This past weekend I attended the Oregon Trail Rally as a crew member/ mechanic for the 0-60 Rally xD. This was my first rally ever and it was a eye opening experience.

Arrived in Portland on Thursday night for our first ever team meeting. This was the first time that the entire team was able to meet at one time. Going into this event everything was new: new unproven car, new transporter, new crew, new co-driver, etc…

On Friday we were at Portland International Raceway for the entire day. For the first half we were setting up the car and making changes so that we could pass tech inspection. My job was to fabricate rear rubber guards to protect the suspension, brakes, and shocks (little did I know that I would end up making about 5 sets of these throughout the weekend).  Rally competition started around 7PM which were Special Stages designed for spectators.

Saturday had us in Dalles which is about 1.5hrs from Portland and then in Dufur for the second half of the day. We would stay in Dufur for the remainder of the Rally which ended Sunday afternoon.

There were basically four mechanics for the car which included Lenny and Ben from Design Craft, and Mr. Nakai and myself from TEIN. Gordon and the 0-60 crew were cleanup and kept the car clean for the entire Rally. Other crew members included photographers, videographers, and volunteers willing to help anywhere needed.

(picture is missing three crew members who were hiking back from the best photo spot – pickup 0-60 magazine to see the amazing photos)

During each day we had 1-2 services between the stages. This is when the cars come back into the service park for crew members to repair, clean, refuel, adjust the car. Most services are about 40mins which was enough time to:

Remove and inspect all 4 wheels, Rotate wheels, check all fluids, repair any damage, inspect and torque check all suspension components, inspect and clean brakes, clean the entire car inside and out, refuel and get the car back out.

Each service is organized chaos. It must look like a swarm of bees attacking from a spectator point of view. Any delays in service and the car is hit with time penalties. At the end of every service I was covered in dust/ dirt but I was glad the rain held off until the rally ended – mud would have REALLY made it messy.

At the end of every night we performed a longer more thorough service which added changing fluids, bleeding brakes and more extensive repairs. A Rally car has many components which preventative like the mud flaps, inner fender liners, underbody body guards, etc… During service these parts all need to be inspected, repaired or replaced to ensure nothing is damaged in the following stages.

Crewing for a rally car definitely has its stresses. While the car is out running you have no contact so you never know what is going on. Then when the car arrives it is a rush to get all service completed. Once the car leaves it is time to cleanup and prepared for the next service or grab a bite to eat. At the end of the day there is service and then teardown of the pit for the night. The next day it all starts over again.

The underpowered 1WD (due to open differential) almost all stock xD SHOCKED many teams and spectators alike with its quick times which were mainly due to driver Chris Duplessis (2007 & 2008 2WD Champion) and co-driver Ron Zaras (0-60 editor, 2nd Rally ever).

Driver, Chris with the helmet hair. Co-driver, Ron with the Sparco suit, and 0-60 girls.

The attrition rate of the rally was high with about half the field out or slowed due to damage. The durable and reliable Scion completed the entire Rally with no incident. Stock engine, stock transmission, stock brakes = no problems. Yes, more power, clutch type differential, upgraded brakes, shorter gears, etc… would all make the car faster but the goal for this first event was to finish. With the hard charging Duplessis behind the wheel the car was able to finish 2nd in 2WD, losing to a veteran turbo charged Ford Focus.

Visit 0-60 Magazine’s website for videos and a complete story of the event.