Boise Trip Report, Lift Up America’s Ambassador of Compassion. June 29/30 2011.

With just two days off after finishing her second successful event at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Savannah climbed aboard a flight, and headed to Boise ID. Savannah was recently named as official Ambassador of Compassion spokesperson for Lift Up America, and had been asked to address a group of program participants. The young people will be undergoing training to become Ambassadors of Compassion, and Savannah was able to share her inspiring story with almost 300 people, in the skybox at Boise State Stadium. It was an awesome experience.

The speakers at Lift Up America events are always inspirational, and so often the stories of the struggles they have overcome are very touching. It was an honor for Savannah to be included among some really renowned speakers who have achieved great things, or overcome great difficulties. The Boise event allowed Savannah to share her story of Labor, and how, through perseverance and hard work, she has been able to achieve her goals. The young folk always seem impressed with her courage and determination, and if the crowd around her after the event was any indication, they really related to her struggle to succeed. The video of Savannah in her race Mini racing up the most famous hill climb in the world shows what a skilled and determined young lady she is, and is always a highlight of the presentation. The cliff edges, sharp turns and challenging conditions reinforce how important team work and trust are between Savannah and her co-driver, Rebecca Greek.

Talking in front of large crowds can be very intimidating. Savannah works hard to prepare her speeches, and spends hours practicing and refining her presentation. She is becoming more at ease with each event, and is able to clearly communicate how much Labor goes into making her the young star that she is. She is always humble regarding her success, and is honest with the young people about the struggles and challenges that she faces when she straps on her helmet, and challenges the race course. Savannah is honored to be associated with such a great organization as Lift Up America.

Fortunately, the early arrival on Wednesday allowed for a few hours of fun, once all the preparation for the event was completed. Savannah and her manager, Grant Barclay, headed off to the local gokart track for a few challenge races. Typical racers, they have a few spare hours, and they head to the race track. The Fast Lane indoor track was a lot of fun, and the mentor and the student traded fast laps and winning races. There may even have been an incident or two involving karts in the tire wall, and bribes may have changed hands to protect the slow.

Savannah returned to Denver on Thursday morning, and immediately headed to High Plains Raceway near Byers, to partake in a test day driving a World Challenge Touring Car. Right back to work in the driver’s seat, Savannah was able to provide valuable feedback to the team, while learning the limits of an entirely new vehicle, and driving on Pirelli Slick Race rubber for the first time. Savannah did a sterling job, and after discussion with the team manager and owner, has been invited to Road Atlanta at the end of July to complete a second test weekend. Driving a Touring Car in World Challenge events is another goal along the path Savannah has chosen, and her management team is hard at work to raise the funds needed for her to participate in a limited number of Touring Car events in preparation for a full season, and attempt at Rookie of the Year, in 2012.

Savannah wants to thank those people who supported her recent trip to Boise, ID. The greater Lift Up America family has been outstanding in the assistance and support they have offered this young driver, and she appreciates everything they have done for her.

The 89^th running of the incredible and epic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) auto race, the second-oldest motorsports event in U.S.A. (only the Indianapolis 500 has enjoyed a longer tradition) will soon take place on June 26^th 2011. Within the very competitive Time Attack division, three of racing participants – Dave Kern in 4WD; Savannah Rickli and Ken Stouffer in 2WD will be campaigning Federal’s FZ-201 semi slick tire as Federal Tire expands our product offerings and marketing efforts in the U.S.

Brought to fame by a series of die-hard professional European and Japanese competitors back in the 80s and 90s, Pikes Peak has earned a global reputation as one of the world’s toughest highest-altitude road races. The 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will encompass 11 classes, attracting 200 drivers competing on a 12.42 mile course, which means everyone of them will have a chance to experience a variety of road conditions on both paved and unpaved surfaces. With a race that begins at 9,390 feet and finishes at the 14,110 foot summit of America’s Mountain, conditions can vary widely, ranging from sun, rain, sleet, and even snow! As unforgiving an environment as it is, the PPIHC attracts many thousands of spectators on race day, and over 35 000 fans attend FanFest on the Friday before the race. To truly accommodate such complex racing conditions, entrants and vehicles must be in top condition, and having a great set of tires will help ensure a safe and successful run up this awesome mountain!

Born with racing in her blood, Savannah Rickli is the youngest driver in history to finish the PPIHC, and was named Rookie of the Year 2010. Debuting the Federal 205/50/15 FZ-201 on her 2003 Mini Cooper S Hill Climb Special is a tremendous honor for Savannah and her team; Dave & Allison Kern, whose primary focus is on the PPIHC race, will be flying the Federal colors on their Mitsubishi Evo, and are hoping to break the Time Attack 4WD record they currently hold.

Ken Stouffer and his motivated Fatman Racing, competing on Federal tires, are looking forward to make a serious push, to better the second place finish in Time Attack 2WD, where they ranked last year. Ken is a competitive rider with more than twenty years in many forms of motorsports including drag racing, on and off road racing in cars, and on ATV’s.

Recent testing in preparation for the hill climb shows Federal FZ-201 semi slick had significant success in terms of the overall performance for precise cornering, exceptional grip, and responsive control at high speed. The Federal-shod trio was thrilled to run a tire which is able to meet any kind of demands they put on them, and sincerely feel that with a good set of tires on the car for the race day, they will in a better position to battle for wins in their classes.

