OpenPaddock RallyCast

Just who is Nick Bukky, and why did he choose a Honda Fit of all vehicles to get started in Stage Rally? We talk about that and one of the newest regional events on the ARA calendar, the Boone Forest Rally.  Then Mike and Geoff talk about some of their autumnal exploits and cancelled rallies. We hope you enjoy this cricket filled round of our virtual rally pub.

This is our Al Dantes Jr. Memorial episode. Al was a friend to all of us in the rally community, and a guest on this podcast several times in the past. I hope these stories from Bryce Proseus, Shanti Witt, and Ryan and Heather George give you all a small glimpse of just how special this big guy was. He may be gone, but his legacy will continue long into the future.

In this episode we chatted with 17 year old Henry Tabor, one of the first recipients of the 43 Institute Flat Out 43ver Tribute Award. For those that may not have heard the name Henry Tabor, he's a young talent from here in the Pacific Northwest with a strong family history in rallying of which 3 generations are still competing today. We chatted with Henry about his successes in both rallying and...

In this episode Geoff and I talk with Jacob Despain of Black Hole Rally Team. Jacob tells us how he and his dad got started in rallying and about their come from behind win at Rally Colorado. Then Geoff and I chat about some items in the rallying news including "Fuel Gate" and rally safety procedures. Also, Geoff got a new mic and doesn't sound like his in a deep dark hole anymore, so put down tha...

Welcome back! It's a brand new episode of the RallyCast and a hopeful look forward to a consistent structure of new content ahead. Sit down, pour a cup of coffee or a glass of beer, and join us as we talk about a plethora of topics. From restrictors to podiums, to some incredible performances we've seen this season, the new episode is a return of your favorite rally podcast with Mike at the helm a...

This is the first of several episodes we're doing for a post LSPR / ARA championship series. To kick it off we're chatting with one of the most competitive national classes that doesn't get much attention, and that's the Limited 2WD class.  Driving mostly stock machinery, L2WD is more about consistency and maintaining momentum than it is about power or top speeds. Since ARA combined their class wi...

In this episode recorded back in September we chatted with Myron Georgakopoulos and Alison LaRoza who's dramatic finish at STPR was one of our favorite Press on Regardless stories of the season. Myron's newer to the stage rally scene but the Georgakopoulos name isn't.  Myron tells us about growing up around rally and his dad's influence leading to him rebuilding the family car and getting it back...

In this episode we chatted with Gabe Jacobsohn and Colin Schulz of Flying Finish RallySport. Coming from humble rally beginnings first as fans, then volunteers, to working on cars and competing themselves, they've learned a lot about the sport of rallying from just about every aspect. They're applying that experience to make products available through their Rally. Build brand so new and existing r...

In this episode we caught up with Derek James soon after his class win at NEFR in July.  We talked about how he got started in rallying, sibling rivalries with his brother Matt, being a mechanic and driver, and his work with his alma mater to get young  people hands-on involved in rallying. Oh, and we also reviewed the 2022 New England Forest Rally.   You can follow Derek James and his James World...

In this episode recorded back in July, we chatted with young co-driver KJ Miller after his high flying class victory at Rally Baie-des-Chaleurs.  We asked about what got KJ interested in motorsports, events he's competed in so far, and what his goals are for the future.  With KJ being a bit of a social media master, we also asked about how to get more young people interested in rally.   The Oregon...

If you're a dedicated rally fan like us, then you're probably an avid watcher of the Subaru Launch Control series. The series has always been well produced, beautifully shot, and brought out some of the great stories from the sharp end of the field. However, after 9 successful seasons it was time for a change.  We chatted with Warwick Paterson of Formula Photographic and Chris Bowes of Bowes Media...

In this episode we chat with Sam Albert, one of the fastest privateers in the ARA. Sam's always very open about and honest about his thoughts on the championship, so we decided to give him a call to discuss the upcoming ARA Open Class rules for 2023, how it might affect privateer drivers like him, and his goal of putting a Ferrari engine into his Subaru WRX STI. Yes, you heard that right. So grab...

