Flatirons Rally Team Announces New Look for 2007
Boulder, CO -- After missing the first event of the season, the SnoDrift
Rally in Atlanta, MI, the Flatirons Rally Team is proud to officially
announce their 2007 Rally America Production GT Championship plans. The
team will have a new look with a new car, new driver, and a new title
sponsor. For 2007 the team will be running a 2004 Subaru WRX to replace
their previous competition vehicle and is pleased to welcome former
Production GT front runner Stephan Verdier to the team to replace
departing driver Tanner Foust. Flatirons Tuning will also be taking over
the title sponsorship of the team in addition to continuing to provide
the preparations and at event service for the team.
The Flatirons Team has been a front running team in the Production GT
championship since Rally-America took over the sanction and series
administration of the Rally-America National Championship. When asked
about the teams new plans, co-driver Scott Crouch stated, "After our big
crash at the Cog Rally (see the video at http://FlatironsRally.com) our
old car was destroyed. We also knew that Tanner (the teams driver from
2003-2006) had been working on putting together a new team and car to
tackle the championship in the prestigious Open class. We had to decide
if we wanted to attempt to be a part of Tanner's new plans or if we were
going to continue in Production GT as our own team." Crouch went on to
elaborate on the decision process for the team once the decision to
continue as a team in the Production GT Championship was made; "Once we
decided to find a new car we couldn't think of a better person than
Stephan to put in the drivers seat. Stephan was one of the top Production
GT drivers back when the SCCA was in charge, in fact we have never beaten
him head to head in an event he finished in. With Stephan on board we
hope to have a chance at re-taking the Production GT Championship after
loosing it last year."
After over two months of work on getting the new team together the team
is now making final preparations for their debut at the 100 Acre Wood Rally.
Verdier for his part commented; "I am really happy to be teamed up with
Scott and the whole Flatirons Tuning Rally Team for 2007. When Scott
approached me about having me drive the team's new car it was the perfect
opportunity. I am really excited to see if I still have the speed that I had
when I was racing in PGT before, 100 Acre Wood will be a lot of firsts for
the team and I but we really just want to finish and see where we are. We
really want to work together and take a second Production GT National
Championship for the Flatirons Team." To complete the team's new image the
familiar purple and white paint scheme that has become so familiar on the
Rally-America circuit will be retired as the team will debut a new livery to
go with their new title sponsor, Flatirons Tuning. Also joining the team for
the 2007 and their new look will be BPM Sports, a top Subaru tuning company
based in Australia and COBB Tuning, one of the top Subaru tuners in the
United States.
The Driver:
Stephan Verdier, of Long Beach, CA, is a former top Production GT
championship contender and has taken two overall rally wins to date in
his rallying career. In addition to his duties as the driver for the
Flatirons Tuning Rally Team Verider also competes in the Formula D
Drifting series where he will debut a new rear wheel driver Subaru WRX
STi as well as participating in a variety of Time Attack races. In
addition to his motorsports exploits Verider is a former French National
Downhill Skiing competitor as well as former 2 times Winter X Games Skier
Cross competitor.
The Co-Driver:
Scott Crouch is the General Manager of Flatirons Imports in Boulder, CO,
home to the largest Subaru Dealership in the Rocky Mountain region. Scott
has been co-driving for over three years and won the 2005 Rally-America
Production GT National Co-Driver Championship as well as was half of one
of the first 12 teams to compete for Rally Gold at the ESPN X Games in
2006. Scott is the proud father of three children and is supported by his
wife Libby.
The Sport:
Performance or Stage Rally is the world's second largest and one of
the oldest forms of motor sport, reaching over 801 million viewers world
wide in 2005, and is a pinnacle of automotive technology and car control.
Teams compete in, street legal, production based vehicles in a variety of
different classes. Times are taken from closed road sections called
stages which consist of a wide range of surfaces, including but not
limited to, ice, snow, gravel, mud, and sand, where teams drive as fast
as possible in an exercise of all out automotive and driver performance.
This exciting and challenging form of motor sport is one of the most
visually stunning exercises of all out car and driver performance.
-credit: frt
