Photo Courtesy Rupertt Berringon/Rally Colrado
Rangely, Colo. ~ Rangely, Colo. ~ The incomparable spirit of the rally was on full display as day one of the American Rally Association's Rally Colorado concluded on Saturday.
Defending event winners Jacob and Michael Despain were in command of the two-day ARA West Super Regional event. The Despains had won the first five stages of the day and headed into the day's final stage with a 1min 18sec lead.
However, the two-day ARA West Regional would end with 2018 winner Steve Bis and co-driver Kelly Keefe atop the leaderboard by 8.2sec after Despain found trouble on SS6. Bis and Keefe would
also lead any sportsmanship award, if available, at Rally Colorado after they hooked up to Despain and towed them into the final service. It was a mechanical issue that caused the need for the tug, but the mid-rally boost from Bis will allow Despain to return on Sunday.
Scott Crouch and co-driver Ryan Scott are 33secs back in third and second to Bis in L4WD. Brett and Hunter Livingston lead the Open 4WD class and are fourth overall after day one.
Kubo Kordisch and co-driver Scott Anderson are fifth overall and lead Limited 2WD. Tim Wickberg and Matt Trott were ahead of the L2WD class heading into the final stage but dropped to seventh overall.
The battle for Open 2WD supremacy is the tightest one at Rally Colorado. Chris Miller and Crystina Coats made up six seconds on stage five to take the lead away from Joseph and Samantha Chiarelli. Mille/Coats will enter Sunday with a 3.2sec lead heading into Sunday.
Rally Colorado Quick Notes:
• There were seven stages scheduled for Rally Colorado on Saturday. SS7 was set to be the third running of the 12.1-mile Dragon Trail, but organizers canceled it due to darkness.
• Only two cars out of the 23 that started Saturday were unable to finish the day. One was the #560 of William Coyle and co-driver Cindi Carlson. The pair were involved in a crash at the end of SS3. Both were alert and responsive after the crash and are being treated for their injuries at area hospitals. Join us in wishing them a full and speedy recovery.
• The spectator area for Sunday is on the Valley of the God's stages 10 and 13, at the intersection of CR 122 & 131. This is approximately 11 miles east of Rangely, off of CR 64. Spectators are asked to be in position by 11:30 AM for SS10 and 3 PM for SS13.