(October 21, 2013)– Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew were crowned the 2013 Rally America National Champions, with a spectacular victory at the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR); the final round of the 2013 Rally America Championship. Higgins entered LSPR locked in an epic season-long battle with rival Ken Block. Block needed a win at LSPR to steal the championship away from Higgins, who had led in points nearly all season. Higgins and Block both drove flat-out at LSPR, with Higgins edging ahead of Block near the mid-point of the rally. After sustaining heavy damage by rolling his car, Block retired, handing Higgins the rally win and more importantly the Championship, his
third Rally America Driver’s Title in a row.
“It was the fastest that we have ever gone,” exclaimed Higgins at the podium. “Our Subaru has just been brilliant again. We’ve enjoyed this weekend and that was really the biggest, most important factor. Sure there was a lot of pressure, but we really went out there to have fun. Rally is a team sport and I’m so proud of the one we have behind us in Vermont SportsCar and Subaru of America. I’m so happy Craig (Drew) and I could step up our game to deliver for the team.”
The Lake Superior Performance Rally has been running for over thirty years and although the course has changed the challenge has not. The event is widely regarded as the ‘oldest, toughest and meanest rally’ on the Rally America circuit. Held in far northern reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the event features highly variable weather with technical tree-lined gravel roads. This year’s event featured some slick wet roads as well as some drying roads with better grip on the final day. Higgins and Drew had the best tool for the job; their Vermont SportsCar prepared 2013 Subaru WRX STI rally car.
The battle began as expected with Higgins and Block trading stage wins early in the event. Block slipped ahead of Higgins by just 8.6 seconds after Day One’s daylight stages. Higgins then attacked on the night stages which were treacherously slick and foggy. With two big stage wins in the darkness, Higgins closed the day with a 13.6 second lead. “It was dark, it was slippery and it was foggy, just like back home (in Wales, UK)! So I knew that was our time to really attack,” explained Higgins.
The battle resumed on the first two stages of Day Two with Block clawing back several seconds before he crashed heavily on the day’s third stage (stage twelve). Block and his co-driver were unharmed. Their retirement meant Higgins had locked in the Driver’s Championship. With the pressure off, Higgins & Drew treated the final stages as a victory lap. Higgins went on to win the rally by over three minutes.
The podium at LSPR was an all-Subaru affair with Antoine L’Estage and Dillon Van Way finishing 2nd and 3rd Overall, each at the wheel of a Subaru WRX STI. Higgins’ victory also earned Subaru the coveted Rally America Manufacturer’s Championship.
“We are very proud of David, Craig and Vermont SportsCar for bringing home the Rally America Manufacturer’s Title to Subaru in the WRX STI” said Dean Evans, CMO at Subaru of America. “David and Craig now have their third championship in a row and we look to them to repeat the win next year.
We know how big rally is with our enthusiast fan base and we hope to keep making them happy as they follow our motorsports efforts.” Higgins was the perfect example of consistency in 2013 having finished on the podium at all seven rounds of the championship including three victories and three 2nd place finishes.
About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), PUMA, Method Race Wheels, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Exedy, Race Proven, and MOTUL. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit http://subaru.com/rallyand for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @srtusa.
LAKE SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE RALLY
IS THE DECIDING FACTOR FOR
RALLY AMERICA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Williston, VT (September 19, 2013) — The seven-event Rally America National Championship will conclude at the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) in Houghton, MI on October 18-19th and all but one Rally America Championship will be decided at the final event. Crowning the overall, Super Production, Two-Wheel Drive and Manufacturers’ champions makes LSPR the most anticipated finale in recent memory, and promises to be an all-out shootout with national teams vying for a last chance at victory.
At the season’s midpoint Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins and Craig Drew amassed enough points to position the team just one win away from locking up their third consecutive Rally America National Championship title. But their title has remained elusive when the Hoonigan Racing Team suddenly staged three event wins since the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) in June to force a title showdown at the final round.
