Driving Sports

Oregon Trail Rally - This weekend!

Oregon Trail Rally, one of the best events on the Rally America national series, is kicking off today for an action-packed three days of competition. The fun starts off today with a Parc Exposé in downtown Portland, followed by the start, tomorrow at Portland International Raceway, with competition running through the weekend out of the Hillsboro Fairgrounds and the town of Vernonia. For more information, check out the official site.

I always think it's more enjoyable to watch an event when there's some perspective to go along with it. So, for the first time ever, we're making our coverage of the 2007 Oregon Trail Rally available to watch online for free (this is the same feature that ran on Portland television last year.) Just click over to our Rallysport Channel and select which segments you want to watch. The full meal deal on the 2007 event is just under 30-minutes long. All the segments should  be up by the end of the day today.

Our Garage: Jeff's 1959 MGA

The wonderful thing about the automotive hobby is that it can be anything you like. Check out Ryan's Legacy for an example of the new and groovy, powerful and comfortable ride. But there's also the option of working with a much older car. My 1959 MGA will have its 50th birthday next year, and it's still as fun as the day it rolled off the line in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England.

Restoring or updating an old car gets you right to the heart of what it means to be a car guy. With a classic, you can't plug in a laptop and claim 50 wheel horsepower in an afternoon. But you will get a sense of the driving experience that put sports cars into our souls. And - this is key - chicks dig old sports cars. I can park my vintage MG next to a line of the hottest tuner rides in town and which car do you think gets the attention?

Vortex Race Performance Exhausts the Winning Strategy for Diesel and R3 Rally

In a BMW120 diesel Fin McCaul finished first in the diesel and R3 class of the Pirelli International Rally held 19 April, 2008, which is the first round of the British Rally Championship. In terms of achievement this merits high enough to be called very exceptional. The next rally will be the Jim Clark Rally. The Vortex team is confident that their rally race exhaust technology will make the difference and that Fin has an excellent chance to carry on winning and lift the silverware.

2008 Olympus Rally

April 19-20 2008, Pomeroy, Wash.

We’re only three events into the 2008 Rally America series, with six events yet to run, but I’ll go out on a limb and predict that this is the year Ken Block and co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino win the Rally America national championship. After two years in the shadow of teammates Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom, Block and Gelsomino have won two of the first three events in dominating fashion.

“I’m definitely going to try for the championship. This year, we’ve got a plan,” remarked Block at the Olympus podium ceremony.

Whatever that plan is, it’s working very nicely. Block won 7 of the 16 Olympus stages outright and finished second on 4 more. On the 5 remaining stages, a quirk in the Rally America championship rules created a tie with up to 17 other competitors.

Ford Unveils Fiesta - Shows off WRC Focus

Ford of Europe unveiled their new "Fiesta" this week at the Geneva Auto Show - the little hatch comes in three and five-door versions.

"Sustainable mobility imposes a huge challenge for society and the automotive industry, and there is still a long journey ahead of us," said John Fleming, Ford of Europe president and CEO. "Further out, we're working on a range of affordable new petrol engines under the Ford EcoBoost name. These use a combination of direct fuel injection and turbocharging technologies to deliver better performance, emissions and economy from smaller displacement engines."

Block/Gelsomino Threepeat at 100AW

The plan in the Rally America season is to hold just one true snow rally. Sno*Drift in January leads off the season, and some competitors skip the event in favor of the much more temperate Rally in the 100 Acre Wood held in Missouri a month later. But this year, Mother Nature caught many teams with their long johns down as winter weather again dominated the results at the second round of the 2008 rally racing championship series.

Block/Gelsomino Take Threepeat at 100 Acre Wood Rally

The plan in the Rally America season is to hold just one true snow rally. Sno*Drift in January leads off the season, and some competitors skip the event in favor of the much more temperate Rally in the 100 Acre Wood held in Missouri a month later. But this year, Mother Nature caught many teams with their long johns down as winter weather again dominated the results at the second round of the 2008 rally racing championship series.

