Driver: Lars Wolfe
Age: 31 father of two
Occupation: Build and Maintains vintage racecars
Back ground:
Lars’ background in racing started at a young age with interest in Formula 1
and Trans-am racing in the early 90’s. His interest in cars, namely Volkswagens,
started even earlier than that with the family car (a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle) which
he still owns to this day. While attending Oregon Institute of Technology
majoring in Laser optics engineering he came to understand that his passion and
future was in repairing and modifying Volkswagen’s and decided to follow his heart.
Two years later, Lars graduated with two associates’ degrees in automotive repair
and automotive applied science. During school his passion only grew as he
began to compete in local auto cross and quickly found himself at the top of the
podium. From then on he knew that racing was the direction to go. In 1996,
Lars made another big move to California to jump start his career and marry
his high school sweetheart.
For the next couple of years Lars explored different shops to find a home at the
local Volkswagen dealership. After two years as a technician and solidifying a
position as an excellent tech, Volkswagen of America approached him with an
offer he could have only dreamt for, the move to corporate America and the
insight to the latest Volkswagen technology. While in this position, Lars met
his current mentor not only in the automotive industry but in racing, Erick Hauge
(a past Grand master Co-driver in the SCCA pro rally series and a factory
co- driver for Toyota and Subaru). This is when he was introduced to the
World of Rallying. Erick offered Lars an interview with the team owner and
driver of Jagged Edge Motorsports, Sans Thompson. Jagged Edge Motorsports
was currently running the SCCA prorally series. After working on the team for
just one rally, Sans offered Lars a position as crew Chief for the 2004 season.
In 2004 Lars opened his own shop modifying and servicing Volkswagen’s
and Audi’s. Then in May of 2006 he was given a chance to take his racing
passion to the next level, and was hired at Mcgee Motorsports at Infinion Raceway
to further his dream of becoming immersed in the racing industry. For the past
2 years, with the influence and guidance of Erick Hauge and Sans Thompson,
Lars has built and maintained his own rally car, a 1999 Volkswagen Bora 4-motion.
At the same time he has acted as the crew chief for Merlin motorsports and there
2000 Volkswagen motorsports Jetta in the Speed World Challenge Touring Car Series.
To help further his own dreams, Lars attended one of the top driving schools in
the country, Team O’Neil Rally School, to acquire formal training in how to drive a rally car.
Co-driver: Scot Langford
Age:30
Occupation: IT technician
Back ground:
From an early age I’ve had a fascination with cars and automotive racing. I can
remember seeing shows such as “Dukes of Hazard” and “Smokey and the Bandit”
as a kid and loving every second of it. After owning several cars and enjoying
working on them I decided on a career in automotive repair. After graduating high
school I moved to Los Angeles California and started an apprenticeship at GEM
Automotive working on pre and post war Rolls Royce and Bentleys. It wasn’t long
before I decided that I needed a more formal education in automotive repair so
I moved to Eugene Oregon and enrolled in automotive repair classes at
Lane Community College. It was there that I met Lars Wolfe for the first time and
we became instant friends. While in school I worked at Gibson Ford in Junction
City Oregon. I first started with washing cars at the dealership but soon moved
into the repair shop and began a new apprenticeship there. I specialized in t
ransmissions and diesel engines in trucks and industrial vehicles. It was a far cry
from Trans Am’s and “General Lees” but it was a second start. After several
years of working there I became more interested in drivability and engine
management. After a job offer from a shop owning previous instructor I moved
to “Wayne’s Garage” a fairly prestigious shop and considered to be one of the
top shops in the area. It was there that I finally specialized in the field that I most
enjoyed drivability and engine management. I was ASE certified in electronics,
engine repair, and advanced engine management. After working there nearly
three years I suffered an injury on the job and went back to school and received
a degree in Computer Network Operations. I now work for a group of fourteen
cardiologists as an information technology technician.
