PikaSports Finishes a Victorious 2010 USRC Season at Prescott Rally

Prescott, AZ (October 2, 2010) -  Katianna Pihakari (Anaheim Hills, CA) and Marie Boyd (Bishop, CA) teamed up for Prescott Rally to defend PikaSports' lead in the US Rally Championship (USRC) series. Prescott Rally, sanctioned by NASA, was the final event for the 2010 USRC series. The rally was held in Prescott, AZ, on October 1-2, 2010. During the first race day, Friday night, two out of the four stages were raced after sunset. The conditions were made more difficult by the dust sitting stagnant due to the lack of breeze. With the bright rally lights the dust forms a solid white wall in front of the car. Some drivers follow the berm looking through the side window instead of the front one. The PikaSports' Subaru has a combination of HID and LED lights in addition to the regular driving lights. The LED lights, brand new design for rally from AnzoUSA, showed their value during the dusty stages providing better aid through the dust than the more powerful HID lights. After the first tentative stage, during which the communication skills of the new partnership were established, the ladies picked up the speed. The car behaved marvelously and the ladies were able to keep the tires on the road. Even the random cattle yielded right of the way to the car #18. The second day, Saturday October 2nd, started with faster pace and the Subaru was flying. "We felt great", comments Katianna about the Saturday morning stages. "Our communication was flawless, we maintained clean driving lines and great car control. These three things were our goals for the race. Accomplishing these kept increasing our speed throughout the day. " "It was clear to me that Katianna was becoming more comfortable with the higher speeds throughout the race. On the longer straights we were flat out on the fourth gear going approximately 90 mph. This is the fastest we have ever driven in a rally", continues Marie. "After the service break, when I heard from my radio that our car was stuck in a tree on stage 7, I thought we were done for the day." told Doug Nagy, the crew chief of the team. "I was thrilled to hear approximately 15 minutes later that the car was back on the road and the ladies were in the car determined to continue racing." "They finished the stage only one minute left of the 'maximum permitted time', i.e. only one minute from being disqualified.” "Understandably the last stage was noticeably slower than the earlier ones. Their main focus had switched into 'finish-safely' mode," analyzes John Dillon. "Katianna did remember an important lesson: In order to finish first, you first need to finish." "This was her first serious 'off' during a rally race and she handled it extremely well.” comments Steve McNaughton over the phone. "I believe she was a little shaken by the excursion because she told me how the roads suddenly got really narrow towards the end. The intimidating exposures on the last stage must have made her even more cautious for that section. " "It was wonderful to get to the end of the two last stages when all the voluntary course workers were applauding to our progress", said Katianna. "Perhaps the best moment was passing the finish line. This was the first time we were sure we made it. Almost a hundred people were waiting and cheering for our finish. One of the best sights at the finish line was to see the big smiles on our team members' faces. That crowned the day." "We were a little surprised not to hear any jokes about female drivers associated with the tree branch that was sticking through our left front fender", commented Marie after the awards ceremony. "We had a great race filled with excitement. Definitely a weekend to be remembered. I am already looking forward to getting into the car with Katianna again!" PikaSports vehicle of choise is a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX built and prepared by Streetwise Motorsports (www.streetwiseparts.com).  Lights are provided by AnzoUSA (www.anzousa.com). PikaSports functions under the umbrella of Widget Racing (www.widgetracing.com).