The day before the event, snow, ice, and freezing rain paralyzed the nation’s heartland and kept drivers, co-drivers, and some teams waiting for the St. Louis airport to reopen. Several participants had to make forced drives at the last minute to arrive in time to start the event, but when they did start, the conditions were anything but hospitable, leading to one of the most difficult 100 Acre Wood rallies in recent years.

Chris Atkinson of Subaru World Rally Team Takes a Personal Best in Mexico

Atkinson excels with highest WRC career finish as SWRT continue strong season

Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot completed Rally Mexico in spectacular style, recording their highest ever finish together in a World Rally Championship event with a hard-fought second place. Meanwhile Petter Solberg and Phil Mills pushed hard to clinch the final Manufacturers’ Championship point, keeping the Subaru World Rally Team in second position in the overall standings.

Atkinson’s second podium in three rallies this season jumps him to fourth overall in the Drivers’ Championship, just six points shy of the top of the standings. It’s his best start to a WRC season, and firmly establishes the Australian as a contender for WRC victories. Solberg and Mills lie just behind in fifth in the Championship standings, as the team continue their strong start to 2008 with more solid points.

Dreadnought Gets Wide

The best way to increase grip, is to increase the amount of rubber between the chassis and the ground. Said another way: bigger tires. Currently, the wagon is sitting on 225/45/17 tires. This isn't bad, but to really have any amount of decent grip, we need to go bigger. Much bigger. However, the stock, slab-sided body means one can only add so much rubber.

Travis Pastrana gets a new co-driver

Rally ace and sometimes adrenaline junkie, Travis Pastrana, has lost his long-time co-driver, Christian Edstrom to retirement. Edstrom, who said that he was taking a hiatus from rally, cited needing more time for his family and career opportunities for leaving SRT. This is not the first time, however, that Edstrom has threatened leaving Pastrana and SRT. After a nasty crash last season, it was rumored that Edstrom had had enough of the balls-out driving of Pastrana. However, Edstrom soldiered on, but it seems that the duos most recent collision with a deer may have rattled Edstrom loose.

Racing at the Arctic Circle

Greetings from the Arctic Circle!  For a brief, shining moment, there's Internet access here in Dawson City, Yukon, and so I decided to seize the day and let you know what we've been doing.

What we've been doing is tear-assing through Canada, overwhelming kitchens and bars that normally see about two tourists a week this time of year. And doing a little TSD Rally and Ice Racing on the side.

We spent the first day getting across the border (and only a few of us got strip-searched, as I understand it.) and spent the night in Quesnel, B.C.  Next day we rallied the Blackwater Road - a tight, twisty track through deep snow. We knew we weren't in Kansas any more when we chased a Moose off the road in front of us.

The third day, we crossed into the Yukon - stopping for lunch at a place called "Mamma Z's" (no relation, honest) - absolutely the best Italian Food in Dease Lake, B.C. - and that's no exagerration. We spend the night in White Horse - and the next day was Ice Racing. 

Jeff on a Canadian Adventure

Driving Sports' news monger, Jeff Zurschmeide, is out of the office for ten days, so you may find our regular updates proceeding a bit slower than usual. He's competing in the Winter Alcan 5000 Rally as part of Team Mitsubishi.

To catch is daily blog entries, visit the team blog at www.team-mitsubishi-alcan.com. Yesterday he saw a moose!

"As I type, we're on the final transit of the day, 150 miles to our hotel in New Hazelton. Tomorrow we leave British Columbia and head north into the Yukon Territory. We'll travel over 700 miles in one day to the town of White Horse."

I made that same trip back in 2000 when I drove a 1992 Subaru Legacy Turbo on the Summer edition of the Alcan 5000. Hopefully, Jeff will be able to bring his Mitsubishi Outlanders back in one piece. My car was shipped back in boxes.

Team Mitsubishi Alcan Ready To Roll on Arctic Adventure

Team Mitsubishi Alcan is prepared to take on the Arctic in the world’s most extreme Time-Speed-Distance Rally competition - the Alcan 5000 Winter Rally.

