Photo: p: Mike Proulx - WorldRallySport
Ramana's STI - Not Ramana DrivingRamana Lagemann readies for 100 Acre Wood Rally in a 2008 shape Subaru Impreza STI. He talks with Bill Wood about getting to 100AW, missing Sno*Drift, and taking Ken Block off his TRAX. Listen here.

Read on to see what Francisco La Torre at www.WorldRallySport.com found out from Ramana:

Ramana Lagemann has confirmed that he will contest the 2011 Rally America Championship in a Super Production-spec 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The ex-Subaru factory driver recently declared his intentions to return to SP class competition after his deal to run an Open class car did not materialize.

Lagemann s first event of the year is this weekend s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, where he and co-driver Chrissie Beavis will begin their chase for a Super Production title that escaped them in 2010 by ten points after a short but successful season. Lagemann was originally scheduled to appear at Sno*Drift and compete in a Group N Mitsubishi Evo that had been imported from Ireland and converted into an Open class-spec car during the off-season, but a shortage in resources that would allow him to run a full-season campaign in this car prompted him to withdraw his entry and re-group.

Lagemann laments not being able to compete in Open class, but his decision to pass on Sno*Drift and explore his options resulted in a more feasible option for his rally effort. We were excited about the prospects of running in Open class and it was a big bummer to have everything fall apart right before Sno*Drift. We thought it was very important to figure something out to come back and rally, said Lagemann. Subaru s generous contingency program allowed my return. Keeping my options open and being in a new body-style Subaru made the most sense for me.

The SP car Ramana will be running is a Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2008 Impreza that was originally built to a Group N specification and was later used by Ken Block as the infamous Trax STI Snow Cat. This car is practically new with virtually no competitive miles on it. It was most recently driven by Joel Levac and Laurence-fanny L'Estage as a quasi-Open class car on Rallye Perce-Neige, the 2011 Canadian Championship opener, but has since been converted to SP-spec for Lagemann.

Lagemann took delivery of the vehicle just last Wednesday and had it tuned by Dent Sport Garage (DSG) on Thursday. Despite having no seat-time with the car, Lagemann feels confident he will quickly adapt and adjust to the feel of this well-sorted car on the opening loop of 100AW stages. Lagemann is all too familiar with jumping into unfamiliar cars on race day - he did so at the 2010 Olympus Rally in a less superior car, taking the SP class win and placing 5th overall following a two-year hiatus from competition.

Lagemann hopes to have similar success putting an SP car on the overall podium as he did last year, but recognizes it will be no easy feat with the increased level of competition. He said, I m happy to be in SP, it s proven to be a competitive class and proven to be the class that allows good drivers to perform and showcase their abilities like Travis Hanson did at Sno*Drift. Frankly, if you finish on the overall podium in an SP car, I feel you re going to get more press than if you finish third in an Open class car against two other Open class cars. On top of that you have the rally support program from Subaru, so really when you compound all those factors, this car and this class made the most sense for us.

Photo: Courtesy AutoWeek
From AutoWeek:

Welcome to my first AutoWeek column! It's great for me to be back rallying in the United States and, even better, to drive for Subaru Rally Team USA with Vermont SportsCar.

There have been a lot of changes to the American rally scene since last time I was here in 2003. There is much more media coverage and a new and large fan base that I know is the result of guys such as Travis Pastrana, Ken Block and my teammate, Dave Mirra. There are also some new events, which I'm really looking forward to.

One of the biggest challenges I'll face early this season is getting used to so many new things. At least I know most of the team at Vermont SportsCar from when I won the SCCA ProRally Championship in 2003 and they were running my car then. I remember the team being very good, but now they are just so well drilled and have put together a mega rally car.

Getting used to a new rally car is a fun exercise for me if I only need to drive at 90 percent, because of the fact that I have the luxury of driving so many rally cars through my rally school, the Forest Rally Experience in Wales. The difficult part comes when you have to be at 100 percent; that's the speed you need to win in the Rally America Championship. What helps is getting as much testing time ahead of the event as possible. I had my first test back in December with the new 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI in the team's newest spec, called the VT10, but we won't run that car until later in the season.

