We bring back our good friends Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino which is now an all Subaru family. In this episode we discuss their recent vacation travels, review their experiences from the Olympus Rally, and delve into what to expect as challenges at SOFR this weekend. We also take a tangent into the WRC which was in Sardegna last weekend, where Rhianon shares the humorous tale of a long ride on, not in, a tow truck.
Jun 11, 2021•57 min•Ep. 103
We caught up with Krista Skucas after a dominant win at the Mike Nagle Regional Rally co-driving for Derik Nelson in the Nordic Motorsports BRZ. We chatted about the event and it's new stages, a dramatic moment that almost ended it all, as well as how she got started co-driving.
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 102
Part 3 of the 100 Acre Wood review, it's all about NA4WD. We kick it off with regional overall winners Ryan and Rachel Rethy who had a fabulous run with some extremely close competition. Then it's Co-Driver Katie Gingras who with driver Chuck Surdyke was battling the Rethy's until they got a little over ambitious into a fast left hander. And finally it's a chat with Arek Bialobrzeski about his killer H6 swapped 2011 Subaru WRX hatchback that was so fast that it was competing with the R5s at the ...
Apr 21, 2021•35 min•Ep. 101
It's our 100th episode! We start our chat with current ARA champion Barry McKenna who gives us all the details on his World Rally Car and all the changes they did to have it meet ARA regulations. It's always a treat to be joined by Martin Brady. 100 Acre Wood didn't go so well for he and Seamus, but their speed was remarkable. Then it's co-driver Cameron Carr with some stories about recce and what it’s like to compete in an R5 for the first time alongside driver John O'Sullivan. 📷 David Cossebo...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 100
In this show we chatted with a bevy of 2WD competitors including National 2WD winners Michael Hooper and Kevin Allen, 2nd in National Limited 2WD Ryan Sanders, 2nd overall Regional and 2WD class winner Steve Olona, and 3rd overall Regional 2nd in 2WD Al Dantes Jr. Be sure to follow these competitors at their social media links below: River City Rally Team Tower City Race Team Verve Racing GoSPEED Racing...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 99
In this episode we chatted with Dr. "Koz" - Michele Kozimor, Dr. Barbara Prince, and Emalie Rell about a study they're doing about the culture of rally racing in North America. A long time Subaru fan, Michele had never been to a rally until a friend called about a bunch of Subarus running around Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. That visit to STPR and her interaction with teams, fans, and volunteers inspired the project now in it’s 3rd year of research. Follow the Rally Race Book Project on Instagram...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 98
In this last segment from Sno*Drift 2021 we chatted with Limited 4WD competitor Travis Nease, Co-Drivers Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino, and finish off with a talk with American Rally Association's Competition Director Preston Osborn about the choice to use RallySafe and how different it is running an event with this new tool.
Feb 28, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 97
In this episode we chatted with three of the youngest talents that competed at SnoDrift and all of them had podium results. Cian McCormack comes from a family with a strong rallying history and SnoDrift was his first national event. The youngest of the three at 17, Patrick Gruszka is the son of well known privateer Art Gruszka and is beginning to blaze his own path. We also had Patrick's co-driver Alison LaRoza to get her perspective on working with someone so new to the sport. And finally Andre...
Feb 26, 2021•40 min•Ep. 96
Okay, maybe Winners and Binners is a bit harsh, but indeed that's what happened with the guests in part 1 of our Sno*Drift rally review. The father daughter team of Stephen and Katie Gingras have shown impressive performance at other events, but unfortunately the icy conditions caught out the #12 NA4WD Subaru. If it was slick for 4WD machinery, just imagine what it was like for a RWD Subaru BRZ! And that's exactly what our next guest Santiago Iglasias of Escudería Boricua Rally drove to a class ...
Feb 22, 2021•54 min•Ep. 95
In this episode we speak with the Marketing Director of ARA Jeremy Meyer about their new changes including the addition of RallySafe and their media partnership with Dirtfish. We also chat with Dirtfish Media's Trevor Wert about their new role, and with Kelsey Steven's of Cooper Autoworks who's also going to be at Sno*Drift with a small media team. This is looking to be one of the best covered Sno*Drift rallies in ages! And no, your ears do not deceive you. I apparently can't count, because in t...
