What got you interested in rally?
I grew up in the back seat of a SAAB and learned early on about their competition heritage. In college I started working events and assisting some other teams that ran SAABs.

Tell us about your rally car/truck.  How long have you had it?
Our rally car is a 1975 SAAB 99, we started the build in 2003 and debuted the car at some events in 2004. At 35 years young, its almost always the oldest car at the event. The car is not exactly a historically correct specimen. For parts availability and performance we chose to replace the cars original 8V non turbo engine with a 16V turbo from a 1980′s SAAB 900. This engine is nearly bulletproof and provides a great usable torque curve for rally, especially with addition of a modern ball bearing turbocharger and programmable fuel injection.

Did you buy your rally car or build it?
What challenges did this cause?  What benefits did you realize as a result?
We built the car, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. I love the building aspect of rally and the fabrication. I love starting with a clean slate and not having to fix others’ mistakes. When I started building the car I thought I would do mostly rally-x for a  few years and then build up to “pro rally” as it was called at the time, but then the news that SCCA was dumping the stage rally program came out. I wasn’t even sure for a while if the car I built would meet rules in the near future, or what the future of rally was. Rally New York had some events close by (under fledgling NASA Rally Sport program) and I figured what the heck, I built the car for this, lets pull out the stops and do it NOW. I was totally hooked after the first event even though we didn’t finish because of bad fuel pump wiring and a way under built skidplate. The other competitors were so supportive and everyone loved the car.

Tell us about a time when you stuffed the rally car (or maybe had a nasty off).
We had a pretty heavy roll at STPR 08. We had just completed a pretty major rebuild of the car over that winter, new paint, new suspension, new shell (ok so technically it was pretty much a new car but for titling purposes it was the same one).

We transplanted the engine days before the event and we pushed the car onto the trailer and towed it up to STPR, the engine ran, but barely. We spent the whole day before the event in the service area troubleshooting the running issues and finding some electrical gremlins. We were pretty stressed but got the car though tech about 10 minutes before it closed.

I was also the first event for a new co-driver. Once we were on stage I relaxed a little, the new chassis setup was performing great, and we were setting some very fast times.

Midway though the 4th or 5th stage we came down into a dark valley out of a clearing, it had rained overnight but dried out in the sun mostly… the dense canopy of the forest had kept this section of road wet, and the STPR clay is like ice when its wet.  We came into an off camber 3 just a little too hot, tagged the bank but recovered, however in the midst of the moment and the minor off we got a little off the notes and missed an instruction for a !! R2 that came up WAY too quick – clipped the bank and executed a textbook roll.

The hit was not hard, we came all the way around and landed back on the wheels, in fact I don’t believe the car ever stopped!  But the windshield was shattered, every panel but the trunk was dented and we were pretty shaken up.  We pulled off to make sure everything was ok, used the lug wrench to gain some fender clearance, and transited 18 miles back to service where we handed in the time card. It was a sad day. I didn’t rally for the rest of season and took almost a year off.

What’s the most rewarding part of being involved in rally?  The most challenging?
Finishing an event is always such a great feeling, regardless of how you did. There’s just so much work for a grassroots team to even get to the event, most people have no idea.

How many events did you enter last year?  Is that trending up or down?  Why?
Last year we ran 4 events. I had planned to run 4 again this year but West Virginia got canceled. We have run more than that’s but that’s about what is sustainable for me. Anything more than 4 and it seems to pretty much become a 2nd full time job just to keep up with maintenance and planning.

What kind of cash prize structure would entice you to enter more rallies or push the car harder?
The Max-Attack program is great. We’ve won some big money in both Max Attack events we’ve run.

How important are car classes?  What class/region do you race in?
How many competitors in your class at each event?
The classes aren’t that important. We are G5, because of the turbo, but with a newer car could easily make more power and be G2. I mostly just watch the other 2WD guys and try to have a good time.

What do you think about recce vs pacenotes vs blind rally?
If you mean recce vs Jemba, I like the Jemba notes. I’ve done recce before and it’s good for me because I have a very visual memory, and I can pretty much remember a stage after driving it once, but the time commitment becomes too great to do recce with the 2 day events most organizers are favoring now.

