For the ‘Rare Bear’ team, preparations for Reno 2008 began on Monday, September 17, 2007, the day after winning the Unlimited Gold Championship. The crew returned in force to Reno at the end of October to get their hands dirty and to kick start preparations for the work that lay ahead of them.

Dave and the crew have returned to Reno for the first time in 2008 over the last weekend of March. The paint has been stripped, and work is well underway. Look for exciting things to come. As I am allowed, I will post updates on the ‘Bear’ and the team.

Race Week 2008 is now in the books. The pictures here will tell only a small part of the story behind the season that was. John Penney took to the air for the fist time since 2007's dead stick landing with only 13 mintues to go before the end of qualifying. After a quick shakedown, John flew a one lap qualifying run that put them solidly in the field. But little did they know that their work was just now starting.

At the end of Friday's Heat Race, Rare Bear would once again prove to be a cranky bear. John experienced big trouble with the landing gear at the end of the race. With one gear stuck down, and the other gear stuck up...and with the spray bar water running out, John was quickly running out of options. However, the Bear would finally relent and with both main gear down, John quickly brought Rare Bear down to a safe landing. But this would not be the end of their troubles...

After spending the night fixing the landing gear problem, the team would face what looked liked a pretty uneventful Saturday. But after Saturday's race, another problem would plague the team. A problem with the prop would require some drastic measures. The team purchased a prop, and then flew in their prop man. And while most of us slept, the propeller was rebuilt and the problem with the prop governor solved. Come sunrise Sunday morning, the team moved Rare Bear out to the ramp for a test run that would make or break their 2008 season.

At last the team would catch a break. As the other classes took to the sky to crown their champion, the Rare Bear team made final preparations for the Unlimited Gold Race. After starting fourth, Rare Bear would suffer a nasty engine failure and would have to wait another day to race for a 12th Championship.

My unofficial post race report sort of goes like this...
The team fought a long and hard battle just to get in the air and make the 2008 races. After battling back from one problem after another, the team continued to have high hopes going into Sunday's Unlimited Gold Race. But alas, it was not to be. It is suspected that the high oil temps from Friday led to the engine failure that took John Penney and Rare Bear out of Sunday's race.

John Penney proved to us once again that he a true class act. He stayed cool and calm under extreme circumstances, and when the chips were down, he never let it get to him. In the end I think he was happy like the rest of us to see Strega and 'Tiger' Bill win their 7th National Championship. It was a tough week for the Rare Bear team, but have no double that they'll be back with a vengeance in 2009.

LP