Feb 20, 2021•37 min•Ep. 94
In this episode we talk to a couple of grassroots competitors. Brothers James and Ryan Pryzbylkowski are newer to the sport from the competition side, but have been spectating rallies for several years until they had the opportunity and means to finally build cars of their own. It's a fun chat about how they first learned about rallying and what it's like to do that first event. Follow Vilko Motorsports on the following social media channels:...
Feb 15, 2021•49 min•Ep. 93
In this episode we chat with one of our favorite WRC reporters, Colin Clark. Colin gives us his thoughts on the upcoming Monte Carlo Rally, what it's like to ride in one of the newest generation Hyundai i20 WRC's at speed, and the upcoming 2022 regulations. Be sure to also stick around for the end where we introduce a new segment we're calling "The View From the Right Seat" where this time we have a short chat with Alex Gelsomino about his years of rallying with Ken Block and the Ford relationsh...
Jan 17, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 92
Happy New Year listeners! In this episode Co-Driver Alex Kihurani chats with us about the challenges of their condensed 2020 WRC3 season, working with the FIA's new Rally Star driver program and how sim racing plays a part, getting used to the speeds of Rally2 machinery, and the exciting plans he and Sean have for the 2021 season which starts in just a few weeks. After what we heard, you'll definitely want to renew that WRC+ All Live subscription! We also have a brief chat with Scott Alderson of...
Jan 02, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 91
In this show Alex and Rhianon discuss their pandemic shortened 2020 season and how what started out as quite the blow to their business and livelihood, suddenly opened a new opportunity when Rhianon got the call co-driver for Travis Pastrana in the #199 Subaru. We also talk about how American rally rules encourage good sportsmanship vs. other places in the world, and how Alex and Ken used that to their advantage in their early years competing in an Olsbergs Fiesta. We also chat about the crazy c...
Dec 13, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 90
In Part 2 of our Olympus review show, we conclude our interview with Regional overall winner Dave Clark, and then provide some thoughts and insight from our commentary crew which includes our host Mike Shaw, rally photographer Tedrick Mealy, and recently announced 2020 Eastern Regional Open 2WD champion co-driver, Kelsey Stephens of Cooper Autoworks.
Dec 06, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 89
In this episode we welcome a man who's smile we didn't think could get any bigger, but then he won the overall regional in his BMW E36 M3. It isn't often a 2WD car can make it to an overall podium, let alone an all out win, especially in the dumping rain and slippery conditions that Olympus 2020 had on offer. Mike Shaw and guests hosts Kelsey Stephens and Tedrick Mealy find out how he was able to pull if off and how he got started doing this crazy little sport that we all love.
Nov 28, 2020•43 min•Ep. 88
In this episode we welcome back friend of the RallyCast Preston Osborn. After toasting to his new role as ARA's new Series Competition Director, we chat about what interested him in taking up the new position, areas he plans on focusing first, and what his recent skills as a team manager and competitor at O.D.D. Racing can bring to the sanctioning body's management team. From there we delve deep into a review of the Ojibwe Forests Rally and learn why everyone should keep an eye on a kid named An...
Sep 12, 2020•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 87
With Rally Colorado this weekend we wanted to get a quick preview out to all of you so you'll know what these competitors will be facing. We called up Travis Nease and Dan Norkus to give us an idea of what the roads are like, what they think of the hefty entry list of competitors, and what their plan of attack is being 3rd on the road in a new car.
Aug 15, 2020•36 min•Ep. 86
We didn't have any special guests this week, although we think we're all a little bit special in our own way. In this episode Mike, Ian, Kelsey, and Calvin chat about numerous subjects including socially distanced rallying, dealing with high temps, and what we think of one day rallies for national championship rounds. We also chat about the rest of the world starting to rally again, WRC cars running in national events, schedule changes, whether we'd like to see tarmac rallying as part of ARA's f...