I had a very good test before the SnoDrift Rally in Michigan last month with my Subaru, but testing can never replace what you learn or the challenges you face during an actual rally. For example, during the tests I felt at home in the Subaru straight away, but when the event started we experienced some fogging on the windshield due to cold snow hitting it. My problem was I had not yet memorized where the heater switch on the car was! I had to almost come to a stop to find the heater switch to clear the screen. So knowing by feel where all your controls are is very important and something you take for granted when you have been in a certain car for some time.

It's also very important to know how all the different setups affect the car so that during the event, if you need to make a change, you know where you may gain or lose performance. I am lucky that I have such a good engineer and team who are always feeding me the information I need but there is nothing like trying things for yourself and that will take some time.

The start of this season is going to be hard for me, as I must adjust to a new car and new events that I've never competed in. Round one was the SnoDrift; it was a difficult event where you drive on snow and ice with no tire studs. The last time I drove on ice without studded tires was in the same event but back in 2003. So though the SnoDrift was not new to me, I certainly didn't have anything fresh in my head about it.

The next two rallies, the 100-Acre Wood Rally (Feb. 25-26 in Salem, Mo.) and the Olympus Rally (April 28-May 1 in Ocean Shores, Wash.) are new to my co-driver Craig Drew and me so we have a lot of homework to do before we get there.

The best approach to cope with new events is to try and get as much information as you can before you get there. That way, you arrive and don't feel like the new kid at school. We try to review and process as much in-car video as possible ahead of time. This gives you a great feel of the roads and types surface conditions we may encounter.

We then try and get a grip on the time scale of the event, the stage lengths and when we have service breaks. That way, if we need to make any setup changes, we know when we can perform them. My team is very good with sending me everything, and as the event gets closer, they just keep feeding more and more information.

When it comes to getting the car setup and tire choice ready, we have to try and rely on the experience of the team and things they have done during previous years. If it is a brand new event for the team and the driver, then you just have to start from a base setup, then look for as much detail in roads as you can during the slow speed reconnaissance driving, and relay that information back to the team.

Since Subaru Rally Team USA has done these next two rallies many times before, we can look back at all the event debrief notes and setup sheets from years gone by, so I am sure by the time our shakedown test comes around, the car will not be very far away from what we need.

Finally, we review stage times from the previous year's event that give us a good feel of which drivers and cars were strong there. Knowing your competitors' strengths and challenges is a handy tool to have in the box, but the problem for us is that last year's Rally America champion, Antoine L'Estage, seems to be strong on all events. Then there is Ken Block, who has won the 100-Acre Wood Rally for the last five years, but it's a shame that Ken isn't scheduled for that event this season. It would have been good to see him again and have a go at breaking his streak!

Talk to you soon. I'm happy to be part of the AutoWeek family so I can share my experiences with you all season long.

Editor's note: AutoWeek Editor at Speed David Higgins, 39, drives the No. 75 Subaru Rally Team USA entry in the 2011 Rally America National Championship. This is the first year that Higgins has raced in the United States since he won back-to-back championships in the series in 2002 and 2003. Higgins started racing motorcycles at the age of eight and has not stopped racing since. He has won several championships in the British Rally Championship as well as the Chinese Rally Championship.

Higgins was born on the Isle of Man and now lives in Trefeglwys, Mid Wales, England, with his wife and two children. The family operates the Forest Experience Rally School, which is well known and respected for providing world-class rally-driving instruction to all levels of driver. This is his first AutoWeek column of 2011.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110222/FREE/110229976#ixzz1Eq2H0fqw

Travis Hanson likes to be the one to set the tone for Super Production (SP) class competition early in the season. In 2010, Hanson finished both of the first two rounds of the Rally America Championship in fifth place overall with a time of over 10 minutes at Sno*Drift and over 2 minutes at 100 Acre Wood on the second fastest SP crews.

Now, he and his father/co-driver Terry are seeking to replicate last year s early class dominance and carry this success throughout the season.