This episode is another one that was temporarily lost due to technical issues.  Back in March we talked in depth with Mark Piatkowski about what it was like transitioning from his NA4 Subaru that he works on mostly himself to a full blown homologated M-Sport Rally2 Ford Fiesta with all the bells and whistles at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. 

This is a re-release of an episode from a couple months that had technical issues. We chatted with  talked with Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino about their 100 Acre Wood experience, the current top level of competition this year and dodging wildlife. We also chatted with Leon Jordan of McKenna Motorsports about WRC cars and what makes theirs different from the Hyundai i20 used by Hoonigan. This was all...

In this episode we chatted with one of American rallying's biggest advocates, Bryce Proseus. He tells us about how just going to see his first stage rally was an adventure in itself. The hook was set and it wasn't long before he wanted to get into co-driving which led to a dramatic barn hunt for a working motor having blown the original one in pre event test. But the adventures of Bryce Proseus ce...

This is a special episode in conjunction with Dirtfish and their celebration of Women in Motorsports. In this show your host took a bit of a backseat and let the guests drive the discussion on this important subject. Topics ranged from their personal experiences, ways we as a community can better support and encourage more women to be a part of our rally family, and some of the great things that D...

One of my favorite things at a rally is to get a quick word with competitors as soon as I can after they finished. You get some of that raw emotion of their success, whether that’s just getting to the finish or winning their class.  Although I wasn’t physically at Sno*Drift, I called up several competitors to get their reactions from this year's unusually slick event, soon after they slid past the...

In this episode we go to the very sharp end of the ARA field of competitors and chat with Subaru Motorsports USA's Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino. Travis gives us a rather long medical list of why he had to miss Sno*Drift, even though he tried to convince his doctors he could still compete. Rhianon tells us about how much extra work she and Travis are doing to keep a competitive advantage a...

In Part 2 of our chat with ARA Competition Director Preston Osborn we move on from the recent rule changes and get into the future of ARA and what it’s goals are in both the short and long term.

A few weeks back we had a long call with ARA Competition Director Preston Osborn to talk about what’s new for the 2022 season. We had so much to talk about that we felt it best to split it into two episodes. So in this Part 1 we discussed what was learned over the 2021 season and he detailed the new rule changes for 2022 and the reasoning behind them. So grab a nice Sno*Drift chilled beverage from...

Historic rallying has really taken off in recent years, but the one event on everyone’s bucket list is the East African Safari Classic. In this episode we talk with Andy Brown, the team principal of Tuthill Porsche, and co-driver Alex Gelsomino who will be competing alongside Ken Block in their first Safari Classic. We chat about the the cars, equipment, and preparation for this week long 5,000 ki...

In this episode we chat with William Petrow, the Marketing and Promotional director of the new US Rallysport Federation sanctioning body. We get into the nitty gritty about what holes this sanctioning body is designed to fill, the different car classes, and we also get a bit of an update of what’s new at the Broken Motorsports shop. I also drop in some of my thoughts from WRC Monte Carlo last week...

In this Episode we get to know Era Motorsports’ Kyle Tilley. If you haven’t met Kyle yet, I imagine you soon will. It's hard to imagine a man with this much of a passion for rallying had his first event at Ojibwe Forests Rally just last year.  Although he drives everything from LMP2 sports cars at 200MPH and NASCAR Cup cars on circuits, it's rallying that Kyle loves most and is going all in for 20...

In this episode we chat with Oregon Trail Rally clerk of the course AJ Rossiter. We talk about taking on being a clerk of the course and what it entails, why he’s set aside his helmet and set his sights higher, as well sharing some of our favorite moments from the final round of the ARA championship. You’ll also hear from some of the competitors in this episode that I caught at the end of the firs...

We often talk about the rally family, but in this episode the term is much more literal. We talked with Mark Piatkowski and his dad Andy Piatkowski about Mark's road to becoming the new LN4 combined class champion. We discussed his start in rallying, going from NA4 to Super Production and back to NA4, the value of wrenching on your own car, the challenges of getting to rallies across the country w...