Rally – Page 14 – OpenPaddock.net

X Games Rallycross – More Cars and a Better Track

June 5, 2015 Mike Shaw

The Red Bull Global Rallycross returns to X-Games this weekend, but this year not as part of the championship. X-Games with its invitational entrants and often risky medal hungry on track behavior has been converted to an exhibition round for the Red Bull GRC. Even though the points don’t matter for the championship, winning an X-Games medal is always high on the list for every driver. For those of you that watched round 1 of the Red Bull GRC last weekend, you’ll be happy to know that the track…

Red Bull GRC – Season Kicks Off This Weekend in Ft. Lauderdale

May 30, 2015 Mike Shaw

The Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship kicks off this weekend on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We’ve been excited about the new 2015 season for a couple of reasons. For one, the finale last year was simply epic with the young Finn Joni Wiman (pronounced “yon-ee” “Vee-man”) of Olsbergs MSE coming out as the champion narrowly beating out chief Hoonigan Ken Block. The other reason is that the series showed remarkable improvement as the season went on with ever improving track designs and better racing between drivers. If this season is…

2015 Olympus Rally Preview

May 16, 2015 Mike Shaw

The Olympus Rally which takes place this weekend is thankfully back on the Rally America National Championship. National competitors were last here in the fall of 2012, when unfortunately the long dry summer meant that the risk of fire in the Green Diamond managed forests was a big concern. They ran the stages then only in the morning and late in the evening, bypassing the hottest part of the day. The event moved back to a spring schedule to remove those risks which caused some schedule conflicts at first, but now…

2015 Oregon Trail Rally – Part One

May 3, 2015May 3, 2015 Mike Shaw

One week since the Oregon Trail Rally and the rally hangover is starting to set in. So exactly what happened last weekend? Well, there was plenty of national competitor results that you probably already know, but what were the stories of Oregon Trail 2015? This is part one. I was working the PA system for one of the spectator grandstands near the hairpin on SS2/SS4, so I don’t have a lot of my own pictures to share. Thankfully local rally photog Greggar Helgeland was around snapping awesome pics from the service…

Rally – Jeff Seehorn… in His Own Words

May 2, 2015 Mike Shaw

Without a doubt Jeff Seehorn was the star driver of Oregon Trail Rally 2015. Seemingly coming out of nowhere in his 6th ever stage rally he startled everyone by finishing what would have been 3rd overall behind David Higgins and Adam Yeoman if he was registered nationally. I know I said before that we should keep an eye on this guy, but I certainly wasn’t expecting stage times like we saw last weekend. Congrats on such an awesome Oregon Trail Rally Jeff, and we look forward to seeing you at Olympus! …

Rally – Regional Voices from SS6 Oregon Trail Rally

April 30, 2015 Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe hear a lot about the national entrants and I’ve got some clips from them as well that I’ll be posting later, but for now I wanted to shine the spotlight on the regional rally racers. These teams make up the bulk of the entrants to every rally and drive just as hard as the national guys. These clips are from the end of Special Stage 6, the first running of Big Boyd. Big Boyd is the longest stage of the event and is fast, wide, and has…

A Day Behind the Scenes at Nameless Performance

April 20, 2015April 21, 2015 Mike Shaw

A month ago I was given the opportunity to go up and visit the Nameless Performance shop and take a ride in the upgraded GT86 (Subaru BRZ) Rally “Beast” alongside 3 time Rally America 2WD Champion, Chris Duplessis. This is of course not an offer one turns down. I met up with co-owner Jason Griffith at their new location in Woodland, Washington. Jason took me for a tour of the new facility and explained a bit of it’s history. Nameless is growing, and a new shop was necessary to deal…

PR – Oregon Trail Rally April 24-26

April 18, 2015April 22, 2015 Mike Shaw

PORTLAND, OREGON (April 17, 2015) – Circle the wagons! It’s time again for the most exciting motorsport in the world to make its annual visit to Oregon. Round 3 of the Rally America National Championship comes to town April 24-26, for the extremely popular and challenging Oregon Trail Rally presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Top drivers in several classes of competition vehicles will come from across the U.S. and world to drive on some of the best rally roads in America. The event is the most popular on the…

Red Bull GRC Media Day Round Up

April 18, 2015April 21, 2015 Mike Shaw

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…

Chip Ganassi Racing Joins Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 Mike Shaw

With the massive growth the last two years in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship it was probably just a matter of time before another of America’s giant motorsports powerhouses stepped in. Last year Andretti Autosport joined the fray with Volkswagen and drivers Tanner Foust and Scott Speed. Now, Chip Ganassi Racing is coming on board with drivers Brian Deegan and Steve Arpin, two proven GRC talents. Ganassi’s has a new @CGRrallycross twitter feed, that shows that the drivers will be using Ford Fiesta ST GRC Supercars. How long until we…