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Sunday: Race Day Three 
Subaru Rally Team USA have won the tremendously perilous 2008 Oregon Trail Rally. Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer have piloted their Subaru Impreza WRX STI to a solid victory in an event plagued by catastrophe. With no more than a single flat tire to dampen their lead, Travis and Derek took first place by an astonishing three-and-a-half minute margin. On the first day of this rally, an excellent performance on the tarmac stages placed them twenty seconds ahead of the competition. Throughout day two, Pastrana and Ringer drove flawlessly and multiplied their strong lead. With the comfort of a formidable time advantage, the duo cautiously completed stage after stage and reached the top of the podium unscathed. It would seem that Travis's luck has caught up again with his talent. This is the first 2008 event win for car #199, and the first win for Travis with his new co-driver, WRC Champion Derek Ringer of Scotland. "We had some trouble finding our rhythm early in the rally, but then it all just came together and I just started driving smooth and fast while it seemed everyone around me was hitting trouble, it was a wild event," explained Pastrana. "The roads were just amazing, lots of fun but very challenging. This win puts us right at the front of the championship hunt." Travis now stands in second place in the 2008 Rally America National Championship, only one point behind first. This year's Oregon Trail Rally wasn't all champagne and championship points for many of the competing teams. Questionable stage notes, technical difficulties, and debilitating crashes forced over half of the field to retire. The first stage of day three claimed at least six cars. In the Production GT class, front runners Stephan Verdier and Scott Crouch parked their 2004 Subaru WRX upside-down in a ditch. Their closest competition at this event, Piotr Wiktorczyk and Benjamin Slocum, also managed to slide off a stage. With the top two contenders for the PGT win unavailable for victory, Patrick Moro and Mike Rossey stepped up to the top of the podium, followed by Nathan and Brandye Conley. In third place were Paul Eklund and Jeff Price, who are campaigning a new 2008 Subaru WRX STI—currently the only one in the Rally America circuit. While some of the accidents in this seemingly star-crossed venue resulted in substantial damage, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino managed to venture off the course yesterday without seriously harming their vehicle. "There was a misleading stage note that caught me out, we slid a bit wide and into a ditch and just got stuck there," said Block. "It was so frustrating because the car was totally fine and undamaged, and I had not been pushing at all." Although Block and Gelsomino retired from the race, they haven't damaged their chance at winning the 2008 Rally America National Championship. The significant points lead they earned with back to back finishes at the 100 Acre Wood Rally and the Olympus Rally has enabled them to afford a DNF. They now hold third place overall, only three championship points from first. Today, Ken Block traded cars with Dave Mirra, who was set to receive Ken's ride next month at the Susquehannock Trail Rally. This morning, Ken handed over the vehicle with an inscription on the hood which read "Congratulations, Dave! It's graduation day... here's your new car. Keep the shiny side up!" New to the Rally America series, Mirra had been operating a naturally aspirated 2002 Subaru Impreza. Mirra showed considerable improvement in the new car, placing third on stage 14 and fourth on stage 16. The final day of the rally culminated in a mile-long spectator stage which proceeded without incident and the previously harsh heat faded into a pleasant evening. The notorious Oregon Trail Rally has drawn to a close. The Rally America National Championship's next stop is Wellsboro, PA for the Susquehannock Trail Rally. In the meantime, Travis Pastrana and his Subaru Rally Team USA crew will head to the Acropolis Rally, in Greece, where they will compete in their second event of the 2008 Production World Rally Championship (P-WRC) campaign.
Saturday: Race Day Two 
Day two of the 2008 Oregon Trail Rally has come to a close and Subaru Rally Team USA is in first place. Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer top the scoreboard with a comfortable lead of one minute and twenty-seven seconds. Their Subaru Impreza WRX STI has performed flawlessly and they've won three out of six stages today. The twenty second advantage they had at the end of yesterday was nice, but an extra minute is superb. If they make it through tomorrow without a hitch, winning this rally could put them at the top of the standings for the 2008 Rally America National Championship, on track for Travis Pastrana's third consecutive championship title. Things haven't fared as well for many others today. The Oregon Trail Rally is notorious for racking up retirements and this year is no different. Steep banks and tight turns often claim competitors and there have thus far been ten retirements, with a whole day's worth of stages still to come. Among those to slide off the beaten path were car #43, Subaru Rally Team USA's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino. On stage six, the second of the day, Ken and Alex went off the road over a steep bank. The car and its operators were completely unharmed, but nonetheless forced to retire for the day. Today's misfortune won't be the end of that car's competition at this year's Oregon Trail Rally, though. Since Rally America National Championship events run simultaneously with Rally America Regional Championship events, Ken and Alex will enter tomorrow's regional rally. They won't, however, be driving the same car. Car #43 will be re-numbered as #40 and handed over to Dave Mirra and Alex Kihurani. Mirra, a legendary BMX athlete and rookie rally driver, was going to be receiving Ken Block's Open Class Subaru WRX STI at next month's event, as Subaru Rally Team USA have chosen the Susquehannock Trail Rally to debut the Open Class 2008 Subaru WRX STI. When Mirra also earned a "did not finish"—or DNF—it was decided that the two teams would switch rides. Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino will take Mirra's car, a 160 horsepower, naturally aspirated 2002 Subaru Impreza. That puts Dave Mirra in his new car, the monstrously powerful 340 horsepower Open Class 2007 Subaru WRX STI. In the Production GT class, Subaru Contingency Program driver Stephan Verdier and co-driver Scott Crouch are doing very well. Not only are they currently first in class, they are also in fifth place overall. Verdier and Crouch have their sights set on a class win and the top of the PGT Championship standings. Piotr Wiktorczyk and Benjamin Slocum are close behind in their 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX, with current PGT Championship leaders Patrick Moro and Mike Rossey trailing in third. Tomorrow's race will inevitably be an intriguing mix of competition. Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer have a definite shot at the top of the standings for the 2008 Rally America National Championship. Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino will be attacking a regional rally with less than half of their usual horsepower; and Dave Mirra will be piloting one of the most capable cars to ever compete in the Rally America National Championship.