Race Season is Finally Here!

April 9-10 was the first road race of the season in conjunction with the Colorado Region’s 2 Cool Schools. After spending lots of time training in the kart over the off season, I was thrilled to be back in the MINI and looking forward to the weekend.

Our ultimate goal of the weekend was to get two finishes. Those two finishes would complete the requirements for my SCCA National License. Although this was my first race at PPIR, I was fortunate enough to have conducted a private test day at PPIR a few weeks before, but I still had a lot of things about the track to learn. My competitors in class, Bob and Tommy Boileau, had quite a bit more experience at PPIR than I did. During the first few practice sessions, Bob and Tommy both were kind enough to let me follow them around to pick up their interpretation of the track. I cannot thank the two of them enough for their support throughout the weekend! On Saturday we finished the race second in the STU class. One finish down, one to go!

I was excited that I had reached the first part of our goal for the weekend, and was ready for Sunday. The weather was predicted to be cold and rainy all day Sunday. As the prepared car owner that he is, Grant had been sure to pack our rain tires. No matter what the Colorado weather blew our way, we were ready. The second biggest surprise of the weekend was that Sunday was actually better weather then Saturday. The sun was shining and the wind had finally calmed down. There had been a few changes to schedule, and we weren’t on track as much on Sunday as we had been on Saturday. I was really grateful for all of the track time on Saturday. I had been running in the 1:08′s on Saturday, and Grant and I had made it a goal to be running in the 1:07′s at some point on Sunday. I ran a practice session in the morning and headed out to the qualifying session. A few laps into the session I found some nice, open track and was able to throw down some fast times. I had a a Traqmate data system in the car, so I was able to see the lap times live. I’m usually pretty quite on the radio, Grant does all the talking. But, I radioed into him. “Grant, Traqmate may be lying, but I just ran a 1:06.” Grant said that he was sure it wasn’t lying because Traqmate and his stopwatch read the same time. After it became clear that I wasn’t going to find much more open track, I decided that I was happy with my 1:06 and brought the car into paddock to save the tires for the race.

Anxious to see if a 1:06 had officially been clocked, I got out of the car and headed over the timing and scoring. I said said that the lack of rain on Sunday was the second biggest

surprise of the weekend. The biggest surprise of the weekend had been that when the qualifying results were finally released, my name was at the top of the list. My 1:06 had taken me to my first Pole position. Some of the fastest cars had opted out of qualifying, but I was still ahead of the 22 other drivers who had qualified. The photo below was taken right after I showed

Grant the qualifying order results. I had a bit of time before the race. I enjoyed lunch with my parents, and chatted with Clay Turner, Pat Holmes and a few of the other drivers.

A well respected driver, Guy Ruse, had qualified in the second position. I was immensley grateful that he had taken the time to talk to me about preparing for the green flag; he passed on some very useful pole sitter knowledge.

Finally, it was race time. Though I was excited to be in the front of the pack, I knew very well that I had to get that second finish in. The green flag dropped and the race was on! After a very busy and eventful first few laps, all of the drivers found their own groove. Carol Barclay had the pit board out, and was showing me the lap numbers. Once I saw the 13 on that board, I knew we had reached our goal for the weekend. 13 was half of the laps, plus one. Half plus one is considered a finish, I had just earned my National License with the SCCA!

Then the fun started, I worked my way towards Tommy Boileau in the Vinson Acura, and we raced for half a dozen laps, changing the lead about 10 times, sometimes multiple times on the same lap. Tommy’s Acura is faster off the corners, and faster on the straights, and the Mini seems better under braking, and better in the turns. Rumor has it that the crowd of spectators on the roof of control were shouting and cheering as us kiddos (we both are 17) were racing with aggression, control, and trust. Unfortunately the oiling issues resurfaced in the Acura, so Tommy took a few laps in hot pits to try to get the problem solved. I then raced the final laps to the checkered flag.

I pulled back in paddock feeling excited, proud, and motivated for the rest of the season! It was very rewarding to see all of the off-season training pay off. It made me excited for the rest of season, and provided motivation to work that much harder towards my goals. Grant had said after the race, ” So almost 11 months to the day after first putting her in the Mini, she has earned her SCCA National License, earned her first pole position, and earned the respect of some of her fellow racers. Not sure who was more impressed and proud, Rickli parents, or Barclay substitute parents.” It’s true what they say, you’re team become your family.

I couldn’t of had such a succuessful weekend without the support of so many people. As I mentioned earlier, the Boileau family (pictured above) were very supportive and we had lots offun driving with each other on track. I am very grateful to all of the volunteer workers at the event. I’m thankful for all of the support from Pat Holmes who is always willing to share pointers on the track, to discuss things about the car with me, and who is always around with a smile on his face. Of course, thanks are to due to my parents, the best parents in the world. I was so glad they were there on Sunday to see what will be the first of many Pole Positions to come. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to team that has worked so hard to get me on track. To the Barclays, Grant and Carol, who are car owners/pit crew/ and support trackside. Grant and I have spent lots of days at the track working towards our goals!

Yeah, a fun weekend.