Travis Hanson likes to be the one to set the tone for Super Production (SP) class competition early in the season. In 2010, Hanson finished both of the first two rounds of the Rally America Championship in fifth place overall with a time of over 10 minutes at Sno*Drift and over 2 minutes at 100 Acre Wood on the second fastest SP crews.
Now, he and his father/co-driver Terry are seeking to replicate last year’s early class dominance and carry this success throughout the season.
The Hansons opened up 2011 by becoming the first Super Production team to ever win a National Rally America event outright – a record that no one will ever be able to take away from them. This week Travis, Terry, and their 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI head into the Series’ second round in Salem, Missouri leading the overall
Championship points race. WorldRallySport.com’s Francisco La Torre had a chance to speak with the privateer in the beaming white production car before the showdown in the Ozarks. Here’s their conversation:
Q: Have you had enough time to fully process your remarkable Sno*Drift result and new record?
Travis Hanson: It’s so amazing to think that we are the team that did that. We put in a lot of hard work over the years and Sno*Drift is kind of our home event so when it all came together, it was super exciting. The feeling has settled in now and we’re thinking forward to the next event…we have to put it behind us a bit and start concentrating on the rest of the season.
Q: Do you have high expectations going into 100 Acre Wood?
TH: Some people have asked me if I feel like there’s more stress for 100 Acre Wood and as of now, I don’t think so. I’m just excited to go, do the best we can, and race our own race just like we did at Sno*Drift and see how it pans out.
Q: How do you feel about the rally itself?
TH: I really like the roads at 100AW – they’re really fast and flowing and they have really good rhythm, which is great for us. As long as we have a good rhythm, my Father and I do really well. With that said, there’s a lot of tough competition this year… Lauchlin O’Sullivan and Ramana Lagemann are showing up with some powerful SP cars. I’m ready to do battle.
Q: So we can expect a great Super Production battle in Missouri?
TH: Sure, I think so. There’s a lot of good SP guys out there…it’s a really well put together class and there’s always at least five guys at every race that have a good shot at making the podium. The cars are generally good but can be temperamental as well – we’ll always have the perfect mechanical record of any of these cars. You never know what can happen.
Q: How’s car preparation going? Any notable changes?
TH: I flew back to New Hampshire immediately after Sno*Drift for work and my father kept the car in Michigan, but he’s been working hard to get it ready. The car was in pretty good shape after Sno*Drift. Basically, the only changes that we’ve made are a spring change for gravel conditions, but for the most part the car is going to be identical to how it was for at least four of the last six events. It’s been a very reliable package and hopefully it continues to work out for us.
Q: Have you had luck finding more sponsorship partners?
TH: That’s been our goal leaving Sno*Drift, to secure some sponsorship for the rest of the year. To make our effort sustainable, we need some support to go out to the West Coast events. That’s been a good part of what I’ve been doing here in New Hampshire…working with some of my teammates on a proposal and finally got one done last week. I’ve sent it out to a few people and got some good responses. I don’t think you’ll see a big change in our clean, white car for 100AW, but hopefully by the West Coast events we’ll have some color on that thing.
Q: So you plan on making the West Coast swing after 100AW?
TH: That’s the plan. We’ve got some time after 100 Acre Wood – about 2 months before Olympus – to secure some help. That’s our main goal. We perform well as a team, the car is reliable and the prep is good, the next thing in line is securing some sponsorship.
Q: Are you feeling pressure going into this rally while leading the overall Championship in points?
TH: We put 21 points on all the top contenders for overall so we have the command of the series, which is something that hasn’t quite set in…that we’re actually the overall leaders of the series. As long as we go out there and finish well and do what we know how to do, hopefully we’ll leave 100AW still in the lead of the points.
Q: Is the overall Championship title becoming more of a focus than the SP title now [Laughter]?
TH: Oh wow [Laughter]. Do I think I can win the overall title over David Higgins or Antoine L’Estage [Laughter]? There’s still five more events to go… a lot can happen in those five events. Is it possible for us to do it? Yes, anything is possible…but we’d have to race really well and really smart and podium on every rally. Yeah. It’s going to be hard to compete for an overall win against those [Open Class] cars, especially at 100 Acre Wood where the roads are really fast. Those guys in those Open cars are going to walk away from the SP cars just with sheer speed on the straight-aways.
Q: I don’t think it will be out of the question to see top SP crews finish on the overall podium more often this season…
TH: I agree. The cars are developed, the class has developed, and the drivers are all pushing each other to be as fast as they possibly can. It makes for a really exciting class. Short of being in a factory-supported Open class ride, there’s no other class I’d want to be in. It’s because of the intense competition that I’m in Super Production. The cars are all similar and it truly is a driver’s class. It shows who’s the best.
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