Friday: Race Day One 
The 2008 Oregon Trail Rally kicked off its first day of racing at the Portland International Raceway today. The Pacific Northwest is notorious for its nearly incessant drizzle, but the conditions today were far from soggy. Clear skies let through the sweltering sun and it was hot and dry all day. Despite record-breaking temperatures, throngs of rally fans made it to the race track to watch the first four stages of the rally, which ran this evening. Today's stages consisted of a mix of gravel and tarmac, spanning the road course and motocross track at the Portland International Raceway. Under eight miles in total, the four stages weren't long by rally standards, but there was plenty of opportunity for Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer to take the lead. On stage one, Travis and Derek sported fresh BFGoodrich tarmac tires and used their grip advantage to pull ahead of second place by nearly seven seconds. Pastrana and Ringer took Car #199 to first place on the followings two stages, but got second place by three seconds on stage four. At the end of the day, Pastrana and Ringer lead the pack by fourteen seconds, a healthy lead with which to start day two. Like the majority of the field, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino opted for gravel tires on Stage 1. With today's stages being a mix of gravel and tarmac, either type of tire would have its benefits. Block and Gelsomino ended up ten seconds behind Pastrana and Ringer on the first stage, but were considerably closer on the next two stages. On stage four, they went wide on a turn and collided with one of the rather large rocks which lined the course. Car #43 has seen worse, though. Block and Gelsomino had to back up and continue driving, losing eight seconds in all on the stage. Ken and Alex finished today in third place, twenty seconds behind their Subaru Rally Team USA teammates, Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer. In Production GT, the battle between first and second place rages on. Although Patrick Moro and Mike Rossey in Car #59 are first in the championship, they've given up PGT class first place at the past two rallies to Stephan Verdier and Scott Crouch in Car #429. These two teams have shared a friendly rivalry this season and are in extremely close competition. Although Verdier and Crouch grabbed the top time for Production GT in the first three stages, Moro and Rossey came back with a strong enough time on Stage 4 that Verdier and Crouch have only a nine second buffer between them and their challengers. While they're pushing to stay ahead of each other, the rest of the PGT class will be hot on their heels, endeavoring to overtake first place. With under seven percent of the 2008 Oregon Trail Rally completed, the competition has barely begun. There are still over one hundred miles of challenging, technical forest stages to be run during this scorchingly hot weekend. With Ken Block defending his Championship standing and Travis Pastrana looking for his first win of the season, Subaru Rally Team USA is guaranteed to be going all out this weekend. Stay tuned for updates and photographs of the outstanding rally action here in beautiful Oregon. Thursday: Pre-Race 
Subaru Rally Team USA is in Oregon for the fourth race of the 2008 Rally America National Championship. The Oregon Trail Rally takes place in Hillsboro and neighboring towns. Pioneer Square, a downtown Portland landmark, was abuzz with activity as Travis Pastrana and Ken Block signed autographs for fans and showed off their Subaru Impreza WRX STIs . Later in the evening, Travis attended Thursday Night Motocross at the Portland International Raceway where competitors of all ages greeted Pastrana the Motocross Legend. Tomorrow, Subaru Rally Team USA will return to Portland International Raceway to kick off the Oregon Trail Rally before hitting the woodland stages. Unlike last month's fast and open Olympus Rally in Pomeroy, WA, the Oregon Trail Rally is comprised of twisty, technical roads. The drivers will be battling for seconds and their skills will be challenged to the limits of their abilities. Given the heat wave expected to hit this weekend, the roads may be quite dusty in the lower altitudes, while there remains the chance of residual snow up high. Without a doubt, this year's Oregon Trail Rally will be a demanding and challenging rally in which the competition is fierce and the stakes are high. |
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