Oregon Trail ProRally

Local Time is GMT -8

Update Time	News
Fri 23-Apr-04 15:19	The problems have already started for a couple of teams. Car 62, Havas / Kean found out their water pump was bad on their first run of the shakedown stage. They had a spare and were able to change it before tech today. The team is excited to get get the rally started and hope this is the only problem they encounter this weekend.
Fri 23-Apr-04 15:35	The CPD Racing team is here with two cars this weekend. Along with the usual crew of Car 88, Havir / Putnam will be Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt. Both teams are set to go after a quick gearbox change on the 88 car before Parc Expose.
Fri 23-Apr-04 15:38	The drivers meeting is underway.
Fri 23-Apr-04 15:38	Official rally time....
Fri 23-Apr-04 16:48	Welcome to Oregon Trail ProRally 2004. The sun has come out after some afternoon showers and the Pro competitors are getting ready to run three super special stages at the Portland International Raceway. Special Stage 2 will be something very different to SCCA ProRally, the competitors will be running head to head in drag racing style. Parc Expose will begin at 6:00 with the first car starting Special Stage 1 at 7:02, The field will be starting in reverse order based on speed factor.
Fri 23-Apr-04 16:51	The cars waited patiently outside the Speedway to be allowed into the pits.
Fri 23-Apr-04 16:53	Some teams took advantage of the time before we were allowed into the pits.
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:09	The cars have started Special Stage 1, we are underway.
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:14	Car 374, Styles / Dillon have a new engine for this event. They are planning to take things easy and finish not only this rally, but the entire season. Things could be a little challenging this weekend, both driver and codriver are a little under the weather. John has a bad cough and Leon is still suffering some nerve damage in his left heel from the cold of SnoDrift.
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:43	The first stage has been run and the cars are getting ready to line up for the Special Stage 2 drag race.
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:48	Car 724, Korpal / Schleicher had a little brush with the wall on Special Stage 1. His "excuse" was the conditions were slippy and the tires were cold.
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:52	Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz took a line through the grass on Special Stage 1 because it had more traction than the pavement! Since they had such a good time in the snow at SnoSrift they thought the grass was a good transition, they plan to keep it on the road for the rest of the event
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:55	It seems that most teams are generally taking it easy on Special Stage 1 as this stage boasts a little of everything...tarmac, grass, narrow, slow and fast stuff. However, Car 23, Nelson / Beavis has moderate damage to left rear quarter panel from a "caution-narrows" call on Special Stage 1. Car 83, Utecht / Secor had a close call in what Mark described as a "tank slapper". Special Stage 1 also represented the end of the rally for Car 30, Plsek / Burmeister as the engine started knocking and lost oil pressure. The team has withdrawn.
Fri 23-Apr-04 18:58	Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt is breaking in the car tonight on Special Stage 1, unfortunately he took it a little too literally. They spun twice, so now it's out of the way for the event. This car will be running at Headwaters ClubRally with our own Al Kintgh driving and Heidi Meyers codriving. When Al saw the car he whined "He wrinkled my car!"
Fri 23-Apr-04 20:00	The cars just finished Special Stage 2. Sorry we didn't get any good pictures to share but we do have some speeds from the 1/4 mile drag race. Car 66, Mendham / Mendham at 79.48 mph Car 89, Hoeck / Lin at 90.14 mph Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz at 65.35 mph Car 103, Gubelmann / Gelsomino at 91.08 mph Car 83, Utecht / Secor at 87.28 mph Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt at 96.35 mph Car 54, Richard / Richard at 93.51 mph Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge at 97.50 mph Car 88, Havir / Putnam at 97.91 mph Car 374, Styles / Dillon at 106.34 mph and the fastest car of the night Car 25, Burke / Bradley at 108.49 mph
Fri 23-Apr-04 20:10	Here's our best attempt at capturing the drag racing action.
Fri 23-Apr-04 21:09	The cars have finished Special Stage 3 and we are entering the scores at this moment, please check back for them shortly. We will also have more photos from Morgan in the gallery soon. We will be live at the Hillsboro Stadium tomorrow morning for Parc Expose which begins at 9:00am.
Fri 23-Apr-04 21:11	Rally America would like to thank the organizers for all the help they have given us. They have been wonderful to work with and we truly appreciate all their help!
Fri 23-Apr-04 21:59	The scores and the gallery have now been updated, we'll see you tomorrow.
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:17	Welcome to the Hillsboro Stadium for Park Expose on the first full day of the Oregon Trail Pro Rally. It's a bright sunny morning and the weather looks great for today's racing!! There's festive air here with a DJ spinning tunes and the crowds are gathering even at this early hour!
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:18	Drivers are gathering for the pre-race briefing, also known as the "Drivers Meeting"
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:26	Car 122, Martin / DeMotte, are very excited with their first ever stage win on Special Stage 1 last night.
