Los Angeles. After a delayed start due to a number of events being cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the rally season is finally here! Rally Colorado kicks off the California Rally Series (CRS) Rally Championship this weekend August 15-16 with a full field of forty cars entered. The event is based in Rangely, CO and takes place on twisty and smooth dirt roads of Northwestern Colorado. With elevations over a mile high, the event is one of the most scenic on the CRS calendar. At nearly 130 stage miles, the weekend counts as a triple-points event (Coefficient 3) on Saturday, and a double-points event (C2) on Sunday towards the championship. Earlier this year, the CRS Board of Governors voted to combine 2020 and 2021 into one Super-Season, which means competitors at Rally Colorado will have a chance to get a jump start on points.

Last year’s Open Four-Wheel Drive Class season champions Flynn Baglin and co-driver Alix Hakala are back to defend their trophies, although this season sees them in a new vehicle. They will be competing in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with the intent of bringing the fight to the many Subarus on the entry list, as well as a few R5 spec Ford Fiestas. Fresh off a win at a tarmac event on the East Coast, Martin Donnelly and co-driver Martin Brady in their Fiesta will be the one of the favorites to win the event overall. But past years at Rally Colorado have proved that nothing is predicable. Local driver Scott Crouch took second place overall last year in his Subaru WRX, and along with co-driver Lea Croteau will be looking to improve upon that finish. Keeping the pack honest will be the husband and wife team of Chris and Lori O’Driscoll who captured the final podium spot last year in their Subaru WRX STI. Ryan Booth DNF’d at this event last year, but look for him and co-driver Nicholas Dobbs to be on the past from the start this weekend.

Dave and Mike Brown not only captured the Open Lite season championship in 2019, but the Colorado brothers also won this event overall last year - quite an accomplishment in a normally aspirated Subaru at these elevations! This year they face some serious competition in their class, from skateboarder Bucky Lasek who is teamed up with veteran co-driver Krista Skucas, as well as Texan Dave Carapetyan and co-driver Robert Amato. Krishna Gandhi and co-driver Jake Baxter are another Open Lite team to keep an eye on. Last year they finished second in class despite rolling their Subaru wagon on the last stage and still continuing on to the finish! Their tenacity might pay off for a class win this year.

The large-displacement two-wheel drive CRS-5 class is shaping up to be a quite a battle. The always fast Brad Morris is teamed up with co-driver Michael Hordijk in a very well prepped Mitsubishi Lancer. Meanwhile 2017 class runner up Michael Cadwell is back after a hiatus with a freshly built BMW 135i and a new co-driver in the form of Bob Maselli. Also debuting a new build is last year’s two-wheel drive top finishers, the husband and wife team of Chris and Michelle Miller in a fresh Ford Focus. Looking to give them a run for their money is BMW driver Roger Matthews, who is teamed up with journeyman co-driver Ryan Dunham for this event. Bret Hunter and co-driver Melissa Sherowski set some fast stages times in their Honda CRX at this event last year, and are also worth following in the fight for a class podium.

There seems to be a theme of new vehicles with this event – perhaps competitors have been keeping themselves occupied in the garage while the pandemic kept them off the stages. Veteran driver Tony Chavez is debuting a freshly built Honda Civic in the small-displacement two-wheel drive CRS-2 class. He is teamed up with fellow old-timer Doug Robinson, and together the team probably has the most combined years of rally experience in the event. They will face a strong challenge from 2017 class runner up Eliza Coleman who is back with her trusty Scion xD and teamed up with pro co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino.

The production-based two-wheel drive Performance Stock (P-Stock) class is shaping up to be a battle between two rookie drivers. Alex Ramos is making his debut behind the wheel, with experienced co-driver Andres Bautista sitting in the right seat of their Acura RSX

Rally Colorado takes place August 15-16, and is based in Rangely, CO. The rally features nearly 130 miles of stages in the mountains of northwest Colorado. For more information visit https://www.rallycolorado.org/.

The California Rally Series is the premier performance rally championship in the southwestern United States. The Series incorporates events from various sanctioning bodies in order to create a meaningful regional championship for its members. The Series celebrates more than 40 continuous years of performance rally, making it the longest running rally series in the United States. To learn more about the California Rally Series visit www.californiarallyseries.com and follow @californiarallyseries on Instagram and Facebook.