Tag: Oregon Trail Rally

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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French Ace Bryan Bouffier to Compete at Oregon Trail Rally

Mike Shaw

We all know Subaru Rally Team USA has been a dominant force in Rally America for a long time.  However a late entrant to the Oregon Trail Rally may mix things up a bit.  Many Rally America fans will recognize Polish native Art Gruszka’s big Green APU truck in the service park and his Mitsubishi RS he debuted last year.  The unusual little car looks a lot like the current WRC or R5 spec machines, but is a private development project.  Unfortunately Art had a series of mechanical DNFs last…

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Road & Track Editor Jason Harper to Drive at Oregon Trail Rally

Matt Kalish

Road & Track should be changing its name to Road & Rally next weekend when Contributing Editor Jason Harper hits the stages of the Oregon Trail Rally. Harper, an automotive journalist with over twenty years experience, will be filling the shoes of 2015 Super Production Champion Lauchlin O’Sullivan in Dufur. A tall order for someone with a limited rally background, but don’t think that Harper is going it alone. Scott Putnam will be in his usual seat, guiding Harper throughout the weekend. Harper has a long history in the automobile…

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2016 NW RallySprint Season Kicks Off at DirtFish Rally School

Mike Shaw

Last Sunday was the opener for the brand new SCCA Northwest RallySprint season.  As Kito Brielmaier of the NW Rally Association told us in our RallyCast Podcast last week, this is the first RallySprint event of at least 3 in Washington with others in Oregon soon to be announced to create a regional championship.  Results from round 1 can be found on their web site here and we have a few of our favorite photos from the event below with a full gallery coming soon.   Located again at the DirtFish…

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OREGON TRAIL RALLY PARTICIPATES IN PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

Mike Shaw

@   PORTLAND, OREGON (January 26, 2016) – Billed as the premier Auto Show of the Pacific Northwest, the Portland International Auto Show will again this year include a display from the Oregon Trail Rally.   The Oregon Trail Rally, round 3 of the 2016 Rally America National Championship calendar, will present an Open Class Subaru WRX competition vehicle as part of the Subaru display at the Auto Show. On the main floor of the Oregon Convention Center, fans will have the opportunity to view the finely prepared competition Subaru…

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Episode 268 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Mike Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFor Tuesday April 28th, 2015 (sorry for the late posting)… in our rally coverage, Mike Shaw got up close and personal at the Oregon Trail Rally and we review all the rally goodness from out in the woods.  The WRC was in the mountains of Argentina and we discuss what happened to the normally dominant Volkswagen team.  And finally our good friend Mike Whitesell was at Barber Motorsports Park watching the full enchilada of IndyCar, MRTI, and the Pirelli World Challenge we’ll cover all the…

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2015 Oregon Trail Rally – Part One

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…

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Rally – Jeff Seehorn… in His Own Words

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!  …

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Rally – Regional Voices from SS6 Oregon Trail Rally

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…

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