Stay tuned for...  - Monday, April 20, 2009
Oregon Trail Rally in Portand, Oregon on May 15-17, 2009.

Wictorczyk takes 1st SP win, battle is for second in class  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Car #61 Wiktorczyk / Dorman has taken the SP win as well as the lead in the SP Championship; they ran a near flawless event and were able to capitalize on Car #46 Johnson / Wimpey brake problems.

While never far enough of the competition to get comfortable, the competition never got close enough to battle for the lead; however, that is not to say there was not fierce competition throughout the class. Before Mirra went out, he and Car #523 swapped stage times; not only was Car #523 battling Mirra, he was getting a lot of pressure from class competitor Car #59 Moro / Crouch as well. They swapped stage times all day and really had a exciting afternoon battling, during which Hanson got a flat on the latter running of thr Brooklyn stage, which he ran out. The stage has drop offs on either side, that when combined with the lack of steering caused by the tire, and the battling of teams, conspired to make it the "scariest stage ever" according to driver Travis Hanson.

Wolfe setting a great example  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Car 23 driver Lars Wolfe is setting a great exampe and good times today.

Lars is a prior two wheel drive competitor from California. Lars started rally driving by taking a driving school at Team O'Neil Rally School several years ago, and drove his front wheel drive Volkswagen Jetta like he stole it! And he did it for several years, getting accustomed to its characteristics, wrenching on the car, focusing on "inside the car" dynamics, and painstakingly learning his craft as a driver, until he had it down.

In the meantime, he also serviced for some other teams, and changed employ to the premiere Mitsubishi tuner in the US.

After doing everything that is recommended and spending his time in the trenches, he has arrived at Olympus Rally with a beautifully prepared all wheel drive Mitsubishi SP class Evo and is setting good times - he is in the top 10 overall - and the car still looks immaculate!

Mirra off on Brooklyn  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Car #40 Mirra / Ringer is all done after sustaining front end damage.

Picture at twitpic.con/3lmxa; courtesy of Ryan Douthit www.drivingsports.com.

Blocks frustrating day is finally over  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Car #43 Block / Gelsomino is off on SS13 with the hood up at about 3 miles in.

Picture courtesy of: Jen Horsey.

Winners of John Nagel Regional Rally  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Top three Overall
Car 538 Svedin/Bradley
Car 232 Tabor/Hansen
Car 288 Cavett/Burnely

Open
Car 538 Svedin/Bradley

PGT
Car 232 Tabor/Hansen

Light
Car 401 Garth/McPhee

G2
Car 366 Janny/Janny

Mancin quietly maintaining position  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Car #176 Mancin / Wislawski was leaking gear oil at SS4 yesterday. The team fixed their issues and appear no wore for the wear today. Mancin has been maintaining his position here without little drama an only slightly slower than Foust. He will likely fair well should be continue this strategy and the other top teams suffer mechanicals or race for positions.

SP lead in limbo  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
Car #61 Wiktorczyk / Dorman will be pushing it today. If they can take the SP win, they will be able to capitalize on Johnson's misfortune, and take over the SP championship lead from Johnson. Wictorcyk is about one minute ahead of the closest SP competitor, Dave Mirra. To round out the top three, Car #523 is only 7 seconds behind Mirra. The latter two having been trading stage times throughout the event. It is close enough that any misstep by Wictorcyk can change up the SP leaderboard.

Day 2 has begun - leaders struggling with mechanical problems  - Sunday, April 19, 2009
We are starting day 2 of the Olympus Rally.

At the beginning on the day, Car #43 Block / Gelsomino is leading. How long with that last? After SS9, with transit passing by service, Block stopped. He is complaining of no power. Today, the problem cannot be attributed to just the restrictor. It seems the turbo is not functioning correctly and providing no boost. They are continuing on, but are excepted to lose considerable time.

Car #34 Foust / Beavis is also experiencing mechanical problems - by way of a bad transmission. After setting fast times on several stages yesterday, his SS8 time was glaringly slow. The team has replaced the dog-box with a standard synchro transmission.

Of the top three, Car #20 Comrie-Picard / Durant has been remarkably problem free thus far. The car has been sorted and the team looks as stress free as is possible at a rally. They arrived in the area early in the week, and are looking good for at least a podium finish.

We are in the Pacific Northwest...  - Saturday, April 18, 2009
even Sasquatch (OR Chewbacca, I guess) works rally events out here!

Notes from SS3 and SS4  - Saturday, April 18, 2009
Cars are starting SS5 after a long delay. Some quick updates from the stages are as follows:

Car #198 Gruszka / Wronski has DNF'd - no further details are available at this time.

Car #176 Mancin / Wislawski was leaking gear oil at the entry to service. It has been repaired and they are continuing on.

Car #61 Wiktorczyk / Dorman had a small off and the car was overheating.

Car #523 is having small "adjustment" challenges with the new car, but are much happier with it than they were at 100 Acre Wood.

Stage 4 had too short a shut down at the end of the stage and was transitted by most of the field.

In a live update form, Car #233 Eklund / Price stated "the STI is performing perfectly. We would like to thank Tim at Surgeline Tuning for the tireless work - the SP is getting us good power...now we just need to drive it to STI standards." The team would also like to thank Jason, Dave, and the venerable Nate for services today - we are looking forward to the famous Brooklyn Stage tomorrow. The spectator crowds hae been stupendous!"

Photo courtesy of: Will Mattox.

Crane Creek Stage Cancelled  - Saturday, April 18, 2009
While it is sunny and in the 60's today, the canceling of the Crane Creek Stage is evidence of a winter that is not far gone.

Crane Creek had 3 feet of snow on it still, and while the organizing committee worked valiantly to get it cleared, they were unable to do so and thus, had to cancel the stage.

Crane Creek was to be run twice and was 7.73 miles long.

Notes from SS1 and SS2  - Saturday, April 18, 2009
After a parc expose in Aberdeen, Washington, the cars transited one hour northwest to start SS1. With SS1 and SS2 being identical, it gave fans a great stage to watch from.

The first run of the stage caused trouble for Car Car #56 Szewczyk / Karzynski and Car #93 Olson / Ketelsen. Car 93 obviously getting the worst of the stage as they rolled multiple times into a freshly logged area; having hit multiple stumps throughout. The car has heavy body damage, to all panels (except the drivers door).

During SS2, it was obvious some teams felt more confident, some to their own chagrin; the conditions from corner to corner exacerbating the problems as well. Car #198 Gruszka / Wronski came around a corner, shortly after the start of SS2 looking very good and obviously experiencing a generous amount of grip; unfortunately, the following corner, sliding wide, obviously expecting grip, but getting none. Gruzska hit the ditch hard enough to pop the rear wheels off the ground on impact. While he was able to get out of the ditch and continue on, it was obvious Gruzska had other mechanical problems - it sounded as is he had a poorly running motor.

Photo courtesy of: Jen Horsey.