DirtFish will well and truly take flight at this weekend’s Oregon Trail Rally, with nine staff members heading south for the event – and all of them set to send it across the recently re-named DirtFish Jump on the Boyd Loop stage.
Running as a Super Regional rather than National round of the American Rally Association series this year, the route retains its classic roads around Goldendale and Dufur on the Oregon-Washington border. All but 4.5 miles of that 93-mile competitive route are run on gravel, but the event kicks off with the classic Maryhill asphalt test on Saturday morning.
A day later, it’s time to catch some air. DirtFish’s Women in Motorsport coordinator Josie Rimmer is one of the pilots set for take-off.
“The DirtFish jump, how cool is that…” said Rimmer, who drives her Subaru BRZ with co-worker Michelle Miller as co-driver. “This jump is probably one of the most iconic in the world of rallying, so to have our name attached to it is really special.
“For me, as simple as it sounds: I’m just so excited for OTR! Thanks to a hip surgery, I have only driven three times since this event three years ago. It’s great to be back out there with Michelle alongside me. This is a great opportunity for me to get out, push my limits and compete with myself.”
Josie will take on just her fourth ever rally this weekend
Another DirtFish employee returning to the stages after a four-year hiatus is Brenten Kelly.
“I’ve spent the last four years talking about rallying from the sidelines at 30-something ARA National events,” said Kelly, who drives a Ford Fiesta R5 for the first time. “At some point you stop talking about it and just go do it again.
“OTR felt like the right place to come back, have fun, and reconnect with the roots of what rallying is really about. I’m not showing up expecting to be competitive right away – this is more about getting myself back up to speed and back into the rhythm of driving again. Doing it in the fastest car I’ve ever competed in is going to be a pretty wild challenge.”
Michael Honn will be looking to build on his top-six finish at last year’s Tour de Forest with another strong Subaru outing, while Jack Harrison shares his Impreza with colleague Eric Schofhauser. Sean Edwards wheels out his venerable Volvo 242 Turbo and Brian Miller is looking to emulate a superb Olympus O2WD podium in a BMW 325.
Kendra Miller is also back out co-driving Steve Greer’s Subaru Legacy. The pair wowed the Olympus crowds with their car’s iconic white, pink and green works livery at last month’s Olympus Rally and will deliver plenty more smiles on this weekend’s 16-stage event.