“LSPR was always my favorite event back in my early championship wins in 02 and 03,” said Higgins, “The conditions can be very like home with many surface changes with grip and weather, can get everything from sun to snow and ice. It’s going to be tough battle but hope I can rely on my 13 rally championship wins to seal another.”
The Hoonigan Racing team fell 35 points behind Subaru prior to STPR in the overall standings and the only option was to outright win the four remaining Rally America rounds to stay in the chase. Subaru’s lead appeared insurmountable, but all that remains is a must win at LSPR for Block’s first Rally America title.
“LSPR has shaped up to be a massive event for me this year,” said Block. “To have the championship come down to such a close finish is exciting not just for myself and for David, but for the fans as well. It’s either of ours to win and I’m looking forward to doing battle with David out on the final stages of the season.”
A Super Production Class champion will be crowned at LSPR as current points leader David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski defend their points advantage from Rally America’s youngest driver, Mason Moyle, with co-driver John Hall guiding him to their finest season finish to date. Sterckx and Jankowski took over the SP standings lead at STPR, but failed to secure their title at the previous round at the Ojibwe Forests Rally held in late August.
Now the door is cracked open for Moyle and Hall to possibly snatch the title if he wins the class at LSPR and Sterckx fails to finish. Moyle’s chances improve as LSPR is his hometown event and he knows the roads and conditions better than most.
Super Production’s Nick Roberts will complete the SP season in 3rd place, but the Rookie of the Year prize is just within his grasp at LSPR. Roberts was trailing another Rookie of the Year candidate, Brent Hercelinsky, a Ford Fiesta driver in the Two Wheel Drive (2WD) category, until Roberts won his first SP Class at the Ojibwe Forests Rally. Roberts is now the Rookie of the Year frontrunner by 5 points over Hercelinksy.
In 2WD, current points leader Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey driving for Scion Racing Rally xD, find themselves in danger of letting their first 2WD title slip to Ford Fiesta drivers Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth. Comrie-Picard shot out to an early season lead until Reeves entered at the Oregon Trail Rally and won every 2WD class since. LSPR now becomes the deciding factor where the 2WD winner will likely hold the 2WD title barring any surprises.
“I’m seriously looking forward to the battle we’re going to have at LSPR. We’re leading the Championship but have to beat Brendon here to win it. On the one hand, I’ve done this event before and know the roads better than he does. On the other hand, I also know how difficult the event is, because I’ve never finished it! But Brendon is up against the same challenges, we just know them a little better. We’re looking forward to a great race!”
Third place in 2WD is essentially locked up by Dodge Neon SRT4 driver Chris Greenhouse who plans to return to LSPR to continue his battle with the Scion and Ford drivers.
The Rally America Manufacturers’ Championship is also up for grabs between Subaru and Ford. Subaru currently leads the standings 18 points ahead of Ford, but after factoring the five best results the top finishing manufacturer at LSPR will be left holding the Manufacturers’ Championship cup.
The only championship decided early this year is the B-Spec Championship dominated by Honda Team Research’s James Robinson. He won each event he entered and dominated the B-Spec Class driving a 2009 Honda Fit against his rivals.
LSPR fans will be able to visit with top national teams and drivers at the Parcs Expose – a meet & greet before competition begins on Friday and Saturday – in Houghton, MI on Friday at the Country Inn & Suites and the Rock House Restaurant at 12:30pm ET, and in L’Anse, MI on Saturday at Front and Broad St., at 8:30am ET. Spectator guides will be available at Parc Expose or free to download at www.lsprorally.com.
Rally America is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Ford Racing, VP Racing Fuels, Honda Development Research, GrimmSpeed, Exedy Racing Clutches and Teleblend.
