The Quick Recap – Rally in the 100 Acre Wood

A close battle at the front, massive accidents, and wide-spread attrition made the 2016 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood one to remember. It feels like someone snuck “Do a Barrel Roll (Press Z or R twice)” into the Jemba notes this year. A Red Cross came out twice this weekend, delaying stages, and even more drivers had offs, rolls, and skids. Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured in any of these instances. A side effect of the delays, stages traditionally run in the dark that we feared gone, thanks to…

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2015 New England Forest Rally – OpenPaddock’s Ones to Watch

Many have called this weekend’s 25th Anniversary New England Forest Rally the “Super Bowl” for rallying in America or even an All-Star event.  And the big stars are what is drawing the initial attention to this event, however there is a lot going down at NEFR that goes well beyond the big names we all know so well.   Okay, let’s start with those big names and get it out of the way.  Yes indeed we have the return of Ken Block in his HFHV (Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle) Ford Fiesta…

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Red Bull GRC Media Day Round Up

Yesterday was the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship Media Day held at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, California.  The timing and location seemed fitting considering how many IndyCar teams and/or drivers are becoming associated with GRC as the area gears up for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach that takes place this weekend.   The biggest news we had already heard a few weeks ago, and that was the announcement of IndyCar team owner and overall motorsports mogul Chip Ganassi Racing joining the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship for…

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Red Bull GRC – Power Rankings for LA

Last week I spoke with Chris Leone of the Red Bull GRC and we summarized the season so far as it heads to the west coast.  As the clock ticks down to this weekend’s double-header in LA, I came up with my opinion of where I think the drivers rank.  Note that this doesn’t exactly reflect the championship standings as this isn’t just where they finish, but about their consistent speed and potential.  I’ve jotted down a few comments about each driver, let me know if you agree or disagree with their…

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PR – Red Bull Global Rallycross to Compete at X Games Austin

LOS ANGELES, CA (June 4, 2014) — Red Bull Global Rallycross will contest the second round of its 2014 championship on Saturday, June 7, as part of X Games Austin. For the first time, X Games will be held at Circuit of the Americas, the home of Formula One’s United States Grand Prix and one of the most advanced grand prix circuits in the world. “We look forward to participating at X Games this weekend in Austin as part of our multi-year collaboration,” said Colin Dyne, Red Bull GRC CEO.…

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Rally – Oregon Trail on NBC Sports This Weekend!

PORTLAND, OREGON (May 28, 2014) – The spectacular scenery of The Columbia River George, Mt.Hood and surrounding areas will be on display this weekend as The Oregon Trail Rally, held May 2-4, airs on NBC Sports Network this Sunday, June 1 at 3 pm PT.   Round 3 of the Rally America National Championship will feature rally racing from Portland International Raceway (PIR) and on the challenging gravel roads of Dufur and Hood River.   The one-hour show is jointly produced by Rally America and Rage Productions (Bend, OR) and will…

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PR – Everyone is Going Purple!

Royal Purple Synthetic Oil has been on a tear with partnerships lately.  First was the announcement at the Red Bull Global Rallycross Media Day that Royal Purple was renewing their partnership with the Red Bull GRC series and sponsoring an Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta GRC Supercar that will be driven by Steve Arpin.   Then last week Royal Purple announced a partnership with Subaru Rally Team USA.  The especially interesting point here is that Royal Purple is not just backing the SRT USA Global Rallycross Team, but also their Rally…

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Rally – Oregon Trail 2014 Preview

Round three of the Rally America National Championship gets underway this week with the Oregon Trail Rally.  The only event on the calendar in the western United States, Oregon Trail is also the longest event spanning 3 days.   The Weather: Over the last week the Pacific Northwest has had some fairly heavy rain, however drying conditions are in the forecast with temperatures in the 70’s for Friday and Saturday with only a slight possibility of a few scattered showers on Sunday.  Their could be some dusty conditions on Saturday…

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WRC coming to the USA? … Well, Kind of

Okay, so we aren’t getting a WRC round anytime soon.  But on the plus side we are getting a special visitor to USA rallying.  The world renowned “Voice of Rally”, Colin Clark of WRC Live Radio, is making his first visit to a rally in the United States next week for the Oregon Trail Rally.  The event is thankfully a somewhat convenient stop on his way to the next WRC round in Argentina, and we Oregonians are honored to have him as our special guest!  If you don’t already know Colin…

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Rally – 2014 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood Preview

Round 2 of the Rally America National Championship gets underway this Friday and Saturday at what is traditionally the fastest event of the season, The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.  Wide roads with firmly packed dirt make for high speeds with drivers frequently butting up against the rev-limiter.  Last year such speeds weren’t possible as a freak storm pounded the area with ice pellets and freezing temperatures that turned the event into Sno*Drift 2.0.  That won’t be the case for 2014 though as the forecast is showing temps in…

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