Update: See schedule on the left for updated rallycross information.

Thousand Oaks, CA.  At its annual awards banquet on January 28th, 2023, The California Rally Series (CRS) announced its 2023 season for rallycross and rally events.  The CRS continues to maintain its place as a premier rally and rallycross championship for club-level competitors in the Southwest with a full calendar of events in both categories.

The 2023 season starts off with the traditional CRS Rally School.  The school is a cost-effective way for people interested in getting started in rally or rallycross to learn more about the sport and get some hands on instruction behind the wheel or, for budding co-drivers, reading pace notes on a rally stage.

After two years of purely on-line instruction due to Covid-19, this year the school will be a hybrid event combining the best of in-person and on-line teaching.  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.

Some instruction will be on-line (February 28th and March 2nd, and again March 7th and 9th), along with a full day of on-the-ground driving instruction on March 4th, and a day of on-the-ground co-driving instruction on March 11th (depending on interest).

The rallycross season begins in Lancaster on March 4th/5th at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, then turns north to Thunderhill (April 15th/16th), Marysville (May 27th/28th), and Prairie City (June 11th).

Competitors return to the Antelope Fairgrounds twice more: July 15th and 16th, and November 18th and 19th. In between, Thunderhill (September 23rd and 24th) and Marysville (October 28th and 29th) host their second events.  (Check the CRS web site to see which days earn points towards the CRS rallycross championships.)

The CRS outgrew the "C" decades ago and has featured exciting stage rallies in several western states over the years.

This year the rally season kicks off on May 19th-21st with Oregon Trail Rally (OTR) based in Portland and Dufur, Oregon and Goldendale, Washington. It's a combined co-3 and co-2 event. (A "co" is a "coefficient" indicating the scoring multiplier for championship points calculations.)

From the grueling challenges of OTR, competitors can head south to mid-state California for the Prairie City Rallysprint earning co-1 points on June 10th.

The CRS then returns to Rally Colorado on July 22nd/23rd for the third year in a row, as a co-3 and co-2 event.

A new co-2 rally, still to be named (wanna be the title sponsor, anyone?) has been added for September 9th 2023, this one in Columbia County, Oregon, employing roads last enjoyed over twenty years ago.

After a several year hiatus, the Prescott Rally in Prescott, Arizona returns Sep 29th/30th with a co-2/co-3 combination.  Featuring some of the most scenic rally roads in the country (including the famous First View stage out of Jerome), the Prescott stages take competitors on a high-speed run through picturesque red-rock southwest desert landscape.

Rally Nevada returns again this year with a co-3 event based in Tonopah, NV on November 11th.

Also as in 2022, The Ridge Rally headquartered in Lancaster, CA, will wrap up the season for 2023 on December 9th.

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, founded in 1975, celebrates almost five decades 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.

Rally on!

After two years of operating exclusively online, the California Rally Series annual rally school will feature a hybrid format in 2023, combining online class sessions with in-person instruction. Students will have the option of taking just the online course, or adding either the in-person driving training or in-person co-driver training. The driving instruction will take place on Saturday, March 4 at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster, CA, in conjunction with the Rodnoc Racing rallycross the next day (Sunday). The co-driving in-person instruction will take place in Ridgecrest, CA on Saturday, March 11.

There will be four online classes taking place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting on February 28 with an introduction to rally and rallycross. The Zoom seminars will begin at 7pm Pacific Time and last for two to two and a half hours. Each session will feature two or three separate presentations, with plenty of time in between for question and answer sessions where students can interact with our experienced instructors and panelists. Students will also have access to recorded versions of classes after each session.

Instructors include regional and national level championship drivers and co-drivers. Students taking the in-person driving course will need to provide their own vehicle suitable for rallycross.* Two students may share a vehicle. Co-driving students will ride with instructors so do not need to bring their own vehicle.

Topics include:

• How to get started in stage rally and rallycross
• Basic and advanced rally driving techniques
• How to prepare a car for stage rally (including what to look for when buying a prepared rally car)
• Understanding controls and timing
• Rally navigation from tulips to stage notes
• Recce and writing your own notes
• Advanced co-driving
• Rally team management

ONLINE ENTRY AVAILABLE HERE

https://www.rallydata2.com/

Cost is $60 for the online-only course, $170 for the online course plus the in-person driving instruction on March 4, or $160 for the online course plus the in-person co-driving instruction on March 11. If you want to experience the action on each side of the car by participating in both the driving and co-driving in-person classes, you can sign up for everything for $300. All options include CRS membership for 2023 (a $30 value). Students participating in the in-person instruction will also receive a discounted entry to the rallycross on March 5. There is a minimum of 20 and maximum of 35 students for the in-person driving session, and 9 students maximum for the in-person co-driving session.

*Generally cars must have a fixed roof, be in decent mechanical shape, have a passenger seat, and not be afraid to get dirty. If you have any questions about the suitability of your vehicle, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it