Los Angeles – The California Rally Series returned to northern Nevada for a two-day rally July 8 & 9, 2011. Twenty teams took the start of Friday’s rally, which was run on smooth, twisty roads near Lovelock, NV. The rally began in the late afternoon and continued into the evening, running the final four stages in darkness. On Saturday, the teams ran faster, flowing stages near Gerlach, NV with the rally running from mid-morning to near dusk. Despite the smooth stages, only seven teams made it to the finish on Saturday, with mechanical problems and some off-road excursions claiming over half the field.

The open four-wheel drive class turned into a battle between the Subarus of Dick Rockrohr and Jon Burke. Rockrohr withdrew from Friday’s event when hanging dust made driving conditions after dark especially dodgy. Burke and his co-driver Tucker Heiner continued on to claim top points in class for Friday’s rally. Their luck would not continue on Saturday, as an off road excursion on stage two resulted in a bent control arm, and the team was forced to withdraw. It was smooth sailing for Rockrohr, however, who led the rally overall from start to finish on Saturday. With Saturday’s win, Rockrohr bumps Burke out of the lead in the season standings.

George Doganis and Tom Smith were once again flying in their Honda Civic. The team finished on the overall podium both days, beating many turbo, four-wheel drive cars, despite being in the CRS-2 class for small displacement two wheel drive vehicles. Everyone anticipated close competition in the CRS-2 class between Doganis/Smith and the son and father team of Tim and Dick Moser, but the Moser’s VW Golf blew its heater core on the fourth stage, spraying hot coolant on Dick and forcing the team to withdraw for the remaining evening stages. Javier Olivares and Brock Heinz picked up second place points in CRS-2 for Friday’s event, but did not start Saturday’s event due to a wheel bearing that was precariously close to failing. Meanwhile, the team of Chuck Wilson and Brent Ellzey had to park their Ford Escort after stage 6 on Friday with transmission problems and were unable to continue. Looking at the current class standings, North Nevada Rally organizer Michel Hoche-Mong moves into the class lead in the CRS-2 driver’s championship with the help of his organizer points. Meanwhile, Doganis jumps up into second place, bumping Olivarez down to third. For co-drivers, Smith comes out of the weekend with the season points lead, knocking Heinz down to second place and Ellzey to third.

The production-based four-wheel drive CRS-GT saw close competition all weekend. The team of Kris-Jon Lyssand and Joshua Rodriguez traded stage times all night Friday with Alex Rademacher and Jeanna Yi. By the end of the last stage on Friday, only six seconds separated the teams in their Subarus, with the victory going to Lyssand/Rodriguez. Saturday’s stages seemed to suit Rademacher/Yi better, and the team managed to build a lead of over a minute on Lyssand/Rodriguez going into the final stage. However, Lyssand/Rodriguez were pushing perhaps a bit too hard, and suffered a big roll when they went off the road into a wash on the final stage. Katianna Pihakari went into the weekend with the points lead in CRS-GT. She teamed up with veteran co-driver Sean Gallagher and managed a third place finish in Friday’s event. However, an off-road excursion left their Subaru high-centered on the second stage Saturday, causing them to DNF. Pihakari’s finish on Friday was sufficient to maintain her class lead in the driver’s championship, although Rademacher leapfrogged Lyssand to move into second. Yi earned enough points to top the co-drivers standings, with Rodriguez currently sitting in second place.

The next event on the calendar is the Mendocino Rally on August 6, based in Ukiah, CA. This rally is new to the CRS for 2011, and celebrates a return of rally to the region after an almost thirty year hiatus. The twisty, technical stages are contained within the South Cow Mountain off-road vehicle park, and feature a wide, hard packed dirt surface. Sixteen teams are currently entered, and competition is shaping up to be electrifying. With new, twisty stages and teams limited to route-book only instructions (no stage notes), expect driving and road-reading skills to trump experience and horsepower.

John Burke is the current open four-wheel drive class favorite, and will be looking to reclaim the points lead after relinquishing it in North Nevada. In CRS-2, Tim and Dick Moser will be back in their VW Golf, and looking for a problem-free rematch against George Doganis and Tom Smith. Javier Olivares and Brock Heinz are also on the entry list and will be there to keep these two teams honest. Alex Rademacher and Jeanna Yi are currently the only team entered in the CRS-GT class, giving Alex an opportunity to move into the class lead in the driver’s champtionship.

