Featured – Page 18 – OpenPaddock.net

IndyCar – ABC and mostly “WHY?!”

March 16, 2016March 19, 2016 John Olsakovsky

If you tuned into ABC’s broadcast of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, you saw a race. A good race. A case could be made for a great race. Regardless of where it ranks on anyone’s personal excitement scale, the point is that you saw a race. Granted, this was on ABC, which may as well stand for Always Bad Commentating. The delivery and timing of Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever certainly lived down to expectation. Fortunately, Allen Bestwick and Dr. Jerry Punch were able to elevate the race…

New Liveries Abound for Rally in the 100 Acre Wood

March 14, 2016 Mike Shaw

Although it is the 2nd round of the 2016 Rally America Championship, the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood has become the stage for many new team liveries. We at Open Paddock have been raving about the All Fours Rally Team livery they showed up with at Sno*Drift designed by RallyDesign. It is quite striking, but here’s a look at what else you’ll see from the competition at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood this weekend. Nick Roberts changes up his “Planel” design for a new design that hasn’t…

WRC Mexico 2016 USA On Air Times

March 3, 2016 Mike Shaw

Set your reminders folks, as there’s a healthy helping of live coverage for WRC Mexico this weekend. Teams will be grinding it out in the hot and high altitudes outside of Guanajuato, and for once they are in a time zone we American’s don’t have to stay up all night follow! There are 3 stages live on WRC+ in addition to the daily highlight and event review programs. SS1 – Guanajuato Street Stage – 1.09KM – Starts Thursday 6:00 PM Pacific Time SSS14 – Agua Zarca – 16.47KM – Starts Saturday 12:00 PM Pacific Time SS21 –…

The View From the Right Seat by Niall Burns – Episode 4 – Blind Rallying

February 28, 2016February 28, 2016 Mike Shaw

The adventures of world travelling co-driver Niall Burns never cease to amaze! In this episode he takes us on a fascinating journey into a blind rally. Episode 4 – The React Blind Rally by Niall Burns I am currently in South Africa preparing for the upcoming SA Championship series opener here at the Goldfields Rally. Today I took some time away from my preparations to take part in quite a unique event, The React Blind Rally. This event is for blind navigators, who use instructions given to them in braille to…

The View From the Right (err..Left?) Seat by Niall Burns – Part 3

February 18, 2016 Mike Shaw

In his latest in his series of “The View From The Right Seat” , our Irish co-driver friend Niall Burns tells us what it’s like back home where tarmac rallying on narrow roads at insane speeds is king! Sit down, strap in, and enjoy the read! The View From the Right Seat – Part 3 A couple weeks ago I was asked, “Hey Niall, I want to hear what it’s like rallying down those famous Irish tarmac lanes!” This question is actually from Mike Shaw himself so I guess I better answer…

The View From the Right Seat by Niall Burns – Part 2

February 13, 2016February 14, 2016 Mike Shaw

Rally Co Driving Since my last article for Open Paddock I received a question via email asking, “Niall what’s it feel like in the car travelling down those forest roads flat out?” Well let me try and answer that one. Rally Co Drivers are sometimes the unsung heros in the car, the following is a statement I read before from Ian Harden, “the driver is only a show case for awesome navigating talent”, I remind myself of this statement sometimes at the end of events where I have…

WRC – Are They Really Arguing About Safety?

February 13, 2016 Mike Shaw

The safety argument. It’s such an easy thing to use as the basis for an argument because nobody wants to say they are against safety right? This week is the Rally Sweden, round 2 on the WRC calendar and the only true winter rally on the schedule (although Wales has had its share of surprises with a bit of the white stuff). Unfortunately mother nature wasn’t cooperating and unseasonably high temperatures had melted all the snow for many of the stages. In a desperate move to keep the rally on, organizers cancelled…

Episode 289 RallyCast – OpenPaddock.net

February 11, 2016 Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe continue our segregated podcasts with episode #289, what we’re calling the Rally-Cast. This week for your listening pleasure Doug Patterson joins Mike Shaw and Matt Kalish as we interview special guests Troy Miller and Steve Harrell who showed just how close a rally can be decided, and that sportsmanship among competitors can be more important than a victory. We also discuss the rest of the results from Sno*Drift as well as other Rally America news. We finish off with a short preview of WRC Sweden which…

All Fours Rally Team – Marathon Rallying Across The Continent

February 6, 2016February 7, 2016 Mike Shaw

One of the stories you probably haven’t heard from Sno*Drift was about a Pacific Northwest entrant Agatino (Tino) Fortunato of All Fours Rally Team. You may recall when we discussed on our podcast the 2016 Subaru Contingency Program. The program centers around the Super Production Class and encourages competitors to purchase and race the newer Subaru WRX and WRX STI platforms. It offers a combination of discounts for entry fees, a start bonus, as well as cash rewards for podium finishes. All Fours Rally Team are the first to take full…

Rally America – The View From the Right Seat and Across the Pond by Niall Burns

February 6, 2016 Mike Shaw

Irish rally co-driver extraordinaire and friend of the show Niall Burns wanted to give us Americans some insight into how he sees rallying in the USA as both a co-driver and as a rally fan. The View From the Right Seat and Across the Pond by Niall Burns As it is Super-Bowl weekend, I feel it is only fitting to start this article with a field sport image. You have built the best stadium in the world and you have got the top players in the sport ready to do…