23 Apr Multiple Battles too Close to Call Heading into OTR Day 3

Article written for American Rally Association here.

Goldendale, Washington (April 23, 2017)

Travis Pastrana currently leads Subaru Rally Team USA teammate David Higgins by 14.2 seconds after two days of competition in the Pacific Northwest. The battle is close, with three of yesterday’s stages being decided by under a second. “It felt awesome,” said Pastrana.

Day 3 at the Oregon Trail Rally takes us across the Columbia River to Goldendale, Washington. 50.75 stage miles, with a heavy emphasis on tarmac, separate drivers from their podiums and none of them are yet set in stone, it’s too close to call.

Today features one of OTR’s iconic stages, the uphill windy road Maryhill. We will be live from the second pass through this historic 2.68 mile piece of asphalt. Today also showcase the highest point of the rally, 2450 ft on Columbia Hills. At 14.2 miles, Badger Gulch is the longest stage of the weekend and over one third of the stage is tarmac.

Higgins started the day spent much of the Saturday reeling Pastrana in, pulling to within 5 seconds heading into the day’s final loop. Saturday’s final stage would prove a setback for Higgins, a puncture three miles from stage end cost him all the time he gained through the day. Higgins was disappointed, but ultimately optimistic, with Sunday’s stages near Goldendale.

“We got the gap down to about 4 seconds,” said Higgins, “which is 100{35d58eeb8b49444ad810a23b95fe22fb037ffcdad0061d8ef06091e66aa30395} what we want to try and aim for tomorrow.”

The battle between Higgins and Pastrana will be the one to watch today. Pastrana has time in hand, but has so far used eight of his allotted ten tires. Higgins, only four. That means Pastrana will start the day on two used tires that he will have to conserve, while Higgins can push hard, confident that he has fresh rubber waiting for him at service.

Jeff Seehorn and Karen Jankowski are sitting third overall and first in Restricted Open 4WD. Despite running much of the day with a broken exhaust and a melted co-driver bag, the pair have found themselves in a strong position, 4 ½ minutes back from the leading Subarus and 2 ½ minutes ahead of Coffman. “We’re pretty comfortably where we are,” said Jankowski, “now it’s really about finishing tomorrow. That will accomplish all of our goals.”

Competition for the second podium spot in RO4WD is tight. James Rimmer leads Travis Nease by 13.6 seconds. The story is much the same as it is with the rally leading Subarus, Nease took more stage wins throughout the day, but Rimmer’s wins were larger.

Production 4WD is a class of one this weekend, but that one is currently fourth overall. Matt Coffman is finally feeling comfortable in the car. He told Oregon Trail Rally media, “this was the first time in a long time where I felt I was able to drive to the notes instead of what just what I was seeing ahead.”

The 2WD battle is fierce. Cameron Steely and Ryan Millen spent Saturday trading stage wins, finishing the day a mere 10.9 second apart. Both drivers expect the same story today. Last year, Millen lost 20 seconds to Steely on Maryhill alone. He’s looking to improve on that performance, “We’ve got some tricks,” said Millen, “we’ve got some big changes for tomorrow in setup.”

Steely expects to lose some ground on the new Goodnoe stage. “I think [Millen] is gonna be pretty good there, because he’s pretty brave,” said Steely, “I’m not quite as brave as he is.”

The battle for the final spot on the 2WD podium is just as contested. Dave Wallingford currently leads Jason Bailey by 9.5 seconds. Wallingford held back early in the day, expecting less grip than what was on tap. He made up for it in the afternoon, gain back all the time he lost in the morning, and then some. “On the first leg we weren’t totally committed,” said Wallingford, “but once we found it was nice and grippy, we decided to ‘send it’ on the 2nd leg.”

As always, be sure to check out the American Rally Association live timing page for up to the minute timing and scoring presented by Nameless Performance. Also be sure to follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages for livestreams.

Check in often, OTR 2017 is going to be close.

Photo Credit: Alex Wong

About American Rally Association (ARA)

We are a member driven organization dedicated to the sport of stage rally by providing a transparent and inclusive sanctioning body. A 501 (c)(3) non-profit, ARA is lead by elected and appointed board members who deliver a framework for safety, competition, promotion, and educational forums for all aspects of the sport. The common goal of our members, volunteers, and organization is a thriving stage rally program in America.