The 2011 Mendocino Rally is based in Ukiah, CA and marks a return of rally to Northern California after a nearly thirty year hiatus. The rally features 54 miles of hard-packed twisty stages contained within the South Cow Mountain off-road vehicle park. For more information on the Mendocino Rally visit http://www.mendocinorally.com.

The California Rally Series is the premier performance rally championship in the southwestern United States. The Series incorporates events from various sanctioning bodies in order to create a meaningful regional championship for its members. The Series celebrates more than 35 continuous years of performance rally, making it the longest running rally series in the United States. To learn more about the California Rally Series visit www.californiarallyseries.com and follow @crspress on twitter.

From the desk of Erik Christiansen, CRS Press Liason,   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Los Angeles –Eighteen teams competed in the third rally of the California Rally Series (CRS) season, the Idaho Rally, on June 18-19. The rally was divided into two separate CRS points events, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. The smooth, flowing roads contributed to a low attrition rate, with only two teams withdrawing on Saturday, and just one team failing to finish on Sunday. More smooth gravel roads await the twenty-three teams entered in this weekend’s North Nevada Rally, which is based in Fernley, NV on July 8-9. North Nevada is also broken up into two CRS points events, one on Friday evening and the second on Saturday afternoon.

In the open four wheel drive class, Jon Burke scored maximum points on both days at Idaho, despite barely making it to the end of the event with a blown turbo in his Subaru WRX. The finish propelled him to the top of the CRS leader board after engine problems forced him to sit out the first two rallies this year. He carries a two hundred point lead coming into North Nevada this weekend, where he will be facing stiff competition from several competitors including Idaho Rally organizers Dick Rockrohr and Marie Deangelis, also competing in a Subaru WRX.

Kris-Jon Lyssand and Joshua Rodriguez had a strong finish in the production-based four wheel drive CRS-GT class at Idaho, moving them up to second place in the class after their first event of the season. They had a close battle with Alex Rademacher who lost six minutes on Saturday while stuck in a ditch after going off the road on stage. Rademacher came back on Sunday and bested Lyssand and Rodriguez to take the win and moving into third place in the class championship. Both teams will be at North Nevada in their Subaru Imprezas to continue battling each other as well as current class leader Katianna Pihakari, competing in her Subaru WRX with her third co-driver this season, CRS veteran Sean Gallagher.

CRS-2, the small-displacement two-wheel drive open class, is normally one of the most populated, but was oddly undersubscribed at Idaho, with no CRS members competing. This is definitely not a trend, as several teams are scheduled to compete in North Nevada, including three of the top four teams in the championship. The team currently sitting in the top position, Javier Olivares and Brock Heinz will be there to defend their lead in their Mitsubishi Galant. Chuck Wilson and Brent Ellzey are sitting in second place in the champiionship and will pushing hard in their Ford Escort to overcome the points gap this weekend. George Doganis and Tom Smith are currently sitting fourth in class points, but are quick enough to be challenging the four wheel drive teams for an overall podium spot in their fast and reliable Honda Civic. Expect a tight battle between Doganis and Smith and the father and son team of Tim and Dick Moser in their VW Golf. North Nevada will be the first event of the season for the Mosers, and they will be looking to score maximum points.

Jen Imai and Terry Stonecipher captured maximum points in the production-based two-wheel drive Performance Stock class at Idaho, despite their Suzuki Swift giving them numerous problems. The finish moved them into the class lead over John Black, who opted to compete on a motorcycle instead of his rally car at Idaho. Imai and Stonecipher will be looking to extend their class lead at North Nevada, where they will face competition from father and son competitors Jim and Michael Robison in their Volvo 142 who are currently fourth in class.

The 2011 North Nevada Rally features 120 miles of smooth gravel stage with challenging switchbacks. The Friday stages southwest of Lovelock, NV start before sundown, and then competitors run them in reverse direction after dark. Saturday the competitors return to the well-known stages near Gerlach, featuring sandy washes, big jumps and tight, tricky turns. For more information on the North Nevada Rally, visit http://www.northnevadarally.com.

and follow @crspress on twitter.