Category: Rally

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Kris Meeke Flies to Fastest Ever Victory at WRC Finland

Mike Shaw

WRC Finland.  Known as the Spiritual Home of Rally or the Grand Prix of the WRC due to its high speeds and massive fan base.  Regardless of what they call it, Finland is a special place for ralliests.  It is like going to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Le Mans, or Monaco.  Steeped in history as the then Rally of 1000 Lakes, Finland has been on the World Championship calendar ever since the WRC was created.  The gravel roads here are as wide as a major thoroughfare, but are littered with crests, jumps,…

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New American Rally Association Coup Apparently Not Yet Complete

Mike Shaw

Yesterday one of the biggest bombshells in American rally racing was dropped with the announcement of the new American Rally Association as a new sanctioning body.  Admittedly we’ve seen this before when just a year ago the formation of the US Rally Association threatened to replace the often criticized Rally America Championship Series, but it never came to fruition.  So what’s different this time, and will ARA be successful?   As stated in the press release below from the American Rally Association and Team O’Neil, the ARA already has 4 of the…

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STPR 2016 – Review & Photo Gallery

Mike Shaw

By Andrew Pascarella   We were hoping the 2016 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally would provide a continuation of the close battles at the front we saw from the previous rounds that included Subaru Rally Team USA Teammates David Higgins and Travis Pastrana.  Coming into the event, Travis had won 100 Acre Wood while David won the Oregon Trail Rally.  They had one victory each with the two trading stage wins and gaps so close that each event was only decided on the final stages.  Unfortunately before STPR began the gap between Travis and David…

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Meanwhile out West…. Rocky Mountain Rally!

Mike Shaw

While today continues the 2nd day of STPR in the states, out west and a wee bit north of the border in Canada the Rocky Mountain Rally kicks off.  The 2 day event is the 2nd round of the Canadian Rally Championship and is a favorite among drivers.  The entry list may not be large in number, but is big on competition.  A number of Pacific Northwest competitors cross both borders for the regional Cascadia International Rally Championship which mixes CRC, Rally America, and regional events.   The Rocky Mountain Rally consists of…

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STPR Starts Today! – Links to Follow Round 5 of the Rally America National Championship!

Mike Shaw

Bouncing back across to the eastern side of the country after the west coast swing of Oregon Trail Rally and Olympus Rally we’ve now reached the halfway point in the Rally America National Championship.  The Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally is round 5 and it is set to be a barnstormer of an event.   At the top Open Class we have the returning battle between Subaru Rally Team USA teammates David Higgins and Craig Drew vs. Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom.  So far the score is one win apiece, so who will…

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2016 Olympus Rally Review

Mike Shaw

As we get ready for this weekend’s Waste Management Susquahannock Trail Performance Rally, let’s review what took place a couple of weeks ago at the Olympus Rally.   Whereas the Oregon Trail Rally was more about the drivers and battles going down to the final stage, the 2016 Olympus Rally was the complete opposite where the battle was against attrition and simply finishing was a challenge in and of itself. The Olympus Rally consisted of 125 competitive miles over 12 challenging twisty stages in the forests near Shelton, Washington.  Most notable was the Wildcat Pass…

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Rally America Champion Enters Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy

Mike Shaw

It isn’t often we see American rally drivers cross the pond to compete in any rally, let alone a round of the WRC.  Starting today with a short super-special around Lousada, Portugal 2014 Rally America Super Production Champion Dillon Van Way and his British co-driver Andrew Edwards fired up their M-Sport built Ford Fiesta R2 1.0L along with 9 other teams from around the globe for what is considered the best prize in rallying.  Here’s DMACK’s description of the rewards on hand this season. Widely considered as the most affordable…

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Olympus Rally 2016 Preview

Mike Shaw

The much famed Olympus Rally kicks off this weekend outside of Shelton, Washington.  Regional and National competitors will take to the same classic forest roads once used in the WRC during the much lauded Group B era.  In fact this year marks the 30th anniversary since the end of that most exciting and yet dangerous time in rally history.  It was in fact here at the Olympus Rally in November 1986 when the last of the beastly Lancia Delta S4s, Audi Quattro’s, and Peugeot 205 T16s took to the forests…

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Final Stage Decided Multiple Classes at the 2016 Oregon Trail Rally

Mike Shaw

The Oregon Trail Rally continued the dramatic final stage excitement we’ve been seeing all year in Rally America.  It isn’t often stage rally can say that not one, not two, but three events in a row came down to the final stage to decide the overall victor.  It was a battle down to the wire, in one of the most picturesque settings on the national championship calendar.   This year’s Oregon Trail Rally first started with some short fan friendly stages at Portland International Raceway, and then trekked out east to…

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Bryan Bouffier and the Mitsubishi RS – The Threat to Subaru is Real!

Mike Shaw

In our previous post about WRC driver Bryan Bouffier and his experienced co-driver Xavier Panseri coming to the Oregon Trail Rally, I must admit I wasn’t sure if the car would really be ready to challenge at the top yet.  Those concerns vanished when I witnessed first hand the awesomeness of a world class rally driver in capable machinery from the right seat during the Press Stage at Portland International Raceway.   As the team began to setup I saw the car roll out from the back of the big…

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