While the eyes of the World Rally Championship might be focused on Chile this week, there’s plenty to keep ARA West Region regulars on their toes at the Prescott Rally.
Head 6,000 or so miles north (and west a bit) from Concepción and you’ll find yourself in the northern deserts of Arizona and right at the heart of a red-hot battle between two Subaru crews.
Chasing his first outright win, Charles Watson has upped the performance of his Impreza WRX STI, with a new turbo shifting him from L4WD to O4WD. He’s hoping more boost will give him and co-driver Ben Triplett the edge over Arto and Mary Ylikangas.
“Prescott is looking like our first event where we can push for the overall win, so Ben and I are super excited,” said Watson. “Colorado last month was more of a race of attrition given the temperatures and elevation – that was the first race we’ve had to lift off the throttle on stage to protect the car. We know Arizona is going to be hot, but we’re hoping the lower elevations are going to let us push at full pace again.
“I’ve got my eyes on Arto in Car 902, as we’ve been neck-and-neck at the last two Western Regional events this year: there was only a 0.07 mph average speed difference between us in Colorado”
Ylikangas finished second in Prescott last year and will be pushing to go one better this time around.
“This is our third year running Rally Prescott,” said Ylikangas. “We love the stages, they are fast and tend to have a flow to them that makes the roads predictable. Perkinsville is definitely in my top three favorite stages I’ve ever raced on.
“Last year we got our first overall podium at this event, this year we are hoping to build on that result. This is a great race and we can’t wait to get out there and do our best!”
Ylikangas was also quick to praise the rally organizer for evolutions to a route based out Cape Verde Equestrian Center for this year
He added: “We’re excited to see the spectator stage and service area in Camp Verde. Spectator areas and stages are important to the sport and are a great way to show the communities we race in thanks.”
While Zach Lord and Garrett Larson are in their first season of rallying, their O4WD Impreza is another car to watch.
Chris Miller and Crystina Coats (Scion FR-S) and Tim Wickberg/Matthew Trott (Subaru BRZ) are the top two-wheel drive runners and, given their form and pace, they could well be snapping at the heels of the all-wheel drive Subarus ahead.
Justin McBee and Sean Spring make the switch from organizers to competitors at Prescott. Competing together for the first time aboard their Subaru Forrester, Spring said: “Our entry into Prescott Rally also marks our first attempt at building a stage rally car from scratch, with the 2002 Subaru Forester being our first roll cage [car] and, most importantly, Justin’s first stage rally.
“We’ve been helping with setup and volunteering with this rally for the last three years and are proud to be able to add another aspect to the rally in the super special [at Cape Verde Equestrian Center on Saturday] we will be hosting. Our goal for the super special is to offer rally fans the opportunity to come see the cars up close without that traditional obligation of volunteering.”
While Spring is focused on guiding his driver through the stages, he’s also quick to point to further innovations from the organisers this weekend.
He added: “We know the gap from RallyCross to stage rally is a large one to overcome, but we also believe in RallyCross being the foundation for the community that can make rally events a reality for those who choose to make that leap.
“The volunteers and crew members are what make these events possible, and we want to show our appreciation by trying to give those who aren’t already driving some more incentive to come out and have some fun with us. So, we will be hosting a rallycross event on Sunday, following the rally, and invite all volunteers, crew members, drivers, and co-drivers to come on out and enjoy a fun day driving cars together at 50% of the price of entry.”
The 33rd Prescott Rally runs in the towns of Camp Verde and Chino Valley Friday/Saturday this week, with the rallycross event on Sunday.
