Before I left Milwaukee for the Olympus Rally in Washington, I had been to Seattle only once, for a long weekend. I flew west from Milwaukee on Friday, and I returned on Monday, so there wasn't a lot of time to explore.
When I join one of the Subaru Motorsports teams for an event, I like to think that I have an open mind and few expectations regarding every aspect of the experience. The weekend in Washington showed me that I had quite a few expectations, many of which were not met in one way or another.
Expectation: The rally would take place in and around mountains. To be honest, there were plenty of mountains around us and nearby, but we weren't in them. This was my first time attending the Olympus Rally, and I found that its setting had more to do with the Pacific Ocean than with the mountains. "Tsunami Evacuation Route" signs were more prevalent than "Watch out for Falling Rocks."
Snow-covered Mount Rainier was most impressive, both from the air and from the highway leading south out of Seattle. There were moments when the mountains in Olympic National Park cut across the horizon. But we were never in any of these mountains.
Expectation: There will be forests. This one was well met. In fact. it was overly fulfilled. Forests of conifers lined most of the roads once away from Seattle and Tacoma.
At the same time, I was amazed at the number of acres that have been cut and lay in want of reforestation, with stumps, roots, and dead branches covering seemingly barren land. I realize the hurricane-force winds of December 2007 added to the desolation. Still, I was surprised.
Due to the cancellation of Sunday's national rally event out of respect for Matthew Marker, I had extra time in Washington. I should have picked up a road atlas. As a result, I missed out on the drive around Olympic National Park on Highway 101. Instead, I found the world's largest spruce tree. To be fair, I didn't have to look that hard to find it, because it was well marked.
Expectation: I always anticipate having a few problems while traveling, but I wasn't ready to learn that my major credit card number had been stolen. Imagine the havoc that plays with paying for meals, baggage, hotels, rental cars, and parking. (Did I mention meals?)
Expectation: Washington has great seafood, especially in the areas through which we would be traveling. This expectation was met, and better than I had hoped! For meals the three days I spent in Washington, I thoroughly enjoyed oysters, clams, crab, and salmon.
The rally service area for Saturday was one building away from a seafood market, where I found containers of freshly packed crab meat. Yum! SRT USA's chef Nick Alburger followed my lead by going to the market and bringing back bags of supplies.
The Olympus Rally
The rally itself is a stunning event. Transits from stage to stage and to the service areas are on roads near the Pacific Ocean and a number of inlets, so you're never out of touch with water. You also encounter the pines and rain forest of northwest Washington. Working ships and huge sawmill operations are parts of the surroundings.
David Higgins/Craig Drew and Dave Mirra/Marshall Clarke placed well in the tragedy-shortened event. Higgins/Drew finished 1st and Mirra/Clarke finished 4th after six stages. That affects the championship standings, making a tight race with only two stage rallies left to go.
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SRT USA Performance in the |
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Event |
Date/Location |
Drivers |
Finishing Position |
Driver Standings |
|
Round 1 |
January 28-29 |
David Higgins |
DNF1 |
— |
|
Dave Mirra |
2 |
2 |
||
|
Round 2 |
February 25-26 |
David Higgins |
2 |
4 |
|
Dave Mirra |
3 |
2 |
||
|
Round 3 |
April 30 |
David Higgins |
1 |
3 (tie) |
|
Dave Mirra |
4 |
2 |
||
1 Engine
For more photos, video, and in-depth information about the Olympus Rally, go to the RallyCar site and the SRT USA site. A video summary of the weekend is on YouTube.
Also, watch for the article about rally service in Drive Performance Version 8.2, which mails to subscribers and posts on this website the third week of July.
-- Ric Hawthorne
