OpenPaddock RallyCast

Just who is Nick Bukky, and why did he choose a Honda Fit of all vehicles to get started in Stage Rally? We talk about that and one of the newest regional events on the ARA calendar, the Boone Forest Rally.  Then Mike and Geoff talk about some of their autumnal exploits and cancelled rallies. We hope you enjoy this cricket filled round of our virtual rally pub.

This is our Al Dantes Jr. Memorial episode. Al was a friend to all of us in the rally community, and a guest on this podcast several times in the past. I hope these stories from Bryce Proseus, Shanti Witt, and Ryan and Heather George give you all a small glimpse of just how special this big guy was. He may be gone, but his legacy will continue long into the future.

In this episode we chatted with 17 year old Henry Tabor, one of the first recipients of the 43 Institute Flat Out 43ver Tribute Award. For those that may not have heard the name Henry Tabor, he's a young talent from here in the Pacific Northwest with a strong family history in rallying of which 3 generations are still competing today. We chatted with Henry about his successes in both rallying and circuit racing as well as the accident that put his racing aspirations on hiatus.  The episode is a little dated as we recorded it a little over a month ago, but it's especially significant we just got word that Henry was returning to racing this weekend at Tour de Forest! Follow Henry and the Tabor Racing Team on these social channels Henry Tabor Instagram Tabor Racing Team Instagram Tabor Racing Team Facebook

In this episode Geoff and I talk with Jacob Despain of Black Hole Rally Team. Jacob tells us how he and his dad got started in rallying and about their come from behind win at Rally Colorado. Then Geoff and I chat about some items in the rallying news including "Fuel Gate" and rally safety procedures. Also, Geoff got a new mic and doesn't sound like his in a deep dark hole anymore, so put down that wrench, grab a tasty beverage, and join us at the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast podcast.   Link to help out Cindi Carlson:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/b3xy8-cindi-needs-our-help   Muse's Supermassive Black Hole track:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsp3_a-PMTw

Welcome back! It's a brand new episode of the RallyCast and a hopeful look forward to a consistent structure of new content ahead. Sit down, pour a cup of coffee or a glass of beer, and join us as we talk about a plethora of topics. From restrictors to podiums, to some incredible performances we've seen this season, the new episode is a return of your favorite rally podcast with Mike at the helm and a new voice from casual rally driver and full time internet comedian, Geoff Sandvoss from Canada.

This is the first of several episodes we're doing for a post LSPR / ARA championship series. To kick it off we're chatting with one of the most competitive national classes that doesn't get much attention, and that's the Limited 2WD class.  Driving mostly stock machinery, L2WD is more about consistency and maintaining momentum than it is about power or top speeds. Since ARA combined their class with Open 2WD for event podiums a couple years ago, it's been rare to see L2WD competitors spraying champagne. With a championship that went down to the final event, we decided it was a good idea to give them a bit of the spotlight here on the RallyCast podcast.   In this show we chatted with Robert Yglesias of Pura Vida Rally. He's the 2021 L2WD Cup Champion, and was defending the title going into 2022. We'll let him tell the story from there...   You can follow Roberto’s Pura Vida Rally Team on these social media channels: Intagram Facebook YouTube

In this episode recorded back in September we chatted with Myron Georgakopoulos and Alison LaRoza who's dramatic finish at STPR was one of our favorite Press on Regardless stories of the season. Myron's newer to the stage rally scene but the Georgakopoulos name isn't.  Myron tells us about growing up around rally and his dad's influence leading to him rebuilding the family car and getting it back on the stages.  We also talk about the love hate relationship with some of STPRs stages, how much the community of Wellsboro celebrates the event, and scraping along to a class victory with cheering fans in tow.   You can follow Myron and his American Truck Repair Rally Team on Instagram at @atr_rallyteam and Alison LaRoza at @alisonlarozaracing