About Rally America:
Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship which consists of at least six national-level events located at a variety of venues across the country, from Portland, Oregon to Newry, Maine. Top competitors in the Rally America National Championship reach speeds of well over 100 mph driving highly modified street cars such as Mitsubishi Evolutions, Subaru WRX STI’s, Ford Fiestas, Honda Fits and Scion xD’s on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt, ice or snow. For more information regarding Rally America’s National Championship or the sport of performance rally, visit www.rally-america.com.
The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team
Announces Two-Car Lineup
to Conclude 2013 Global RallyCross Season
September 10, 2013 Cherry Hill, NJ. — The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team confirmed today they will compete in the remaining two Global RallyCross rounds with two of three team cars and will utilize team drivers Sverre Isachsen and Bucky Lasek. The plan to complete the season with two cars instead of three after Round 7 in Atlanta was made early in the season after the GRC expanded the number of events on the calendar to nine rounds from six and will allow the team to accelerate development of their 2014 program.
“The team is encouraged by our recent results, with back-to-back podiums, as well as the progression of the Global RallyCross Championship as a series” stated Rob Weir, Subaru Motorsports Marketing Manager. “We are committed to the GRC and this strategy allows us to begin development early of our 2014 factory supported rallycross program.”
In an effort to retain parity within the team, the decision was made earlier in the season to enter the team’s top two drivers based on GRC points standings entering the final two rounds. Based on their respective points scored this season, drivers Sverre Isachsen and Bucky Lasek will continue driving in the final two GRC rounds to include Charlotte (Sept 22) and Las Vegas (Nov 5).
The team will allow driver Dave Mirra to be released from his contractual obligations should he wish to seek other driving opportunities outside of the Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team for the remainder of the year. “Dave Mirra has been an exceptional part of the Subaru family since 2007 and has been an integral part of both our rally and rallycross programs. We are confident Dave will be successful wherever his next challenge may lie and fully appreciate the effort he has put forth with our team,” added Weir.
The team carries strong momentum going into Round 8 of the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship on September 22nd in Charlotte, NC after taking back-to-back podiums at X Games and Atlanta, GA with the #11 driver Sverre Isachsen. The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team races the 2013 Subaru WRX STI featuring Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and a turbocharged boxer engine.
About Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team USA
The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), PUMA, Method Race Wheels, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Race Proven Inc., and MOTUL. For more information on the team, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally. For the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @srtusa.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.
HIGGINS AND DREW CLAIM FIRST RALLY IN THE 100 ACRE WOOD VICTORY
Salem, MO (February 24th, 2013) — The sudden arrival of winter ice and snow conditions could not prevent Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins and Craig Drew from winning the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood held on February 22-23rd in Salem, Missouri. The hard fought victory gave Higgins his first 100 Acre Wood Rally victory in three attempts at one of the more slippery events in recent memory.
On the first day Higgins and Drew fell behind early to Hoonigan Racing’s Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino and to Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team’s Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard until a fateful stage 6, the first nighttime stage. Block suffered front-end damage and L’Estage retired from the event with overheating issues that left Higgins with the overall lead.
It was a disappointing withdrawal for L’Estage who hoped to build on his Championship points lead after winning the Michigan based Sno*Drift Rally in late January.
Block rejoined the event at the beginning of the second day using SuperRally rules, which allows a team to reenter with time penalties, only to retire again from the event with an electrical throttle problem on stage 10. Block held a psychological advantage having previously won six 100 Acre Wood Rallys – the most by any Rally America driver.
Higgins then commanded a six minute lead over Joseph Burk and Alex Kihurani in second place and Lauchlin O’Sullivan and Scott Putnam in third place. Higgins won 9 of the last 10 stages of the day towards his overall victory.
“This is one rally we haven’t won before and to win it now is a great feeling especially the way things happened,” said Higgins, “Our victory appeared not to be close, but giving the difficulty of the rally and the conditions that margin could have disappeared in an instance.”
Higgins is the reigning 2012 Rally America National Championship. With this win Higgins assumes the Championship lead on route to defending his title.
