As the oldest consecutively running rally in California, the Gorman Ridge Rally is also the toughest rally in the United States. All sixteen stages are run on a single day in Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area around the small town of Lebec, in grasslands north of Los Angeles city limits. Stages are run on narrow roads of shifting sand and packed… sand, with high berms, twisting turns, loose rocks, and unexpected washes. The last four stages with the famous jump are run on the “Cliffs of Gorman” as the sun sets. The final two stages are in complete darkness save for the stars above, and nerve-wracking even for the most seasoned driver and co-driver.
For the first time this year, SxS UTVs were allowed to enter in two classes – SxS Production (1000cc limit, modified), and SxS Turbo (1000cc limit, modified/turbocharged). The teams consist of a driver and co-driver, just like the rally cars and trucks. Originally three teams entered, but ultimately only one made it to the rally. Still, not bad for the first year. Because the UTVs aren’t road-legal, the team had to take alternate trail routes to transit from stage to stage and stage to service.
With 28 total entries, there was a a deep enough field for some hearty competition between the experienced teams, and a healthy batch of newer teams and first-timers. The race of attrition started early with four teams out of competition after the firth stage of the Condor Stages, including Toyota’s RAV4 team of Ryan Millen Christina Fate. The Cliffs of Gorman stages dashed the hopes of four more teams, including Stephen Benson and Nicolas Renold. They had a great position starting third, but suffered from three strikes: on the fourth and fifth stages had a fuse issue and then an off, respectively. They got back on track timing-wise, but then ultimately suffered complete electrical failure on Stage 14 and were towed off by the sweep.
The UTV Team Cain Smead and Michael Henderson, competing in a Yamaha YXZ 1000R, finished the rally with a time of 1:20.72 – fourth overall. When all stages were completed, the class winners pulled in front of the Holiday Inn in Lebec. After the champagne spray and all of the awards, everyone who was still awake headed out to the dirt lot across the street for for the afterparty. Overall winners:
1. Kris Psara/Andres Bautista 1:15.78
2. Jason Copt/Cameron Megan 1:16.31
3. John Coyne/Douglas Nagy 1:18.36
Complete overall results (from Rallydata.com) and gallery:
| Place O.A |
Car # |
Driver / Co-Driver |
Car | Total Score |
Diff Prev |
Class | |
| 1 | 41 | Kris Psara / | subaru sti | 1:15.78 | 1 | AWD | |
| Andres Bautista | 0.53 | ||||||
| 2 | 142 | Jason Copt / | Subaru Impreza WRX | 1:16.31 | 2 | AWD | |
| Cameron Meng | 2.05 | ||||||
| 3 | 76 | John Coyne / | Subaru Impreza | 1:18.36 | 3 | AWD | |
| Douglas Nagy | 2.36 | ||||||
| 4 | 166 | Cain Smead / | Yamaha YXZ1000R | 1:20.72 | 1 | Pro Prod | |
| Michael Henderson | 1.05 | ||||||
| 5 | 474 | Cem Akdeniz / | Subaru Impreza | 1:21.77 | 4 | AWD | |
| Sean McElwain | 0.94 | ||||||
| 6 | 102 | Kurt Smith / | Subaru Impreza | 1:22.71 | 5 | AWD | |
| Steven Snyder | 0.80 | ||||||
| 7 | 31 | Michel Hoche-Mong / | Volkswagen Golf GT | 1:23.51 | 1 | 2WD | |
| Marie Boyd | 0.51 | ||||||
| 8 | 769 | Andrew Cowan / | Volkswagon Jetta | 1:24.02 | 2 | 2WD | |
| Ryan Dunham | 0.92 | ||||||
| 9 | 247 | Michael Seidman / | Subaru Impreza 2.5 | 1:24.94 | 6 | AWD | |
| Thomas Luhrs | 0.03 | ||||||
| 10 | 768 | Eric Poth / | Subaru WRX | 1:24.97 | 7 | AWD | |
| Brent Blakely | 0.29 | ||||||
| 11 | 15 | Chuck Wilson / | Subaru WRX STI | 1:25.26 | 8 | AWD | |
| Rick Wilson | 0.86 | ||||||
| 12 | 256 | Javier Olivares / | Ford Escort | 1:26.12 | 3 | 2WD | |
| Brock Heinz | 1.11 | ||||||
| 13 | 606 | Matt Shinnors / | Toyota Corrolla | 1:27.23 | 4 | 2WD | |
| Catherine Levis | 1.13 | ||||||
| 14 | 88 | Jesse Babbitz / | Subaru WRX | 1:28.36 | 9 | AWD | |
| John Dillon | 1.92 | ||||||
| 15 | 808 | Richard Burden / | Volkswagen Golf | 1:30.28 | 5 | 2WD | |
| Christopher Fine | 3.38 | ||||||
| 16 | 519 | Christian Arboleda / | Mitsubishi EVO X | 1:33.66 | 10 | AWD | |
| Jonathan Correa | 3.14 | ||||||
| 17 | 405 | Susanne Waite / | Subaru WRX STI | 1:36.80 | 11 | AWD | |
| Trent Bateman | 8.17 | ||||||
| 18 | 272 | Ethan Williams / | Ford Focus | 1:44.97 | 6 | 2WD | |
| Gleb Serbin | 6.28 | ||||||
| 19 | 313 | Kurt Northrop / | Subaru Impreza | 1:51.25 | 12 | AWD | |
| Will Smith | 14.18 | ||||||
| 20 | 258 | Brian Tullio / | BMW 318i | 2:05.43 | 7 | 2WD | |
| Nicholas Roder | 34.04 | ||||||
| 21 | 302 | Daniel Gonzalez / | Volkswagen Golf GT | 2:39.47 | 8 | 2WD | |
| Stella Espinoza |
| 11 | Bret Robinson / | Volkswagen Golf | DNF | 2WD | |||
| Christine Marciniak | |||||||
| 312 | Stephen Benson / | Subaru Impreza RB2 | DNF | AWD | |||
| Nicolas Renold | |||||||
| 773 | Markus Saarinen / | Ford Focus | DNF | 2WD | |||
| Alicia Saarinen | |||||||
| 99 | Ryan Millen / | Toyota RAV4 SE | DNF | 2WD | |||
| Christina Fate | |||||||
| 301 | Tony Chavez / | Volkswagen Golf GT | DNF | 2WD | |||
| Raquel Salas | |||||||
| 695 | Larry Gross / | Toyota Corolla | DNF | 2WD | |||
| Lance Gross | |||||||
| 792 | Alejandro Perusina / | Subaru Impreza RS | DNF | AWD | |||
| Synnove Wise |
from The Garage http://thegarageblog.com/garage/californias-tough-gorman-ridge-rally/
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from Tumblr http://peternpalmer.tumblr.com/post/149451947691
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