In this episode we chatted with Gabe Jacobsohn and Colin Schulz of Flying Finish RallySport. Coming from humble rally beginnings first as fans, then volunteers, to working on cars and competing themselves, they've learned a lot about the sport of rallying from just about every aspect. They're applying that experience to make products available through their Rally.Build brand so new and existing rallyists get all the stuff necessary to pass tech inspection with flying colors. We also get into a bit of inter-team rivalry as they both prepare for the upcoming Lake Superior Performance Rally.   Check out https://rally.build/ for anything from safety harnesses and rally tires to spill kits.    Follow Gabe Jacobsohn at https://www.instagram.com/garbozoom/ and https://www.facebook.com/garbozoom  Follow Colin Schulz at https://www.instagram.com/608rallysport/ and https://www.facebook.com/608Rallysport  

In this episode we caught up with Derek James soon after his class win at NEFR in July.  We talked about how he got started in rallying, sibling rivalries with his brother Matt, being a mechanic and driver, and his work with his alma mater to get young  people hands-on involved in rallying. Oh, and we also reviewed the 2022 New England Forest Rally.   You can follow Derek James and his James World Rally Team (JWRT) on these social media channels: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesworldrallyteam/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/James-World-Rally-Team-1315678675119594

In this episode recorded back in July, we chatted with young co-driver KJ Miller after his high flying class victory at Rally Baie-des-Chaleurs.  We asked about what got KJ interested in motorsports, events he's competed in so far, and what his goals are for the future.  With KJ being a bit of a social media master, we also asked about how to get more young people interested in rally.   The Oregon Trail Rally YouTube video can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMqtJJMWflo   Follow KJ Miller on these other social media networks here: TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@rally.kj Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rally.kj/ YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB0srhsVW504iYg3Q8ObAgQ    

If you're a dedicated rally fan like us, then you're probably an avid watcher of the Subaru Launch Control series. The series has always been well produced, beautifully shot, and brought out some of the great stories from the sharp end of the field. However, after 9 successful seasons it was time for a change.  We chatted with Warwick Paterson of Formula Photographic and Chris Bowes of Bowes Media about what's going to be different in the new season and why.  

In this episode we chat with Sam Albert, one of the fastest privateers in the ARA. Sam's always very open about and honest about his thoughts on the championship, so we decided to give him a call to discuss the upcoming ARA Open Class rules for 2023, how it might affect privateer drivers like him, and his goal of putting a Ferrari engine into his Subaru WRX STI. Yes, you heard that right. So grab a cold one and join us for another round at the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast podcast.

This episode is another one that was temporarily lost due to technical issues.  Back in March we talked in depth with Mark Piatkowski about what it was like transitioning from his NA4 Subaru that he works on mostly himself to a full blown homologated M-Sport Rally2 Ford Fiesta with all the bells and whistles at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. 

This is a re-release of an episode from a couple months that had technical issues. We chatted with  talked with Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino about their 100 Acre Wood experience, the current top level of competition this year and dodging wildlife. We also chatted with Leon Jordan of McKenna Motorsports about WRC cars and what makes theirs different from the Hyundai i20 used by Hoonigan. This was all recorded before the new ARA 2023 Open 4WD guidelines were released.

In this episode we chatted with one of American rallying's biggest advocates, Bryce Proseus. He tells us about how just going to see his first stage rally was an adventure in itself. The hook was set and it wasn't long before he wanted to get into co-driving which led to a dramatic barn hunt for a working motor having blown the original one in pre event test. But the adventures of Bryce Proseus certainly doesn't stop there. In one of his grandest adventures he chose to take his rallying experience to the next level by competing in Rally Moto at Sandblast earlier this year. In true Proseus style, he had challenges just making it to the start line, let alone getting to the finish. 