Spectators: Dream come true or worst nightmare?  Why?
I love seeing spectators out there. I was one too.

How do you get local gearheads involved in rally?
I ask them to crew for me. :) Really that’s one of the best ways to get into the scene and learn things, meet people, etc..

What do you see is the most critical issue needing addressed by the rally community today?
How would you address that issue if you were in charge?
I used to think it was road access, but the recent economic conditions have actually helped that it seems. More towns are willing to deal with the rally organizers in order to bring some dollars into their local economies.

How do you help out at rallies when you aren’t racing?
This is something I could probably do more with. I help a lot of people with prep questions and I even build some parts as a service to the community.

If you could enter any WRC event, which rally would that be?  Why?
Hmm, Sweden would be great, a car similar to ours won that event overall in 1977 and 1979.

Your favorite Group B car?
Not such a fan of the group B car’s. I’d much prefer a Group 4 car from the 70′s.

We’ve all got a rally hero.  Who’s yours?
Its pretty cliche to say, but Stig Blomqvist is pretty much the man. I’ve met him a number of times, he’s so humble and gave us the thumbs up a couple times we he passed us on a transit at STPR.

Do you have a local rally club?  Tell us about it!  (If not, why not?)
Not really a formal club. I share a rented shop with 2 other like-minded gearheads. We all have day jobs and just use the shop at nights.

How often do you get together with other rallyistas to talk shop?
Everyday on the forums I started on my website, saabrally.com. The whole idea was to build a support network of people that had similar interests. We’ve organized some group buys and had new parts made that haven’t been available for 30 years.

Tell us about some people who have made your rally dream a reality.
My roommates and friends from college, Jordan Pagano, Max Palmer and Matt Weir have helped tremendously. Jordan is a web-design guy so he built the site, Max does graphic design so he’s helped with graphics and team media stuff. Matt is great at keeping up on time schedules and planning. Our combined skill set is really amazing, and we’ve all learned a lot from each other.

Thank a volunteer (or group of them) here.
The guy that works the finish control on a steep downhill every year at STPR. Every  year he tell us to not have our foot on the brake while exchanging the time card, because it will crack the rotors. Ok, but how are we supposed to keep the car from rolling down the hill while talking to him… we laugh every year.  No seriously, I am really thankful for all the help that workers provide.

Gearbox Magazine would like to thank Luke for taking the time to be interviewed. If you’ve got a Saab and you’d like to get the most out of it, head over to SaabRally.com and say hello. Luke will also be at NEFR this weekend (along with Mike White), so get your buddies together and head to New England to cheer for the Saabs!

What got you interested in rally?
Speed… and the ability to control where none should be possible.  I always dug car and mechanical stuff, but I really liked being able to be in control. Classic, huh?  And I don’t know when it was, but I read some Road &Track article about rally and they talked about rally drivers being the most talented because every corner, every surface, every stage was different and new.  I dug on that.

Tell us about your rally car/truck.  How long have you had it?
Current ride is a 1984 Saab 900.  It’s the second rally car I’ve built, and it’s brand new.  NEFR 2010 is my first event in it.  1st car was an ’80 Saab 99.

Did you buy your rally car or build it?
What challenges did this cause?  What benefits did you realize as a result?
I wanted to build this car instead of buy because I knew what I wanted. I knew what worked last time , and what didn’t.  I also derive some sick-assed pleasure from scraping tar from the bottom sides of vehicles.  Challenges?  Well, this time I have a family and house and real job.  The 1st car took 8 months to build, this one took 4 years.

Tell us about a time when you stuffed the rally car (or maybe had a nasty off).
I tend to stuff the car friggin’ around like a week before an event… however, we were in a Canadian winter event, at Perce-Neige, feeling the red mist on a long straight.  What I thought was damp gravel coming into a 90 left was actually polished ice.  We didn’t have a chance.  4th gear in a Saab is still pretty fast.  We went straight at T, so deep in, I thought it was going to be spring before we got out.  The crazy, awesome  Canadians drug some HUGE 15ft sections of trees out of the woods and pried us, foot, by foot up out of the hole we’d dug and back on the road.  Simply awesome!

