Going for its 12th year, the modern High Desert Trails Performance Rally is now a must do event in Southern California. Since 1973 the roads Southwest of Ridgecrest have been home to the event, and takes competitors through fast and flowing valleys and tight and twisty forest sections in the beautiful high desert on county roads. Competitors tackle hundreds of miles with over 4,000 feet of elevation changes.
The High Desert Trails Rally is a performance time trial event. Rally Racing is a motorsport where a driver and navigator (co-driver) race down closed dirt roads, one car at a time, as fast as they can. The cars race against the clock, and not head-to-head. The racing sections are called Special Stages and closed to all non-rally traffic. The vehicles stay on the road and do not go “off-road” into the desert. When not racing on the closed stages, the cars transit with normal traffic.
Eddie Fiorelli & Brock Heinz – 2018 2WD Winners
The cars are specially equipped production based models (Example: Volkswagen Golf, Dodge Neon, Subaru Impreza) and not buggies or tube chassis vehicles. They are all licensed, registered, and insured to drive on public roads. They have roll cages and safety features added along with heavy duty suspension and tires. We invite you to check them out on Friday night between 6:30PM – 7:30PM May 5th in Ridgecrest.
The rally utilizes hundreds of volunteers to help with communications, timing, and controls. Working a rally is a rewarding challenge that’s a lot of fun! This is the best way to see the event up close and get to interact with the drivers and co-drivers. Plan to spend a day outside, and plan to drive your vehicle over smooth dirt roads. We like to provide our workers with goodies like T-Shirts, lunch, waters, and giveaways. Your help is always appreciated by the competitors. Sign up HERE!
Approximately twenty five teams will take the challenge of the High Desert Trails this year. This event kicks off the 2019 California Rally Series Championship. Supporting rally events all over the Southwest, the CRS is celebrating its 43rd season! More info – http://www.californiarallyseries.com
High Desert Trails is also proud to be sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport (NRS), an organization focused on competitor fun and providing support for rally organizers nationwide. Providing tools to the racers, organizers, and fans to increase their enjoyment of rally is one of the core missions of the organization. – http://nasarallysport.com