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:30	Car 215, Thomas / Gauger summed up the general consensus among teams that the drag style racing of Special Stage 2 was a nice addition, Jamies states that it was nice to try something new and be exposed to something we rarely see in rally...a christmas tree, and head to head racing. While it was a nice addition, most teams are reporting that today is the start of serious rally racing.
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:34	Dan Coughnour showed off his new toy at the drivers meeting, a radar gun. Teams need to watch their transit speeds out there.
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:40	Car 374, Styles / Dillon, does some last minute service at Parc Expose.
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:45	Spectators check out the cars at Hillsboro Stadium.
Sat 24-Apr-04 08:48	Future rallyist
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:00	Some very serious competitors taking in the morning "driver's meeting."
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:00	Car 49, Thompson / Nelson raced in their first drag race last night. Sans said that he may give up rallying since it was his best stage time in his class! They had a problem with a light relay but it has been repaired and they are set to go. Sans and Karen wanted to say hi to Eric Hauge. You can also check out their new web site at www.jaggededgemotorsport.com.
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:01	Car 25, Burke / Bradley have left the start ramp as the first car to begin the transit to the start of Special Stage 4. There will be 60 cars starting today.
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:06	Car 60, Davis / Sorenson stopped by to let us know that they are having a good time, they are second fastest in class after last night. Lee wanted to say hi to his wife Karen!
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:08	Here are some more images from Parc Expose.
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:12	Due to a problem with the center diff Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt, were essentially driving a rear wheel drive car last night. The issue has been resolved and they are set to go today.
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:15	Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz had an interesting Special Stage 3 last night, they caught a bird in the roof vent. Doug tells us it was a pretty big bird at that.
Sat 24-Apr-04 09:31	The cars are heading out to run Special Stage 4, Special Stage 5, and Special Stage 6 before they arrive at service in Vernonia. At service the teams will be regrouped and then they will be allowed a minimum of thirty minutes to work on the cars. The Rally America truck will be heading off to service shortly so we will be off line while we make the 35 mile transit to Vernonia.
Sat 24-Apr-04 10:07	The final car, Car 249, Thomas / Thomas, has started from Hillsboro.
Sat 24-Apr-04 10:07	We'll be in Vernonia shortly so check back often.
Sat 24-Apr-04 11:35	Special Stage 4 and Special Stage 5 are running at this time. We have reports from the stages that Car 83, Utecht / Secor is off and that Car 122, Martin / DeMotte has rolled on Special Stage 5. Everyone is reported OK.
Sat 24-Apr-04 11:38	From the reports we've heard from the stages it sounds like Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge was way out of sequence at the finish of Special Stage 5. They have finished the stage and we'll see if we can find out what happened when they arrive at service.
Sat 24-Apr-04 11:48	Car 62, Havas / Kean have finished Special Stage 5 with a flat right front tire.
Sat 24-Apr-04 11:51	Early in the day, Car 294, Dash / Weld broke an axle...and thanks to Delta V Motorsports, one of their fellow PGT competitors, who gave them a spare, they are continuing the rally!!! Good luck.
Sat 24-Apr-04 12:13	We have heard a few more things from Special Stage 5: Car 62, Havas / Kean drove out their flat and were changing it after the finish. Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz came around a corner and found a hay bale in the middle of the road. They were kind enought to punt it out of the way so nobody else would have to deal with it. An update on Car 83, Utecht / Secor, they appear to have mechanical problems and were reported working on it.
Sat 24-Apr-04 12:15	Car 288, Cavett / Lyden is reported to be running on 3 cylinders on Special Stage 5, they are trying to get the fourth one back before they need to continue.
Sat 24-Apr-04 12:18	Car 269, McKean / Folsom will be retiring after they blew a head gasket on Special Stage 5.
Sat 24-Apr-04 12:27	Here is a gallery of start ramp images from Hillsboro Stadium.
Sat 24-Apr-04 13:40	Car 49, Thompson / Nelson have returned to service and will retire for the day after a "soft roll" on Special Stage 5. Both Driver and Co-Driver are OK, with sense of humor still intact, with Sans reporting that if the car had wheels on top he could have kept going. Currently, they believe that they may have bent control arms, and after a check by their tech's may enter tomorrow's ClubRally if the car is ready. Jokingly, Sans states that it is Eric's fault because he is not here, Paul also states that if Sans thinks this is going to scare him, he's wrong. We wish them luck in getting their car ready to go again!!
Sat 24-Apr-04 13:46	Special Stage 6 has begun at 2:29 PM.
Sat 24-Apr-04 13:49	Car 374, Styles / Dillon just called us from their satellite phone from the turnaound stage courtesy of one of their sponsors, WCC Global Satellite Communications. They had a small fire in the cockpit on Special Stage 4 which originated from a camera wire, they lost the odo and about 45 seconds. Other than that, the car is runnng well and they are having a good time. I also spoke to Pat Richard courtesy of WCC Global Satellite Communications, he tells me things are going pretty well. On Special Stage 4 the team got a little lost in the notes and lost some time. Special Stage 5 went well and they hope to make up some time over the rest of the day. Pat's sister Nathalie is codriving for him again after a three year absense from the right seat. The team is looking to get back in the swing of things and have a sucessful season together. Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge tells us that they are having a good time. The two cars in front of them (122 and 83) were off on Special Stage 5 but they didn't lose much time slowing down for them.
Sat 24-Apr-04 14:02	We have a further update on the mechanical problem of Car 83, Utecht / Secor. It seems that they are having a problem with the shifting fork and they are stuck in neutral.
Sat 24-Apr-04 14:07	If you have any comments or questions please feel free to log on to the Rally America forums and drop us a note. We will do our best to get you the information you want.
Sat 24-Apr-04 14:13	The first cars are arriving at service, Car 25, Burke / Bradley and Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt are in.
Sat 24-Apr-04 14:55	Car 88, Havir / Putnam tells us that they are having rear diff problems, it kept locking up on them durring Special Stage 6 and causing a spin. Scott tells us that it's a very scarry ride but it does explain the right spin on the left hand turn. The crew is working hard to change the diff and get the team out of service on time.
Sat 24-Apr-04 14:57	The cars lining up to check into the time control at Vernonia High School.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:02	Car 23, Nelson / Beavis sustained some damage to the left rear last night when they hit the Armco on Special Stage 1. Today they hit a hay bale with the right front on Special Stage 6, they think they may have bent a ball joint and broken a half shaft.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:07	Car 25, Burke / Bradley spun twice on the first leg today, they tell us that the roads are marbley and the stages are a little tricky.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:09	Alex Gelsomino says that things are going well and they are having an enjoyable time. The roads are beutiful and Wyeth is improving with every stage.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:20	Car 288, Cavett / Lyden has turned it their time card and are retiring due to ECU problems.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:22	Car 229, Wellemeyer / Wellemeyer reports that the fan has been sticking open, but with their RWD Mazda are having a great time on the "slippery " stages. They are looking forward to the later stages.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:24	Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz reports that it was "encouraging" to be able to "get the power to the road" in the FWD Dodge SRT 4 after the marbles were sloughed off the stages. Dougs says the stages (and the weather) are beautiful and that dust is not a problem today.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:27	After an earlier problem with a right front tire down on Special Stage 5, Chris Havas is looking to try and gain back the time he lost. He reports that, although he did not know times for Special Stage 6, he felt very positive about his times.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:30	The picture says it all...#407 sponsored by Thule are out trying to get their rhythm down in their VW Jetta and have a good time!!! Not only are they enjoying themselves because of the great stages and wonderful weather, they are also currently running 1st in class and 21st overa.ll. If you would like to know more, they also have a new website www.4040racing.com
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:51	Car 49, Thompson / Nelson, has decided that they will not continue in the club event tomorrow. They plan on getting it back together and ready to go for Rim in two weeks.
Sat 24-Apr-04 15:53	The teams of Iorio / Ho, Hoeck / Lin and Davis / Sorenson all report that things are going great.
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:13	Car 273, Hoagland / Hoagland have retired from the event. They have two bent control arms on their Honda Civic. They have replaced them and are ready to go for tomorrow.
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:23	Early in the day, Car 294, Dash / Weld had to replace an axle, and had hoped to continue their day, however, they accumulated MPL, and are done for the day.
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:26	Car 432, Nelson / Montgomery had a blown tire on an earlier stage, however, their crew reports that they did not lose too much time. This is good, as they are planning to run for the GN championship.
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:33	Car 452, Foster / Rounds, the only Mazda RX3 here this weekend, is reporting that the car is running great. The other car in the Fling Pu racing stables, Car 229, Wellemeyer / Wellemeyer, has a new engine, and is also having a great run in their RX7, previously drived by Leon Styles.
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:33	Car 233, Eklund / Price has created their own forms in order to give us their updates from the stages and it is so awesome! Thank You Primitive Racing!!! (www.get-primitive.com) Special Stage 4, with an unforgiving treacherous surface, was a technically challenging first forest stage, but FUN! There were many twists and turns with many light level changes in and out of the trees. They spun and stalled the car at instruction 32 (about 7 miles in) of the route book, and yes they are using the route book as club competitors.(Paul Eklund) The roads on Special Stage 5 were soft gravel and had a "high centerline". The team spun 180 degrees between two ditches on a medium right two turns into the stage. They lost about ten seconds turning around. The codriver missed some early calls afterward, but sorted it out. (Jeff Price) On Special Stage 6 Paul tells us that they tried to make back some of the time they had lost on the previous stage.....and all is good! They say they road has a high crown but it's swept clean. Paul Eklund/Jeff Price) Thanks again guys, we really appreciate the cool update forms!
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:39	The cars are out running Special Stage 7 and Special Stage 8, they will then return to service for another thirty minute service break in Vernonia. We are expecting to see the first car around 6:15pm.
Sat 24-Apr-04 16:50	The SCCA Officials, hard at work at service.
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:01	The earlier report of Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge being out of sequence has proven to be untrue. They are actually leading the rally after Special Stage 6!
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:08	Car 88, Havir / Putnam is reported on the side of the road between the finish of Special Stage 7 and the start of Special Stage 8.
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:09	Stage 8 is hot.
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:34	Scores up to stage 8 are being posted.
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:41	Car 88, Havir / Putnam is withdrawing from the event, they made it through Special Stage 8 but are stopped on the side of the road on the transit with a rotor that is broken in half.
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:44	Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge believe that Car 25, Burke / Bradley has taken the lead from them. They stalled in a spectator area on Special Stage 8 and lost some time. This has been confirmed as Car 25, Burke / Bradley gained 22 seconds on Special Stage 8.
Sat 24-Apr-04 17:51	Car 374, Styles / Dillon, who were leading the ClubRally after Special Stage 6, still don't have an odo. Fortunately they are running notes and they only need the odo for the transits. Leon feels that, driving wise, he is going backwards but they are still pushing forward.
Sat 24-Apr-04 18:33	Car 254, Dreith / Warner rolled on Special Stage 7. The rolled softly in a spectator area and landed on the wheels, they continued through Special Stage 8 and to service. They have decided not to continue tonight or tomorrow.
Sat 24-Apr-04 18:37	Car 16, Komorowski / Beckwith are having a good rally. The team is settling in and getting used to Americn notes.The car is good and they really like the roads here in Oregon.
Sat 24-Apr-04 18:39	At RCG2, Nathalie Richard of Car 54, Richard / Richard, states that they are approaching this rally as an event of experience, as she has not co-driven for Pat in about three years. Nathalie reports that they are starting to get a rhythm.
Sat 24-Apr-04 18:49	Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz had a right rear flat five miles into Special Stage 8, they drove it out and only lost a little time.
Sat 24-Apr-04 18:55	Car 23, Nelson / Beavis appeared to have a right rear puncture (or very low tire pressure) upon their entry to the second service of the day and although they "tagged" 3 hay bales on Special Stage 8, they report that their rhythm seems to be settling in and they are happy with their times.
Sat 24-Apr-04 18:57	Car 323, Verdier / Walker have also "tagged" the now infamous "weed free indigenous" bales (AKA: hay) in Special Stage 8.
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:01	Car 60, Davis / Sorenson enjoyed Special Stage 7 and Special Stage 8, they noted that the stages were flowing and technical, with very few surprises. Lee would like to say hi to his wife, Karen, and although we cannot confirm if Bruce's dog, Beau-jinx will be surfing the web, Bruce would like to say hi to him!!!
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:02	Earlier today, Rally America photographer Morgan Segal had a herd of large elk cross the road in front of him as he was heading out to the stages. Hopefully they stay on the woods the rest of the weekend.
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:09	Car 260, Christensen / Woltman are running in their first event and are very excited. They think it was everything that they had expected and much, much more. While their goal was to finish this rally, they were ecstatic to pass Car 220, Bosch / Storke in Special Stage 8.
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:11	Car 236, Ogden / Kic have had a few small issues, to include a faulty fuel gauge, but reports no catastrophic issues. For more information on their team, please check out their website at www.rallyrabbit.com
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:16	Car 394, BerberVanzo / Chizma reports that they are having "more fun than 2 girls should have". At the turnaround after Special Stage 5, the team were busy rounding up the women of rally, the report that 10% of the entrants are women, and there was a picture taken. Their theme for the weekend is have "more smiles per mile" than any other competitors.
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:27	Car 233, Eklund / Price, gave us more of their wonderful update slips for Special Stage 7 and Special Stage 8. Special Stage 7 was a FUN STAGE and road has a good rhythm. Even though the dust was starting to hang and the front runners had kicked a few large rocks onto the surface, most of the drivers at the ATC seemed to really like it. (Paul Eklund) Jeff tried to pick up notes for the re-runs of theese stages...those running notes definately have an advantage. The bright western sun on Special Stage 8 was a factor, it's especially bad for the locals with eyes that are accustomed to the clouds! (Jeff Price) Car 233, Eklund / Price is sponsored by Royal Moore Subaru, Silverstone Tyres, and Taylor Made Labels, Inc.
Sat 24-Apr-04 19:48	Car 374, Styles / Dillon Special Stage 10- They are having trouble with a sticky throttle and mushy brakes. They plan on limping through the stage to finish the evening and fix things for the morning. Car 103, Gubelmann / Gelsomino Special Stage 10- DNF, on the side of the road. Driver and Co-driver are OK.
Sat 24-Apr-04 20:11	The cars are arriving here in Vernonia for the final MTC of the night. The teams will need to be back here by 7:30 am for Parc Expose.
Sat 24-Apr-04 20:17	Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt only had third gear when they came back into the service area. Jimmy tells us the clutch was pretty stinky and they needed a push off the line. The crew will no doubt be working hard tonight. The other car on the CPD team, Car 88, Havir / Putnam, will be running in the club event tomorrow.
Sat 24-Apr-04 20:34	Car 233, Eklund / Price stopped in with their final reports of the night: Special Stage 9 was swept clean and was very fast. The sun dropped and the visibility was BETTER! The roads were good thanks to the Organizers and the Forest Service. Also, thanks to the volunteer crew Ron, Ian, Tim and Erik Lynden. Paul said "We finally ripped one off!" (Jeff Price) Special Stage 10 was also swept and it was "greazy". At route book instruction 11 they slid wide at nearly full speed and came to a stop on the edge. The driver cleaned it up until about 3/4ths of the way through the stage. They ended up spinning and nosing up against an embankment. They ended up finishing out well. Thank You to the Organizers and RA for the day!! (Jeff Price) Paul says "It was a tough day, but we got through it. Now we have (2) broken diff bolts to remove and we will see you tomorrow".
Sat 24-Apr-04 20:36	Car 25, Burke / Bradley had a flat on Special Stage 10 that they drove out. It looks like they still may have won that stage!
Sat 24-Apr-04 20:41	Car 203, Brown / Heredos have been time-barred; in addition, they also have some body damage that resulted from sliding into a stump. They are planning to fix the car and be ready to go in tomorrow's ClubRally. They will be swapping driver and co-driver. Despite their issues today, the team reports that they had a lot of fun and are looking forward to tomorrow.
Sat 24-Apr-04 20:49	While repeatedly noting that he is a rookie in ProRally (it is his first ProRally), Car 37 driver Chris Rhodes came into the first service of the day with a big smile on his face. His co-driver merely stated that he was doing his best to "make him listen"...it apparently has been working as they have been consistently setting fast times and are currently sitting in 3rd place in PGT. They are 3rd in class and managed to catch a car despite the fact that they hit an embankment on Special Stage 12 and put the car up on two wheels before it came back down. Their goal now is to finish 2nd in PGT and they are certainly making a valiant effort toward that end.
Sat 24-Apr-04 21:02	Car 290, Hollingsworth / Hollingsworth have new HANS devices, the team reports that they "won't leave home without it" and feel very safe knowing that they will be restrained if the need arises.
Sat 24-Apr-04 21:23	The Rally America truck will be packing up and heading back to Hillsboro shortly. The final (informational) scores for Saturday should be up soon. Please check back with us tomorrow begining at 7:30 am for the final day of the Oregon Trail ProRally.
Sun 25-Apr-04 06:13	Good Morning!! It's a chilly Sunday morning here in Vernonia as the competitors start arriving for the final day of competition at Oregon Trail Pro Rally. Doug Havir will be back today in the club rally after shattering a rear brake rotor. Wyeth Gubelman may also be back today but that remains to be confirmed.
Sun 25-Apr-04 06:51	The drivers meeting is underway. The teams will be heading out to run Special Stage 11, Special Stage 12 and Special Stage 13 before returning to Vernonia for the only service of the day.
Sun 25-Apr-04 06:54	The following cars will not be re-starting today: Car 103, Gubelmann / Gelsomino, Car 207, Hintz / Hintz, Car 254, Dreith / Warner, Car 296, Husko / Avila, Car 229, Wellemeyer / Wellemeyer, Car 285, Goodwin / Wenzara. We will pass on more information on these teams as it becomes available. Car 269, McKean / Folsom will be an addition in today's events as the team did not run yesterday.
Sun 25-Apr-04 08:21	Cars are running Special Stage 11 and we just got word that Special Stage 12 will be transited due to a shortage of workers.
Sun 25-Apr-04 08:37	We previously reported that Car 229, Wellemeyer / Wellemeyer would not be re-starting the rally today. During the later stages of the rally last night, they began having exhaust problems, and did not want to risk creating additional problems with their new motor, and have chosen to withdraw. The second car in the Fling Pu team, with the RX3 they dubbed "the oldest car running", described their experience on last night's stages as "sliding on the skid plate" detailing ruts deeper than their car, they did sustain a cracked shock mount that they were able to weld up and continue the rally. As it is their first rally, they are just trying to finish and have some fun. Their website, www.flingpu.com, is currently under construction but will be up and running soon.
Sun 25-Apr-04 08:39	Car 724, Korpal / Schleicher is listed as a DNS, with the team being called home for an urgent issue.
Sun 25-Apr-04 08:42	Car 203, Brown / Heredos is returning to the rally today after carefully modifying a fender with the highly technological tool (sledge hammer). Last night, the fender had a close encounter with a stump. The car is in good shape, and sporting two new front tires (Silverstones), that Doug is anxious to break them in.
Sun 25-Apr-04 08:54	Car 233, Eklund / Price dropped off an update already this morning: It is cool and clear at the MTC this morning but we're expecting 80 degrees! The crew is back today - which is a good thing when they are volunteers. Unfortunately it appears Car 207, Hintz / Hintz and Car 288, Cavett / Lyden are out. Hintz lost the AWD and the tranny last night and Cavett had ECU problems. The rumor is that the stages are "ruf & rocky" today. (Jeff Price) Jeff also tells us "Our plan is to finish and improve for Rim!" The cars getting ready to head out to start the day. Car 425, Seedorf / Schmidt who are currently leading P class in the ClubRally by 7.5 minutes.
Sun 25-Apr-04 08:57	Car 234, Unger / Corbett is being reported as "out" on Special Stage 11. Car 425, Seedorf / Schmidt is currently at the start of Special Stage 12. They will be withdrawing from the event. More details to follow as they become available.
Sun 25-Apr-04 09:33	As earlier reported, Car 103, Gubelmann / Gelsomino were "out" on Special Stage 9 last night. The crew were finally able to retrieve their car in the wee hours of the night. They determined the problem to be a wiring issue and were able to drive it out of the stage. They had accumulated MPL., and have decided to forego the ClubRally today, in favor of getting ready for the upcoming Rim of the World ProRally.
Sun 25-Apr-04 10:40	Car 83, Utecht / Secor, loaded up the car and brought it to service this morning. They wanted some help to pull the gearbox and see what the problem was that caused them to DNF on Special Stage 4 yesterday. The team is leaving the car here in Oregon with the Tabors untill Rim.
Sun 25-Apr-04 10:57	Special Stage 12 being transited, as the noon hour approaches, the cars are beginning to arrive at the first Regroup Control. More news to Follow!
Sun 25-Apr-04 11:00	From the Regroup control: Under the instructions of a control marshal, Car 88, Havir / Putnam backed up, resulting in a minor collision between them and Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz. The drivers are safe and exchanging insurance information.
Sun 25-Apr-04 11:02	It has been reported that Car 37, Rhodes / Hackett has rolled at or near the end of Special Stage 13. Having sustained damage to the right side of the car, they changed a tire on the transit and are attempting to continue.
Sun 25-Apr-04 11:16	It's been reported on Net Control that Car 209, Van Bogart / Van Bogart , is withdrawing from the event, but are returning to Service under their own power. Car 452, Foster / Rounds is parked at the spectator location on Special Stage 13. They've requested that their crew bring them parts.
Sun 25-Apr-04 11:37	Car 207, Hintz / Hintz report having fun driving a rear wheel drive Subaru last night, but it cost them 3 positions on the final stage of the club rally. They are hoping to have the tranny & diff back together in time for Headwaters.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:11	"I'm OK Mom!!" says Chris Rhodes of Car 37, Rhodes / Hackett. The team rolled their car at the finish os Special Stage 13 when they clipped a stump on the inside of a right 5 turn that tightened into a right 3. They landed on their wheels and continued on into the finish, they believe they even maintained their position of third in class! Some how they managed to loose the route book out the window in the roll, but they retreived it after they finished the stage. The team found a window net and has continued on. Chris, David and the car re all OK, really Mom!
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:13	The cars were regrouped prior to being sent out to run Special Stage 14, Special Stage 15 and Special Stage 16.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:18	The rally is quite interesting in the front of the pack. Car 25, Burke / Bradley and Car 54, Richard / Richard are swapping stage times, despite the fact that Bradley reports that they are merely trying to hold on on to their lead, and that Car 54, Richard / Richard has been having a "problem" with their notes this morning. Car 54 Co-Driver, Nathalie Richard reports that while it feels like they are experiencing a "steep" learning curve this weekend as she is trying to get accustomed to the US notes, and trying to get in a rhythm with Pat again as they have not competed together in three years. Despite the "tough weekend", Nathalie reports that she feels that all the excitement/issues of the weekend have led to a "rebirth" of sorts, and that although she has been nervous, Pat has been very patient and reassuring. At this time, they are focusing on the battle for times with Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge. Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge states that while there is is no "battle" in the front of the pack per se, Driver Carl Jardevall did note that Car 54, Richard / Richard has been "picking up" the pace.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:23	Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt say that they are getting used to each other and are communicating well. After some problems with the car yesterday, they feel that they are now at a place where they can start to set some fast stage times.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:29	Car 88, Havir / Putnam, "decided to check out how solid the bank was" on the first 3 right on Special Stage 13. Scott tells us it felt like they were on their side they were down in the ditch so far. They also lost some time a little farther down the stage when they had a half spin on another 3 right.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:36	Car 374, Styles / Dillon had a little trouble leaving the start this morning, they figured out their error about 2 miles down the road. They turned around and made it to the start of Special Stage 11 with pleanty of time. They also had some trouble on the stage in a downhill right hander. They somehow snaked their way through and avoided falling off the edge of the very crowned road down the hill.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:40	Car 89, Hoeck / Lin reported Special Stage 13 to be a little tricky. The team had a problem in a 1 right and had to back up to get straightened out, they lost a little bit of time. Later in the stage they nosed it into the bank on a right 3, they took it easy for the rest of the stage and made it back to service in one piece.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:45	Car 63 reports that they had a "moment" during Special Stage 13 during a Left 3, where they "overcooked" it and put the back end into the tree. This does not appear to be a major issue based on the stress level in service after that stage. They did report that other than their "moment" that they were doing rather well, and thought that they were close to Doug (Shepard), which is where they want to be.