Tell us about a time when you narrowly avoided a DNF and how you managed to press on.
Maine Forest in like 2000.  Wicked rough rally, very dry, super dusty, like 95 degrees.  We lost our tailpipe on the first long stage.  Then we broke it a little further forward, then we lost a wheel in transit, then we broke a shock, then our entire exhaust.  In the course of a 30min service my crew was somehow able to find a piece of pipe, and a welder, make a header collector and a pipe sticking out the side of the car.  Our best finish ever…in the loudest car in the entire field!

What’s the most rewarding part of being involved in rally?  The most challenging?
Everyone says it, but it’s the people.  Most of my closest friends are from the rally community.  And they all get it. We all wax and wane, cars come and go, people phase out or phase in, but the friendships remain… that and all the hot chicks and sponsorship loot.

How many events did you enter last year?  Is that trending up or down?  Why?
No events last year, so I’m trending up!!!

What kind of cash prize structure would entice you to enter more rallies or push the car harder?
MaxAttack is as good as I’ve seen it…although with the kind of field they’ll have at NEFR, money deeper down in the finishing order would be nice.  True contingency and series sponsors would really help. Gotta say… getting 15% off of brake pads or some headphones isn’t going to help me make it to the next event.

How important are car classes?  What class/region do you race in?
How many competitors in your class at each event?
Well, you know what, I am racing the guys sitting before and after me on the road and the buddies I have in the field.  Classes are nice, but overall… bragging rights and free beer to the “winner” is what rally was built on… I’d like to keep it that way.

What do you think about recce vs pacenotes vs blind rally?
This will be my first event with notes… I’ll tell ya in a few weeks!

Spectators: Dream come true or worst nightmare?  Why?
This may not be a popular answer with everyone, but we suck (as an organization) at making rally cool for spectators.  We make them ride buses, stand on crappy corners, herd them, yell at them to get behind the super strong yellow tape.  Issue?  Our messed up legal system has removed the ability for spectators to self govern and be taught the right way to do it.  “Back in the day” you got a map, maybe an old route book, a tank full of gas, some sandwiches, beer and if you were lucky, a scanner and you made your own event following the rally.  You found the crossroads, you looked for the vantage points, you hiked through the woods..and you know what?  With very – and I mean VERY few exceptions… shocker here – nobody got hurt.  And people were responsible (to a point) for their own actions.

Not so now.

How do you get local gearheads involved in rally?
Take ‘em for a beat run… they’re hooked.

What do you see is the most critical issue needing addressed by the rally community today?
How would you address that issue if you were in charge?
Organizers need help and support from the series in the way of an overall big $$ sponsor. I see the trials our local organizers go through – for what? So I can go play in the woods?  Smaller interest groups in our county lobby and advocate for more than we rallyists do.  Wut up wit dat?

How do you help out at rallies when you aren’t racing?
I do like to work events… even though I’m usually grumpy that I’m not driving… but I do like giving back.

If you could enter any WRC event, which rally would that be?  Why?
Sweden or Finland. Love snow and damn those Finnish roads look sweet.

Your favorite Group B car?
Lancia Delta S4… just super bad-ass.

We’ve all got a rally hero.  Who’s yours?
Got a few.
John Buffum, Colin McRae, Stig Blomqvist.

Do you have a local rally club?  Tell us about it!  (If not, why not?)
The New England rally community is one, big dysfunctional family… ’nuff said!

How often do you get together with other rallyistas to talk shop?
The interweb has made that a weekly, international occurrence.

Tell us about some people who have made your rally dream a reality.
My wife Suzanne, my family and my friends who put stupid drive time in so they can come work on my car.
Brett, John Groo, The Breck’s, Luke, Andrew, Ted, Carl, Hanh Nguyen…Thank you!

El Blano would also like to thank his generous sponsors for their help.
YachtingSolutions.com – An industry-leading yachting services provider.
MaineIndoorKarting.com – Maine’s safest, fastest, and most thrilling karting facility.
Sebago Brewing Company – Maine’s premier restaurant and brewery.

