Toyota & Lexus: Rally RAV4 Finishes Second at 100 Acre Wood

Toyota Rally RAV4 Finishes Second at 100 Acre Wood

Many forms of auto racing have evolved since the first vehicle in the early 1900’s took to the streets of America. Off-Road race enthusiasts have heard of the Classic Outback Trail in Australia or the Rainforest Challenge in the Amazon, but in America’s Midwest another race has taken place for many years tucked in the hills of Ozark Country. The dirt, the mud, the dust and water are as much a challenge to the drivers as any other course.

There’s a small town where an amazing race in the Missouri outback takes place. Salem’s population hovers around 5000 and is located in the heart of the Ozarks. This rally has been held in the area for 40 years and the residents of Dent County look forward to this annual event.

Donald Dodd, publisher at The Salem News Online told Myklassic NEWS “The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood has a lot of history in Dent County, and that makes it special to many of our residents. Communities all over the country are looking to play host to events such as the rally, and we are lucky to have it. The many visitors it draws to our community is not only good for the local economy, but it allows us to show off what a wonderful hometown we have. The rally and rally participants get a lot of support here, and we appreciate them coming back year after year.”

Check out the following links from The Salem News Online for a more local and personal touch before, during and after the race:

Missouri teams surprise in shadow of Irish during rally

http://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/news/article_69d994d6-0e41-11e7-b003-0775e539f63e.html

Old guard highlights rally’s ruby anniversary

http://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/article_2666c7b8-08bb-11e7-a298-e7475550483b.html

Pastrana wins Rally in the 100 Acre Wood

http://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/news/article_e58019ca-f033-11e5-8620-57ac060bee44.html

 

This year Toyota’s Rally RAV4 finished second at 100 Acre Wood. The RAV4 team went into the second day with a 15 second lead, but unfortunate upsets caused issues. For 130 miles of extreme challenge, the race ended up amazingly close at the end. After 17 stages and 2 hours of racing, the Rally RAV4 finished just 9.7 seconds behind the winners in their class, Seamus Burke and Martin Brady.

“Friday was very fast and challenging for the crests and everything. Saturday was rockier with more height. It’s hard stone road here. Our position was so far up that we were sweeping the road. It was challenging.” said Millen. “If you go back and look at stage times, you can see how close the times are. It was a battle all the way through the rally.”

There are many unexpected issues in rally racing and those issues cost the Rally RAV4 when they suffered a tire puncture, costing the team time. While maintaining the lead, their engine ingested some water on the course, and it took its toll.

“That puncture cost us 10 seconds a mile for that stage. And the water slowed us down – you just have to keep driving until it clears. We learned some new things. And the RAV4 ran perfectly all weekend,” said Millen.

“Always being out in front, we had to shake a lot of gravel,” said Gelsomino. “Overall, it was a very productive race. We worked on a lot of new things with notes and building with the team. There are lots of positive takeaways.”

Last year the team was unable to finish, therefore some redemption was in place this year in order to conquer the 100 Acre Wood. Their third race together, the new pairing of Millen and Gelsomino is proving to be a good match. After a brief celebration, the team is already gearing up for their next challenge, the American Rally Association Oregon Trail Rally in Portland, OR, April 21 through April 23.

The Rally RAV4 is a mostly stock vehicle with a conventional six-speed automatic gear box. Modifications were made adding more camber from the control arms, allowing for even more grip in the turns, something that 100 Acre Wood demanded.

MyclassicNEWS looks forward to covering the 100 Acre Wood next year and our staff would like to thank the staff at The Salem News  for their local information and support.

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