I’m finally getting around to finishing this up. Taking the time off for a rally means having to make it up when you get back. Still very much worth it though! Day 3 of the Oregon Trail Rally is all about speed. Those teams that survived to make it to the final day of the rally would be treated to the open rolling hills east of the Mt. Hood forest. Here the roads are smooth, fast, and flowing with hardly a tree in sight. Drivers should be able to hit…
Read MoreDay 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…
Read MoreWow, 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…
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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…
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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 MoreOnce again the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood had plenty of action. As everyone descended into Salem, Missouri (or at least attempted to), it wasn’t the teams or the drivers that everyone was talking about, instead it was the weather. On Thursday as everyone went out to do their Recce to adjust their pace notes on the stages, a freak winter storm brought a combination of freezing rain, sleet, and snow. In some places, the icy mix was deeper than the snow in the previous Sno*Drift event in Michigan.…
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Read MoreLast month we saw a back and forth battle between the factory Subaru team of David Higgins and Co-Driver Craig Drew against 5 time Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L’Estage and Co-Driver Natalie Richard. It all came down to the final stage in northern Michigan where their studless tires searched for grip on the snow covered roads. In the end, Antoine L’Estage came out on top with his Rockstar Energy sponsored Mitsubishi EVO X. This week teams forgo the frozen northern latitudes for the Ozark forest roads outside of Salem, Missouri…
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Rally America is about to kick things off tomorrow with their opening round, the Sno*Drift Rally based in Atlanta, Michigan. Last year we saw ice covered snow, where slow controlled driving was the winner of the day. However this year there is a large snow storm that just passed through and firm packed snow will be the order of the day. This is good, because at Sno*Drift, they aren’t allowed to use studs. They are limited to studless winter tires at best. In anticipation of the season opener, the…
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