Thank a volunteer (or group of them) here.
Workers and organizers..  Ted Goddard, John Buffum, Greg Healy, Ted & Lise Mendham, Kathy Moody, Tim O’Neil, Anders Green, these are the people making it happen.  Hats off!

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned from your time in the rally community?
Beer…beer is good and is meant to be shared.

It’s a shame Aslousen Oberstierskin aka: El Blanco, aka: Michael White, aka: that guy with the bad ass Saab lives all the way up in Maine. We at Gearbox Magazine (based in Phoenix, Arizona) would really love to rally with this cat. If you’d like to get to know El Blanco – look him up on Facebook!

What about you? Agree with what Michael has to say about Max Attack prizes, spectators, or beer? Leave us a comment. Let us know! Thanks for reading!

What got you interested in rally?
21 years of age and working as a journalist in a small local newspaper I was invited to a hillclimb race by one of the legendary figures in Norwegian rallying. The race was very close to the town we lived, and we actually used the rally car  – a Saab 96 V4 – to drive to the event. It was the first time I had ever sat in a rally car, let alone seen them  driven in anger. It was a miserable October Sunday, rain pouring down, but I stood beside the hillclimb track taking pictures with my camera – and I was completely hooked! Little did I know that rallying and racing later should be my main occupation.

In rallying I have mostly competed as a codriver, and currently I have no competition car(s). I used to own a couple of Volvo 242s – mostly used for trackday events – and I did use one of the cars in a short (sprint) rally a few years ago. During five years I was partner in a company offering trackdays and we also had a fleet of five Opel Corsa racing cars for our customers to use. It ended up being a major headache, because lots of customers coming to drive looked upon themselves as great racing drivers and wouldn’t behave as told. Standing by the side of the track, with full responsibility and ownership of the cars that were being driven by morons and monkeys, was indeed a tough strain on the nervous system.

I have also owned a couple of Honda Civic tarmac racing cars, and during ten years from 1990 I did quite a bit of roundy-roundy driving, including entering and finishing the famous Nürburgring 24h race in 1994.

Did you buy your rally car or build it?
What challenges did this cause?  What benefits did you realize as a result?
I have never built any rally or other competition cars. I am of absolutely no use as a mechanic, and simply haven’t got that interest.

What’s the most rewarding part of being involved in rally?  The most challenging?
Rallying has been not only a hobby but also my occupation, at least for the last 15 years. As such It has also been an extremely important part of my life in general. That’s not to say that I haven’t got other interests, but being part of the rallying community has resulted in many friendships that also extends beyond the sport. The challenge of the sport has been adapting to ambitious drivers with very quick cars. To codrive a quick driver in a WRC car – and to do that job as free of mistakes as possible – is a challenge in itself. I have found that the adrenaline rush reading the pacenotes and finishing a demanding stage in a rally is just as high as when I have driven circuit racing myself.

How many events did you enter last year?  Is that trending up or down?  Why?
After 30 years of codriving my decision was to put my helmet on the shelf after the World Championship event Rally Norway in February last year. I codrove a guy named Bernhard Kongsrud in a Mitsubishi Evo IX N4 car in the rally, and we finished in 34th place or something like that after a very eventful three days of rallying. I thought that would be a fitting end to a long career. Anyway, Rally Norway was officially my last rally, but I can’t guarantee that I will never sit in a rally car again. This sport is highly contagious and addictive, to say the least.

From 1990 to 2006 I was very active, codriving the full Norwegian championship every year and on top of that quite a few international events. I have competed in World championship rallies in Norway, Sweden and Finland – as well as international rallies in Luxemburg, Estonia and Germany. During these year I sat in Group A, 4WD Group N and WRC cars, mostly with top drivers.

When Cato Menkerud, the codriver of Henning Solberg, got married in august 2001 I stepped in for him and codrove for Henning Solberg in a Toyota Corolla WRC. It went well, btw, we won the rally. I have also sat in Ford Focus WRC, Mitsubishi Lancer WRC, Peugeot 206 WRC and Skoda Fabia WRC, as well as all the Celica GT4 Group A-cars, the ST165, ST185 and ST205. All fabulous cars, but my absolute favourite throughout my career has been the Toyota Corolla WRC. It was a very loud and macho kind of rally car and of course very fast in the right hands.

