Rally America: Oregon Trail Rally

[handbrakes&hairpins]

The Oregon Trail Rally, a round of the Rally America Championship, takes place this weekend. Here is the event schedule.

Thursday, May 13, 2010
11:00 - 13:00 Rally Fan appreciation Day Pioneer Courthouse Square
Friday, May 14, 2010
12:00 - 17:00 Registration Portland International Raceway
12:00 - 17:00 Scrutineering Portland International Raceway
17:00 Seeded Draw Portland International Raceway
17:30 Start List posted Portland International Raceway
18:00 - 21:00 Parc Expose and Spectator Stages Portland International Raceway
Saturday, May 15, 2010
10:00 - 11:00 Parc Expose The Dalles, OR
11:30 - 16:00 Fir Mountain Spectator Area Hood River, OR
12:45 - 14:45 Service The Dalles, OR
15:30 - 17:30 Endersby Spectator Area Wasco County, OR
16:30 - 18:30 Service Dufur, OR
19:30 - 21:30 Street Party BBQ Dufur, OR
Sunday, May 16, 2010
10:00 - 11:00 Parc Expose Dufur, OR
10:30 - 15:30 Summit Spectator Area Wasco County, OR
12:00 - 14:30 Service Dufur, OR
13:30 - 15:30 Endersby Spectator Area Wasco County, OR
15:00 - 16:30 Finish Ceremonies Dufur, OR

[handbrakes&hairpins]

Rally America: Oregon Trail Rally - Stage Listing

Friday, May 14, 2010:
1) Northwest Passage - 19:03 - (2.90 miles)
2) Armco Trail - 19:17 - (1.17 miles)
3) NW Passage II - 20:21 - (2.90 miles)
4) PIR Land Rush - 20:35 - (0.70 miles)

Saturday, May 15, 2010:
5) Catch'um - 11:28 - (7.80 miles)
6) Fir Mountain Long - 12:01 - (11.46 miles)
7) Catch'um II - 14:14 - (7.80 miles)
8) Fir Mountain Long II - 14:47 - (11.46 miles)
9) Starveout - 16:15 - (8.34 miles)
10) Boyd - 18:13 - (10.76 miles)
11) Starveout II - 18:54 - (8.34 miles)

Sunday, May 16, 2010:
12) Summit - 11:18 - (9.90 miles)
13) Clausen - 12:02 - (7.10 miles)
14) Starveout III - 13:42 - (8.34 miles)
15) Summit II - 14:45 - (9.90 miles)
16) Clausen II - 15:09 - (7.10 miles)

[handbrakes&hairpins]

Day One of the Oregon Trail Rally, a round of the highly competitive Rally America Championship, complete.

Overall Standings after SS4 at the end of Day One:
01) Andrew Comrie-Picard/Jeremy Wimpey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) – 08m 19,9s
02) Antoine L’Estage/Nathalie Richard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) + 00,1s
03) Dave Mirra/Martin Headland (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 06,8s
04) William Bacon/Peter Watt (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 14,1s
05) Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino (Ford Fiesta) + 23,8s
06) Patrick Moro/Ole Holter (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 26,4s
07) Carl Decker/Adam Craig (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 31,7s
08) Timothy Rooney/Mike Rossey (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 32,8s
09) Mike Mager/Jake Blattner (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 35,3s
10) Travis Hanson/Terry Hanson (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) 35,6s

[Francis44]

Cool!!!!

[handbrakes&hairpins]

The second day of the 2010 Oregon Trail Rally was filled with attrition and unpredictability as teams took to the hot, dusty stages in the areas surrounding The Dalles and Dufur. NOS Energy Mitsubishi driver Andrew Comrie-Picard (ACP) and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey hold an overnight lead for the second day in a row, with over forty seconds over Privateer Mitsubishi driver Bill Bacon.

Comrie-Picard broke a tie rod on the second loop of stages and had to hold back until the Service in Dufur, but maintained respectable times throughout all of the day’s tests to finish with a healthy lead. Bacon had a close call on SS8 (Fir Mountain Long 2), but managed to recover and is now positioned for his third podium finish of the season.

Current Championship leaders Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard broke a wheel in two and damaged an oil line to the right front brake caliper on the day’s opening stages, dropping them back to 17th place. After driving furiously and winning the final four stages of the day, L’Estage clawed his way back up the leaderboard to hold third overall overnight.

