Author: Mike Shaw

RALLY – David Higgins Wins Sno*Drift in New 2015 WRX STi

Mike Shaw

Round one of the Rally America National Championship kicked off this last weekend with the iconic Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, Michigan.  The snow covered and icy roads of Montmorency County played host to both national and regional competitors with just 36 entries this year.  Although a little light in car count vs. some of the past seasons, this is an event that seems to have an ebb and flow of entrants from year to year.  What makes Sno*Drift so unique isn’t just that it is a winter rally, but that it is…

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RALLY – They’re Baaaaack! Toyota to Return to WRC in 2017!

Mike Shaw

Today’s highly anticipated motorsports announcement from Japan didn’t disappoint.  President Akio Toyoda went on stage and told the rallying world what we had all hoped was true, that Toyota was returning to the WRC beginning in 2017.  That makes 4 full auto manufacturers and one “pseudo” manufacturer (MSport) competing at the top level of the sport. Akio Toyoda said that his visit to Finland was a big influence on him as many fans asked him when Toyota would return to the WRC.  The last time Toyota was in the WRC…

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RALLY – NASA Rally Sport Announces Affordable Testing Program

Mike Shaw

I have to say that NASA Rally Sport has been extremely innovative the past few years.  From adding “Rally Moto” and experimenting UTVs to timing and scoring using jailbroken Nook tablets.  Not every idea works out, but some things just make logical sense and today’s press release is one of those ideas that makes sense.  Usually only top teams can afford to shut down a section of road and do proper testing, however NASA Rally Sport’s grassroots mantra is all about being inclusive.     Newberry, MI (January 29, 2015)The mantra…

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RALLY – Subaru Rally Team USA Releases 2015 Car and Livery

Mike Shaw

So we finally have the new livery that Subaru Rally Team USA will be using for the 2015 season.  4 time consecutive Rally America Champion David Higgins and co-Driver Craig Drew will be piloting the new 2015 Subaru WRX STi sedan in the white wintery conditions of the Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan this Friday and Saturday.  Sno*Drift is round 1 of the Rally America National Championship.  Subarus new livery is more dramatic than what they’ve used in the past, but still contains plenty of Subaru Rally Blue.  What do you fans think of it?  Let us…

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Episode 261- OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFrom Tuesday, January 27th 2015.  Tonight we start with our preview of this weekend’s Rally America season opener with special guest Jim Beaver of the Down and Dirty Radio Show.  Jim is kicking off the new Rally America Radio show at Sno*Drift and he gives us details on what we might expect from this new endeavor.  I then go into a long review of Rallye Monte-Carlo.  I apologize for the length, but a whole heck of a lot went down with the season opener and the changing…

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Exciting New R-GT Class Is Fan Favorite You Won’t See On TV

Mike Shaw

There were only 3 entrants in the new for 2015 R-GT class and all were essentially the same car (Porsche 911 GT3s).  With the cheers from the crowds you would have thought the battle was much closer than it turned out to be.  That was no matter as these glorious beasts with their musical turbo flat 6 engines reverberated through the canyons and echoed off the mountains filled everyone with joy.  It seems everyone agrees that the new R-GT class is one of the great highlights of the 2015 Rallye…

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Rally America to Launch “RALLY AMERICA RADIO” with Jim Beaver

Mike Shaw

We at Open Paddock have been calling for Rally America to offer some sort of live coverage for a long, long time. The excitement of an event is easily lost due to time, so interviewing at stage ends when drivers are quite honestly the most emotional after a tough stage is what adds drama and excitement to rallying. Today Rally America announced it will be working with Jim Beaver of the “Down and Dirty Radio Show” to pull off this new Rally America Radio program. Jim’s Down and Dirty Radio…

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WRC – Sebastien Loeb Returns to Rallye Monte Carlo in Dominant Fashion

Mike Shaw

Nine times World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb didn’t quite start the week’s event the way everyone expected.  Word on social media was that he actually slid off the road and wrecked his recce car.  No matter though, because by late afternoon he showed who was boss of the Monte by laying down the fastest shakedown time of the bunch on his very first run.  Granted this is far from determining who will win the entire rally, especially with tire choices being the primary element deciding the victor.  Be that as it may,…

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Higgins Tests New 2015 Subaru STI Rally Car

Mike Shaw

David Higgins has been shaking down the new 2015 Subaru WRX STI sedan rally car at Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire.  This is the new generation vehicle for Vermont Sportscar and Subaru Rally Team USA that 4 time consecutive Rally America Champions David Higgins and Craig Drew hope to take to an unprecedented 5th title this season.  I’ve been hearing that it might also get a new wide-body kit added to it when the official launch and new livery is introduced, but even like this it looks pretty damn…

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