Car #19

You can tell that Spring is in the air with the sounds of motors roaring and dust a flying. Skip the quiet of bird song because the 100 Acre Wood Rally races have begun. Promoted as one of the biggest US rally events in many years, the total number of rally teams competing during the opening races was an impressive 78. The first races of the season started in March 2019, and the let’s just say – they were AWESOME.

A favorite driver for this event is Patrick Brennan with co-driver Matt James. This duo has been together for about a year with Matt first partnering up during the Sandblast Rally in 2018. The pair appear to be quite good together and placed 5^th in the first racing season of the 100 Acre Wood Rally 2019 finishing unofficially with a time of 1:52:08.3. Not bad in a field of 78 total teams.

Driving the #19 2005 Mitsubishi Evo ix L4WD, the duo ran a clean race in this first 100 Acre Wood Rally race of 2019. Despite a couple of minor missteps at intersections which cost them a few small seconds (can you say overshot the runway?), the pair still managed to finish 5^th overall AND first in L4 class - a feat to make any parent (or sponsor) proud to say the least.

This grueling road course of almost 125 racing miles of various gravel road surfaces can play havoc on any driver or vehicle. But not to fear, Matt’s previous experience as co-driver to Charlie Tamaris proves that he IS the man to have on the team. During the 2016 Waste Management Winter Rally Spring, Matt’s team developed a flat tire during the road course. They pulled off the stage, Matt changed the tire, and off they went. A team player all the way around.

Since he began his professional racing career in 2002, Patrick has 67 Rally starts under his belt with a total of 6 victories. Placing 4^th in his # 19 Mitsubishi EVO 4WD car in the 2018 STPR Rally with a strong total of 2:07:09.6, Patrick proved that he has what it takes to get the job done. Combine that with Matt’s 6 co-driver wins over a 12-year period, the duo proves that they have the knowledge, skillset, and expertise to be serious contenders during this Rally season. Matt also recently graduated from the Oz Rally Pro Elite Co-Driver Academy, and the skills acquired was reflected in the 4^th overall at STPR Rally race in June 2018 with partner Patrick.

Be sure to keep watch on this powerful pair. The season is just beginning but the Patrick Brennan/Matt James team have the balls and know how to get the job done. It has been an exciting start off the line so let’s see what the final finish line has in store during 2019 for this racing team!