Category: Rally

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RallyCast Episode 87 – ARA’s New Series Competition Director Preston Osborn and Ojibwe Forests Rally Review

Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode we welcome back friend of the RallyCast Preston Osborn. After toasting to his new role as ARA’s new Series Competition Director, we chat about what interested him in taking up the new position, areas he plans on focusing first, and what his recent skills as a team manager and competitor at O.D.D. Racing can bring to the sanctioning body’s management team. From there  we delve deep into a review of the Ojibwe Forests Rally and learn why everyone should keep an…

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Are Hyundai and US Rallying a Match Made in Heaven?

Mike Shaw

By Jon Scoltock Hyundai have been on my mind a lot recently. That sentence would have been unimaginable 10 years ago, but the South Korean manufacturer has undergone something of a transformation in recent years. In fact, I think I would go as far as to say that they are probably one of the most exciting car makers in the world right now. I know that might seem like a far-fetched idea, but hear me out. When I was a kid, Hyundai made fairly dependable, but pretty crappy family cars.…

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Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) Elects New Chairmen and Host City

Mike Shaw

Open Paddock has learned that the Lake Superior Performance Rally has elected Steve Gingras and Eric Carlson as their new co-chairmen. Steve told Open Paddock “It’s going to be a big challenge but we want to build an event that is going to be strong for several years.” This is yet another ‘changing of the guard’ we’ve been seeing over the past several years as a younger generation begins to run events. “Only somewhat younger” as Steve jokingly put it. This is quite the change for the former Production GT…

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Horses for Courses

Mike Shaw
McKenna's Skoda R5

Horses for Courses Another view from across pond by Jon Scoltock No, I haven’t written a column about four-legged transport instead of the four-wheeled kind, but I have been thinking about how different machines work for different events; something that has been well illustrated in recent weeks. We’ve just enjoyed the spectacle of a brand-new WRC event, Rally Estonia, which delivered plenty of drama. It was obviously really cool to see WRC cars in action again, but it also made me think about how unique rallying is, or perhaps was?…

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2020 Ojibwe Forests Rally – Battle Royale Edition

Mike Shaw

2020 Ojibwe Forests Rally Review By Mike Shaw  and David Cosseboom Minnesota, the home to 10,000 lakes, mosquitoes as big as your head, enough poison ivy to make you itch just thinking about it and the third round of the 2020 American Rally Association National Championship series.  The Ojibwe Forests Rally is typically one of the later events in the schedule, but with the Covid shortened season of 2020, it became just the second two day rally of the year and with only two events remaining it’s importance had never been…

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2020 Ojibwe Forests Rally Preview

Mike Shaw

2020 Ojibwe Forests Rally Preview by Mike Shaw After the recent announcement of the cancellation of the Lake Superior Performance Rally, it’s nice to have some good news, and that news is that it’s rally week!  With the adjusted schedule due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, this weekend’s Ojibwe Forests Rally makes for round 3 of the American Rally Association national championship calendar. Being down to only 5 total rounds, every point counts and the championship battle will be hotter than ever. The Roads Well known for it’s Finland like crests…

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Rally Colorado – National Quality at a Regional Event

Mike Shaw

By Mike Shaw Rangley, CO Rally Colorado emphasizes the “Super” in it’s ARA Super Regional status. 38 teams descended on the small town of Rangely, Colorado for the annual event which was revived back in 2017 and joined the ARA calendar in 2019. Although dubbed as a regional, the event spanned two days and 130 stage miles worthy of challenging any national competitor and their machinery in the hot and high desert mountains. In addition to being part of the Western Regional Championship under ARA, Rally Colorado also doubles as…

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RallyCast Episode 86 – Rally Colorado Preview with Travis Nease and Dan Norkus

Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWith Rally Colorado this weekend we wanted to get a quick preview out to all of you so you’ll know what these competitors will be facing.  We called up Travis Nease and Dan Norkus to give us an idea of what the roads are like, what they think of the hefty entry list of competitors, and what their plan of attack is being 3rd on the road in a new car.  

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Recollections of a Titan of US Rallying

Mike Shaw

Recollections of a Titan of US Rallying By Jon Scoltock The ARA series is a different place in 2020. Getting back underway at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally was awesome and it’s great to see the series growing, but it still feels like a very different championship without David Higgins. David is a force that has dominated US rallying for many years, racking up 10 titles since 2002 so, while he is absent from the series this year, it still seemed a good enough excuse to use my second article…

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RallyCast Episode 85 – The Pub Chat

Mike Shaw

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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe didn’t have any special guests this week, although we think we’re all a little bit special in our own way.  In this episode Mike, Ian, Kelsey, and Calvin chat about numerous subjects including socially distanced rallying, dealing with high temps, and what we think of one day rallies for national championship rounds. We also chat about the rest of the world starting to rally again, WRC cars running in national events, schedule changes, whether we’d like to see tarmac rallying as part of…

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