This is a special episode in conjunction with Dirtfish and their celebration of Women in Motorsports. In this show your host took a bit of a backseat and let the guests drive the discussion on this important subject. Topics ranged from their personal experiences, ways we as a community can better support and encourage more women to be a part of our rally family, and some of the great things that Dirtfish is doing specifically to expand the coverage of women in our sport.   Don’t forget the Dirtfish Women’s Summit available to attend for free March 10th. Details are here:  https://dirtfish.com/womens-month/    For women looking for a career in motorsports, the FIA Women in Motorsports careers booklet Leanne mentioned in the show is here: https://www.fia.com/multimedia/publication/your-career-motor-sport    For those women more specifically interested in the engineering path, the FIA has a program with their touring car championship that can be found here:  https://www.fia.com/careers-motor-sport

One of my favorite things at a rally is to get a quick word with competitors as soon as I can after they finished. You get some of that raw emotion of their success, whether that’s just getting to the finish or winning their class.  Although I wasn’t physically at Sno*Drift, I called up several competitors to get their reactions from this year's unusually slick event, soon after they slid past the icy finish boards. You’ll hear from overall winner Mark Piatkowski, Regional Overall winner Ivo Draganov, as well as Patrick Gruszka, Al Dantes Jr., Julien Sebot, and Stephen and Katie Gingras.

In this episode we go to the very sharp end of the ARA field of competitors and chat with Subaru Motorsports USA's Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino. Travis gives us a rather long medical list of why he had to miss Sno*Drift, even though he tried to convince his doctors he could still compete. Rhianon tells us about how much extra work she and Travis are doing to keep a competitive advantage as their closest competition switched to top level WRC machinery, and why her dad is both her biggest supporter and her greatest critic. We get into technical insights into the challenges of driving with the aero improvements on the Subaru, what performance level they'd like to see the top class of ARA move to in the future, and somewhere in there elephant poop is mentioned. So join us for another round at the virtual rally pub we call, the RallyCast podcast.

In Part 2 of our chat with ARA Competition Director Preston Osborn we move on from the recent rule changes and get into the future of ARA and what it’s goals are in both the short and long term.

A few weeks back we had a long call with ARA Competition Director Preston Osborn to talk about what’s new for the 2022 season. We had so much to talk about that we felt it best to split it into two episodes. So in this Part 1 we discussed what was learned over the 2021 season and he detailed the new rule changes for 2022 and the reasoning behind them. So grab a nice Sno*Drift chilled beverage from the virtual rally pub we call, the RallyCast.

Historic rallying has really taken off in recent years, but the one event on everyone’s bucket list is the East African Safari Classic. In this episode we talk with Andy Brown, the team principal of Tuthill Porsche, and co-driver Alex Gelsomino who will be competing alongside Ken Block in their first Safari Classic. We chat about the the cars, equipment, and preparation for this week long 5,000 kilometer event that starts February 10th.    To get an idea of what the East African Safari Classic is like, check out this documentary video from the 2013 event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3_yBf4N6IE   Tuthill Porsche     Ken Block    Alex Gelsomino    East African Safari Classic     Hashtags are #eastafricansafariclassic and #eascr      

In this episode we chat with William Petrow, the Marketing and Promotional director of the new US Rallysport Federation sanctioning body. We get into the nitty gritty about what holes this sanctioning body is designed to fill, the different car classes, and we also get a bit of an update of what’s new at the Broken Motorsports shop. I also drop in some of my thoughts from WRC Monte Carlo last weekend and what I think of the new Rally1 hybrid cars.

In this Episode we get to know Era Motorsports’ Kyle Tilley. If you haven’t met Kyle yet, I imagine you soon will. It's hard to imagine a man with this much of a passion for rallying had his first event at Ojibwe Forests Rally just last year.  Although he drives everything from LMP2 sports cars at 200MPH and NASCAR Cup cars on circuits, it's rallying that Kyle loves most and is going all in for 2022. 

In this episode we chat with Oregon Trail Rally clerk of the course AJ Rossiter. We talk about taking on being a clerk of the course and what it entails, why he’s set aside his helmet and set his sights higher, as well sharing some of our favorite moments from the final round of the ARA championship. You’ll also hear from some of the competitors in this episode that I caught at the end of the first running of the Maryhill Loops stage.

We often talk about the rally family, but in this episode the term is much more literal. We talked with Mark Piatkowski and his dad Andy Piatkowski about Mark's road to becoming the new LN4 combined class champion. We discussed his start in rallying, going from NA4 to Super Production and back to NA4, the value of wrenching on your own car, the challenges of getting to rallies across the country while also working a day job, and his decision to go from a regional to a national entry.  So grab a cold one and turn up the volume as we warm up by the fire at the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast.