Aug 09, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 85
It's rally week!! With the American Rally Association's national championship restarting, we caught up with event Chairman Jeremiah Johnson and ARA Marketing and Media Director Jeremy Meyer. We get a quick preview of the roads, weather, competition, ways to follow, and how they'll be running a socially distanced championship event. 📸 by iHeartfast
Jul 17, 2020•40 min•Ep. 84
In this episode of the RallyCast presented by Oz Rally Pro we welcome back Chris Greenhouse. Although not seen as frequently on the American rally scene of late, Chris is one of the fastest 2wd competitors out there. We talked about social distanced rallying, his overall win at Central UP, and how he's looking forward to the depth of competition at the upcoming Southern Ohio Forests Rally. We even helped plant the seed of a potential run at the ARA Open 2WD championship. Grab a cold one and enjo...
Jun 28, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 83
In this episode we welcomed Jamie Beliveau of Beliveau Boys Racing where the whole family seems to be involved. Originally growing up in the Northeast, Jamie is looking to see if he can organize rally events closer to his new home of North Carolina where the sport is notably absent. Growing up running TSDs, driving, co-driving, and even running rally moto, this kid's got the energy and drive to keep on rallying no matter the time or place. You can follow Jamie and Beliveau Boys Racing at the fol...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 82
In this episode of the Open Paddock RallyCast presented by Oz Rally Pro we reflect on Oregon Trail Rally's past with Chairman Doug Heredos, Clerk of the Course Rebecca Ruston, Volunteer and competitor Dylan Hooker, and driver of the zero car from Team Fugawi? Lee Sorenson.
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 81
In this episode we chatted with Steve Gingras who won the SCCA Production GT class championships in 1997 and 1998. That may have been 20 years ago, but a recent return to the stages showed that he's still quick behind the wheel as the next generation, Katie Gingras, can attest. We talked about rallying then, rallying now, and got a ton of stories in between. So kick back, grab a glass of your favorite local brew and enjoy another round at the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast presented by ...
May 29, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 80
Most of us know Robbie as co-driver to one of the best known talents in American rallying, but he's had another life across the pond as well. Growing up in one of the world's motorsports hubs made racing seem like a normal path to take in life. He's worked with F1 teams, helped restore historics, and even gets behind the wheel himself from time to time. Motorsports has always been simply second nature. So kick back and grab a pint (or a coffee), as we get to know Subaru Motorsports USA's Robbie ...
May 09, 2020•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 99
In this episode recorded Tuesday April 21st 2020 we invited two guests to the show by request. Dmitri “Name Dropper” Alpinsky has been rallying in the US and Canada since the late 1990s and AJ Hakala has been co-driving mostly in the western US since 2004. It’s 2 hours of reflections and stories with a pair of competitors from opposite ends of the continent that became close friends through motorsport.
May 02, 2020•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 98
In this episode with chatted with Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino of the Oz Rally Pro driver and co-driver training school. The Coronavirus lock-down has forced them to innovate and by doing so have created some new online courses that provide a great value for experienced and new competitors alike. True to their dedication, they even talk about continuing their training even in the middle of a recent earthquake. Alex and Rhianon also give our listeners some training tips that could be hugely valuabl...
Apr 18, 2020•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 97
It's a bit late, but back on April 1st Mike and Ian invited a whole cadre of Open Paddock's friends to a Skype call to see how they are coping with the current Coronavirus lock down. You'll hear Ian mention Goodwood yet again, and the rally truck is apparently available for Birthday parties. Kelsey and Calvin of Cooper Autoworks have serious issues with procrastination, yet still find a way to add more to their to do list. Adam Bachi of Limitless Studios has seemingly limitless file storage for ...
Apr 12, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 96
In this episode we talk about new rallies! Yes, the growth of rallying in North America has brought about new events, so we chatted with organizers Dave Matheson of the new Bristol Forests Rally in Tennessee and Denise McMahon of the new Rally Nevada based out of Tonopah. New events in new places and they tell us why you should come check them out! Follow the Bristol Forests Rally at these links: Rally Website: https://www.bristolforestsrally.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bristolforestsrall...
Mar 09, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 75
In this episode Mike and Ian had Dan Downey of Downey Dirty Racing join them at the#RallyCast virtual rally pub. Many of you may remember Dan from the pictures of his BMW e30 that flew through the New England Forest Rally’s Concord Pond stage with a Domino’s Pizza delivery sign strapped to the top. We chat about that, why he chose to go “rad wheel drive”, how his first stage rally event got a little hot, and what it’s like being an instructor at Team O’Neil Rally School. As always we encourage y...
Feb 24, 2020•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 95
