Personal

Name:

Jeff Burmeister

Age:

34

Marital status:

Single

Children:

None

Occupation:

Information Technology Manager

Place of birth:

Minnesota, United States of America

Country or county where you live:

Same

Any other hobbies?

Yacht racing, Snowboarding, Mountain Biking

Your opinions

Favourite food:

Italian & California Cuisine

Favourite drink:

Guinness

Favourite motor sport paper / magazine:

It won’t be fair to select just one

Favourite sports person (other than rallying):

Lance Armstrong

Favourite film star:

John Cusack

Favourite holiday destination:

Belize

Which TV sports programmes do you watch?

“54321” and “Fuel” (U.S. based sports program)

Starting out

How did you start out?

I was introduced to some people at a local rallycross and the next thing you know, I’m in a car two weeks later.

First driver you sat with: 

Mark Larson

First event:

Rally de Paris

Rallying background

Type of licence held:

FIA, SCCA, NASA, USAC

Which motor club do you belong to?

None

Do you contribute towards your rallying?

No

Have you ever driven on a rally?

No

Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?

Yes, my home regional club event almost every year. The Headwaters ClubRally

How many events do you get to watch? (e.g. per year)

None.

How many rallies do you take part in? (e.g. per year)

Roughly twelve a year.

Have you competed abroad? Where and when?

Not outside of North America

Your opinions (rallying)

Favourite rally car:

Audi Sport Quattro S1

Favourite rally driver:

Carl Merrill

Favourite rally co-driver:

Luis Moya

Favourite bit of road or forest:

Oregon Trails ProRally, the Murphy’s Camp and Shanty Town Stages

Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?

Notes

Things you dislike about rallying?

The amount of time between events

Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2004?

It will be a toss up between Loeb and Martin, sorry Petter.

Rallying history

Drivers you have sat with:

I’m a former rally TV commentator in the U.S., so I got ‘test’ rides with many of the top competitors in North America. John Buffum, Paul Choinere, Noel Lawler, Garen Schrader, Mark Higgins, Dave Higgins, Mark Lovell, Richard Tuthill, Ramana Lagemann, Pat Richard, Tom McGeer, Rhys Millen. Full events with, Mark Larson, Doug Davenport, JB Niday, John Rek, George Plsek, and Chris Rhodes

Best driver you have ever sat with? 

Mark Higgins, Mark Lovell

Best result:

2^nd

Worst result:

Upside down in a ditch

Championships contested:

SCCA U.S. ProRally

Best Championship result:

7^th

Best rally memory:

Every event we finish.

Strangest incident on a rally:

Being chased out of a forest stage by a local homeowner aiming a shotgun at us.

Biggest accident:

Nothing I would truly consider “big.”

Achievements gained from rallying:

I was able to take three years off from National events so that I could work as both the TV Commentator and as the Associate Producer for the TV coverage of the U.S. Championship Series.

Your current performance

Your current driver(s) and events or Championships contested in 2003

George Plsek Jr. in a U.S. Open Class Lancer.

Chris Rhodes in a Production Subaru Impreza.

… and in 2004?

George Plsek Jr.

How could you improve your ‘own’ current performance?

Post event documentation

How could you improve your current driver’s performance?

By working on our consistency

If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do? 

Invest in a good sponsorship-marketing-sales Manager to assist in find and securing sponsors.

Your future in rallying

Where would you most like to compete (in the world):

I would like to contest the Asian/Pacific Championships

Which rally would you most like to compete in?

WRC New Zealand

Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?

Up Pike’s Peak with Michele Mouton in the old S1… then back down it.

Ambition in rallying for the future:

U.S. National Championship Title

What would you like to put back into rallying?

My hands are already pretty full doing this. I own and manage North America’s largest Rallysport Website.

The future of rallying

Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?

Lauchlin O’Sullivan, Ramana Lagamann, Shane Mitchell

Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?

Bjorn (Christian) Edstrom, Alex Gelsomino

What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?

Don’t hold onto mistakes in the car. Try to move on as quickly as possible.

Any other comments?

My own website

 posted 22/1/04