As most of you know, I’ve been around rallying for over a decade, but oddly it wasn’t until last month that I competed in my first ever TSD rally. Fellow Oregon Trail Rally organizer Mike Nagle wrangled me into joining him for the iconic Nor’Wester Auto Rally put on by the Rainier Auto Sports Club. Although I had a general understanding of TSDs, I had no idea just how challenging and enjoyable these regularity rallies could be.    So in this episode we chatted with Ron Sorem, the Routemaster. We talked about the history of the Nor’Wester Auto Rally and how he and his team go about selecting such awesome roads. You’ll also hear more of the “Team Mike” experience from an audio diary we made as we did the event.

This is part 2 of our stories from the 2021 Ojibwe Forests Rally. After the event we caught up with Mark Piatkowski who explains his crazy 1.8 second win over Ele Bardha and his hopes for a national championship. We then chatted with co-driver Steven Harrell about his 3rd place in the hotly contested regional overall, as well as his earlier adventure in the desert with Ryan Millen. Finally we bring back co-driver and our former co-host Ian Holmes claimed his first regional Open 2WD class win at a national event. 

This is Part 1 of our chats from the Ojibwe Forests Rally 2021, and in this episode we caught up with Stephen and Katie Gingras about their close fight for the regional overall, and we get a taste of what LSPR is going to look like. I also introduce you to Derek Johnson Love, a longtime supporter of Open Paddock, and now taking  on a larger role behind the scenes to make the RallyCast sound better.

In this episode we chat with driver Dylan Gondyke. Dylan started out crewing, but that was short lived as once he saw stage rallying with his own eyes, he needed to do it himself. He tells us about learning AWD and crashing his co-driver’s car, his dramatic first event at NEFR 2019 that defined everything we love about the rally community, and how just two years later he and Ben Chuong are regularly fighting for regional podiums.   You can follow Dylan Gondyk’s onboards and build videos here on YouTube And the team social media on Instagram

In this nearly two months late episode, I chatted with Danny Norkus who’s had a fantastic season so far including his first ever overall win at Colorado earlier this year with Travis Nease as well as a 2nd in class at SOFR with Chris Greenhouse. I also caught up with reigning Eastern Regional Limited 2WD class champion Santiago Iglesias right after his Southern Ohio win, and it turns out he's got quite the regional battle on his hands with a young Patrick Gruszka who’s currently leading the points.   Then I ask the question, "is Barry McKenna’s 2021 Ford Fiesta WRC too fast for the ARA championship and the Vermont Sportscar built WRX STIs he's competing against?" I did some real math to find out. Special shout out to Nathan Usher and his https://sneakattackrally.com site for all the data.  So grab a cold one, as it’s going to be blazing hot out west again, and enjoy another round from the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast Podcast.

We bring back our good friends Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino which is now an all Subaru family.  In this episode we discuss their recent vacation travels, review their experiences from the Olympus Rally, and delve into what to expect as challenges at SOFR this weekend. We also take a tangent into the WRC which was in Sardegna last weekend, where Rhianon shares the humorous tale of a long ride on, not in, a tow truck.

We caught up with Krista Skucas after a dominant win at the Mike Nagle Regional Rally co-driving for Derik Nelson in the Nordic Motorsports BRZ. We chatted about the event and it's new stages, a dramatic moment that almost ended it all, as well as how she got started co-driving. 

Part 3 of the 100 Acre Wood review, it's all about NA4WD.  We kick it off with regional overall winners Ryan and Rachel Rethy who had a fabulous run with some extremely close competition. Then it's Co-Driver Katie Gingras  who with driver Chuck Surdyke was battling the Rethy's until they got a little over ambitious into a fast left hander. And finally it's a chat with Arek Bialobrzeski about his killer H6 swapped 2011 Subaru WRX hatchback that was so fast that it was competing with the R5s at the front. 📷 David Cosseboom

It's our 100th episode! We start our chat with current ARA champion Barry McKenna who gives us all the details on his World Rally Car and all the changes they did to have it meet ARA regulations.  It's always a treat to be joined by Martin Brady.  100 Acre Wood didn't go so well for he and Seamus, but their speed was remarkable. Then it's co-driver Cameron Carr with some stories about recce and what it’s like to compete in an R5 for the first time alongside driver John O'Sullivan.    📷 David Cosseboom

In this show we chatted with a bevy of 2WD competitors including National 2WD winners Michael Hooper and Kevin Allen, 2nd in National Limited 2WD Ryan Sanders, 2nd overall Regional and 2WD class winner Steve Olona, and 3rd overall Regional 2nd in 2WD Al Dantes Jr.     Be sure to follow these competitors at their social media links below: River City Rally Team Tower City Race Team Verve Racing GoSPEED Racing

In this episode we chatted with Dr. "Koz" - Michele Kozimor, Dr. Barbara Prince, and Emalie Rell about a study they're doing about the culture of rally racing in North America. A long time Subaru fan, Michele had never been to a rally until a friend called about a bunch of Subarus running around Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.  That visit to STPR and her interaction with teams, fans, and volunteers inspired the project now in it’s 3rd year of research.   Follow the Rally Race Book Project on Instagram

In this last segment from Sno*Drift 2021 we chatted with Limited 4WD competitor Travis Nease, Co-Drivers Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino, and finish off with a talk with American Rally Association's Competition Director Preston Osborn about the choice to use RallySafe and how different it is running an event with this new tool.

In this episode we chatted with three of the youngest talents that competed at SnoDrift and all of them had podium results. Cian McCormack comes from a family with a strong rallying history and SnoDrift was his first national event. The youngest of the three at 17, Patrick Gruszka is the son of well known privateer Art Gruszka and is beginning to blaze his own path. We also had Patrick's co-driver Alison LaRoza to get her perspective on working with someone so new to the sport. And finally Andre D'orazio who first caught our attention last season doing amazing times when driving a Fiesta R1 and now in the higher performance Fiesta R2 is beginning to show national championship contending performance.   📸 by David Cosseboom of iHeartFast

Okay, maybe Winners and Binners is a bit harsh, but indeed that's what happened with the guests in part 1 of our Sno*Drift rally review.  The father daughter team of Stephen and Katie Gingras have shown impressive performance at other events, but unfortunately the icy conditions caught out the #12 NA4WD Subaru.  If it was slick for 4WD machinery, just imagine what it was like for a RWD Subaru BRZ!  And that's exactly what our next guest Santiago Iglasias of Escudería Boricua Rally drove to a class win in Regional L2WD.  Also at the top of their class was National NA4WD class winner Mark Piatkowski who said that the ice in Michigan is chemically different than anywhere else.  Adding to the winners circle of this episode is the energetic Fabrizio Mirandola, driver of the fabulous Fiat 500 Abarth that claimed the regional O2WD class win.  The car may be small, but it's quick, so quick it even claimed an overall class stage win vs. the nationals!  We round out the episode with Ryan Booth's Sno*Drift experience that started out great in a solid 4th overall and leading the class of high performance R5 machinery, but then it all went wrong on the first stage in the second loop. 

In this episode we speak with the Marketing Director of ARA Jeremy Meyer about their new changes including the addition of RallySafe and their media partnership with Dirtfish.  We also chat with Dirtfish Media's Trevor Wert about their new role, and with Kelsey Steven's of Cooper Autoworks who's also going to be at Sno*Drift with a small media team.  This is looking to be one of the best covered Sno*Drift rallies in ages! And no, your ears do not deceive you.  I apparently can't count, because in the intro I state that this is episode 95, when clearly it is episode 94 of the RallyCast!

In this episode we talk to a couple of grassroots competitors. Brothers James and Ryan Pryzbylkowski are newer to the sport from the competition side, but have been spectating rallies for several years until they had the opportunity and means to finally build cars of their own.   It's a fun chat about how they first learned about rallying and what it's like to do that first event.   Follow Vilko Motorsports on the following social media channels:            

In this episode we chat with one of our favorite WRC reporters, Colin Clark.  Colin gives us his thoughts on the upcoming Monte Carlo Rally, what it's like to ride in one of the newest generation Hyundai i20 WRC's at speed, and the upcoming 2022 regulations.  Be sure to also stick around for the end where we introduce a new segment we're calling "The View From the Right Seat" where this time we have a short chat with Alex Gelsomino about his years of rallying with Ken Block and the Ford relationship that has come to an end after 11 years.   

