Day 2 of the Oregon Trail Rally is where the real test of vehicle strength and driver endurance would occur. Just outside of the picturesque town of Hood River, the forest roads here are some of the most technical and the most dangerous on the Rally America calendar. The surface is rough with large stones that can be pulled out. A wrong pacenote here can be a very dangerous thing with giant trees and large drop offs around every corner. Ken Block was eager to gain back the time lost…
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News and commentary on our domestic rally championship, the Rally America Series.
2013 Oregon Trail Rally – Day 1
Wow, what an event! It is hard to even know where to start with all that went on this weekend. Once again the Oregon Trail Rally featured drama, danger, and hard fought victories. The weekend activities actually started Thursday morning with a fan appreciation show at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. This show and tell of the cars and drivers in the heart of the city draws in spectators that might not know that the Oregon Trail Rally is in town and entices them to come out to…
Read MoreEpisode 187 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadKevin has the plague this week, so Mike, Doug, and Mike are given free reign of the controls! Whitesell and Patterson debate Sato’s driving and Barfield’s non-call, we recap Indy Lights testing at IMS, BRIEFLY preview F1’s return to Europe, and Shaw brings us all the gory details of the Oregon Trail Rally and Loebs return and dominance at Rally Argentina. Show Notes Preview IndyCar – Sao Paulo has a new Mayor, despite incumbent’s attempts to block his election, and yes Virginia, it’s May!…
Read MoreOregon Trail Rally – Preview Part 2
In this part I’m going to discuss the drivers and teams gearing up for the Oregon Trail Rally, and are they ever plentiful. At last check there were 79 entrants on the start list. Sorry for the lack of images, but have been short for time. I’ll be taking plenty out on the stages though! The favorites are of course going to be David Higgins and Craig Drew in the Subaru Rally Team USA Impreza WRX STi. Team Subaru has a good lead in the points after getting second at…
Read MoreEpisode 186 – OpenPaddock.net
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadMr. Shaw gets ready for his weekend of rally goodness as Rally America visits his stomping grounds for the Oregon Trail Rally. Doug recaps the first SCCA Midwest Division Solo event of the year, and Kevin and Mike Whitesell preview the Sao Paulo IndyCar race, and recap all the news from IndyCar and Formula 1. Show Notes Preview Weekend of Rally goodness – Rally America Oregon Trail, WRC Argentina IndyCar building up to the 500 (It’s almost MAY!!!!), but first Sao Paulo Why F1…
Read MoreOregon Trail Rally – Preview Part 1
Considering all that is about to go down at the Oregon Trail Rally this year, I’m breaking this up into a couple of articles. To start off with I’ll discuss the event itself, and then I’ll go into the drivers and teams to watch, and I’ll finish with a little bit about what I’m going to be doing as a volunteer and why its great to get involved in rallies in your area. The Oregon Trail Rally is the only 3 day event on the Rally America calendar, and this…
Read MoreEpisode 184 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIt’s Rally Week! Mike Shaw gets top billing this week with his review of Rally Portugal and some news from Rally America. Jeremy Salenius joins us to talk about the Kansas City SCCA Solo season, and Kevin and Doug wrap up the show with all things open-wheel including a wrap-up of the Chinese GP, and a preview of the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights races on the Streets of Long Beach. Pace Notes Lead-In Ogier and VW win 3rd straight rally Kansas…
Read MoreRally America Video – Oregon Trail Preview
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Read MoreBreaking News – Aussies Return to Oregon Trail
Once again the Oregon Trail Rally gets the opportunity to host some of our friends from down under. Just announced this evening WRC Academy driver Brendan Reeves along with his co-driver sister Rhianon Smyth will get reunited with an R2 Ford Fiesta like the drove in the Academy. This time the young Australians will get to drive a Fiesta R2 courtesy of Team O’Neal, one of two top level rally schools in America. Back home Brendan and Rhianon have been competing in the ECB Australian Rally Championship in a RallySchool.com.au…
Read MoreEpisode 183 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe review the amazing weekend of open-wheel racing at Barber Motorsports Park, Doug gives a quick recap of the KCRSCCA’s first event of the year, Mike Shaw previews Rally Portugal, and Mike Whitesell previews the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. Open Paddock – Monday, April 8th, 2013 Preview IndyCar – Barber wrap up and all the indycar news MRTI – ? Rally – wrc protugal preview F1 – China preview, mocking Mr. E IndyCar Barber Quali Race Results – Standings Next race – Long…
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