This morning around the NW the “old school” community started up their engines and cruised out to Marymoor Park in Redmond Washington. Over the course of the day over 300 people showed up to check out the action. Any car newer then 1987 was not allowed to park inside to show and was a nice change of pace! The reunion brings old  European and Nostalgic Japanese cars together to hang out and share ideas.

The turn out was impressive for the last minute changes in location. Originally the event was to be help at DirtFish. Unfortunately Dirtfish is battling King County over zoning violations and has been forced to cancel several planned events.

Anyways, a big Shout out to the Old School Crew and Meister Auto Werks
for putting on such a great event!! I know I will be looking forward to next year.

We had the pleasure of networking with My Life at Speed over the recent RallyCar events in the Pacific Northwest, they seem to show up at anything involving speed. You can find their post on how this video came about on their website. We look forward to working with them in the future and seeing them at upcoming events such as Formula Drift, Xtreme Drift Circuit, and possibly the Idaho Rally.

This is a guest post by Benjamin Graybill.

Anyone driving within a mile of the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington, would have known something was different than a usual Friday night. Loud music and engines rumbling filled the air on a rather surprisingly nice evening in the Pacific Northwest, as car after car rolled up the parking garage ramp to the show. The event, put on by NWMotiv.com and NOS Energy Drinks was to accompany the premiere of Fast Five as well as a VIP show/meet for local automotive clubs and forums. More than 100 of these VIP cars were on display for all to see including a 700 hp Genaddi Ford GSX1, a RB26DET swapped AE86, NSXs, and Andrew Coomes’ LS240 Formula Drift Car. This was an amazing show with free NOS Energy drinks everywhere, NOS girls, gorgeous cars, and great music. Hopefully, the success of the show this year will lead to many more down the road.

Rally racing is an extreme sport with many obstacles ranging from mechanical failure, driver mistakes, weather conditions, stage conditions, all the way to intoxicated spectators. One thing that really hit home after the Olympus Rally was realizing how close knit the community surrounding it is; the drivers, their families, the communities where these events take place, the fans who drive for hundreds of miles. The drivers who compete come from all over the United States, and Canada with one thing in common; to compete against the conditions for the best time. With this determination and adrenaline we can sometimes forget about the danger involved. The Olympus Rally takes place on the Washington coast in the hills, mountains and valleys that line it. It is such a gorgeous place to experience. However, these roads are filled with large gravel and rock, mud, and stumps, and even creeks and are extremely treacherous. During the event on Smith Creek Road (Stage 6), Matthew Marker “#65″ of Elk Rapids, MI and his co-driver went off the course. Matthew was taken from the rally community during that stage. This is the first fatality in rally in the United States since 2003 when a driver and co-driver died. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Matthew’s family and friends and those who were close to him. NWTuner.com has made a donation to his family and we encourage you to purchase a bracelet and/or vinyl decal in his remembrance. Amanda Skelly is organizing this and you can see the event and contact her through Facebook or via email.

Matthew Marker coming down Smith Creek Road into the sun.

Saturday was a full house at the Parc Expose which was located at the Ocean Shores Convention Center for the Olympus Rally, with over 50 cars entered, drivers and fans gathered. David Higgins and Dave Mirra seemed to be of the most crowded around drivers (Who finished first and fourth overall at the conclusion of the rally at Stage 6).

Stage 6 uphill/downhill was full of 3-4 inch gravel. Leaving the few spectators in these areas ducking for cover after cars sprayed them.

Antoine L’Estage has no fear down the mountain and into the sun.

Fans at the Parc Expose.

Dave and Richard Hintz and their 1999 BMW M3.

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Twenty-five years ago the world came to Grays Harbor for the Olympus Rally, the final race in the 1986 World Rally Championship. On Saturday April 30, the Olympus Rally returns to the harbor as a round in the American championship.

More than 60 teams, including top drivers from Europe, Canada and the US, will battle it out over the forest roads from South Bend to Taholah. Leading drivers include 2010 North American champion Antoine L’Estage, former British and US champion David Higgins and Vancouver B.C.’s Pat Richard, a former North American champ.

The rally starts and finishes in Ocean Shores. On Saturday, April 30, the racing will take place on the Oakville-Brooklyn Road. Sunday, May 1, the rally heads north the Quinault Nation for stages near Taholah.

Rally is different from other racing. First, there’s no track, rally racing takes place on “special stages,” unpaved roads that have been closed to traffic. There aren’t any grandstands or concessions, but there’s also no admission charge.

Inside the car you’ll see two helmets. One is the driver who slides the car through the corners, accelerating and braking at the edge of control. That’s not a passenger sitting next to the driver, that’s the co-driver. Rally co-drivers are part of wakes rally unique. While the driver races through the forest, the co-driver calmly provides instructions about the road ahead.

The cars look familiar; they’re all street legal small sedans that have been specially prepared for safety. Take a look inside a rally car and you’ll see a web of steel tubes to make the car stronger and protect the crew. 300 horsepower, all-wheel-drive Mitsubishis and Subarus will compete for the overall title, but you’ll also see Hondas, VWs, Mazdas and Fords battling in the two-wheel drive class.

The top two-wheel drive teams include the BMW M3 driven by Enumclaw’s Dave Hintz with his brother Rick Hintz co-driving; Lynnwood’s Tom Burress and his co-driver brother Don Burress in their turbocharged Volkswagen Golf; and 19-year old supermoto racer Dillon Van Way and his co-driver Jake Blattner in a new Ford Fiesta turbo.

World Rally co-driver Alex Gelsomino will be participating in one of the course opening cars.

Spectator guides are available online at www.olympusrally.com. Printed copies are available at Five Star Ford in Aberdeen and Hanson’s Motors in Olympia. Come out for a race in the woods, the rally takes place rain or shine.

Jim Culp (www.olympusrally.com)