Coming off a small rally hiatus, it was unclear if Keith Jackson and Marra Estep would be able to pick up their 2009 USRC winning pace. Winning Stage 1 with more then a 45 second gap quickly confirmed that there was no issues getting right back into maximum attack with their Subaru Impreza WRX. Their competition was Bill Holmes and Sean Gallagher in their Ford Raptor followed closely by Jon Burke and Zachary Dickinson in anouther Subaru Impreza WRX. Burke would have problems with the car and not continue after service. This left Holmes in 2nd, a minute and a half behind Jackson, and well over 3 minutes ahead of the CRS GT cars. Having some brake problems on the last stage, Cem Akdeniz and Mustafa Samli would take 2nd in Open 4WD and 6th overall.

Running in Subaru Imprezas, Alex Rademacher and Jeana Yi were close with Leelyn Pritchard and Logan Mineer all day. After service it became not only a battle for CRS GT, but a battle for third overall. Radamacher turned up the pace in the afternoon and pulled into the lead. Pritchard maintained bragging rights by beating him on Stage 8 – The DirtFish Power Stage! Co-Driver Logan Mineer said “I’ll admit, it was nice holding that champagne for a bit, even if I knew it was Keith’s all along.” Michael Carnes & Reza Yazdani were back again this year in their Audi Quattro to take 3rd in CRS GT.

In 2WD Eddie Fiorelli & Tom Smith set an outstanding pace for the first stage in their CRS-2 VW Golf, taking the 4th fastest time, and surprising a number of turbo 4WD cars. They would keep 1st in CRS-2 all day, ahead of Sean Lane & Christian Coulter in their Dodge Neon, and Javier Olivares & Brock Heinz in their Mitsubishi Gallant, but would be beaten overall by a Performance Stock VW Golf driven by the experienced Tony Chavez & Raquel Salas. Chavez would go on to set fast times and secure 1st in P-Stock and 5th overall! 2nd in P-Stock would be Sarkis Mazmanian & Arin Hovsepian in an Acura Integra.

The DirtFish Power Stage spurred on the competition to the finish. There was no stopping 4WD Driver Keith Jackson and Co-Driver Marra Estep all day. They won every stage, and this one was no exception, grabbing the top prize from Leelyn Pritchard and Logan Mineer. Bill Holmes and Sean Gallagher also stayed in complete control of 2WD to emerge victorious and take the $100 from Tony Chavez & Raquel Salas. Jackson and Holmes then celebrated with a spray of champagne.

Teams are off to Rally Idaho for the next event in the California Rally Series Championship on June 9th & 10th. We would like to thank all the volunteers and captains for making this such a successful event! See you next year at High Desert Trails when we celebrate our 40th anniversary!

Chuck Wilson has honed his skills with FWD over the last few years coming in first in P-Stock in 2009, and 2nd in the very competitive CRS-2 in 2010. He made it all the way to stage 8 last year when a mechanical problem caused them to DNF.  We’re excited to have him on the stages again this year!
 John Black has been campaigning his Ford Ranger at HDT with a 1st in P-Stock in 2009, 3rd in 2010, and 2nd in 2011. This year however, there are rumors of a Ford Focus? Will the switch to FWD be what he needs to get back into the top spot?
We know how much time and commitment it takes to rally, so we respect both these guys and wish them success this season and many more rallies with us at the High Desert Trails!

There are lots of other hotel options in Ridgecrest, but only the Hampton Inn is within walking distance from Rally HQ (The SpringHill Suites).

HDT Organizer Kristopher Marciniak explains, “In WRC style, we’re going to flip the order, add appropriate gaps, and send the cars down the last stage. As the cars pull into the final time control, the team with the hot time will be handed the prize. They will hold onto it as long as their fast time stands.”

Over 25 teams composed of competitors from all over the Southwest have signed up to take the challenge of the 2012 High Desert Trails Rally and the DirtFish Power Stage!

We want to personally thank all the teams that have signed up and paid your entry. This allows the organizers to be flexible and get everything in place early for a great event. Haven’t signed up yet? Competitors click here!

