Ojibwe over, but the Championship is still undecided  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
The champagne has been sprayed and the results are final for the 2008 Ojibwe Forests Rally. Here are your Overall and Class winners:


Overall and Open
Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer
Car 55, Sarasin / Johansson
Car 2, Pinker / Durant

PGT
Car 686, Nunnemacher / DeMotte

Group 5
Car 52, Shepherd / Wagner

Production
Car 708, Zedril / Zedril

Group 2
Car 182, Alva / Slocum

With only two events remaining and the Championship points race winding down, the competition is only just starting to heat up! Make sure to tune in when the Rally America National Championship heads West for Rally Colorado September 13-14.

Krolikowski's win 10,000 Lakes  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
Car 44, Krolikowski / Krolikowski, edge out Car 83, Utecht / Bohn, for the victory in the 10,000 Lakes Regional Rally. With a margin of only three and a half seconds, it was a hard fought battle for both teams. Car 494, Pakos / Sawicki rounds out the podium in their Group 2 Ford Focus.

Zedrils take Production class win  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
Canadian brothers Jan and Jody Zedril drove a confident event this weekend at the Ojibwe Forests Rally to extend their lead in the series championship. The duo crossed the finish line on Saturday with no rear window, after a freak accident that saw their radio antenna snap onto the glass and shatter it midway through the second day. The incident didn't appear to phase the crew, who performed well on the technical stages of this event. The Zedril brothers compete on both sides of the Canada-U.S. brother, but said they weren't sure whether they would attend the final two events of the 2008 Rally America season. With Colorado Cog hot on the heels of Canada's Round 3, and LSPR in direct conflict with Round 4, the duo hope their victory here will be enough to secure their class title.

Happy 30th Birthday  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
To "Cowboy" Kenny Bartram!! To celebrate his birthday, he drove to a fifth place overall finish at the Ojibwe Forests Rally.

Pinker's strategy pays off  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
The plan for today for Car 2, Pinker / Durant, was to "just keep going and be there if anyone has a drama". Well, that strategy resulted in a podium finish for the team. The team had been gaining on Car 55, Sarasin / Johansson, all day and pulled within 25 seconds of them at the finish; ultimately, there weren't enough miles left in the rally to overcome their problems on SS4 yesterday.

Cars arrive to the finish  - Saturday, August 23, 2008

With a number of cars still stuck on stage, it is hard to say what all the standings will be. At this time, the Open class and Overall winners for the Ojibwe Forests Rally are as follows:

Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer
Car 55, Sarasin / Johansson
Car 2, Pinker / Durant

If a tree falls in the woods....  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
How many cars will be stuck on stage? After further information has come in we have figured out some details from SS15. Yes, Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, hit a tree, but they were not blocking the road. It wasn't until about eight cars later, when the tree fell into the road, was the road blocked. Unfortunately, Block and Gelsomino were unable to continue.

Hintz and Hintz retire  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
Car 207, Hintz / Hintz, were forced to retire due to a mechanical problem; "the car broke it's timing belt". The team was disappointed, but stated "we had fun while it lasted!"

Challenging drive for Bartram  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
At the service earlier today Car 690, Bartram / Hotson-Wimpey reported that the car felt unpredictable and the rear end felt very loose. The crew found that the bolt stripped in the right rear trailing link. The Sisu mechanics had to get creative and ended up drilling through the body to re-attach it. Adding to the excitement, Bartram finished the day with a different co-driver. Hotson was still under the weather this morning, so Jeremy Wimpey happily substituted. "We're having fun and just getting used to each other in the car" said Wimpey. Leaving the service, the team was in sixth overall.

Block hits tree on final stage  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
It has been reported that Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, have hit a tree on the the final stage of the rally, they are OK. The stage is being transited due to the road blockage; it is unknown if Block is able to continue at this time. We will update you as more information becomes available.

Gearbox change for Sarasin  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
The crew for Car 55, Sarasin / Johansson, used their long service break to put a new gearbox in their Subaru. The problem started with a broken motor mount, then the gearbox started to make funny noises on SS10. By SS11, all the gears were making bad noises; "it sounded like a rock polisher" said Johansson. At one point the team was stuck in 5th gear, but they happily made it back to service. The crew was able to make the necessary repairs and Sarasin remains solidly in third place.

Nunnemacher leads PGT  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
"We're winning the war of attrition" said DeMotte, but they did lose a battle with an outhouse today. Yes, an outhouse! DeMotte takes the blame for a late call; the car went around and they backed it in to an outhouse on the outside of a turn. Fortunately it was an old abandoned outhouse, and the only damage to the car was to the rear bumper cover and quarter panel.

Better day for the Krowlikowski's  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
Yesterday Car 44, Krolikowski / Krolikowski, ended up high-centered on SS5. Sweep was able to pull them out, but they lost nearly 30 minutes. Cindy called it a "wake up call" and their heads are back in the game today. The husband and wife team are currently second overall and first in Open class in the 10,000 Lakes Regional Rally.

Block maintains lead  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
But their lead is shrinking. The team is pushing hard, but after a hard landing on the nose after a jump earlier today they've decided that they are done jumping...at least this car. Three stages remain, including the 22 mile stage that will finish the day.

Update  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
Unfortunately it wasn't a mechanical problem that took Car 14, BeberVanzo / Holter , out of the rally as previously reported; the team rolled on SS10. They are OK, but the status of the car is unknown at this time.

More trouble on day two  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
It has been reported that Car 198, Gruszka / Dorman, has had a mechanical problem and is being towed to finish of SS9, on the same stage Car 614, Wiktorczyk / Beavis, has suffered a left front flat but is continuing. We have also been told that Car 811, Sozanski / Sawicki, is upside down on SS10, the team is OK, but their day is done. There's a rumor that Car 841, Chernick / Czubaty may be short on fuel, hopefully they will make it to service. It also sounds like Car 14, BeberVanzo / Holter, is done for the day as well, the team has requested their crew.

We don't expect cars here at service for another 30 minutes, we'll try and find out the details when they arrive.

Ojibwe to be decided today  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
It may be cold out this morning, but the competition will be heating up. There is a pretty steady wind blowing this morning which will help with the dust. "The dust was not too bad yesterday because the wind was clearing it, but if the winds would have died down we would have been in trouble" said Pastrana. With Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer starting second on the road today, they hope the windy conditions continue. But, with more than 70 miles of stages left to contest, anything can happen! The teams will run four stages before a one hour service break about 4:30 this afternoon in Osage; three more stages will complete the day with the finish back in Bemidji around 9:30 tonight.

See you tomorrow!  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
At the finish of day one, Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, have extended their lead to just over 20 seconds over Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer. The field spreads out from there; Car 55, Sarasin / Johansson were able to maintain third, but are nearly three minutes out of seconds. Car 2, Pinker / Durant, have fought their way back into the fifth spot after a tough first leg of the rally. It was reported that Car 811, Sozanski / Sawicki, had to push their car over the final finish line of the day; I'm sure there's a good story there, we'll try and catch up with them in the morning to get it.

The Ojibwe Forest Rally continues tomorrow with the final seven stages. The cars will be on display at the Northwestern Technical College starting at noon; the first car will start the competition at 1:00pm. Make sure to check back to see all the latest news and to see if Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer, is able to maintain their Championship lead!

Provisional Regional results  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
Provisional Paul Bunyan's Ride results are in:

Overall
Car 83, Utecht / Bohn
Car 198, Gruszka / Dorman
Car 319, Greenhouse / DeRose

Cars reach the finish of day one  - Saturday, August 23, 2008
The cars are starting to arrive to the finish of the Paul Bunyan's Ride Regional Rally and day one of the Ojibwe Forest Rally. The scores should be updating shortly.

BerberVanzo hopes to return tomorrow  - Friday, August 22, 2008
Break problems forced Car 14, BeberVanzo / Holter, to retire on SS3. "We burned the brakes up, they started on fire a couple of times" smiled BeberVanzo. The team is also without third gear, which Amy laughs that she is actually getting used to driving without. "This is our first time here; we love the roads and hope to be able to get back in the rally tomorrow" said BeberVanzo.

Subaru teammates battle for lead  - Friday, August 22, 2008
Almost seven seconds separate Car 43, Block / Gelsomino, and Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer, at the first service break of the rally. "I'm trying to put pressure on Ken (Block)" said Pastrana "I just need to beat him this weekend." Pastrana not only likes night stages and the longer stages better, he feels that he does better on them. With the rally finishing with a 22 mile stage after dark tomorrow, Pastrana believes that if he is within ten seconds of Block, he can still take the win.

On the other hand, Block needs to win here to have a chance at the top spot in the Rally America Championship. "It's tough, we have to finish the rally, but we also have to beat Travis...call it a conservative push" said Block. The team had another tough situation yesterday when they drew the number one pick in the seeded draw. Being first on the road you avoid the dust, but you also have to clear the road of all the loose gravel for the rest of the field; if you choose to be third, the road is clear, but you risk dust. The team chose to be first on the road and feel that they made the right choice.

There's a lot of rally left, the battle is just beginning!

Bartram in fifth  - Friday, August 22, 2008
Despite a co-driver that is not feeling "quite right", Car 690, Bartram / Hotson is in fifth place after the first four stages of the day. "I felt like we were slow but consistent on the first two (forest) stages of the day" said Bartram. The team went off on stage three, "but it was where it looked like the five cars in front of us went off too" laughed Bartram.

Sarasin comfortably in third  - Friday, August 22, 2008
After four stages, Car 55, Sarasin / Johansson, are solidly in third place. Fortunately, the team lost very minimal time when they caught and then had to pass the damaged car of Pinker. The plan is to try and hold off the rest of the field; "I'd like to pretend that I can push and catch Pastrana and Block, but they're just too far ahead right now" said Sarasin "the car feels really good and we just need to keep on the line of the cars in front of us."

The bad luck continues for Pinker  - Friday, August 22, 2008
It was a large rock that caused all the problems for the Rockstar Energy team of Pinker and Durant on special stage three. The team was able to avoid the rock with the front of the car, but unfortunately, they got it with the left rear. They were able to complete the stage, but things were getting progressively worse. By the time the team finished stage four the left rear wheel was dragging 90 degrees to the car and had worn a hole in the wheel well. "Robbie thought we were on fire...again, but it was just tire smoke", Pinker was able to muster a smile. It has not been an easy season for Car 2, Pinker / Durant, but they plan to press on, yet again!

Early trouble for some  - Friday, August 22, 2008
It has been reported that Car 593, Pin / Butler, is stopped on the side of the road with a bad clutch; their crew is already on the way to get them. Car 14, BeberVanzo / Holter is off on stage 4 with a possible mechanical problem, their crew has been notified. It also sounds like Car 2, Pinker / Durant, is having problems. The car is still on four wheels, but the left rear is pointed the wrong way and "just dragging"; they requested that the car behind them be given an extra minute window so they don't impede them.

Cars arrive to service  - Friday, August 22, 2008
The first cars are expected to arrive to service soon, teams will have 45 minutes to make any necessary repairs to their cars before heading out to run the final four stages of the night.

199 leads  - Friday, August 22, 2008
With less than a mile of the rally complete (the Superspecial), Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer, lead by just over a second and a half. Car 690, Bartram / Hotson and Car 2, Pinker / Durant round out the top three. The cars are expected to make it to service around 7:30pm, they will be half way through day one of the rally at that point.

Bartram shows off for Bemidji fans  - Friday, August 22, 2008
"Cowboy" Kenny Bartram thrilled hundreds of local fans with a freestyle motocross show last night at the Bemidji Speedway. The fans were treated to a special surprise when fellow rally driver Travis Pastrana showed up. It didn't take long for Travis to find a shovel, make himself a take-off, and steal Kenny's bike for just one little backflip on the dirt pile. The show was followed by an autograph session where the fans were able to meet their favorite teams and collect some posters.

Of course we race in the rain!  - Friday, August 22, 2008
The skies have turned gray and the rain has started to come down here at the Bemidji Speedway in Northern Minnesota. The rain is actually a very good thing for the teams; it has been an extremely dry summer in the area, so the already historically dusty roads of the Ojibwe rally were expected to be even worse. We'll see if it rains enough to make a difference on the stages tonight.

Welcome to the Ojibwe Forests Rally  - Friday, August 22, 2008
Round seven of the Rally America National Championship. Teams will be tested by 15 special stages and over 140 miles of competition. The competition will start this afternoon at the Bemidji Speedway with a Super Special stage at 4:30. The teams will run the Speedway stage in reverse start order before heading out to run seven more stages in the Paul Bunyan State Forest. Starting first in the forest (and last at the Speedway), is Car 43, Block / Gelsomino' they will be followed by their Subaru of America teammates Car 199, Pastrana / Ringer and the Rockstar Energy team of Car 2, Pinker / Durant. A total of 28 teams round out the start list.