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Birmingham, Michigan

Latest News:

August 28th, 2010

BRAIDS carry Gates to National Championship

Team Illuminata Motorsport would like to congratulate Ryan gates on his SCCA National RallyCross title that he won last weekend in Colorado. Driving his Impreza WRX wagon with speed and precision he narrowly beat Detroit region native Matthew Dahn to take the title by just 0.3 sec!

"Going into Sunday with a lead of just half a second I knew I had to be on top of my game with only having 2 runs left Sunday morning for the championship title. My first run the second place car ran almost half a second faster, so down to the last run I had to give it my all and really push." said Ryan soon after the event.

Ryan chose BRAID's Winrace TA gravel rally wheel mounted with BF Goodrich tires for this challenge and they worked out perfectly for him. "I knew tire/wheel combos had to be the best the whole weekend, I can't say enough about Braid Competition wheels and BFG G-Force rally tires."

Other notable performances from TIM customers came from Chris O'Driscoll and Nathan Usher who secured 1st and 3rd in M4 and Cody Hatfield - 3rd in PA and perhaps a few others.

Congratulations to everybody involved including the SCCA and the local organizing team. A great event by all accounts.

Some great pictures of the event can be found here.

Full results here.


 

August 18th, 2010

Alba Rallysport WRX takes
PGT win and 4th overall at GCFR

With a multi-national team of 3, Alba Rallysport headed over to Ontario, Canada for a short single day rally with 2 pass recce, the Galway Cavendish Forest Rally. "We ran the 8km stage 3 times in each direction. It was superb!" Said driver and car owner David. This rally is a wonderful event for novices and Angela Cosner, first time co-driver, joined the team for the weekend. "It was awesome! I'm hungry for more." said Angela following the successful outing. With top regional competition the crew kept a steady pace throughout the day working their way from a start position of 9th to finish 4th overall and taking the PGT win in the process. "I love it here," said David who made the 10 hour tow from Michigan with crew mechanic Dmitriy Martynov. "Canadian stages are superb, the organisation is spot on and this wee event is perfect for novices or even more experienced drivers who just want to practice. We hope to be back soon." The team were also 1st in the novice class, no small achievement given Angela's first time in a stage rally. Alba Rallysport is supported by Team Illuminata Motorsport and chooses to use BRAID Competition Wheels. Video can be found at albarallysport.com Event photos can be found at rescues313.com

See the video at http://albarallysport.blogspot.com/


August 12th, 2010

Hanson’s X Games Rollover & Partnership with Autostream

Written by Scott Coursey

Traverse City, MI — Rally car driver Travis Hanson arrived in Los Angeles for his X Games appearance without the massive fan-fare that factory backed, well known stars like Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, and Brian Deegan receive. Hanson would leave Los Angeles with a taste of fame. Although he did not medal he stunned fellow competitors and fans around the world with his third fastest qualification time against cars twice as fast as his own Subaru STi.


Photo Credit: Franz Diebold

Hanson’s car was actually the heaviest and most underpowered competing at the X Games. His Subaru is a Super Production car meant to compete in traditional stage rally, not the rallycross style events at this years X Games. Other than suspension and a roll cage his car is almost the same as a Subaru anyone can buy at a local dealership.

More........ http://www.rallybuzz.com/hanson-x-games-16-review-6/

 


 

 

August 2nd, 2010

Win It or Roll It Trying

Travis Hanson showed real do or die hard-core rally spirit at the 2010 X-Games held this past weekend in LA, California. Coming into the finals of Rally car knock outs as third fastest qualifier he rolled his BRAID shod Subaru on the final corner in a desperate attempt to catch Andre Comrie Picard's Mitsubishi EVO.

It was an amazing X-Games for the privateer from Michigan. With less than half the horsepower of some of the other competitors he still managed to beat most of the field in qualifying which actually may have been to his disadvantage. "I wonder if qualifying so well actually gave ACP an advantage as he got to run the complicated course a couple of times more than me as I got a bye" said Hanson after the games. Non the less he had a great event and the car didn't fair to poorly in the roll especially the BRAID wheels which came out virtually unscathed. "It was a fantastic effort from Travis in the quarter final. Reminded me of the late Colin McRea's roll in the X-Games a few years back" Commented Team Illuminata Motorsport's Paul Eddleston, one of Hanson's sponsors.

Afew more videos:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5427584

http://espn.go.com/espn3/player?id=11631&league=XGames&size=condensed

 

 


 

July 27th, 2010

Hanson gets BRAIDS for X-Games

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.

Click here for more pictures.


 

June17th, 2010

TIM to unveil new RV at Hyperfest

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.


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

 


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