The town of Rangely, Colorado is hosting Rally Colorado for the fifth time this weekend. The ARA Super Regional event will host 60 competitors and hundreds of spectators across two days of racing.
Here's all you need to know to keep up with what's happening at Rally Colorado 2021.
The Schedule
Drivers have already had yesterday and most of today to recce the stages and get their pace notes ready for the weekend. Festivities will kick off tonight at the Rangely Automotive Museum with a Parc Expose at 6:00 PM local time, and the main street parade will allow all competitors to depart Parc Expose at 7:00 and cruise through the streets of Rangely to celebrate the start of the event.
Racing starts Saturday at 10:00 AM and is expected to end around 6:00, with one service lasting from around 1:25 to 2:45 PM. Sunday's action will also start at 10:00 AM with service from 11:50 AM to 1:10, and the first car expected to finish the rally at 4:00 PM.
The Competitors
Rally Colorado will be tackled by 60 cars across five classes. Drivers from all across the country will be in Rangely to experience Colorado's unique stages.
Travis Nease will be competing in the L4WD class in his Mitsubishi Evo VIII. Fresh off a class win at Olympus, Nease is looking to impress in Colorado, and continue to get used to his still new-to-him car.
Roberto Yglesias is looking for his third L2WD class win in a row at Rally Colorado. With a perfect track record from 100 Acre Wood and the Olympus Regional Rally, Yglesias and his Fiesta will be flying through stages.
O2WD is sure to be a competitive class, with the likes of Steven Olana in his RWD converted Toyota Tercel, Julian Sebot in his Fiesta R2, Andrew Sutherland in his 1993 Honda Civic, and Flynn Baglin in a 1995 VW Golf just to name a few.
The Stages
Rally Colorado will feature 135 stage miles across 14 stages. Saturday and Sunday will each have their own set of three stages that will each run twice, with the inaugural running of the Columbine Park Super Special capping off each day.
Saturday will total 70 stage miles across Dragon Trail North, Dragons Trail South, and Douglas Creek North. Sunday's stages add up to just less than that, and cover Earl's Bad Day, Valley of the Gods, and Quest for Darwin.
The stages in Colorado are known for not only large elevation changes, totaling 1500 ft per stage in some cases, but also relatively wide roads with long fast sections in-between. This makes for having a grasp on all styles of driving essential to perform well.
Spectating
Spectators will be allowed back in full force at Rally Colorado 2021. Spectators are obviously welcome to the Friday night Parc Expose to meet the drivers, and to watch the cars parade through Rangely, but also have multiple chances to see the action over the weekend.
On Saturday Rally Colorado Organizers will have spectator corner set up on Dragon Trail North (SS1/4) and Dragon Trail South (SS3/6), while Sunday will allow for spectators on Valley of the Gods (SS10/13).
If heading out to the stages themselves doesn't sound like your cup of tea, each day will cap off with the Columbine Park Super Special stage, which should allow for plenty of spectator access, and roughly one mile of observable stage action.
If you can't be on site but still want to follow along, ARA will be providing daily update articles, or for more live results you can see stage times right here on the ARA website.
Resources
More information about Rally Colorado can be found at the links below: