Gravity Bureau Inc. – Blog

We’re pleased to report that our fellow Canadian Andrew (ACP) Comrie-Picard won the 2010 Oregon Trail Rally last weekend! He dominated the event with Jeremy Wimpey in the NOS Energy Mitsubishi EVO IX. ACP was followed by another pair of Mitsubishi-powered Canadians: Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard. Bill Bacon came in 3rd in a 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX and that resulted in an all-Mitsubishi national podium in a long time. We look forward to STPR on June 4th-5th, 2010 in Wellsboro, PA.

Andrew (ACP) Comrie-Picard in his NOS Mitsubishi EVO IX - ©Rally-America

The 2010 Olympus Rally in Ocean Shores, WA claimed quite a few cars from the Rally-America series. First off, Andrew (ACP) Comrie-Picard crashed his Mitsubishi EVO IX on special stage 2. In an interview for Driving Sports, the driver said: “We were pushing super hard… went really fast into a right five and it was very slippery, set up for it, got on the throttle, went to go around it and just went in too fast. Completely my fault”. ACP is currently 8th in the Rally-America standings with 13 points.

Andrew (ACP) Comrie-Picard launching his Mitsubishi EVO IX - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block set the fastest time on special stage 2, but his Ford Fiesta suffered a gearbox failure on his way to special stage 5.

Monster World Rally Team Fiest at Olympus Rally - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block sideways in the MWRT Ford Fiesta - ©Neil McDaid

Ken Block disappointed - ©Neil McDaid

Art Gruszka crashed his 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX and couldn’t finish the 2010 Olympus Rally.

Art Gruszka - 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX - ©Neil McDaid

Olympus Rally was not too kind to Pat Richard and Subaru Rally Team Canada. He finished the event in 15th place with almost 18 minutes separating him from the rally leader.

Pat Richard & Subaru Rally Team Canada STI - ©Neil McDaid

Dillon Van Way crashed his 2002 Ford Focus due to a broken front axle.

Dillon Van Way crashed his 2002 Ford Focus - ©Neil McDaid

Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom led the event from start to finish winning 8 of 13 stages. Their Subaru STI performed flawlessly and they were able to build a significant lead. After the rally Travis said: “This rally was tough from the start. It was definitely the most intense field that we’ve had, though a lot of guys went out on the first day”. Pastrana stands in second place of the 2010 Rally-America Championship with 45 points.

Travis Pastrana #199 - ©Neil McDaid

Canadian driver Antoine L’Estage defended his leading position in the Rally-America series by placing second. Nathalie Richard, Antoine’s co-driver and wife summarized: “We started off well but had a problem early on in the rally, losing half a minute. It was pretty much impossible to catch Pastrana after that so I had to tighten the reigns a little bit to ensure Antoine slowed down and drove a smart and less risky rally. It may have dampened his fun a little bit but sometimes my job is to get him to think of the big picture”. L’Estage is leading the Rally-America series with 51 points.

Antoine L'Estage & Nathalie Richard jump their EVO X - ©Neil McDaid

Although Subaru Rally Team USA’s car #199 dominated the event, Dave Mirra nad his co-driver Martin Headland noticeably pushed harder than ever before. Mirra secured his first national podium and placed third overall at Olympus Rally. He is currently in 4th place with 34 points.

Dave Mirra's SRT USA STI - ©Neil McDaid

Bill Bacon is third in the 2010 Rally-America standings with 40 points. Privateer family-run Bacon Motorsports team is consistently intimidating larger, factory-sponsored rally teams this year. It will be interesting to see what Bill can really do when he gets sponsored by a big brand and has the means to push harder.

Bill Bacon's EVO IX - ©Neil McDaid

Old school Subaru Legacy Turbo launching off a jump - ©Neil McDaid

Photo Credit: Neil McDaid

Sources: RallyBuzz, Rally-America, SpecialStage, Subaru Rally Team USA, Monster World Rally Team

The 2010 Olympus Rally in Ocean Shores, WA is promising to be a spectacular event. We have just learned that Pat Richard will be contesting this year’s #ra3 event in his open-class STI sponsored by Subaru Rally Team Canada. Olympus Rally is Pat’s home rally and it’s where he learned the art of throwing his car sideways at break neck speeds.

It won’t be easy for Richard to secure a podium finish at Olympus considering that the last time he competed there was in 2008. The competition will be fierce with the likes of Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Bill Bacon, ACP and Antoine L’Estage hungry for RA points.

Take a look below at our best shots of Pat from 2009.

Rocket Rally Racing STI

Pat Richard sideways

Pat Richard & Alan Ockwell

Richard's STI flying off a jump

Last, but not least, check out the 2008 Rocket Rally promo with footage from Olympus Rally.

Sources: RallyBuzz, Rally-America, Special Stage, Rocket Rally Team, Olympus Rally.