What kind of cash prize structure would entice you to enter more rallies or push the car harder?
There are not cash [prizes] in the Norwegian championship – and very little in European events, if at all.

Should rallies be run as for-profit corporations?
Most rallies in Europe and Scandinavia are run by motor clubs based on free and volunteer personnel. Sometimes you would wish that events were organized in a more professional and commercial way, but rallying competes with a host of other sports and the commercial possibilities are not very great as it seems. WRC rallies are of course run by companies, but even these great events are seldom big money earners. In fact Rally Norway has had red figures both years they have run as a WRC-event, both in 2007 and 2009. I feel it is very difficult to estimate the full commercial value of rallying, and in my country no companies are queeing up to run it as a business.

What do you think about recce vs pacenotes?
We started with pacenotes in Norwegian rallying in 1991, and all championship rallies after that has been run with pacenotes. In the beginning it was nearly only organisers’ safetynotes/pacenotes and no recce, except in the European Championship event, rally Finnskog. Today all rallies have a one-day, two throughfares recce, and you can of course write your own pacenotes. The organisers still offer their readymade pacenotes, and approximately 60% of the competitors are still buying and using those. But still you will prefer to do the full recce, to correct and prepare the pacenotes for your own preferences. In my opinion its silly not to do that, but then again I understand that some drivers wish to save money.  Anyway you will always find quite a few competitors driving just for fun, and then it won’t matter that much. But if you are driving with ambitions, either to win outright or to develop yourself as a driver, you need a good codriver and proper pacenotes. It goes without saying that the codriver is the most intelligent party in the car…!

On spectators and critical issues:
People spectating at rallies in my country are normally well behaved. As a competitor of course you want lots of spectators, but you don’t want to see them in stupid places. There has been a couple of incidents I have experienced myself, especially a couple of drunk guys falling out into the road both in Rally Sweden and Rally Finland. The guy in Finland was actually jumping down on the road, but he didn’t take into account that we came closer to the car in front of us than one minute. In fact we were only ten seconds behind. The guy jumped from a bank down onto the road and fell down on his knees. I bet he was a bit stunned – not to say shocked -  by the rally car bearing down towards him in 130 km/h, because I could only see the whites in his eyes! Sitting on his knees he had no chance to get away, but luckily we missed him by a few inches.

On a more general note spectator incidents and accidents are the sports biggest challenge. There are just too many accidents involving spectators, quite a few regrettably with fatalities. In 10 minutes browsing through YouTube or Motorsportmad.com you will find numerous videos with fatal accidents involving spectators.  In some countries (southern and eastern Europe) they just don’t seem to care, it’s looked upon as “part of the game”. It’s certainly not so in Norway, but still we have had our share. In 1996 a drunk guy fell out in the road and died after being hit by a rallycar that had no chance avoiding him. Worse was an accident during a Norwegian championship round in September 2009. One of our most promising drivers (indeed maybe one of the worlds most promising talents), Andreas Mikkelsen, left the road with his Subaru in a tarmac event, and tragically he hit a 10 year old girl sitting in a camping chair not far away from the road. [Mikkelsen's car pictured below. - Ed.]  She and her father shouldn’t have been in this spot, and she certainly shouldn’t have been seated in a chair, but still this was a tragedy for all involved. It has also been a challenge for the sport and its continued existence  – especially as the community and authorities started asking questions about safety measures in the sport. As a sport we absolutely needs to be viewed positive in public opinion. We can’t afford being “stamped” as a dangerous sport for people spectating.

For the rallying community this has been the most critical issue needing to be addressed, and will continue so in the future. On short terms we have upgraded spectator safety plans and bettered information to and education of spectators. We have also increased the number of safety officials and a rescue helicopter has now been made compulsory during the Norwegian championship rounds. More work with safety issues shall and will follow.

Another issue for global rallying in the future are the environmental questions. They will need to be addressed, but I really can’t see rallying being very spectacular with electrical cars…  But then again, maybe I’m completely wrong.

