100 Acre Wood Rally this weekend in Salem, MO

[Flying Penguin]

Not the usual 'dirt' racing we think of around these parts, but at least it's some LIVE racing that's close to home. Go Ford Fiestas and Ken Block!

http://www.100aw.org/spec_guide/2012_100AW_2012_guide_100AW_web.pdf
The 100 Acre Wood Rally is the 2nd round of the Rally America National Championship and is known as one of the most scenic. Named after the storybook home of Winnie the Pooh, the 100 Acre Wood Rally is a picturesque race with enough twists and turns to test every driver.

 

[Eileen]

This event is FREE. There are 64 entries so far.

There's a lot of local talent in the field this year.

For the local fans of Rally In the 100 Acre Wood, here's a list of all the cars with ties to the area to watch for during the rally.

The course opening car, #0 VW Beetle is regular competitor Mark Huebbe, who will be shaking down the car before they head down to Leon, Mexico next month to run the WRC Rally Mexico.

#602 red VW Golf of Brian & David Schwantner are regular competitors of the past several years. Brian heads up the St. Louis, SCCA RallyCross program as well.

#363 white Mazda MX-3 of Haas/Avrushenko. James Haas has competed for the past several years and Misha Avrushenko is a local StL import car repair shop owner and recent rally competitor.

#542 green Subaru Legacy, which may end up white before the rally, of Conte/Erickson. Matt and Ron are recent MS&T (Rolla) grads who have been long time rally fans and are running their third rally in this car.

#660 white Subaru Impreza of Surdyke/Demotte. Chuck Surdyke is a recent rally competitor who will running his 4th rally and his co-driver is the founder of the Rally In the 100 Acre Wood and long time competitor, Kim Demotte. DeMotte is a past National Champion.

#661 red Subaru Impreza Wagon of Young/Dallman This is their second rally competing after crewing for several events.

#237 white VW Golf of Nickelson/Ptacek are from Jackson, MO and are first time driver/co-driver. Micah is a rally fan who tried his hand at rally cross last year and ended up co-driving at the Perryville Farm & Forest Rally last Oct. and has since bought a used rally car.

#789 white Ford Festiva of Zach & Kyle Williams of Salem, MO. This is their first event after having just finished building this car.

#25 black Nissan Sentra of Hargis/Millsap is our first recent competitor from the Kansas City area and co-driver is from central IL.

 

[mikeb]

Copied from the Gateway Motorsports Park FaceBook Page, FYI.
As you all know having watched this page, there is a great diversity of racing interest in the St. Louis Area. So I thought I would let you know about yet another motorsport that does NOT take place at Gateway, but in the next few days, so there is no conflict with any schedule.
The "Rally in the 100 Acre Wood" takes place this week (activities begin Thursday) and is Headquartered in Salem, MO.. This event is known as "Stage Rally" and includes racing on multiple days and nights, Sanctioned by "Rally America", and drawing the biggest names in the sport (like Ken Block) with a record entry of over 65 so far, with a half dozen or so local teams.
If you ever wanted to see cars "get big air", or sliding sideways on gravel roads, and going a million miles an hour through the woods day and night, this is the local event of what you have seen on TV! ALL of the activities for spectators are FREE, Parc Expose (Grid and Show before the days racing starts), Service (Scheduled Pit Stops between certain "Stages") and of course the RACING - ALL FREE!
Visit the various links for information for spectating, bring all you pixel devices and plenty of storage, be prepared for whatever weather and to follow maps to the various venues and to travel when roads are open, (This event takes place primarily on closed public roads so you will need plenty of time and the info to navigate around.) and racing and such scheduled at times not usually found at other events.
This event has been growing every year and is fully supported by the communities in which it is run. It is unlikely you will find any lodging close by at this late date unless there is a cancellation; but fast food places and restaurants get geared up for it and many times there are "portable" food concessions at some places - or simply pack your own, as you will likely be in the "woods" to spectate! Just think of it as the preseason event of Racing in St. Louis!
http://100aw.org/index.html
http://rally-america.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rally-in-the-100-Acre-Wood/165579906809470
https://www.facebook.com/RallyAmerica

 

[Flying Penguin]

Ken Block has a 3 second lead after today's stages. Here is a video of his practice session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH21tuu-HLQ

 

[dirt hound]

had a good time a couple of years ago

 

[DaveMcLain]

I followed one of the cars through town(Steelville MO) yesterday evening on the way home from work. It was some sort of souped up Subaru which looked pretty cool.

 

[mikeb]

COOL video, Block up by 18 through Stage 7!

 

[Flying Penguin]

Block wins, but not without overcoming a speeding penalty (on the course!) and a flat tire: http://www.monsterworldrallyteam.com/blog/100-acre-wood-too-fast-race

Nice weather brought out a good sized crowd.

 

[opnwhlmnd]

A few pictures I shot this weekend. Seeing Ken Block in my rearview mirror on the highway was really cool.

 

[Flying Penguin]

Objects in mirror are faster than they appear!