Portland, Oregon April 22, 2018 Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew continued their dominance of the Oregon Trail Rally, winning the 2018 edition for the seventh time in the last eight years at the wheel of their Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2018 Subaru WRX STI rally car. The Oregon Trail Rally, regarded as one of the most scenic and fastest rallies in the USA represented round one of the 2018 American Rally Association series.
“I’m happy to get the win and it was great to be back in my
Subaru again,” explained Higgins at the podium. “Today was a proper Sunday
drive just trying to manage our lead! We stayed clear of any problems and our
Subaru STI was perfect. This rally is a joy to drive, it has a little bit of
everything and the fans are fantastic.”
The victory did not come easy for the British team, David would get
the short straw at the seeded draw, putting him out first on the road, om very
loose and fast gravel stages. The three-day
event got underway Friday evening at Portland International Raceway, with four super
special stage on mixed surfaces, gravel, grass, and asphalt.
Higgins would take 3 of the four-super special stages with his
team mater Chris Atkinson taking victory on SS 3. Irish Driver Barry McKenna
had a strong showing early in his Ford Fiesta but was slowed with coil pack
issues on SS3 and 4. Barry’s team worked into the night making repairs to the
Fiesta, to put him on the start line for day two.
The rally HQ moved 80 miles east to the Dalles for day two and
three, crews would cross the Columbia river into Washington State for day two.
Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew would charge into the first
stage battling the very loose gravel, on “Dalles Mountain Uphill”
With a very slim margin over Atkinson of only 2 second, we had
expected to see the Aussie power ahead and better Higgins but running second on
the road was really not much better as there was so much gravel there was barely
any track of a line from Higgins.
At the end of the 10.6
mile stage, Higgins somehow managed to ekk out the stage win by a single second over McKenna with
Atkinson just a second off the Irish Team rounding out the top three.
Ss6, the first pass over Badger Gulch would see the start of a recurring issue on these very fast Washington State stages, the top three drivers all broke the bogie time for the stage. McKenna would step up the pace on the first pass of SS 7 “Oak Flat” taking the stage victory over Higgins, the same stage would see Atkinsons hopes for his first US rally victory come to a fiery end. His Subaru would burst into flames half way through SS7, Atkinson and longtime co-driver Stéphane Prévot managed to get the small fire under control, but had to retire on stage.
Again, on the second pass of Badger Gulch, the first 6 drivers broke
the bogie time, resulting in them all been awarded the bogie time.
Higgins would answer McKenna’s pace on the second pass on Oak
Flat, taking the stage victory with a 4 second gap. With the departure of Atkinson, Ken Block
would move to third behind McKenna. Higgins would take the victory on both passes of the short and twisty Tarmac twisty ‘Maryhill” stages.
The last big test of day-one would be SS12, “Dalles Mountain
downhill” again total dominance from Higgins and Craig gapping McKenna by 10
seconds. Conner Martell would round out the top three. As the teams returned to Dalles for the overnight break, David
Higgins had a one minute lead over McKenna, despite some mechanical issues with
his 25 year old Cosworth Escort during day two,Ken’s Hoonigan Racing team kept
him in the game, ending the day-two in third.
Keeping their Rocket rally supported Ford Fiesta R2 “flat to the
mat” throughout the day, the Canadian duo of Jason Bailey and Leanne Junnila
were holding first overall in 2WD.
Taking full advantage of an off-season rules change that now
allows Super Rally, Subaru mechanics worked their magic to get Chis Atkinson
back on the road for the final day.
After a meet and greet with fans at the Park Expose in Dufur
teams headed out to tackle the 8 special stages of day-three. With his overnight
lead in hand, Higgins and his trusty sidekick Craig Drew would again take up their
road sweeping duties, running first on the road.
SS 13 the first pass of “Boyd Loop”, with its infamous jump, which
I should note is the only jump in the entire rally, again, we would see the top
four cars hit the bogie time, as noted earlier this was a significant issue at
Oregon Trial Rally. Despite being some of the most scenic stages on the calendar,
these roads are too fast and lack technical features. It’s also very challenging
for the organizers to set up chicanes without encroaching onto precision private
farm land.
Having nothing to win or lose, Chris Atkinson put on a master
class in flat out driving, leaving us all wondering could he have mastered
Higgins on these unfamiliar stages.
Despite a mechanical issue or a rare mistake from Higgins it was
all but an impossible task for anyone to catch him, but apparently the hard charging
McKenna did not get the memo staying within a second of Higgins time on the first
pass on the morning stages. Ken Block would fall to forth due to a wheel issue,
moving Jeff Seehorn to third at the mid day service.
McKenna’s magnificent drive would be slowed with a soft roll on
SS18 “Starveout 2” losing around 11 minutes, fortunately Barry and co-driver
Leone Jordon were uninjured and were able to get back on the road and limp back
to service for some quick repairs, his overall podium finish was all but gone,
but he was still in the hunt for points and the 4WO podium.
Closing out the final stages of the rally, David Higgins would
back off a little giving stage victories to Atkinson and McKenna. In the end it
was yet another magnificent victory for the Manxman, and more so a great start
to his 2018 championship bid.
Starting the day fourth overall with a four minute lead in their
class, the Seehorn Rally Team elected to emulate David Higgins and Craig Drew –
working to maintain the gap and score as many championship points as possible.
Despite a puncture setting them back early in the day, the strategy paid off;
Seehorn and Jankowski earned a class win and their spot on the overall podium.
Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino
surprised with their surprise Oregon Trail Rally entry last week. The team,
competing in a 25 year old World Rally Championship spec Ford Escort RS
Cosworth, wasn't in it to win the rally; they were just looking to have a fun
weekend. Block and Gelsomino went home with a third overall finish at the
event.
Starting the day holding their
podium position, Block and Gelsomino quickly came under threat due to
suspension damage. The team passed through 2 stages in the morning loop with a vibrating
right rear. Block lost nearly three minutes and was passed by Jeff Seehorn.
Despite the mechanical troubles, Block and Gelsomino overcame attrition and
took back their podium spot late in the day after McKenna's roll.
Winning the Open 2WD class and
placing seventh overall were Jason Bailey and Leanne Junnila. The pair,
normally rivals in the CRC, quickly fell into sync as teammates in Bailey's R2
Fiesta. The rally veterans quickly showed their pace and experience, opening an
early lead on the competition and maintaining it to win the class. Dodging
mechanical issues and keeping a hard charging Erick Potts and Claudia
Barbera-Pullen at bay to win the Open 2WD by just over a minute.
Speaking of, Erick Potts and
Claudia Barbera-Pullen took second in the Open 2WD class and ninth overall in
their newly upgraded supercharged Subaru BRZ. The pair pushed hard in their
first event together since NEFR in 2017, taking two stage wins and keeping
their loses to a minimum. An impressive drive considering 2018 was Potts' first
Oregon Trail Rally.
Lucy Block and Krista Skucas
took third in Open 2WD and twelfth overall in their first rally together since
NEFR 2015. The pair drove a steady rally and finished without troubles, though
they did lose the front bumper from their R2 Fiesta on the final pass through
Deere Run. The bumper was signed by sweep crews and returned after podium
celebrations.
For more info on the series click here.