If you could enter any WRC event, which rally would that be?  Why?
I have been so lucky to have participated in a number of WRC-events, but only in Norway and our neighbouring countries. Rally Norway is a fantastic winter rally for those who want to do something special and enter a WRC rally as an adventure. It has proper, cold and snowy winter conditions and very challenging and great stages. It’s more technical and not so overall fast as Sweden, but its plenty fast enough in some places. Just enter Rally Norway, Mountain stage on YouTube and you will find some great inboard sequences. The stage is like a very fast toboggan run, where you constantly use the snowbanks to “correct” the cars direction.

Finland is rallying. It says a lot when a whole nation  puts rallying on top as their favourite sport – together with ice hockey. The Finns are just crazy about their rallying and Rally Finland is of course, as everybody knows, the fastest rally on the planet. It’s a forest race, pure adrenalin with all the jumps and average speeds on some stages above 130 km/h. The most famous stage in the World rally Championship is the 34 km Ouninpohja. In a survey among WRC-drivers a few years ago, nearly all the most famous drivers put Ouninpohja on top of their list as the most daunting and challenging stage. During the last years Ouninpohja has been reduced and split up in parts, because it has become too fast according to FIA rules. Anyway I had the chance to sample the full might of Ouninpohja in 2000, and we did it twice in the same day. In my pacenotes for the 34 kms I had 58 jumps and “kicks”! The car was flying absolutely everywhere, and some jumps were really big. Even in a Group N Mitsubishi we did the 34 km stage in less than 17 minutes, that’s quite fast on a gravel road in the forest.

A fairytale story
My country, Norway, is a very small country with only 5 million inhabitants. Still we have a number of drivers on a very high level – and lots of talents popping up to eventually replace the Solberg brothers. The story of Norwegian rallying has been a fairytale story, and I have been lucky to be a part of it since 1979.

Actually rallying was banned in my country from 1972 to 1985. In 1979 we had our first rally in “modern times”, but the whole event had to be staged on roads inside a closed military camp, and without spectators. Eventually the sport got going again with small events in restricted areas, but the ban wasn’t formally loosened until 1985. This was when we actually had the chance to start building the sport properly again. In 1996 Henning and Petter Solberg popped up on the scene after a couple of years with rallycross-racing and hillclimbing. They were a sensation, and especially Petter who soon passed his older brother Henning in development. In 1998 Petter won his first (and only!) Norwegian Championship in a Toyota Celica ST205. The same year he also finished 2nd in Rally Lebanon, a result that made the teambosses in WRC aware of him. The rest is a well-known storsy, really. Petter got an offer from Ford in the autumn of 1998 as a “third driver”.  He soon advanced to second driver, left Ford for Subaru in 2000, took his first WRC victory in Rally GB 2002 and won the world title in 2003.

Getting a world champion has made a tremendous boost for Norwegian rallying – as other young talents was shown  that it was actually possible to become a world class driver. In the ranks behind Petter and Henning Solberg Norway now has great talents like Mads Østberg, Andreas Mikkelsen and Eivind Brynildsen taking part in the WRC.  Especially Mikkelsen is rated as a possible future world champion.

I have been lucky to take part in this since I first sat in a rallycar 31 years ago. Competing directly against Petter Solberg in 1998 was a high point. The first championship rally that year, me and my driver Per Engseth  ended five seconds behind Petter and his (at that time) codriver Cato Menkerud. All in all I have sat in all kind of cars, front-, rear- and four-wheeldriven. The slowest car was a 1300 cc Lada Samara built in Russia, but it was by no means least fun! In total I have codriven more than 30 drivers, some of them really fast guys close to worldclass level. I can sincerely say that rallying is a great sport. Sitting beside a fast driver in a WRC car, reading the pacenotes, is a mindblowing experience. If that doesn’t keep a person young, I really don’t know…

Rally Gearbox Magazine would like to thank Henning for taking the time to share so many of his rally stories with us in this interview.  We would also like to thank John Vanlandingham for reaching out across the language barrier to help us find Henning.

So what’s your story?  How long have you been rallying?  How does your regional rally series mitigate the risk to spectators?