Happy New Year listeners!  In this episode Co-Driver Alex Kihurani chats with us about the challenges of their condensed 2020 WRC3 season, working with the FIA's new Rally Star driver program and how sim racing plays a part, getting used to the speeds of Rally2 machinery, and the exciting plans he and Sean have for the 2021 season which starts in just a few weeks.  After what we heard, you'll definitely want to renew that WRC+ All Live subscription! We also have a brief chat with Scott Alderson of Scott Alderson Art who's seeking a little bit of sponsorship help to keep those really cool rally coloring books free.  📸 Sainteloc Racing

In this show Alex and Rhianon discuss their pandemic shortened 2020 season and how what started out as quite the blow to their business and livelihood, suddenly opened a new opportunity when Rhianon got the call co-driver for Travis Pastrana in the #199 Subaru. We also talk about how American rally rules encourage good sportsmanship vs. other places in the world, and how Alex and Ken used that to their advantage in their early years competing in an Olsbergs Fiesta. We also chat about the crazy contraption Subaru came up with for Rhianon to use to wipe the windscreen in front of Travis while traveling at high speed, and we even chat a bit about the WRC and their past experiences at the Monza Rally Show. So kick back and grab a cold one while you listen to the latest edition from our virtual rally pub.

In Part 2 of our Olympus review show, we conclude our interview with Regional overall winner Dave Clark, and then provide some thoughts and insight from our commentary crew which includes our host Mike Shaw, rally photographer Tedrick Mealy, and recently announced 2020 Eastern Regional Open 2WD champion co-driver, Kelsey Stephens of Cooper Autoworks.  

In this episode we welcome a man who's smile we didn't think could get any bigger, but then he won the overall regional in his BMW E36 M3.  It isn't often a 2WD car can make it to an overall podium, let alone an all out win, especially in the dumping rain and slippery conditions that Olympus 2020 had on offer.  Mike Shaw and guests hosts Kelsey Stephens and Tedrick Mealy find out how he was able to pull if off and how he got started doing this crazy little sport that we all love.  

In this episode we welcome back friend of the RallyCast Preston Osborn. After toasting to his new role as ARA's new Series Competition Director, we chat about what interested him in taking up the new position, areas he plans on focusing first, and what his recent skills as a team manager and competitor at O.D.D. Racing can bring to the sanctioning body's management team. From there  we delve deep into a review of the Ojibwe Forests Rally and learn why everyone should keep an eye on a kid named Andre D'Orazio.   Also, check out our full written review from the event, including fantastic pictures from David Cosseboom of iHeartFast https://openpaddock.net/2020/09/07/2020-ojibwe-forests-rally-battle-royale-edition/

With Rally Colorado this weekend we wanted to get a quick preview out to all of you so you'll know what these competitors will be facing.  We called up Travis Nease and Dan Norkus to give us an idea of what the roads are like, what they think of the hefty entry list of competitors, and what their plan of attack is being 3rd on the road in a new car.

We didn't have any special guests this week, although we think we're all a little bit special in our own way.  In this episode Mike, Ian, Kelsey, and Calvin chat about numerous subjects including socially distanced rallying, dealing with high temps, and what we think of one day rallies for national championship rounds. We also chat about the rest of the world starting to rally again, WRC cars running in national events, schedule changes, whether we'd like to see tarmac rallying as part of ARA's future, and more in a hodgepodge of rally chat at the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast.

It's rally week!! With the American Rally Association's national championship restarting, we caught up with event Chairman Jeremiah Johnson and ARA Marketing and Media Director Jeremy Meyer.  We get a quick preview of the roads, weather, competition, ways to follow, and how they'll be running a socially distanced championship event. 📸 by iHeartfast