Sun 25-Apr-04 12:56	Car 60, Davis / Sorenson, feel that the stages are pretty mabley and it's making the road conditions pretty tough. Hopefuly the roads will be swept clean by the time they run them again.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:01	While leading the rally, Car 25, Burke / Bradley is reported to be out with a blown head gasket between the finish of Special Stage 14 and the start of Special Stage 15.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:05	This rally is the first one on notes for Car 432, Nelson / Montgomery and only their second rally together. They previously have had a malfunctioning sensor for their center diff, additionally, they felt that yesterday especially on Special Stage 8 (Greg Montgomery please note), they did not feel like their car was setup very well; however, they are confiedent with their times today and feel like they are getting their rhythm down.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:06	Car 452, Foster / Rounds has been reported as broken at the spectator area on Special Stage 13. There crew has gone to retrieve the car and crew.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:08	Last night Car 407, Freehill / Elliot lost the rear bolts off of their skid plate, it was dragging on the stages but fortunately it wasn't dragging on the highway home. At service today, the team was concerned that they may have a bad ball joint or control arm since the car was "darting all over the place". They left service on time and hopefully their repairs were sucessful.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:11	Car 99, Iorio / Ho reports that, yesterday, they were pacing themselves, however, today, it appears that it is possible to finish in the top 10, as well as the top 3 in class so along with keeping all 4 corners "good", that is now their goal. Matt states that the car was "pushing" in Special Stage 13, but that he likes it that way.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:18	Car 215 Driver Jamie Thomas states that although today's stages were really good stages, that they were "loose and nasty", she states that if "you get going to fast, you WILL go sideways or go off" Jamies says that they are running good and the car is great.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:19	Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz came into service making a little racket, Doug thought they may have a dust shield dragging on the left rear. They had an interesting moment on Special Stage 13, they tried to go left at a right hand turn. After thinking about it for a second they proceeded the correct way.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:29	Car 16, Komorowski / Beckwith reports that they did really well on Special Stage 11 and took time off of all of his competitors in PGT except for Verdier, who is currently leading, and Car 215, Thomas / Gauger, who is about 3 minutes ahead of them. Two other PGT competitors were experiencing troubles. Car 66, Mendham / Mendham has withdrawn with what appears to be an ECU problem. Car 37, Rhodes / Hackett rolled over. However, but because they rolled over very near to the finish line on Special Stage 13, they lost very little time. The few seconds they did lost were apparently due to the fact that the route book was thrown out of the car and needed to be retrieved. They are fine and will continue on.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:34	After Special Stage 13, Car 52, Shepherd / Gladysz leads Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge by a mere 8 seconds. With Car 25, Burke / Bradley out of the rally, Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt moves into third place just about two minutes back.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:39	Car 290, Hollingsworth / Hollingsworth noted that they were very happy with the amount of spectators in the spectator stage on Special Stage 13, said that was the most spectators that they had ever seen. They also stated that today's stages seemed looser than they have been in previous years, or even just yesterday. In a continuation of the story regarding their use of the HANS device, Car 290, Hollingsworth / Hollingsworth informed Rally America that they also intend to retrofit their car in order to add the new lateral-support seat that has become popular of late, not only in ProRally, but also in the WRC. The lateral support seat is helpful to prevent basal neck injuries, which can occur in accidents with side hits to the car. Car 290, Hollingsworth / Hollingsworth states that with the addition of the seats they will be as well protected in the car as is possible.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:46	Car 294, Dash / Weld has reportedly withdrawn on Special Stage 14. It is also reported that Car 88, Havir / Putnam is on its roof about 8 miles into Special Stage 14, the team is OK and sweep is assisting.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:53	Car 277, Schmeling / Kasten and Car 274, Rodzinski / Rodzinski report that the hairpin in the spectator area prior to service were particularly a "tough read"; this is evidenced by the bank scrapings from those who came before these two teams.
Sun 25-Apr-04 13:59	Car 218 driver Gary Rea is in the left seat for his very first rally this weekend. He generally rides in the right seat for his son, who has joined the US Air Force. Of his time in the left seat, he stated that his son is much faster than he is, and while very proud of his son, he chalked some of that up to the lack of fear that 20 year olds enjoy. The MR2 that Teresa Holem usually right-seats for has recently been sold, and kindly offered to ride along with Rea for his first drive. The team refused to comment on any "moments" they may have had, but were smiling and happy that nothing was bent or broken.