Joseph Burke and Alex Kihurani strategically piloted their 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX to second place for their first Rally in the 100 Acre Wood podium. Burke last competed in September 2012 when he severely rolled his car and had to rebuild in the offseason. The new rally car kept pace with the top of the field even when his car experienced electrical problems.
Lauchlin O’Sullivan and Scott Putnam also put a newly minted Super Production (SP) Class 2008 Subaru WRX STI through the paces and were extremely pleased to not only take third overall, but to win the SP Class. O’Sullivan and Putnam are the 2012 Super Production Champions and returned this season at 100 Acre Wood to defend their title after missing the first event of the year.
“For the maiden voyage of this car it is was pretty much infallible,” said O’Sullivan, “I know two of the top guys didn’t finish to make this happen, but we will take it. We missed third overall so many times last year that we just wanted to get it this year. It’s really cool that we got this.”
2013 Sno*Drift Rally SP Class winners, Evan Cline and Jake Blattner, patiently drove a consistent race and overtook David Sterckx and Karen Jankowski on stage 15 to place second in class, and in the process maintained their SP Class points lead. Sterckx lost considerable speed because of turbo boost problems and took the third place spot for their first podium this season.
Cline and Blattner also added both the Trespassers Wil and 100 Acre Wood Regional Rally victories to their list, and became the top all-wheel-drive regional winner for the Honey Jar Challenge prize fund.
Scion Racing Rally xD’s Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey took the Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Class victory, their second consecutive class win, in a tight battle with a contingent of Ford Fiestas. Comrie-Picard was locked in a battle with Dillon Van Way and Andrew Edwards until stage 11 when Van Way crashed and gave up his second place position to fellow Ford Fiesta drivers, Edward McNelly and Ole Holter.
“The event was nearl perfect except for a bent rear beam from a rock I hit,” added Comrie-Picard,” I came into service a bit sideways. The team came through for me. We are really crushing it this year and happy with the results.”
Long-time rally racers Tim O’Neil and Travis Hanson completed the 2WD podium. O’Neil is the founder of the Team O’Neil Rally School in Dalton, NH which trained many of the drivers competing in Rally America competition.
In Rally America’s Manufacturers’ National Championship Subaru tied Mitsubishi in the overall category. Subaru also adds an additional Subaru victory to their Super Production Class manufacturer’s lead. Scion adds another 2WD victory in their quest to dominate the 2WD manufacturer standings, and Honda also their manufacturer win streak in the B-Spec category at the 100 Acre Wood Rally.
The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood is the second round of the Rally America National Championship. The next round takes place at the Oregon Trail Rally in Portland, OR on May 3-5th. More information at www.rally-america.com
About Rally America:
Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship which consists of seven national-level events located at a variety of venues across the country, from Portland, Oregon to Newry, Maine. Top competitors can reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars such as Mitsubishi Evolutions, Subaru WRX STI’s, Ford Fiestas and Scion xD’s on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt, ice or snow. For more information regarding Rally America’s National Championship or the sport of performance rally, visit www.rally-america.com.
Rally Team Kaltak Rookies Clinch
the 2012 Central Region, Open Light Championship!
Monday, November 26, 2012 — The rookie husband and wife team of Rally Team Kaltak clinched the 2012 Rally America Central Region, Open Light Class Championship last month at the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR), held in Houghton, Michigan. The two day event provided surprisingly good road conditions, after nearly a week of rain had fallen on the northern coast of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“After running the practice stage on Thursday evening in an outright downpour, we were expecting extremely muddy and slippery conditions on Friday. But, by the time we were on stage on Friday afternoon, the roads were in relatively dry condition, and felt great”, said RTK driver Samir Kaltak. “LSPR was our 6th event this year and Samir and I are both in agreement that the roads at LSPR are our favorite”, said co-driver Rachelle Kaltak, “they provided a great variety of jumps, kicks, tight and technical terrain and a few long and fast sections too”!