Throughout all of this time Lars and I have remained close friends and have
been avid racing enthusiasts. Our interest in racing, particularly rally has grown
from watching and service crewing to driving and co-driving. I’m very happy to
be involved in the Two-Three Tuning rally program. I feel that rally racing is
unparalleled in its ability to show automotive racing in its purest form. Let’s
face it just going a quarter mile at a time just isn’t long enough to do much
and sooner or later you’re going to get tired of turning left on the big ovals.
Crew Chief: Tucker Fritch
Age: 26
Occupation: auto racing technician
Back ground:
The twenty-six year old Los Osos, CA native Tucker Fritch was born with
Volkswagens in his blood, having been carried home from the hospital in
an orange 1973 Squareback. European cars and their prowess in motorsport
became his passion at a young age, as he was known to wake for Formula 1
and WRC coverage early in the morning even as a young child.
Always the “car guy” throughout school, Tucker was elected both
President of the Automotive Technology Club and Industrial Arts Student
of the Year at Morro Bay High School in 1998 for his dedication and success
in the Automotive programs there, under the tutelage of Gary Villa. His
lifelong desire to become a technician led to his employment at German
Auto of San Luis Obispo in 1996, where under the supervision of owner
Jim Thane and Foreman Michael Green he ascended the ladder from
shophand to apprentice to certified Master Technician over the following
10 years while often attending school full time and exploring a part-time
career as a drummer in numerous local bands.
Throughout 2004-5 Tucker continued his development through his
involvement
with the racing programs of both 034 Motorsport and 2-3 Rally Team USA. His
working relationship with 2-3 principal Lars Wolfe and the trust on which any
successful
team is based was forged through this experience. Following a long but ultimately
successful 2005 Rally season, Tucker relocated to the Bay Area to be closer to the
center of operations for both programs and begin full-time employment at
034 Motorsport as chief mechanic and crew chief for Christian Miller’s SPEED World Challenge
Volkswagen Jetta. Following 2-3 Rally Team USA’s unexpected first-year success
in the 2005 WSRC with their Jetta, he anticipates another giant leap forward in
2006 when the team makes the jump to compete in North America’s premiere
Rally Series.
Tucker Fritch lives in Los Gatos, CA with his incredibly understanding
girlfriend, Amanda. In the rare instance he’s not off fulfilling racing duties, he
enjoys surfing and the beach, relaxing at home, barbequing, mountain biking,
music, and reading to name a few
Team Manager: Erick Hauge
Age: 45
Occupation:field representative Audi of America
Back ground:
Erick began his rally career at the age of 16 competing in Time and Distance rally’s. This led him to a California State Championship as a driver in 1973. That same year he worked as a service crew member at his first PRO Rally, La Jornada Trabajosa.
In 1974 Erick co-drove his first PRO Rally with Ron Boeck at High Desert Trails in Ridgecrest, CA. This experience led to more events with several drivers.
In 1976 he co-drove for Hendrik Blok in a Plymouth Arrow. They won the Sports Car Club PRO Rally championship. They also won the California Rally Series (CRS) championship.
In 1977 Erick was offered the opportunity to be a member of the U.S. Rally Team, competing in a Jeep on the London/Sydney Rally. In twenty-three days of competition the crew covered 30,000 kilometers through fifteen countries. The team finished 1st Private Team, 2nd National Team, 3rd 4WD class, and 22nd overall. Erick again won the CRS championship and was co-driver champion for the North American Rally Association (NARA).
On return to the United States Erick joined George Beavis in campaigning a Porsche 911 Carrera in PRO Rally’s.
Over the next several years Erick was involved in organizing several events including Carson City International PRO Rally, Reno International PRO Rally, and Mendocino Forest PRO Rally. He also became active with the SCCA PRO Rally Board, serving on it for eleven years.
In 1988 he joined Chad DiMarco in the Sube Sports Team Subaru. Together they won the SCCA Championship in 1991, and won the Group A championship in 1990 thru 1993.
Erick joined the Jagged Edge Motorsports team with Sans Thompson in 2003. Their motto, “old age and treachery over youth and enthusiasm”.
Erick met his wife Carroll at the Olympus Rally in 1987, where she was the Press Officer. They reside in Napa, CA, where Erick is a field representative for Audi of America.
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