Downtown Salem was packed Saturday morning for the Parc Expose as spectators and driver teams gathered in preparation and anticipation of the day's action to come. People came from across the country and around the world with drivers and co-drivers hailing from 15 different countries to participate in the road rally which runs on roads in Dent and Washington counties.
Downtown Salem was packed Saturday morning for the Parc Expose as spectators and driver teams gathered in preparation and anticipation of the day's action to come. People came from across the country and around the world to participate in the road rally which runs on roads in Dent and Washington counties.
For Kenyan Brian Mbuvi, the 100AW was his first race as a driver (he has competed as a co-driver/navigator), and he is the second Kenyan to have competed in the race, as well as the first Kenyan to participate in the four-wheel drive category. In honor of the Masai warriors in his native country, his rally team bears the name Shujaa, which according to Mbuvi means “warrior” in Swahili.
“They are some of the last warriors [the old way] in the world,” said Mbuvi.
When asked what he hopes to accomplish racing, Mbuvi said, “to inspire people, to make people see that rally is not out of reach.” Mbuvi hopes that his further improvements as a rally driver will serve as an example to people around the world and especially his fellow Kenyans.
In honor of the Masai warriors in his native country, Kenya, Brian Mbuvi’s rally team bears the name Shujaa, which according to Mbuvi means “warrior” in Swahili.
“Rallying is a big deal in Kenya,” he said. Kenya is the home of the most difficult rated rally race in the world, according to Mbuvi.
Mbuvi said that he is really grateful to Rally Ready Driving School for their training and support.
“They really helped make this dream possible,” said Mbuvi.
When Mbuvi isn’t racing he is operating his own logistics company based out of Dallas (Texas). And it was through work that he first learned of the 100AW when someone told him about the race while he was in the area training one of his truck drivers.
Mbuvi said that he was excited for Saturday’s stages because it would be a chance for him to make up for a less-than-ideal first day Friday.
“I hit a tree at about 60 miles-per-hour,” he said, pointing to the damage on his driver’s side rear door. “But I finished,” he said, and his car was still operational. “Today is a new day,” he said with an optimistic and good-natured grin.
Other drivers are experienced and well-known drivers—who sport big name sponsors—drivers like Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Barry McKenna and others.
Travis Pastrana giving onlookers a thumbs up as he turns right off of W. Fourth St. to travel south on Main St. Saturday as the Parc Expose wrapped up and racers headed to the first racing stage of the day.
Block recently returned from Kenya where he participated in the Safari Rally, the same rally that Mbuvi mentioned above. Pastrana came to the race to defend his title after having won the rally in 2021. McKenna would get a chance to take another stab at the title, having won the rally in 2019 when Pastrana wasn’t competing in the 100AW.
Some rally racers are celebrities known for other achievements—people like Irish-born rockstar Vivian Campbell, the 1980s era guitarist and songwriter, most famously for his work with heavy metal rock groups Def Leppard and Dio. Campbell is also known for his work with groups like Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and others.
Campbell is relatively new to rallying and has only competed in a few races since he graduated from rally school.
He’s always been interested in rally racing but he became a rockstar instead, and it wasn’t until during COVID times that he got into it while Def Leppard wasn’t touring.
“It’s always been my favorite motorsport,” he said. Campbell said that he used to spend his summers as a kid in Donegal, where rally racing is a popular sport.
He told The Salem News that he enjoyed the first stages Friday.
“It’s been exhilarating,” he said. “There was a whole lot of sideways yesterday.”
Campbell said that he is enjoying the welcoming attitude of most of the community. He was happy to meet some of his fans and sign some autographs.
Irish-born rockstar Vivian Campbell, the 1980’s era guitarist and songwriter, who is most famous for his work with heavy metal rock groups Def Leppard and Dio. Campbell is also known for his work with groups like Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and others. “This one’s from right before I got fired,” Campbell quipped, while signing a backstage pass for a Dio concert.
“This one’s from right before I got fired,” Campbell quipped to a fan, while signing a backstage pass for a Dio concert.
Another thing that Campbell said is that he is enjoying meeting some of his fellow countrymen.
“There’s a lot of Irish drivers here, so I’m making some new friends back home,” he said.
Campbell told The Salem News that he doesn’t have any pretense of having the best time of all the drivers—he’ll just be happy to make it to the end of the race in one piece.
“That’s the thing about rally, to finish is a victory,” he said. Ultimately, Campbell and his co-driver/navigator fared decently well, finishing nineteenth with a time of +18:59.2
Another is already well-known for another extreme sport— skateboarder Bucky Lasek who is arguably one of the best skateboarders in the world, having 13 medals for skateboarding at the Xgames and is the only vert skateboarder to have won three consecutive gold medals.
Car #180 finished in first by a narrow margin over Block and Gelsomino. The 2022 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood first place finishers were Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams driving a Subaru WRX STI, with a finish time of 1:09:53.1.
Also, driver Brandon Semenuk is probably best known for his free-style mountain biking. To name some of his accolades, Semunuk has won the gold medal for Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour and he’s a five-time Red Bull Joyride winner.
Local, Kyle Williams, who was the co-driver navigator for veteran driver Mike Hurst.
“It was an honor to co-drive for Mike Hurst. Rallying with him and his 40 years of experience provided insight on my own priorities during rallies, as well as some driver knowledge on how to attack these curves with a level head. I couldn't be happier with the weekends' results,” said Williams.
Car #43, a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, driven by Ken Block and co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino finished in second place, by 16 hundredths of a second. The pair was in first place until a pair of deer came into the roadway on the final stage, finishing the rally with a time of 1:10:09.8.
The race came to an exciting finish with Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams taking first place by less than 17 seconds after Ken Block who held the lead ran into a deer at high speed. Block and co-driver, Alessandro Gelsomino, ended up taking second place.
Large crowds flocked to spectator points to see the action up close.
100 AW ROAD RALLY RACE RESULTS - TOP 5
Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams 1:09:53.1
Ken Block and Alessandro Gelsomino +16.7
Barry McKenna and Leon Jordan +39.3
Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino +1:33.1
Tom Williams and Ross Whittock +6:40.5
Car #688, driven by Tom Williams and co-driver Ross Whittock glide around the corner near a spectator point at the 2022 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. The Ford Fiesta finished in fifth place with a time of 1:16:33.6.
