Tim O'Neil

For other uses, see Timothy O'Neill.
Tim O'Neil
Nationality American
Rally America career
Debut season 1986
Current team Team O'Neil Motorsports
Car no. 29
Former teams Mitsubishi, Volkswagen
Previous series
SCCA ProRally
Championship titles
1989, 1992 SCCA ProRally Novice Champion, New England Champion, Production Champion, Group A Champion, Production GT Champion

Tim O'Neil is an American rally racing driver, and the winner of five production-based North American rally championships.[1] He has driven both as a privateer, and as a factory driver for Volkswagen and Mitsubishi.[1]

Racing career

1980s

O'Neil's first rallying experience was in 1986, racing a Saab 99 he had prepared, winning Canada's Novice of the Year.[1] Prior to this he had raced stock cars, receiving rookie of the year honors in 1982.[1] In 1987, he won the New England Division Championship.[1] He was recruited by Volkswagen in 1988 to drive the Group A Golf GTI.[1] During that year's Press On Regardless Rally, he led for over two days before getting stuck in a ditch on the last stage.[1] He achieved his first overall victory at the Tall Pines Rally, clinching the Canadian Group A title.[1]

He formed Team O'Neil Motorsport in 1989 as Volkswagen moved from Group A to the Production Class.[1] He won six of the first eight SCCA National ProRally Championship Events, locking up both individual and manufacturer's championships by midseason.[1] As North American Production Champion, he also became the first Production class driver to win overall at an SCCA national event and also won the Tall Pines Rally Overall in a Production class car.[1]

1990s

In 1990, O'Neil drove the AWD, supercharged Rallye Golf prototype to three overall wins and then became the first American in years to compete in Finland's 1000 Lakes Rally, a World Rally Championship event.[1] In the same year, he used the car to set a record time of 7m, 45s in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race.[2] In 1992, O'Neil was signed by Mitsubishi, and drove a Galant VR4 to win the National GT Championship as well as winning overall at a national SCCA rally with a Production GT car.[1]

2000s

O'Neil drove a United States Air Force Reserve sponsored Group N Subaru WRX to many National class wins in 2002. He then drove a 2002 Ford SVT Focus in the 2003 SCCA ProRally Championship season and had many podium finishes. This car was featured in the game Sega Rally 2006.[3] At the end of the 2003 season, he announced a short retirement from competition to focus on developing his Rally School, the Team O'Neil Rally School in northern New Hampshire.[3]

Tim spent much of the 2000s training rally drivers who later went on to win many national championships, including Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, Dave Mirra, and many more.

He began competing again in 2006, driving a Subaru WRX STI, in several events in the Rally America National Championship in 2006 and 2007.[4][5][6]

Tim also became involved with organizing the New England Forest Rally in the late 2000s as well as organizing several other rally races in the northeast.

2010s

Tim O'Neil continued developing the Team O'Neil Rally School as well as Team O'Neil Motorsports, a racing team that specializes in modifying production-based vehicles and has won many SCCA and Rally America National Championships.

During 2014, O'Neil drove EVSR, the fully electric racecar, during Subaru's Climb to the Clouds Hillclimb at Mt Washington, NH. It was the first electric vehicle to compete in this event since its creation. Tim bested his old hill record with a time of 7:28. He now holds the fastest electric record at Mt. Washington.

Rally School

O'Neil started the Tim O'Neil Rally School in 1997, after having spent several years coaching other rally drivers on techniques, most notably, the skill of left-foot braking.[1][7]

Complete Rally Results

SCCA ProRally Results

Year Class Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1988 Group A VW GTI Chattahoochee Forest Rally
3
Happy Trails PRO Rallye
DNP
Sunriser 400 Forest Rallyy
3
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNF
Wild West PRO Rally
DNP
Ojibwe Forests Rally
4
Press On Regardless
DNF
Coachmen Stages Rally
1
* *
1989 Production VW GTI Chattahoochee Forest Rally
*
Sunriser 400 Forest Rallyy
1
Pacific Forest Rally
1
Rim of the World Rally
1
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
1
Ojibwe Forests Rally
1
Press On Regardless Rally
DNF
Coachman Stages Rally
DNF
1 *
1990 Group A VW GTI Sunriser 400 Forest Rallyy
DNF
Rim of the World Rally
1
Tiadaghton Trail PRO Rally
DNF
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNF
Ojibwe Forests Rally
DNP
Goldrush PRO Rally
DNP
Press On Regardless Rally
DNF
Coachman Stages Rally
1
* *
1991 Group A VW GTI Rim of the World Rally
DNF
Tiadaghton Trail PRO Rally
2
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNF
Ojibwe Forests Rally
DNF
Goldrush PRO Rally
DNP
Press On Regardless Rally
DNP
Coachman Stages Rally
DNP
Maine Forest Rally
DNP
* *
1992 PGT Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Big Bend Bash Divisional PRO Rally
DNP
Prescott Forest Rally
DNP
Rim of the World
DNP
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNF
Ojibwe Forests Rally
1
Goldrush PRO Rally
1
Press On Regardless Rally
DNF
Capital Forests Stages
1
Maine Forest Rally
1
1 80
2001 Production Subaru Impreza WRX Sno*Drift ProRally
DNP
Cherokee Trails ProRally
DNP
Rim of the World
DNP
Oregon Trail Rally
DNP
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
3
Maine Forest Rally
1
Ojibwe Forests ProRally
DNP
Wild West ProRally
DNP
Prescott Forest ProRally
DNP
Lake Superior ProRally
DNP
12 14
2003 Open Ford Focus Sno*Drift ProRally
DNF
Rim of the World Rally
5
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
2
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
3
Oregon Trail Rally
2
Maine Forest Rally
DNF
Ojibwe Forests ProRally
5
Wild West ProRally
DNF
Lake Superior ProRally
8
4 76
2004 Open Subaru Impreza WRX STi Sno*Drift ProRally
DNP
Oregon Trail Rally
DNP
Rim of the World Rally
DNP
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNP
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
DNP
Maine Forest Rally
DNP
Ojibwe Forests ProRally
DNP
Colorado Cog
DNP
Lake Superior ProRally
2
17 17

Rally America Results

Year Class Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
2006 Open Subaru Impreza WRX STi Sno*Drift
DNP
Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
DNP
Oregon Trail
DNP
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNP
Maine Forest Rally
DNP
Ojibwe Forests Rally
DNP
Colorado Cog
DNP
Lake Superior Rally
2
Wild West Rally
DNP
18 17
2007 Open Subaru Impreza WRX STi Sno*Drift
DNP
Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
DNP
Oregon Trail
DNP
Olympus Rally
DNP
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNP
New England Forest Rally
6
Ojibwe Forests Rally
DNP
Rally Colorado
DNP
Lake Superior Rally
DNP
22 8
2008 2 Wheel Drive Mazdaspeed3 Sno*Drift
DNP
Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
DNP
Oregon Trail
DNP
Olympus Rally
DNP
Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally
DNP
New England Forest Rally
DNF
Ojibwe Forests Rally
DNP
Rally Colorado
DNP
Lake Superior Rally
DNP
18 1

Sources

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