BRCC Motor Sports Avoids Dysentery at Oregon Trail Rally
The Oregon Trail Rally is a unique blend of tarmac and gravel trails, with 129 competition miles and 272 transit miles. Spanning the Portland International Raceway, up to Goldendale, Washington, and back to Dufur, Oregon, this rally event is the only three-day race on the calendar since it was added in 1984. The Oregon Trail Rally is round four of the 2022 American Rally Association National Championship.
BRCC’s team for this rally was on the smaller side, with both Bucky Lasek and Mike Glover absent from the competition.
Subaru drivers Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams, the points leaders and returning champs from 2021, drove neck and neck with Subaru teammates (and BRCC’s) Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino, fighting for a podium spot with Hoonigan’s Ken Block.
After the first two stages, Pastrana and Gelsomino held the lead by 3.2 seconds and started day two out second on the road. After the eight stages on day two, however, they hit a few obstacles, including on stage four, where Pastrana said the "motor went dead.” Pastrana and Semenuk tied dead even for second at the end of day two. Rolling into day three, Block managed to stay ahead of Pastrana and Semenuk and claimed his first win of the season. Pastrana and Gelsomino did win the Primitive Racing Power Stage, which was the 16th and final stage of the competition and gave them additional points toward the Championship scores.
“We [Ross and I] really enjoyed this event,” Tom Williams said in a Facebook post. “It went from real fast dusty roads to hill climb-style slick tarmac stages. We came here to learn the event and for Ross and myself to develop in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta rally together.”
Williams moved into third overall in the championship and held on to first in class, retaining a strong lead in the RC2 championship.
Texas Dave earned a total of eight points over the weekend and completed with first in his class, LW4D.
The race results for the entire team were as follows:
Travis Pastrana: third place overall and third in class OW4D
Tom Williams: fourth place overall and first in class RC2
Dave Carapetyan: sixth place overall and first in class LW4D
Mike Glover & Bucky Lasek didn’t compete.
Pastrana and Gelsomino are holding on to second place in the ARA Rally Championship after Oregon Trail wrapped. Williams is now in third place, just above Ken Block, and Carapetyan is seated at 12 place. (Glover is in 24th, and Lasek is in 30th place.)
Where to find the team next: The team heads to Ohio for the Southern Ohio Forest Rally, June 9-11.
