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New England Forest Rally press release
June 20, 2007
From: Motorsport.com
Date: July 19, 2007
Flatirons Tuning Rally Team back on the Podium in New England
Boulder, CO -- The New England Forest Rally, based in Bethel, Maine, marked the sixth round of the Rally America National Championship. For the Flatirons Tuning Rally Team the 2007 event would only be the second time the Boulder, Colorado, based team would make the journey across the country to the far northeastern event. Despite the lack of experience hopes were high going into the event after winning the 2006 event.
"We made the decision to go to New England to see if we could get back into the championship hunt. After a string of two disappointing finishes we wanted to get back on the right track and collect some valuable points. Hopefully our bad luck is behind us and maybe we can catch a couple breaks in the rest of the season and get back into the fight for the Production GT National Championship," stated co-driver Scott Crouch.
Heading into the rally the Flatirons Tuning team was a somewhat distant third place in the championship and in need of maximum points so strategy would be key. "With Matthew [Johnson] absent from the rally we really wanted to focus on getting a lead in the first series of stages so we could drive from the front and control the pace. Without having to drive at 100% we really didn't have any issues or make any mistakes," commented driver Stephan Verdier, who later added, "I think this bodes well for the championship for the team, just about everything about the car is getting better and we are finding better pace."
When the dust settled at the end of day two on Saturday, July 14, the Flatirons Tuning Rally Team finished first in Production GT with more than a minute lead on championship leader Pat Moro. "This was a great finish for the team. It feels great to be able to finish a rally back on the podium, especially to be first. The stages were fantastic and there were a lot of spectators, which made it really fun and enjoyable to drive. We are just really happy to take 22 points for the championship and be able to load the car on the trailer and take it back to the shop without having to do any major repairs," said Verdier after the podium celebration.