The Alcan is a two-week, 5000-mile journey from Seattle, Washington to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, and back. The event begins Sunday, February 17 in Seattle, and  ends on February 27 in Jasper, Alberta. Along the way teams will travel over frozen rivers, cross mountain ranges and the Arctic Circle, and experience temperatures as low as -60F. Over 20 teams have entered the event.

L'Estage/Richard Win Canadian Rally's First Round

Hyundai takes manufacturer's victory in the hunt for the  2008 Canadian Rally Championship

MANIWAKI, Quebec -- Defending Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L’Estage took the first win of the 2008 Canadian Rally Championship Presented by Subaru on Saturday, besting a competitive field of top drivers at the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, Quebec.

“It’s a very good start, I’m very happy,” said L’Estage at the finish.

It’s the second win of the early season for him and co-driver Nathalie Richard, who also took victory at the U.S. season-opener two weeks ago. L’Estage said it took a push late in the day in his Hyundai Tiburon to secure the victory in icy conditions.

Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb finished second overall in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Rally Sweden WRC In Progress

The World Rally Championship heads to the long and winding forest routes of Rally Sweden ready to tackle the challenge of all-out sideways action as crews wrestle their machines across sheet ice. The only specialist snow rally of the year, it is one of the fastest and most competitive as WRC crews battle to prove their mettle on the only wholly ice-covered speed tests they will encounter all year.

Travelling to the city of Karlstad for the event that has honed the skills of so many past greats, it is clear to see how the conditions develop the flamboyant mastery of Scandinavians behind the wheel. Aboard his Subaru Impreza WRC2007, Petter Solberg is no exception. The Norwegian grew up driving cars on the tundra of his homeland and won here in 2005, finishing on the podium twice since joining the team. He is currently sitting in fifth place after Stage 7.

Canadians Kick Off Rally Racing Season

The nation’s top rally drivers are set to kick off the 2008 Canadian Rally Championship Presented by Subaru February 8-9 at the Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki.

Defending Canadian champion driver Antoine L’Estage and his co-driver Nathalie Richard will battle it out against the best of the rest at the winter-weather event in the Gatineau region of Quebec. The Hyundai-supported driver has claimed back-to-back Canadian Rally Champion titles.

Sno*Drift 2008 Rally Report

In Rally Racing, it’s not enough to have the best ride and the best service crew, and the best in-car team. You can’t just set ‘em up and knock ‘em down in this business, because anything can happen at any time. After the top teams fought the 2007 season to a razor’s edge finish, the 2008 season has started up again in the same thrilling, unpredictable fashion.

Subaru Rally Team USA stars Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom took the final event win of the 2007 season with just a 3.5-second margin of victory. With that win came the Rally America National Championship for the year. In the brief off-season, Pastrana competed in the WRC Production class at Rally GB and finished a humbling 11th. So he’s back to the 2008 Rally America series with two challenges in front of him - to defend his back-to-back championships in a series that gets tougher every year, and to hone his skills for further WRC opportunities.

Solberg's Scary Moment

Petter Solberg has a high-speed spin on the first stage at the WRC Wales Rally GB. Oh, if we could only have in-car cameras on the WRC cars! (oh, wait, thanks to YouTube, we don't need one! Click the jump and fast forward to 0:55) For our part, we can at least see the car come in for service and get a team update from the Subaru World Rally Team PR manager, Stephen Webb.

In this clip, Petter's car gets some suspension changes and Chris Atkinson's car gets a new steering rack.

Travis Pastrana Frustrated at Rally GB

This was the first WRC Rally GB for two time US rally champion Travis Pastrana. His goal is to be competing (in a Subaru) at the highest level of WRC competition within a few years. For this event, Pastrana competed in the Production Class (PWRC) in a car built and supported by Vermont Sports Car. The same crew supported his US championship run over the past couple years. His Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block took part in other PWRC events earlier this year, but Block wasn't competing this time around.

So far, on his quest for WRC greatness, Pastrana's greatest challenge has been for him and his co-driver, Christian Edstrom, to "get up to speed" on the WRC notes. Notes are the course "shorthand" used by teams to manage high speeds in weather conditions like we had in Wales this year -- almost zero visibility. We have another video that we'll post later, where Christian describes how notes work.

