California Rally Series RallyCross drivers launched into what will be a historic 2016 race season with more points competitions calendared than any previous year. Sunday, February 14^th, 72 competitors met at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California to burn the dust off their race cars and heat up their driving skills in the season opening event. Officially a part of the JayCom “Glen Helen” series, this race doubled as a points carrying California Rally Series (CRS) event. Competition was fierce as drivers negotiated the newly resurfaced venue; dodging rocks and cones. Outstanding driving skills were on display in nine different car classes. A beautiful Southern California spring day began with the Stock 2 Wheel Drive class spectators still holding onto their hot coffee and culminated with Modified All Wheel Drive blasting around the course into the sunset.

A quick turnaround to the next stop in this season’s CRS RallyCross Championship series is a notably different experience on the tackier, traditionally fast and technical course at the Empire Fairgrounds in Ridgecrest, California. Competition will intensify as competitors are combined to run in four classes: Stock 2 Wheel Drive, Stock All Wheel Drive, Modified 2 Wheel Drive and Modified All Wheel Drive. This event is the second half of a double-feature weekend that commences with the CRS Rally School on Saturday, February 20^th. CRS Rally School and RallyCross has been the initiating experience for many of today’s RallyCross Championship drivers. Experienced drivers in attendance at Ridgecrest this weekend will provide instruction as CRS welcomes a new crop of drivers to the School. Everyone will have an amazing opportunity to experience the brotherhood/sisterhood of the RallyCross community when they compete side by side on Sunday, February 21^st in the CRS Rally School RallyCross Event.

Following the February 21st race, CRS RallyCross drivers have at least six more opportunities to showcase their driving skills and car stamina at events scheduled through the end of the year. Event dates and registration information is available at californiarallyseries.com. And look for our community on Facebook: California Rally Series RallyCross Community.  

Los Angeles – 2016 marks the twentieth annual rally school hosted by the California Rally Series. The school is an opportunity for people interested in performance rally and rallycross to get an introduction the sport, either in the driver or co-driver seat. On February 20^th in Ridgecrest, CA, forty-five students are set to participate in the day-long session that includes both classroom and field exercises with locally and nationally recognized competitors. Driving exercises take place in a controlled environment suitable for street cars – so long as they don’t mind getting dirty!

The California Rally Series started the rally school in 1997 as a way for people curious about rally to get a taste of the sport as well as some driving instruction on dirt surfaces. Car control sessions go through the basics of performance driving on limited slip surfaces, and include differences between front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive. As stage notes became more commonplace in rally in the United States, those techniques were added to the curriculum, as well as an in-car field practice session for nascent co-drivers. Meanwhile, as rallycross grew in popularity and matured into a sport of its own, a parallel session was added specifically focused on rallycross driving techniques.

In addition to driving and co-driving skills, there are seminars focused on the nuts and bolts of rally, for example team management and logistics, car preparation, and a complete what to expect at your first rally, including how rally controls work and emergency procedures. The full day really is a primer on everything you need to know to enter a rally. In fact, typically over half of each class will show up ready to compete in their own rally car at an event within two to four years.

A rallycross the following Sunday offer students the perfect opportunity to follow up on the lessons they learned. Held at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds in Ridgecrest, the rallycross will feature a course outlined with cones in large dirt parking lot, and is open to anyone (not just students) in almost any street car. Roll cages are not required, just helmets. Not only is it a great way for students to see how they measure up against their instructors from the day before, but the rallycross also counts for points in the 2016 California Rally Series Rallycross Championship.

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 40 continuous years of performance rally, making it the longest running rally series in the United States. For more information on the California Rally Series Rally School check out http://crsrallyschool.com/. To learn more about the California Rally Series visit www.californiarallyseries.com and follow @crspress on twitter.