Driving Sports

Even as Rally Racing is gaining market share and new fans throughout the United States, there’s a growing threat to the sport – in the last few years several leading events including Rally America’s Olympus and Oregon Trail and NASA’s Rim of the World have all lost access to the signature roads that have been part of the events’ appeal. The reasons for the loss are all similar, and familiar. Public and private officials alike cite liability fears and a general apprehension about motorsports as reasons to withdraw access.

While Rim of the World is now history, Olympus first moved to the Palouse region on the Washington/Idaho border, and this year moved to the Grays Harbor County area of western Washington. The rally roads here are familiar to local competitors as the site of the annual Doo Wop Rallies, which gave the local talent a leg up on the national teams this year.

The stages in this year’s Olympus Rally were worthy of a national event, beginning with some twisty and challenging forest roads in the Quinault nation reservation north of Aberdeen, and moving southeast to fast, smooth roads on day 2, including the famous Brooklyn Tavern stage near Oakville.

Heading into the event Canadian Mitsubishi pilot Andrew Comrie-Picard held the Rally America national points lead, based on the strength of a third place finish at Sno*Drift and second place at 100 Acre Wood. Comrie-Picard is working with a new co-driver, Robbie Durant, who has ample experience from his years with Australian contender Andrew Pinker.

Subaru Rally Team USA contenders Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino crashed at the season opener up in Michigan, handing the win to three-time Rally America champs Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom, but then Pastrana/Edstrom DNFed at 100 Acre Wood, giving that victory to Block/Gelsomino.  Rally America points are structured to reward consistency, so both teams now have to climb back out of a deficit.

Another team with four eyes on the championship is Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis. Foust/Beavis have switched from Subaru to Mitsubishi this year, and hope to unseat the Subaru Rally Team dynasty. In 2007, Foust/Beavis came within seconds of taking the championship from Pastrana/Edstrom. To date, this is the only team to have seriously threatened Pastrana’s dominance in Rally America.

As the Olympus Rally got underway, teams were put on notice that the new roads are every bit as treacherous as the old ones. Two teams stuffed it on the very first stage, and even stage winner Ken Block commented that he felt slow.

Block/Gelsomino won the first two stages of the day, then yielded the fast times to Foust/Beavis for the next two stages. By the end of stage 5, Foust/Beavis trailed Block/Gelsomino for the overall rally lead by just 1.8 seconds. But Comrie-Picard/Durant came roaring up to win stage 5 by just 2.6 seconds over Foust/Beavis, giving notice that this rally would be at least a four-way race.

Block continued to dominate the day, winning stages 6 and 7, then Comrie-Picard came back to win stage 8. Stage 9 was canceled because of snow. At the last service of the day, the leaderboard showed Block/Gelsomino first, followed by Comrie-Picard/Durant, Pastrana/Edstrom, and Foust/Beavis. All four teams were within striking distance of the win, with just 30 seconds separating first from fourth.

On day two, troubles started early. Block’s car was down on power due to a turbo failure, and Foust’s was suffering gearbox troubles. Pastrana’s Subaru and Comrie-Picard’s Mitsubishi continued to run well, however, and after the first stage of the day, the leaderboard had shifted to place Pastrana/Edstrom in the lead, followed by Comrie-Picard/Durant and then Foust/Beavis. Block/Gelsomino came in 24th on that stage, 1 minute 41 seconds behind Pastrana/Edstrom, taking the team out of podium contention.

Block/Gelsomino came back to win stage 12, but the team’s troubles returned on the famous Brooklyn Tavern stage with a mechanical DNF. SRTUSA’s third car, piloted by Dave Mirra and 2008 champion co-driver Derek Ringer crashed out on the same stage, sustaining heavy front end damage.

Because the Brooklyn Tavern road is used daily for local traffic, it remains smooth and seemingly fast, but teams can get into trouble in a heartbeat and there are significant exposures on the downhill side. Local veterans Steve Greer and Tracy Manspeaker got in over their heads and launched Greer’s Impreza down a hillside. Their airborne trip came to a sudden stop when the car drilled a Douglas fir. Fortunately both teammates were uninjured and the car will be back in action for Oregon Trail.

With Block out of the running, it was now a three way race to the finish line. On day 2, Pastrana/Edstrom showed that they’ve still got what it takes, winning 5 of 7 stages, and finishing second on the two they didn’t win. Block/Gelsomino won one stage and Comrie-Picard picked up the win on stage 13. Foust/Beavis scored two seconds, three thirds, and two fourth place finishes.

Mechanical troubles finally caught Comrie-Picard on Stage 15, where the Mitsubishi Evo lost both 3rd and 4th gears, putting the contenders 22.9 seconds off the leader’s time. But the team came back to put in an impressive 3rd place showing on the final stage, holding the car’s gearshift in fifth throughout the stage.

In the end Pastrana/Edstrom claimed the win, and the 40 second margin over second place Comrie-Picard/Durant was more than the Canadian team lost to their gearbox troubles. Foust/Beavis claimed third place, 53.6 seconds off the lead.

Pastrana/Edstrom now have two wins and a DNF heading into May’s Oregon Trail Rally, and Comrie-Picard has a third and two second-place finishes. That’s enough to keep him in the points lead for now, but he’ll need to bring his best game to Oregon. Foust is tied with Pastrana for second in points. Because Comrie-Picard changed co-drivers after Sno*Drift, Chrissie Beavis is leading the co-driver points race, followed by Edstrom and then Maciej Wislawski, who rides with Andi Mancin. That team finished fourth at Olympus, and certainly bears watching as the show moves to Oregon.

Like Olympus, the Oregon Trail Rally is on new roads this year, moving eastward from the usual coast range route to take up residence on the slopes of Mount Hood. The rally will retain its unique Friday stages at Portland International Raceway, and then use roads borrowed from the local Mount Hood Club Rally for the remainder of the weekend. None of the national drivers have seen these roads before, so watch for local teams to pounce on any weakness or misfortune and shoot for the podium. The Oregon Trail Rally takes place May 15-17.

Olympus Rally Results

Open Class: Pastrana/Edstrom, Comrie-Picard/Durant, Foust/Beavis, Mancin/Wislawski
Super Production: Wiktorczyk/ Dorman, Hanson/ Hanson, Moro/ Crouch, Keeney/Keeney
2WD: Van Way/Knott