Beginning their careers at the Sno*Drift rally in January, Rally Team Kaltak has entered and finished six events this season, without encountering a single DNF.
“While we’re certainly not the fastest open light car out there, we attribute our championship to our ability to stay on stage and finish each event,” said Samir. “Consistency has been the key for us, and we put forth a lot of effort between the events to make sure our car is as prepared as possible. In fact, we didn’t even realize that LSPR 2012’s points would count towards the 2012 season, since in past years it was counted as the first event for the following year. We were humbly surprised to learn that we’d jumped from 3rd place after our finish at LSPR, to finish the season in first place. We’d like to thank our sponsors for their support this season, we couldn’t have done it without them,” commented Samir.
Samir, Rachelle and their crew are looking ahead to the 2013 season and are working hard to secure more sponsors to assist them in their continued success in the Open Light Class.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to do a bit of heavy maintenance to our car and a few improvements over the next few months,” commented Samir, “we can’t wait to get back out onto the stages”.
Rally Team Kaltak (RTK) is based in Cedar Springs, Michigan, and competes in Rally America’s Central Region Championship Series. Their competition rally car is a 1997 Subaru Brighton, powered by a naturally aspirated 2.2L engine. RTK is proudly sponsored by PF3 Paint Supply, Finishline Auto Body, Exedy Racing Clutch, All Wheels Driven (Bend, OR), Competition Limited, and GoPro. For more information about Rally Team Kaltak, please visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RTK636
Crazy Leo charms the Rally America National Championship in his first year.
Williston, VT (November 13, 2012) — Those who compete in the sport of rally share a common characteristic: the need to drive fast, jump, and slide through dirt corners in the face of danger. It’s what makes the sport unique and appealing to so many. And this season Rally America was introduced to a new driver that literally lived and breathed those characteristics on his bare skin.
If you attended any Rally America National Championship events this year, you’ve seen him in his fire breathing 2007 Subaru WRX STI in striking orange and black and sporting an equally fire breathing noble lion graphic ordained on each side of the rally car. It’s a contrasting livery that fits the dynamic characteristics of its driver, Leonid Urlichich from Toronto, Ontario.
Those who know him simply call him Crazy Leo. He has been competing against Canada’s top rally teams since 2007 as a fast driving, fast talking risk-taker who’s every breath is taken to maximize his dreams of winning.
Crazy Leo was born in the USSR and rally racing was the farthest thing in his mind when growing up behind the iron curtain. Once the political system changed his country he decided to take the plunge and attend Trent University just outside of Toronto, Canada at 17 years of age. Urlichich had known about rally racing since he was a little boy, but it didn’t occur to him that he too could become a driver until he attended his first rally when at college.
“Rally is by far the most exciting and complicated of motorsports,” said Urlichich, “I love being able to tweak a car for any condition and try to outdrive those conditions.”
Urlichich is a little bit… crazy… Even his reason to get into the sport arose from a situation far different from other drivers that he laughs about it to this day.
One day, Crazy Leo attempted to convince a salesman that he could handle a BMW M6 by demonstrating car control in his Subaru STI. Instead, he crashed his Subaru during a maneuver at a construction site. Following the incident, he limped the car to Can-Jam Motorsports, in the middle of the night, the only place he knew where he could get some help, and donated his car to the shop.
“There were guys still working late into the night and they were so surprised I was willing to give them my car. After that meeting, the owners of Can-Jam and I developed a relationship and I eventually started driving for them,” said Urilichich.
Urlichich doesn’t settle with just driving, though, he wants to be the best. To his credit he assembled a team that would get him to where he wanted to be using Can-Jam as his crew and engineering support. It was a huge head start into racing that most drivers never get and Urlichich was willing to pour everything he got into the chance.
