OpenPaddock RallyCast

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 with Open 2WD for event podiums a couple years ago, it's been rare to see L2WD competitors spraying champagne. With a championship that went down to the final event, we decided it was a good idea to give them a bit of the spotlight here on the RallyCast podcast.

In this show we chatted with Robert Yglesias of Pura Vida Rally. He's the 2021 L2WD Cup Champion, and was defending the title going into 2022. We'll let him tell the story from there...

You can follow Roberto’s Pura Vida Rally Team on these social media channels:

Intagram

Facebook

YouTube

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 on the stages.  We also talk about the love hate relationship with some of STPRs stages, how much the community of Wellsboro celebrates the event, and scraping along to a class victory with cheering fans in tow.

You can follow Myron and his American Truck Repair Rally Team on Instagram at @atr_rallyteam and Alison LaRoza at @alisonlarozaracing

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 rallyists get all the stuff necessary to pass tech inspection with flying colors. We also get into a bit of inter-team rivalry as they both prepare for the upcoming Lake Superior Performance Rally.

Check out https://rally.build/ for anything from safety harnesses and rally tires to spill kits. 

Follow Gabe Jacobsohn at https://www.instagram.com/garbozoom/ and https://www.facebook.com/garbozoom 

Follow Colin Schulz at https://www.instagram.com/608rallysport/ and https://www.facebook.com/608Rallysport  

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 Rally Team (JWRT) on these social media channels:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesworldrallyteam/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/James-World-Rally-Team-1315678675119594

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 Trail Rally YouTube video can be found here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMqtJJMWflo

Follow KJ Miller on these other social media networks here:

TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@rally.kj

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rally.kj/

YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB0srhsVW504iYg3Q8ObAgQ

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 about what's going to be different in the new season and why.  

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 a cold one and join us for another round at the virtual rally pub we call the RallyCast podcast.

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 recorded before the new ARA 2023 Open 4WD guidelines were released.

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 certainly doesn't stop there. In one of his grandest adventures he chose to take his rallying experience to the next level by competing in Rally Moto at Sandblast earlier this year. In true Proseus style, he had challenges just making it to the start line, let alone getting to the finish.