Oregon’s unforgiving gravel logging and farm roads made for a dramatic day of rallying in the Pacific Northwest as teams challenged a series of both tight, technical stages and wide-open stages. A total of twenty-four out of sixty-one teams have DNF’d so far, with the most notable retirements being that of the two factory-backed teams. Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra rolled his car near the start of SS6 (Fir Mountain Long), damaging the car badly enough that he and co-driver Martin Headland could not continue the race.

Monster World Rally Team’s Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino also retired after rolling their Ford Fiesta on SS8 close to the same spot Mirra had his roll. Block won three of the six stages he completed and was leading the rally after SS6 before crashing out of the event. With the absence of SRT USA driver Travis Pastrana, who is in Australia this month touring with his live Nitro Circus show, both of the Works teams that contest the Rally America Series were completely put out of the rally. Both crews were OK and free from any injury.

In the Super Production class, crews were all on the pace today and now make up half of the teams on the leaderboard. Pat Moro and Ole Holter lead the class with a spread of 26.1 seconds over SP points leaders Travis and Terry Hanson. Jimmy Keeney and Jason Grahn round out the potential class podium and have a comfortable lead of over a minute and a half over the next fastest SP team. Moro’s teammate Tim Rooney has been developing speed on the Western events and was competitive in Oregon until retiring on SS8. Ramana Lagemann dropped from fourth overall to seventeenth after incurring a 17:30sec road penalty for speeding at an OBS Control.

In the Two Wheel Drive class, Dillon Van Way and Ben Slocum are leading with a cushion of 2:10.8 seconds over 2WD Championship points leader Chris Duplessis. Duplessis is adapting to a newly-built Scion xD, but still managed to secure two stage wins today. Dodge SRT-4 driver John Conley and co-driver Keith Rudolph hold third in class, but are too far behind Van Way and Duplessis to catch up them tomorrow without attrition coming into play.

In MaxAttack!, Cody Crane and co-driver Billy Irvin lead the field with 31.2 seconds over Van Way. Duplessis is in third and will push to make up time on Dillon tomorrow, but will not risk the car to catch him. A good fight for fourth is expected between Chris O’Driscoll and John Conley tomorrow, with only 2.6 seconds holding them apart. Gaylord Van Brocklin trails fifth place very closely.

Wolfgang Hoeck and Piers O’Hanlon won the Shunpiker Stages Regional Rally in their Open class 2002 Mitsubishi Evo over Brian Svedin and co-driver Teresa Buren. The Super Production team of Mark Mager and Jake Blattner finished on the regional podium again, taking third place today after winning yesterday’s Wagons Ho! regional.

The action resumes tomorrow in Dufur as the remaining teams tackle the final five special stages of the Oregon Trail Rally. Be sure to follow the action via LIVE UPDATES here: http://www.rally-america.com/events/2010/Oregon/news/liveupdates and on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/rally_america

[handbrakes&hairpins]

With one day’s rally action left to run, it is Andrew Comrie-Picard/Jeremy Wimpey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX) at the top of the running order.

Overall Standings after Day Two:
01) A. Comrie-Picard/J. Wimpey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) – 01h 01m 07,7s
02) W. Bacon/P. Watt (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) + 42,4s
03) A. L’Estage/N. Richard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) + 02m 50,3s
04) P. Moro/O. Holter (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 04m 44,1s
05) T. Hanson/T. Hanson (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 05m 10,2s
06) J. Keeney/J. Grahn (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 06m 41,8s
07) C. Decker/A. M. Craig (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) + 07m 20,9s
08) W. Koeck/P. O’Hanlon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII) + 07m 56,2s
09) M. Mager/J. Blattner (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) 08m 22,3s
10) D. Conley/C. Herlache (Subaru Impreza Wagon WRX STi) + 10m 06,2s

[handbrakes&hairpins]

The NOS Energy Mitsubishi team of Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey took a decisive win on the 2010 Oregon Trail Rally, round 4 of the Rally America National Championship.

Comrie-Picard held a comfortable lead over the Mitsubishi crew of Bill Bacon and Peter Watt at the start of the final day and managed to increase his advantage by the final stage. Bacon focused more on maintaining his position by staying ahead of the overall Rally America Championship points leader Antoine L’Estage than trying to catch Comrie-Picard.

L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard drove their Rockstar Energy Mitsubishi EVO X to third place after dropping to seventeenth early on day two of the rally due to mechanical issues. L’Estage claimed every stage win on the third and final day of competition and now leads Bacon in the National Championship standings by 8 points.

This event was the first time in Rally America history to have an all-Mitsubishi national podium and was particularly rewarding for the winners, who are all privateers. The factory-backed teams of both Subaru and Ford were put out of the contest early on the second day of the rally after crashing their cars.

Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra and Martin Headland rolled their car near the start of the Fir Mountain Long I stage (SS6) and were not able to continue. Monster World Rally Team’s Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino suffered the same fate on the second pass of the Fir Mountain stage (SS8), damaging their 2010 Ford Fiesta and retiring from the event.

This year’s Oregon Trail Rally was a grueling event that witnessed a heavy rate of attrition. Of the 61 starters, 24 crews had DNF’d by the end of day two and only 47 teams were able to start on the final day. Teams challenged Oregon’s unforgiving gravel logging and farm roads in the areas surrounding The Dalles and Dufur, battling hot, dusty conditions against the backdrop of the scenic Columbia River Gorge and towering Mt. Hood.

The trip out West was favorable for Pat Moro and co-driver Ole Hunter, who took the Super Production Class win. Moro’s podium finish at the Olympus Rally along with his Oregon Trail Rally win have launched him to second place in the Super Production Class Championship. Moro has overtaken his teammate Tim Rooney, who retired early on day two of the rally, in the SP title chase with only two events left on the calendar. Moro is now within striking distance of SP leaders Travis and Terry Hanson, who finished Oregon second in class to maintain the SP Championship lead. Able Planet Rally Team driver and 2009 Super Production winner, Jimmy Keeney, completed the podium with co-driver Jason Grahn for their first top three finish of the year.

Ramana Lagemann returned to the West Coast hoping to repeat his Olympus Rally Super Production win and was certainly on pace to do so, but a 17:30 minute penalty for speeding through a transit effectively knocked him out of contention.

The 2-Wheel-Drive Class saw a new winner with reigning 2009 2WD Champion, Dillon Van Way, securing his first overall class victory for the year. Van Way finished 1:15.3 minutes ahead of 2WD points leader Chris Duplessis. Duplessis was behind his usual pace while adapting to a newly-built Scion xD supported by 0-60 Magazine and Sparco, but finished second in 2WD with an unproven, underpowered car. Normally, Duplessis pilots a 1990 VW GTi and consistently beats other rally cars with twice as much horsepower. Dodge SRT-4 driver John Conley and co-driver Keith Rudolph held onto third in class and maintains his 2WD second place overall position.

In the opening round of the 2010 MaxAttack! 2WD Series, Cody Crane battled Dillon Van Way throughout the weekend, but ran into mechanical troubles late on day two. Crane had to rebuild his Honda CRX’s transmission overnight, forcing him to drive more conservatively on the final day of the rally. Van Way overtook Crane for the MaxAttack! win and Duplessis finished third. Gaylord Van Brocklin and Brian Gottllieb also claimed MaxAttack! cash prizes, finishing fourth and fifth respectively. The MaxAttack! Series now moves East to the New England Forest Rally in Sunday River, Maine on July 16-17 before the final MaxAttack! shootout at the Lake Superior Performance Rally in Houghton, Michigan.

The Trails End Regional Rally saw another Mitsubishi Lancer EVO in the top spot with Wolfgang Hoeck and Piers O’Hanlon beating Wagons Ho! Regional Rally winners Mark Mager and Jake Blattner by 1:32.5 minutes. Wolfgang also won the Shunpiker Stages Regional Rally on Saturday. Pacific Northwest team of Dave and Richard Hintz finished third on the podium.

The next round of the Rally America Championship is the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania on June 4-5. STPR is the last chance for teams to win valuable points towards receiving a Summer X Games 16 invitation to compete in the venerable Rally Car Racing event.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

[handbrakes&hairpins]

01) A. Comrie-Picard/J. Wimpey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX) - 01h 35m 19,8s
02) W. Bacon/P. Watt (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX) + 44,5s
03) A. L'Estage/N. Richard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X) + 02m 05,0s
04) P. Moro/O. Holter (Subaru Impreza WRX) + 06m 13,2s
05) T. Hanson/T. Hanson (Subaru Impreza WRX) + 06m 32,5s
06) C. Decker/A. M. Craig (Subaru Impreza WRX) + 08m 53,2s
07) J. Keeney/J. Grahn (Subaru Impreza WRX) + 09m 53,4s
08) W. Hoeck/P. O'Hanlon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX) 10m 13,6s
09) M. Mager/J. Blattner (Subaru Impreza WRX) + 12m 12,2s
10) D. Conley/C. Herlache (Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon) + 14m 42,6s

[rally449]

Video of the Max Attack! portion of the event can be watched here:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=69A3E090ED16EE5A