they wanted. The team then headed off to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Cherokee Trails Rally. The weekend started rough when both the service vehicle and the reconnaissance vehicle had mechanical problems which left the team to arrive in Chattanooga by tow truck. Once the rally started things did not get much better. An upper shock bracket started working its way loose on the third stage, which eventually broke and left the Golf limping along until it could be fixed. They were able to temporarily fix the car and get it back into the rally to maintain position. They made their way through the rest of the rally and were able to maintain a second place position. This left them in the lead in the championship, but due to the major failure and the state of the service vehicle they would have to sit out the next rally in Oregon. But now was the time to prepare for the rest of the season. After sitting out the Oregon Trail Rally, Jon and the RallyVW team were in second place in the championship, five points behind the Toyota Celica of Jeff Field. Now was the time to re-claim that lead. It was off to Pennsylvania for the Susquehannock Trail Rally. The weekend started promising as they set a blistering pace right out of the start as well as a production class record for the first stage. As the day went on, things only improved. On stage seven they saw Jeff Field on the side of the road, retired. If they could maintain the lead they would come out of the weekend on top. Then things turned sour. The turbo on the Golf’s engine started to lose power. On the second to last stage the turbo let go in a big cloud of smoke only 100 yards from the finish of the stage. They could not start the final stage and had to retire. It was not to be. With the two leaders having problems in Pennsylvania, RallyVW was still only five points into second place. The Maine Forest Rally was next and would prove to be a great turnaround for the team. After a grueling two-day event Jon came out on top of the championship. Unfortunately for Jeff Field, Jon’s top competitor, the weekend proved to be very costly. Having taken his Celica into the woods the car was so badly damaged that he would have to sit out the rest of the rally and, as it turned out, the next rally as well. This put the RallyVW team in great position for the season. After having lead the whole rally, they had a puncture on the last stage and ended the weekend in third position. This was enough, however, to put Jon back in the championship points lead.
With Jeff Field unable to start the next rally, RallyVW was sitting pretty. A good finish would put them in a commanding lead in the championship. Like most weekends, they started out fast. But on the second stage the Golf lost a front wheel and causing a lot of damage to the front of the car. Fixing the car in the middle of the stage, the team was able to limp it home and eventually have the crew look at it. Continuing into the weekend, the earlier damage required the team to cut tires down. Eventually the problem was found and fixed. Things were looking good until late in the rally a fifty pound rock took off the front driver side corner. The team was dead in the water and their rally was over. The points lead would remain, but it did not get any bigger. On to Washington state for the Wild West Rally. This turned out to be the weekend that the team needed. After the long trip for Ohio to Washington, the team got off to a great start and had it continue throughout the weekend. They took the lead on the first stage and never relinquished it. Winning the majority of the rallies stages, they finished off the weekend with a convincing win over the Subaru of Jamie Thomas. The win gave the team enough points to clinch the championship. The first, and only, diesel powered racing car in North America had come to the penultimate round of the championship and came away on top. With still one rally left on the schedule, the RallyVW team is the SCCA Pro Rally, Production class Champions. It has been a long year for the RallyVW team, but the end result was worth all the time, trouble and money that was spent. In less than a year, the team has taken a brand new car off the dealer lot and turned it into a champion. A car that, normally would not have even been considered a possible frontrunner. A car also known more for its fuel economy than its performance. Jon Hamilton and his team have transformed a diesel hatchback into a winning rally car. He has done it with the help of his friends and the help of VW fans everywhere. His dream this year was to win the championship. Dreams do come true.
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