It’s time again for the most exciting motorsport in the world to make its annual visit to Oregon. Round 4 of the Rally America Championship comes to town, May 14-16, for the extremely popular and challenging Oregon Trail Rally. This year’s event will follow the familiar format of spectator special stages in the heart of the city at Portland International Raceway (PIR) on Friday, followed by some new and exciting special racing stages on Saturday and Sunday on the forest and county gravel roads south of the Columbia River Gorge.

After a very successful 2009 event, running to the east of Portland for the first time, the Oregon Trail Rally will return again to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge region. Oregon Trail Rally Chairman Matt Tabor is excited about returning to this scenic area of the state. “Last year’s event was one of our best ever, the weather was great and the competitors and fans loved our new location. We want to thank the people and county officials in Hood River and Wasco Counties for their support to bring the event back there again this year.”

Travis Pastrana pushes his Subaru Impreza WRX sideways during the 2009 Oregon Trail Rally.
Image © Aaron Kathman

The Oregon Trail Rally is known as a tough test for rally racing teams as they take on the challenging Northwest forestry roads. While the event is held in late spring, unpredictable weather conditions have always been a factor for competitors. Coupled with the tight and twisty nature of the special racing stage roads quite often make this event a battle of attrition.
Teams from across North America and Europe are scheduled to compete at the three day event.

* Subaru Rally Team USA driver & Freestyle Motocross champion Travis Pastrana took first place at last year’s Oregon Trail Rally. Pastrana achieved an outstanding six overall wins in 2009, including a silver medal at X Games 15, as he went on to win his fourth consecutive Rally America Championship.
* YouTube Gymkhana driving legend Ken Block has formed a new team, Monster World Rally Team, and will test his 2010 Ford Fiesta on the challenging Oregon roads. Block has the speed to win in Oregon. Will this be his year to celebrate at the top of the podium?
* BMX Legend and Subaru Rally Team USA driver, Dave Mirra, has moved up to the powerful Open Class this season following a successful Super Production class run last year. Mirra is well known in the action sports community with a line of video games besides being the most decorated X Games athlete in history.
* Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard, always a fan favorite, will return in his NOS Energy Drink Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.

Unlike circuit racing, Rally racing takes place mostly on temporarily closed gravel roads, and the course is unknown to competitors until they face the special stage at speed. Variable road conditions, changing weather and the race against the clock must all be taken into account by rally teams as they hurtle their finely tuned racing machines through day and night. The three-day contest includes 16 timed competitive special stages, with the action taking place at Portland International Raceway on Friday and on the challenging forestry and county gravel roads around Hood River, The Dalles and Dufur on Saturday and Sunday.

Mike Nagle, Clerk of the Course for the event, has put together a challenging course for the national and international competitors. “This year’s combination of forest and rural grassland stages will be a mixture of old and new and is sure to challenge the crews. For the fans we are planning a Rally street party on Saturday evening in Dufur after the conclusion of the day’s racing action. We have received great support from local businesses and land owners and we are delighted to be able to bring this national event and the associated economic benefits to the area.  The town (located 15 miles south of The Dalles along hwy 197) will be supporting two spectator sites in the immediate vicinity, and invites all fans to attend the after race party with the rally teams on Saturday evening”.

Event Schedule (tentative):

Thursday, May 13

11:00 – 13:00 Rally Fan Appreciation Pioneer Courthouse Square

Show Downtown Portland

Friday, May 14

18:00 – 20:45 Fan Spectacular Portland International Raceway

Saturday, May 15

10:00 – 11:00 Parc Expose The Dalles

11:00 First Car starts Day Two The Dalles

11:00 – 20:00 Competition Stages (Free) Hood River/Dufur Area

19:30 First Car Finishes Day Two Main St. Dufur

Sunday, May 16

10:00 – 11:00 Parc Expose Main St. Dufur

11:00 First Car starts Day Three Main St. Dufur

09:00 – 15:30 Competition Stages (Free) Dufur Area

15:30 First Car Finishes Event Main St. Dufur

Rally Headquarters: Shilo Inn-The Dalles.  Phone: 541-298-5502

Additional information on the 2010 event will be posted on the events website, http://www.oregontrailrally.com, as details become available.

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About Rally Racing

Rally racing is one of the world’s most challenging and popular motorsports. It is considered by many as the extreme sport of automobile racing and it’s often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” Unlike any other type of car racing, rally teams compete in any weather, on challenging forest, mountain or desert roads.

Racing takes place only on “special stages,” using demanding back roads temporarily closed by local authorities for the event. “Transits”, driven at normal highway speeds with teams fully subject to all traffic laws, connect the “special stage” sections together speeds. Vehicles can only be serviced and repaired at designated “service” locations and for set periods of time.

Rally vehicles are production-based cars and trucks from manufacturers around the world. All competition vehicles are installed with mandatory safety features to protect the competitors. They compete both for the overall victory and wins within a class structure that groups together vehicles with similar performance.

Each vehicle carries a driver and a co-driver/navigator. Using a detailed route book and a sophisticated rally computer, the co-driver keeps the team on-course and advises the driver of any hazards ahead.  This role is as critical as the driver’s skill, since the team is traveling at full racing speeds over roads they have never before seen, in any type of weather.

About Rally America

Based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2009, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship rally events at venues across the country, from Portland, Oregon, to Bethel, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street-legal cars on natural-terrain courses of gravel, dirt or snow.

Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers are invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action-sport event that is broadcast worldwide live on ABC and ESPN. For more information, visit http://www.rally-america.com.

For further information contact:

Oregon Trail Rally Chairman: Matt Tabor, 503-638-7373 or otr@oregonrally.com

Oregon Trail Rally Media Officer: Robert Mahony, 503-987-0323 or robertm@oregonrally.com

Rally America Director: J.B Niday, 763-553-2742 or jbniday@rally-america.com

Rally America Marketing/Media: Ananda Siverts, 206-302-8289 or ananda@rally-america.com