He then began learning how to drive fast. It’s easier said than done, but considering Urlichich’s intensity to achieve results quickly and efficiently he began using tactics to give him the edge to insert himself into the sport’s upper echelons alongside Canadian icons such as, Patrick Richard and Antoine L’Estage. Video preparation became an integral part of his studies learning rally roads and he poured hours into the practice. He knew he was going to be a flat-out driver and he wanted to overcome the inevitable crash that every rally driver encounters.
“I don’t like crashing,” explained Urlichich, “I go flat out every time I race, but when you have new roads, you will crash. Over time we got to know the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) events better, which gave us a good chance to win it all. But we will budget for accidents, because I don’t want to take 20 years to get fast. Just look at the top drivers in the world and see how much they crash. Look back in history… it comes with the business and you have to be ready for it.”
To complete Urlichich’s development the team needed a co-driver he could mesh with. He experimented with a new co-driver each season for several years before settling on Carl Williamson from Ammanford, United Kingdom at the start of 2012.
Williamson was a perfect match for Crazy Leo. He brought an extensive rally background logging over 800 rally events and 30 Word Rally Championship starts with 150 different drivers, notably co-driving for Jari-Mati Latvala. Yet, Williamson became more than just a co-driver for Urlichich and extended his duties towards being a psychologist and engineer.
“Leo’s mind is as fast as his driving – it doesn’t stop,” said Williamson, “It’s always going at 100mph before, during and after a rally. But he is always looking at videos and always looking to improve. So we work together about car preparation and correcting driver error. His mind is a sponge that takes in everything I have.”
With Williamson and Can-Jam Motorsports, Crazy Leo then attacked the route book notes using a novel customized system to provide the precision and the edge he desired. His notes did away with the standard turn rating system and divided the degree of turns into finer measurements. Urlichich wanted to be even more precise in the heat of the moment and process information quicker to drive faster.
Ultimately, Urlichich’s results are paying off as he gains more familiarity from running rally events multiple times. His first overall win came at the 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines and as a result, he finished 2nd overall in the 2011 Canadian Rally Championships. He currently sits 2nd overall in the CRC with the Rally of the Tall Pines left on the 2012 schedule.
As the team continued mastering CRC events, Urlichich and Williamson added the 2012 Rally America National Championship to their docket joining Antoine L’Estage in campaigning two separate Series. It was another learning curve of complexity added to Urlichich’s already busy development schedule, which meant he needed to once again learn new events and roads even further from his home.
At the completion of his first Rally America National Championship in 2012, Urlichich finished 5th overall and was barely edged out of the overall podium by six points indicating that a slightly different result at a single event could have netted him a better placement.
Unfortunately, Urlichich didn’t finish half the 2012 Rally America events he entered, but he was able to land on the podium at the Oregon Trail Rally and the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally for the first time in his career. He is particularly proud of the fact that his DNFs occurred only because of his flat-out driving style and not because of any sort of mechanical failure. In fact his last mechanical DNF came from a broken driveline at Rallye Defi ste. Agathe in 2010 – more than two years ago, which is a testament to Can-Jam’s preparation!
In the North American rally world Crazy Leo has developed into one of the most entertaining, thoughtful and humorous personalities on the circuit. Need proof? Just check out his webpage biography, which includes baby photos, or his personal notes on his career log at Crazy Leo.
Urlichich currently works with a media company and he has learned to utilize social media to self-promote his team. He found a social messaging niche, supported by his humorous musings, celebrating his crashes and it became an opportunity to connect with rally fans through his personality.
Crazy Leo High Speed Off at New England Forest Rally:
“I know fans like to see crashes,” explained Urlichich, “So we’ll give it to them. It’s a good way of showing us and how we like to live life.”
We can only expect more good things from Crazy Leo, Carl Williamson and Can-Jam Motorsports in the future and Rally America is proud to have such a dynamic driver powering through corners with gusto and in a sea of color. His infectious charisma is a welcome and warming presence for drivers and fans alike… and we can all benefit from his enthusiasm for the sport and for living for the dream.