The Hansons opened up 2011 by becoming the first Super Production team to ever win a National Rally America event outright a record that no one will ever be able to take away from them. This week Travis, Terry, and their 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI head into the Series second round in Salem, Missouri leading the overall Championship points race.

WorldRallySport.com s Francisco La Torre had a chance to speak with the privateer in the beaming white production car before the showdown in the Ozarks. Here s their conversation:


Q: Have you had enough time to fully process your remarkable Sno*Drift result and new record?

Travis Hanson: It s so amazing to think that we are the team that did that. We put in a lot of hard work over the years and Sno*Drift is kind of our home event so when it all came together, it was super exciting. The feeling has settled in now and we re thinking forward to the next event we have to put it behind us a bit and start concentrating on the rest of the season.

Q: Do you have high expectations going into 100 Acre Wood?

TH: Some people have asked me if I feel like there s more stress for 100 Acre Wood and as of now, I don t think so. I m just excited to go, do the best we can, and race our own race just like we did at Sno*Drift and see how it pans out.

Q: How do you feel about the rally itself?

TH: I really like the roads at 100AW they re really fast and flowing and they have really good rhythm, which is great for us. As long as we have a good rhythm, my Father and I do really well. With that said, there s a lot of tough competition this year Lauchlin O Sullivan and Ramana Lagemann are showing up with some powerful SP cars. I m ready to do battle.

Q: So we can expect a great Super Production battle in Missouri?

TH: Sure, I think so. There s a lot of good SP guys out there it s a really well put together class and there s always at least five guys at every race that have a good shot at making the podium. The cars are generally good but can be temperamental as well we ll always have the perfect mechanical record of any of these cars. You never know what can happen.

Q: How s car preparation going? Any notable changes?

TH: I flew back to New Hampshire immediately after Sno*Drift for work and my father kept the car in Michigan, but he s been working hard to get it ready. The car was in pretty good shape after Sno*Drift. Basically, the only changes that we ve made are a spring change for gravel conditions, but for the most part the car is going to be identical to how it was for at least four of the last six events. It s been a very reliable package and hopefully it continues to work out for us.

Q: Have you had luck finding more sponsorship partners?

TH: That s been our goal leaving Sno*Drift, to secure some sponsorship for the rest of the year. To make our effort sustainable, we need some support to go out to the West Coast events. That s been a good part of what I ve been doing here in New Hampshire working with some of my teammates on a proposal and finally got one done last week. I ve sent it out to a few people and got some good responses. I don t think you ll see a big change in our clean, white car for 100AW, but hopefully by the West Coast events we ll have some color on that thing.

Q: So you plan on making the West Coast swing after 100AW?

TH: That s the plan. We ve got some time after 100 Acre Wood about 2 months before Olympus to secure some help. That s our main goal. We perform well as a team, the car is reliable and the prep is good, the next thing in line is securing some sponsorship.

Q: Are you feeling pressure going into this rally while leading the overall Championship in points?

TH: We put 21 points on all the top contenders for overall so we have the command of the series, which is something that hasn t quite set in that we re actually the overall leaders of the series. As long as we go out there and finish well and do what we know how to do, hopefully we ll leave 100AW still in the lead of the points.

Q: Is the overall Championship title becoming more of a focus than the SP title now [Laughter]?

TH: Oh wow [Laughter]. Do I think I can win the overall title over David Higgins or Antoine L Estage [Laughter]? There s still five more events to go a lot can happen in those five events. Is it possible for us to do it? Yes, anything is possible but we d have to race really well and really smart and podium on every rally. Yeah. It s going to be hard to compete for an overall win against those [Open Class] cars, especially at 100 Acre Wood where the roads are really fast. Those guys in those Open cars are going to walk away from the SP cars just with sheer speed on the straight-aways.

Q: I don t think it will be out of the question to see top SP crews finish on the overall podium more often this season

TH: I agree. The cars are developed, the class has developed, and the drivers are all pushing each other to be as fast as they possibly can. It makes for a really exciting class. Short of being in a factory-supported Open class ride, there s no other class I d want to be in. It s because of the intense competition that I m in Super Production. The cars are all similar and it truly is a driver s class. It shows who s the best.