The California Rally Series inaugural CRS moto season runs the final points race this weekend (October 2-3,2009). With four of the five entries in the big bike class there should be a good battle for bragging rights. This is first year bikes have run at Prescott, but the rally has a long history. This is the 22nd Annual Prescott Rally. Racing starts Friday afternoon and runs into the evening, where bright lights will be the biggest advantage.
Racing continues on Saturday with the majority of stage miles being run. For bike this will be a test of endurance and strategy to get to the end with the fewest mistakes made.
If you are interested in running or spectating all of the information can be found on the Prescott Rally site.
Wild West Rally for 2009 has come to an end and the final results have been posted. You can find them on the Wild West site here. Or just follow the link from our results page.
The Wild West Rally run out of Pomeroy, WA is the next Rallymoto event up on the schedule. This rally runs the weekend of September 26-27, 2009 and should be an exciting event for Rallymoto competitors. Here is the link to the organizers site.
The running of the Black River Stages Rally in New York has been completed and the results are now up. Here is the direct jump to the organizer site. Or you can follow the link on our results page.
With only a few days left before Black River Stages Rally in Harrisville, NY (event date September 19-20, 2009) the organizers are looking for a few more volunteers to help with the rally. If you have ever wondered how a rally works or what all that timing is about, now is your chance for some behind the scenes insight. Volunteers are used to operate the timing controls as well as all other parts of the rally operations. Many competitors started off by working at a rally as it is really the best way to learn how everything works. If you are interested please go to the volunteer link page on the website and sign up. This is the best way to see the rally action up close! Here is a direct link to the volunteer page: Volunteer sign up page
The results for Gorman Ridge Rally are up now follow the link from our results page. The only competitor was Andrew Sutherland on Bike 24, who should have earned the ironman award for finishing such a tough event on a bike. Way to go Andrew!
The Prescott Rally organizers have lowered the entry fee to $150.00 for two days of Rallymoto(tm) racing on the great roads of Prescott Valley and surrounding areas. This is only good until Sept 12 when early entry closes. This rally includes night stages on Friday night and a full day of racing on Saturday. Several competitors have already signed up including several new names.
Prescott Rally Home Page
Black River Stages, a stage rally located in Lewis County, New York, is already the second largest stage rally in the USA and is still growing. The current entry total stands at 49 car and motorcycle teams registered and paid for the event. Black River Stages, which is sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport and will take place the weekend of September 19 and 20, is still accepting entries.
Black River Stages has surpassed last year’s entries (48) and with six weeks left is expected to keep growing. Anders Green, the event organizer, says ‘We only count and show paid entries on our web site. Until the final week, there’s usually half a dozen teams that have paperwork in but haven’t paid yet. I’m confident we’ll set new records. It’s great because each new team adds to the economic impact for the area. It also makes for a great show for the fans.’
‘An event this size is challenging.’ says Jeff Denton, Chief of Scoring for the event. ‘Each team adds another time card to be counted, another vehicle to be inspected, another car or bike to be tracked by the radio net, or another vehicle for sweep to watch for on stage. Even though it’s more work for the volunteers all around, it’s still loads of fun.’
This year has been a tough year for rally racing across the country as the declining economy has hit home for many racers. Most stage rally events have seen a decline in entries of 20 – 30%. The only other events to have grown in 2009 are Rally Tennessee, posting a modest 6% increase, and the New England Forest Rally, which had a massive 45% increase in entries. The New England Forest Rally’s jump moved it to third largest rally overall in the U.S. The largest rally, for the second year in a row, is still the Sandblast Rally, which had about 20% more teams participate than any other event in 2009.
Black River Stages is growing in more than entries. Last year the event added a new stage to the mix. This year, by moving both racing days to the weekend — a move requested by the towns that support the event — the schedule was able to expand to allow an additional running of the Saturday night stages. The total racing distance is now around 90 miles.
The race follows the traditional stage rally format. Multiple racing sections, each called a ‘stage’, are connected by ‘transit’ sections. The stages are closed gravel roads with flat-out, full speed racing. The transits are on open public roads, where the street-legal cars and motorcycles are given plenty of time to leisurely make their way to the next closed, timed racing section.
Spectators wanting to come out and see the race should get more information at blackriverstages.com. There will also be time to meet the competitors just before racing begins on Saturday at the American Maple Museum in Croghan, NY.
One of the most accomplished men in off road racing, Scot Harden, will be taking two wheels to the dirt and gravel this fall in upstate New York. September 19 and 20 will find Harden racing at the Black River Stages Rally based in Lewis County. No stranger to running in the most difficult of conditions, Harden will race well into the night against the series regulars on his Husqvarna 510.
Harden’s resume reads like a dream list of racing events. He has won the Baja 1000 overall, the Baja 500, and is a SCORE overall champion. Successful trips to the Dakar Rally, both as a racer and manager, are under his belt. A national motorcycle enduro champion and Best in the Desert champion, Harden was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008. Currently he is the National Sales and Marketing Manager of Husqvarna Motorcycles North America.
Bobby Wooldridge, from the BMW/Ducati/Husqvarna Motorcycles of Atlanta dealership in Georgia, will be supplying the vehicles and infrastructure to support Harden during the event. Wooldridge, who competed at Black River Stages last year, reports that planning for schedules, bikes, and spares began months before the event. Last year’s second overall finish gives Wooldridge plenty of experience to start the setup and tuning of the bikes.
Defending winner Mike Gilkey is very excited for the chance to go bar-to-bar with Harden. Gilkey, a former pro racer who previously toured Europe racing flat track events, could barely get out a “Wow!” when told that Harden would be at the start line with him. “You always want to race against the best.” said Gilkey.
The format of the race, sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport, will be familiar to Harden, who has raced in a wide variety of rallies. Multiple racing sections, each called a ‘stage’, are connected by ‘transit’ sections. The stages are closed gravel roads with flat out, full speed racing. The transits are on open public roads, where the street-legal motorcycles are given plenty of time to leisurely make their way to the next closed, timed racing section.
Spectators wanting to come out and see the legend race should get more information at BlackRiverStages.com. There will also be time to meet the riders just before the racing starts on Saturday at the American Maple Museum in Croghan, NY.
Citing changes to the schedule required by permitting agencies and the impact on competitors and workers, the 2009 running of the North Nevada Rally has been canceled. Work has already begun on the 2010 event with permitting and scheduling issues addressed early to add stability to the event for the future.
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