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Aug
26th

Rally America: Ken Block wins Ojibwe Forests Rally

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From Rally America

Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino built a commanding lead at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on August 23-24th, and finished first overall - the first ever career Ojibwe Forests Rally victory for Block and his third straight overall win in the Rally America National Championship.

Block drove a relatively problem-free event and enjoyed being first on the road with a dust-free ahead of him. The other teams were not as lucky as hope for rain never materialized to minimize the dust. Block pushed hard to establish his lead and finished 5m33.2 over second place Subaru Rally Team USA.

Rally America Ken Block Ford
Ken Block. (Photo: Alex Haugen)

Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and Craig Drew had a chance to lock up the Rally America title, but battled through blinding dust on the first day of the event.

A scary moment occurred on the second day when Higgins lost power steering and injured his hand, which painfully prevented him from shifting the car smoothly. In addition a vehicle rolled over Higgin's ankle during a roadside repair and Higgins walked around service with a noticeable limp. But the team pressed on to a hard fought second place podium spot.

Notable top national teams failed to finish the Ojibwe Forests Rally that gave others opportunities to capitalize. Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team's Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard entered with a new Subaru rally car and held third overall until an electrical failure prevented the car from starting at stage 9.

While the top two Ojibwe finishers were powerful all-wheel-drive Open Class rally cars, a Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Ford Fiesta R2 took the third podium position. Australian's Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth drove a clean race and capitalized on the misfortunes of those above them to land on the overall podium and won the 2WD category in the process. This is Reeves and Smyth's fourth consecutive 2WD victory.

The Lake Superior Performance Rally - the seventh and final round of the Rally America National Championship- takes place on October 18-19th in Houghton, Michigan.


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