In the meanwhile, let's check in with a visibly frustrated Travis at his first Service (or start at the beginning), after he spent a good part of the his earlier stages fixing flat tires on course. (Yes, in rally, teams have to fix their own cars on course.) Careful, kids, Travis drops an F-Bomb as he describes his "Austin Powers"-like driving skills, but continues to hope for the best.

WRC Wales Rally GB - Shakedown

Before the event, several cars took part in a Shakedown stage just outside of Swansea in Wales. Since this Stage is optional, and not for any points, cars were driving at 7/10ths. Still, with the one sunny day to view cars on the stage, it was a very exciting afternoon. As you'll see in a later clip, by Friday night the rain was coming down -- with a vengeance.

Click to view "Shakedown" in the main player.

WRC Wales Rally GB Videos - Stage 1

Stage 1 from WRC Wales Rally GB has just been added to the main player. We're going to keep the videos in sequence (mostly) so you can watch them straight through on the playlist. That means that the Cardiff opening will remain the the first one you see, followed by Stage 1 and anything else we put up in the next few days.

This stage was a particularly long hike through muddy, slippery terrain. As you can see the fog was also quite dense making it near impossible to identify which car was which as they whizzed by at triple-digit speeds.

This isn't every single car, as I had trouble finding a good vantage point for the jump -- without offending the many intoxicated folk that were crowding the sidelines. It appeared as several large groups had camped out their positions hours, if not days, before the event. Unheard of in US Rally, but quite the regular custom in World Rally competition.

WRC Wales Rally GB Videos - Opening

Over the next week-or-so, we'll be rolling out short clips from our recent adventure to Prodrive and WRC Wales Rally GB. The first clip, "Opening in Cardiff," is now up in the main page player. Or, to see it larger, you can click here to launch our full page player.

The start took place in downtown Cardiff. Thousands upon thousands turned out on the chilly but clear Welsh evening. Even though every team crossed the start, most of the crowd was gone after the top 10 cars had passed. It went on for several hours.

Our own group waited to see the only American competing, Travis Pastrana of the Subaru Rally Team USA, cross the start. We then all headed to a nearby restaurant for wine and seafood.

Mitsubishi Sponsors U.S. Alcan 5000 Winter Rally Team

To the question of whether Mitsubishi is supporting rally teams in the United States, the answer is an unqualified Yes. Team Mitsubishi Alcan has been formed to compete in the 2008 Alcan 5000 Winter Rally, which will take place in February. The six team members all reside in or around Portland, Oregon, and intend to challenge the Subaru and BMW factory teams for the win.

The Alcan Rally takes competitors over 5,000 miles from Seattle, Wash. to the village of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, approximately 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle on the shore of the Beaufort Sea. The Alcan is a two week torture test for both vehicles and rally teams, and is the toughest and longest competitive road rally in North America.

Mitsubishi Supports Canadian Rally

FlatOverCrest.com is reporting that Mitsubishi is making a big investment in privateer rally teams in Canada. Now, what about the US, Mistu? Any team support lovin' coming this way?

Here's a clip:

Mitsubishi has confirmed today a long-term and lucrative "rally support program" for the Canadian Rally Championship that encourages amateur participation in the sport.  Featuring a travel fund, prize purse, subsidized entry fees, and other incentives, the program is geared towards all levels of privateer Mitsubishi teams from Open Class through Production. The program also includes the same support for the Targa Newfoundland rally, held each September.

BMX Legend Mirra Makes His Rally Debut

Cool news for rally fans, straight from SRTUSA:

BMX legend Dave Mirra will make his competitive rally racing debut this weekend at The Rally Of The Tall Pines, the last round of the 2007 Canadian Rally Championship, held in Ontario, Canada. Mirra will be at the wheel of a Monster Energy Subaru Impreza rally car fielded by the Vermont SportsCar team.   Joining Mirra in a second Subaru fielded by Vermont SportsCar will be Subaru  Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, who  narrowly missed out on winning the 2007 Rally America National Championship at the final round last month.