Sun 25-Apr-04 14:04	Pat Richard and some of his crew chat in the regroup. The car came into service smoking a little, apparently something locked up in a rear wheel. The crew changed a drive shaft, among other things, while in service.
Sun 25-Apr-04 14:06	Due to the attrition on Special Stage 13, with at least 4 cars off, Car 220, Bosch / Storke decided to "let everyone else go by" and proceed cautiously in an attempt get a finish on their first rally. Although they reported having a "slight" moment, they had no visible damage.
Sun 25-Apr-04 14:19	Car 233, Eklund / Price was kind enough to drop off some more updates at the last service: The rumors about the surface of the stages today were wrong. Special Stage 11 was smooth with a high crown and a bit slippy. The ditches were deep and the shoulders could catch you out. (Jeff Price) After the transit of Special Stage 12 they found that Special Stage 13 was very tricky, espically at a really tight spectator area. The tracks there showed the cars were all over the turn.. (Jeff Price) Paul didn't seem too happy with that stage, he said, "screwed up that one!!" (that's as close to what he actually said that I can come).
Sun 25-Apr-04 14:24	Car 232, Tabor / Poirier has a potential rally driver on their hands! The team tells us that all is good even though they have had to run the A/C to keep cool :-) They did run out of front brakes on the morning stages, they were going to change pads and get back out there.
Sun 25-Apr-04 14:28	The cars are in for the finish of the rally, we will have updates and scores to you soon. Apparently, Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt has wrinkled Al and Heidi's car a little more.
Sun 25-Apr-04 14:55	The top three overall finishers for the 2004 Oregon Trail ProRally are: Car 54, Richard / Richard - 1 - 2002 Subaru WRX Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge - 1 - 1997 Mitsubishi EVO IV Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt - 1 - 2001 Subaru WRX
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:09	Car 90, O'Sullivan / Brandt had the transmission pop out of third gear in the middle of a left four on Special Stage 14. They ended up going off the road and into the forest. Jimmy stated "We hit nothing". They guess it was just bushes and small trees that caused all the damaged. It appears to be just panel damage, a couple new doors and a new fender and Heidi and Al should be good to go.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:13	It looks like Car 62, Havas / Kean will be using the services of one of their sponsors. I think that used to say Auto body.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:31	Al found somebody to loan him their mini-bike at service.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:31	Car 54, Richard / Richard were ecstatic for their win, it is Pat's 3rd in a row, and Nathalie's 1st. They are "really happy" for the win and although they are unsure if they will be running the full season, they will definitely be at Rim.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:32	Please make sure to check the gallery, there are new photos from Morgan.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:41	Car 39, Jardevall / Trowbridge detailed their run as "fairly well", and Carl noted that it was a definite bonus to be sorrounded by the beautiful women that were also on the podium with him!!! As was the case all day, Carl and Patrick were trading times, with Patrick winning ss14 and ss16, and Carl winning ss15. Carl will not be running at Rim, but Amity will be running with Bill Malik.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:43	Car 23, Nelson / Beavis reports a 4th place finish, which Chrissie calls a "good run" and stated that they ended up working very well together.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:48	Car 101, Brown / Holter were very happy with their run this weekend, despite a road penalty. Ole states that they wanted to go just fast enough to bump up their speed factor to the mid-80's. This is the first time in 4 years that Mark has run, and he was happy with the performance of his 2.0L 16V Golf GTI. He recently got a brand new motor that seemed to work great, and will likely only need a little fine tuning. Mark and Ole will be running at Rim.
Sun 25-Apr-04 15:50	The Rally America truck is packing up and heading down to the final festivities at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse.
Sun 25-Apr-04 17:38	Here are the final updates from Car 233, Eklund / Price No records were set on Special Stage 14 but it was a clean run. Special Stage 15 was a good stage, glad to be able to run it!! Thanks organizers! It was tough, even with stage notes, and there were many areas to get caught out. A spin 3.9 miles in a spin almost sent us over the edge, we got it going though! (Jeff Price) Special Stage 16 was swept and clean. The acute got us again but the stage felt better. There were great spectators at the switchback! Ours eyes are on Rim and the fix list is complete! Paul said that "One piece is always good" (Jeff Price) Primitive thanks the Organizers, Rally America, and the other great volunteers for the event. More thanks to our 'crack crew': Ron, Ian, Tim and "Mark Mark" and a special thanks to the "Primitive Pit Poopsie" Kimberly. *Rally America would like to thank Primitive Racing for all their great information, keep it coming!
Sun 25-Apr-04 17:44	The scores are offical! Thanks for checking in with us throughout the 2004 Oregon Trail ProRally. If you have feedback or comments for us please use our forums. Rally America will be live from Rim of the World May 7th and 8th.