The weather wasn’t the only thing heating up the high plains area surrounding Goldendale, Wash. on Saturday as Subaru Motorsports USA driver David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew set a blistering pace on day two of the DirtFish Oregon Trail Rally.
Higgins and Drew woke up with a 12.7-second deficit to teammates Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant. After seven stages and nearly 50 stage miles on Saturday, the Higgins-Drew combo flipped the switch, gaining a 16.1-second lead. Higgins and Drew were consistent in their attack on the leaders, picking up valuable seconds on each stage.
Fast stages await the talented field on Sunday, including the third-place team of Brandon Semenuk and John Hall. Fresh of their win last week at the Rocky Mountain Rally, Semenuk and Hall have been consistent in maneuvering their 2014 Ford Fiesta across the stages the past two days. They will have their hands full on Sunday with another Ford team as Barry McKenna and Leon Jordan have vaulted back into podium contention after a crash with a concrete k-rail on Friday night left them without a front right wheel. Starting the day 23rd, McKenna and Jordan are now sitting fourth, 11-seconds behind Semenuk and Hall.
Day Two Notes:
Overall championship points leaders Piotr Fetela and Dominik Jozwiak are still looking to find their top gear this weekend, holding on to sixth through nine stages.
A new co-driver hasn’t hampered Jeff Seehorn’s efforts at OTR. The AMSOIL-backed driver has Cody Crawford sitting to his right this weekend, and the team sits fifth overall, and leads the L4WD class by more than six minutes.
Through seven stages, the Oregon Trail Rally’s regional event was being led by a 1989 Porsche 964. The 189 car of Jeff Gamroth and Jason Baird had a 26-second lead after seven stages but were unable to start the ninth stage.
Preston Osborn is currently third overall in the national Co-Driver championship standings, but in Oregon, he slid over to the driver seat. He, along with co-driver Allison Laroza have pushed the O.D.D. Ford Fiesta into ninth overall in the and first in Regional L2WD.
Day Three of the Oregon Trail Rally will host three stage routes and eight total stages totaling nearly 60 miles. Parc Expose will be held on Main Street in Dufur, Oregon starting at 9:00 AM. Follow all of the action on the ARA social media channels, ARA App or on-line with the ARA Rally Scoringpage.