About Rally America
Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship which consists of at least six national-level events located at a variety of venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Top competitors in the Rally America National Championship reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars such as Mitsubishi Evolutions, Subaru WRX STI’s, Ford Fiestas and Scion XD’s on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt, ice or snow. For more information regarding Rally America’s National Championship or the sport of performance rally, visit http://www.rally-america.com.
Top National and West Coast Teams Enter Round 3 of the Rally America National Championship
WILLISTON, VT (April 30, 2012) — The Oregon Trail Rally, the third round of the 2012 Rally America National Championship, will start 63 teams on May 4-6th in Portland, OR.
It’s the second highest Oregon Trail entry list in the event’s history matching the 63 entries set in 2010. Oregon Trail’s largest field was 76 teams in 2007.
Salem, OR's Mark Fox with co-driver Karen Jankowski at Oregon 2011.
Rally America has already seen record entries at the first two rounds of the National Championship and the trend continues heading into Oregon. The Oregon Trail Rally will start at Portland International Raceway on Friday and then continue onto the farm roads near Mt. Hood the rest of the weekend.
A number of top west coast teams have entered to challenge Rally America’s top national teams to help the Oregon Trail Rally reach its high number of entries.
Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins and Rockstar Energy Drink’s Antoine L’Estage are battling for National Championship supremacy, but U.S. mountain bike champ and occasional rally driver, Carl Decker from Bend, OR, is fast enough to potentially reach the podium. Decker last raced in 2010 at Oregon Trail netting a sixth-overall spot and managed to garner enough points to later compete at X Games 16 in Super Rally.
Oregon Trail will feature a large Super Production Class this year with nine teams. There is a first place tie in the SP Class between Travis Hanson and Lauchlin O’Sullivan, but only O’Sullivan will compete at Oregon. Hanson will rejoin the National Championship hunt at the STPR Rally in Wellsboro, PA on June 1-2.
O’Sullivan’s task won’t be easy as he faces his usual national SP competitors, and faces more west coast SP teams, such as Hood River’s Dave Henderson and Aurora’s Mike Goodwin.
The Two-Wheel Drive Class will be packed with 26 teams consisting of national and regional drivers competing on the same turf. Chris Duplessis in his 2011 Ford Fiesta R2 has dominated this year, but he faces an Australian two-driver team, Will Orders and Ross Allan. Orders and Allen are bringing their 400hp Nissan Silvias and could seriously challenge Duplessis.
There will be plenty of action and competition on the fast, gravel-pitted roads of the Oregon Trail Rally.
Mike Goodwin with co-driver Martin Burnley at Oregon 2011.
You can see the action begin at Portland International Raceway on May 4th for $10 per person, $5 for children ages 6-12, and children under 6 are free. The event moves to The Dalles and Dufur on May 5-6 for more amazing free spectator viewing areas.
Live online video streaming coverage of rally action and exclusive driver interviews will be available at www.rally-america.com. Online coverage is scheduled to begin Friday at 6:00pm PDT.
The 2012 Rally America National Championship is proudly supported by TeleBlend, VP Racing Fuels – the Official Fuel of Rally America, ParkNBlend, Exedy Racing Clutches, Hawk Performance Brakes, DMack Tyres USA, GrimmSpeed and RECARO seats.
About Rally America:
Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship, the premier performance rally series in the United States. In 2012, Rally America will be conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Rally America also sanctions the 2012 U.S. Rallycross Series. Rally America has a rich history of introducing European-style rallycross at New Jersey Motorsports Park and at ESPN X Games SuperRally in 2010. More information about the Rally America National Championship and the U.S. Rallycross Series and can be found at http://www.rally-america.com.
We decided that the previous site was too stale to fix with a minor spruce up, so we completely re-wrote the back-end of the site.
Being that outdated press may be searched every now and again, we will be working to post the old news stories we had listed on the new format. The dates may be wrong on the listings, however, the stories themselves, will still have their original release dates listed.
