Anne Thomas Manes, Co-Driver

Personal Information:

email: anne@rallygirls.com
Hometown: Cambridge, MA

Family:	Husband Matthew Manes
	Dogs:Tucker, Sheba, Sasha and Peter

Occupation: Director of Business Strategy, Sun Software and Services Division, Sun Microsystems, Cupertino, CA & Boston, MA

Best Finish: 4th Overall, 1st in Production at Maine Forest Rally, December 1997

Rally History: Anne Thomas began co-driving in September 1990. Anne's first teammate was Carl Fisher, riding in a Production class 1985 Dodge Omni GLH. Carl and Anne ran together in a number of American and Canadian rallies in 1990 and 1991, learning the ropes of the sport. Their best national finish was 11th overall at Rallye des Voyageurs 1991, in North Bay, Ontario. Anne got her first taste of high impact parking when they center-punched a tree in the last running of the Tiadaghton PRO Rally in May 1991.

While Carl was scrambling to find a new shell and rebuild his car, Anne went looking for other opportunities, and teamed up with Lesley Suddard. Obviously Anne’s brain had been irretrievably scrambled during her close encounter with the tree -- she fearlessly joined up with a known car-stuffer. Lesley also introduced Anne to the fine art of aerial acrobatics in a roll at Maine Summer Rally 1995, in Rumford, ME. Anne and Lesley rode together as "The Girls" team from 1991 to 1997, at first in a Production 1986 Dodge Omni GLH, then graduating in 1994 to an Open/Group 5 1984 Dodge Shelby Charger Turbo. Their best national finish in the Omni was 12th overall, 2nd in Production at Maine Forest Rally in 1992. Their best national finish in the Charger was 11th overall, 5th in Open, at STPR in 1995, in Wellsboro, PA. Lesley and Anne competed extensively in the Divisional series, capturing the O2 Divisional Championships in 1995, and the O2 Eastern SuperDivisional Championship in 1996. In 1997, Lesley and Anne decided to pursue a national title in Group 5, but the Charger had other ideas. Following two broken gear boxes and a blown engine, the team retired for the season.

Even though Anne was a full-time partner with Lesley, she still found opportunities to take an occasional ride with other drivers. She rode with fellow co-driver Ben Greisler when he decided to try out the other seat at Ski Sawmill Rally Right PRO Rally School in 1996. Driving Rick Davis's O2 1995 BMW M3, they took 4th overall and 1st in O2. Not bad for a co-driver! Anne also went for a ride with Jim Anderson in a Production 1993 Honda Prelude VTEC at Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally 1996, taking 8th overall and 1st in Production. Her first National win!

In November 1997, Liz Campbell approach Anne and invited her to go for a ride at the Maine Forest Rally. In true rally-slut fashion, Anne jumped at the chance to ride with one of the top snow and ice drivers in the country. Most teams found the icy conditions extremely challenging, but Liz made it look easy. Riding in a Production 199? VW GTI, Liz and Anne captured 4th overall and 1st in Production, Anne's best finish to date. Liz and Anne are planning to run a few more events together in the future.

Last refreshed: 03 25 00