• May 12th, High Desert Trails Rally - Ridgecrest, CA
• June 9-10th, Idaho Rally - Boise, ID
• July 6-7th, North Nevada Rally - Lovelock, NV
• August 4th, Mendocino Rally - Ukiah, CA
• August 25th, Gorman Ridge Rally - Frazier Park, CA
• September 28-29th, Prescott Rally - Prescott, AZ

The California Rally Series is the premier performance rally championship in the southwesternUnited States. The Series incorporates events from various sanctioning bodies in order to createa meaningful regional championship for its members. The Series celebrates more than 35continuous years of performance rally, making it the longest running rally series in the UnitedStates. To learn more about the California Rally Series visit www.californiarallyseries.com and follow @crspress on twitter.

Expanded last year onto the gorgeous roads of Kern County, the rally will be celebrating it’s 39th anniversary on stages south and west of Ridgecrest, California. With the spirit of that first event run in 1973, the exact route and stages will not be disclosed to the competitors until the organizer provided stage notes hit co-drivers hands. We have added to the mileage from last year, and we’re excited to keep things fresh for teams offering a Coefficient 3 event, with 70+ planned stage miles. To celebrate our history, High Desert Trails will be offering an “Alumni Reserved Early Entry” for those of you that have run High Desert Trails in the past (1973-2011), as well as a discounted early entry fee that closes on April 7th. All you will need is verifiable documentation that you were on the entry list and started the High Desert Trails Rally anytime in the past thirty eight years.

This event proudly kicks off the California Rally Series Championship for 2012. As the premiere rally series in the Southwest, and one of the biggest regional championships in the country, the California Rally Series provides an exciting, well run championship for competitors, plus support, equipment, and volunteers for the rally. The event will be sanctioned by NASA Rally Sport, the grassroots rally sanctioning body for the US. NASA Rally Sport focuses on competitor fun and providing support for rally organizers. Providing tools to the racers, organizers, and fans to increase their enjoyment of rally is one of the core missions of the organization.

Please join us in the beautiful high desert!

The amazing roads will be similar to what we had last year. We’re planning to open volunteer registration in a few days. We have spoken to the Spring Hill Suites Hotel, and the fantastic Casey’s BBQ about the event. We have contacted stage captains, and you should see a steady stream of HDT emails over the next few weeks.

- Kris & Christine Marciniak

The competition amongst the top teams in the CRS-2 class can only be described as epic. Three extremely talented drivers were within seconds of each other throughout the event, and the leader board seemed to change with every stage. At the end of the day, Michel Hoche-Mong and Marie Boyd secured the top spot in their VW Golf (and second place overall), ahead of George Doganis and Tom Smith in a Honda Civic (who finished third overall). 2010 rookies of the year Gaylord Van Brocklin and Steve Secviar were on maximum attack from start to finish (and then some). They crossed the flying finish of the last stage fast enough to take first place, but perhaps too fast to negotiate the next corner. Immediately after the finish they lost control of their VW Golf going over a crest and went off in spectacular fashion, cartwheeling down the hill in full view of the finish control workers. The team emerged unscathed, but would end up officially scored as a “Did Not Finish” as they were unable to complete the final transit. Inheriting third place in CRS-2 were Eddie Fiorelli and Brent Ellzey in the rally debut of their VW Golf.

Hakan Okcuoglu took first place in Open 4WD (and fourth place overall) in his Mitsubishi Eclipse. Mitsubishi seemed to be the manufacturer of choice in this class, with Vartan Samuelian and Lawrence Babahekian scoring second place points in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

CRS-GT, the production-based four wheel drive class, was won by Paul Willemsen and Travis Bos in their Subaru Impreza WRX. The event marked Paul’s return to rally after a several year hiatus. He proved he did not lose much speed during the break as he finished over two minutes ahead of 2010 CRS-GT champions Kevin Welker and Nolan Sambrano in their Subaru Impreza.

Performance-Stock was also won by a driver coming off a multi-year hiatus. Tony Chavez and Raquel Salas drove their VW Golf to a P-Stock victory in a close battle with John Black and Lori Stone in their Ford Ranger. The second place finish is enough for Black/Stone to maintain their lead in the championship thanks to a strong finish.

The High Desert Trails Rally was first run in 1973 on roads to the southeast and west of Ridgecrest, CA. After running for the past two years at a motorsports facility on the edge of town, the rally moved to some never before run roads for 2011.

The California Rally Series is the premier performance rally championship in the southwestern United States. The Series incorporates events from various sanctioning bodies in order to create a meaningful regional championship for its members. The Series celebrates more than 35 continuous years of performance rally, making it the longest running rally series in the United States. To learn more about the California Rally Series visit www.californiarallyseries.com and follow @crspress on twitter.