A Parc Expose was held before the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood’s stages began for the day on the morning of Saturday. Here, fans had a chance to meet and mingle with the drivers, take photos and get an up-close look at the cars.
Hundreds of bundled people flooded Fourth Street, braving the harsh, cold wind that kept the morning sun from warming the street. Cars lined both sides of the street from the Bank of Salem almost to Salem Public Library, sporting colorful liveries and sponsor names.
The annual rally attracts drivers and fans from all over the country and world. One fan, Mitchell Elmore, who traveled all the way from Bryant, Arkansas, said he was excited to meet the drivers and get their signatures. He proudly displayed a sealed Hot Wheels rally car, adorned with signatures from drivers he had spoken to so far.
Co-driver Dan Morrison said he and his driver, Darren Vancour, had gotten their start racing radio-controlled cars together when they were kids. Their car, a 1993 Subaru Impreza, featured a hand-airbrushed livery adorned with hundreds of tiny painted rivets.
“Yesterday we started 54th, and I think we finished up 38th yesterday, so we’re doing pretty good with performance,” said Morrison. “We really appreciate the town of Salem letting us do this high-speed, high fuel consumption assault on your roads down here, we really appreciate it.”
Morrison said he considers the roads in the area to be the finest in the world due in large part to how well they are maintained. Many of the roads used in the race are maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, according to race organizers.
“These are really some good roads here. We like it. The routing on them, the way that they kind of sweep around, it allows us to really get up to some speed. Several places, we’re up over 100 miles per hour. We’re averaging like 60. That little Subaru’s got its tongue hanging out!” he laughed. “We’ve got two spares. It’s kind of tough on them sometimes.”
Morrison said that while the two spares certainly don’t help in the weight category, he believes carrying two spares increases odds of finishing the race.
“We’re not at the national level. Those guys have to scale in and stuff. We safely made the weight, but we’re probably taking a penalty on it. On the other side of it, you’ll see a lot of those guys busted on the side of the road because they got all the light stuff, and ours is built like a tank,” laughed Morrison. “We finished the rally, where a lot of them, they can’t say that.”
Morrison and Vancour would go on to finish the rally in 11th place overall in the regional category, and fifth in the NA4WD class, with a total time of 1:56:48.8.
Driver Jordan Haberer said that he had returned to the event after a long absence, and was relearning the stages.
“Yesterday was great. I haven’t been here in four years, so I didn’t really remember much about it besides the southern loop, which we’re not really running now, so it’s basically all new,” said Haberer.
Haberer and his co-driver Drew Staples were running a 1994 Subaru Impreza, christened with the words Bankrupt Motorsports. He reported that despite recent rains, the track conditions were optimal.
“The rain on Thursday during recce kept the dust down. So yesterday, I don’t know if it could get much better. It was cold, so good for the motors and keeping cool, but it was sunny and beautiful. I mean, we didn’t even have any dust issues, so I couldn’t ask for a better day, minus that we broke halfway through the last stage,” said Haberer. “We broke a rear axle on launch. I tried to limp it through the stage, but the wheel bearing fell apart and the wheel fell off.”
Haberer anticipated a good run in the Saturday’s stages.
“We did the last-minute repair. If it holds, I think we’ll do well. The stages are really fun. But yeah, we had no hiccups, the ARA has been running the event real smooth, we didn’t have any delays yesterday.”
Haberer and Staples placed 10th overall in the regional category, and first in the O4WD class with a total time of 1:56:39.6.
The roar of engines filled the air starting around 10 a.m., as drivers and teams began preparing the cars and drivers for the race. Helmets were donned as fans cleared a path down the street for the cars to line up and prepare to head to the day’s first stage.
