SCROGGS!! (who, just like Yahoo!, uses exclamation points as part of his name) has found us a treasure trove of vintage European Rally videos on YouTube:

1963 Alpine Rally, Part 1

1963 Alpine Rally, Part 2

1965 Monte Carlo Rally

1968 Rally Of Sweden, Part 1

1968 Rally Of Sweden, Part 2

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 1

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 2

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 3

The proximity of the branch to either one of their heads is phenomenal and we're guessing that the alternate scenario to this crash will haunt these two for years to come. [via youtube]

In his typical "Rally Leviathan" style, Travis Pastrana nabbed his third win this season with almost a minute lead between him and second place finisher Tanner Foust. Andrew "Antilag Alarm Clock" Comrie-Picard picked up a third place finish — especially interesting considering Comrie-Picard ate tree during the practice stage. Pastrana's Subaru Factory teammate Ken Block was dramatically removed from the standings on Day Two after an 80 MPH flat tire did him in and left Block with a fractured control arm. Dave Mirra scored a first place finish in the Super Production class; walking away from the event with both his first rally win and a drop-forged cast iron grin.

We're betting on an underdog upset at one of these upcoming rallies; a real David Vs. Goliath moment. Even though he was taken out of this weekend's event due to a very blown engine, our chips are on racing wunderkind and Jalop-You-Never-Knew-Existed Matthew Johnson in his hyper-chromatic technicolor Subaru WRX at a post-X Games rally. You heard it here first.

Sit tight and follow our RallyAmerica tag for the upcoming gonzo coverage of the 2009 Oregon Trail Rally including our mega-gallery plus a smattering of tasty bonus features.

Photog Credit: Alex C. Conley

The Sacramento-to-Tahoe Snowball is open to pre-1974 sports and touring cars (the rules specifically prohibit forklifts and steamrollers) and offers participants the joy of climbing the Sierra Nevada mountains on funky back roads during snow season. Much Jalopnik-approved machinery took part, including at least one Opel GT, the usual cast of beater seasoned Alfa Romeos, some MGs, etc.






Along the way, the rallyers passed the kind of mountain junkyard we dream about. Citroëns were just part of the goodness.

In a 100-mile, tight, technical rally in the southern Catskills Mountains of New York, Ken slid towards a top finish with nearly a three minute margin between him and second place. Not a part of the RallyAmerica circuit, the rally was cited as being notoriously wet this year. Not to worry, as Block performed flawlessly and was noted to have been "unchallenged." Block raced his 2007 Open Class Subaru STi as his 2009 car is on its way west for the upcoming Olympus rally.

Photo Credit: Neil McDaid and Lars Gange

Two days worth of shooting went into Ken Block's infamous Gymkhana practice clip, so it's safe to assume a large amount of glorious footage had to go to the cutting room floor - no matter how hoontacular. Thankfully, the guys over at DC Shoes and Mad Media knew we'd have a hankerin' for some more tire shredding and assembled a compilation clip of everything that didn't get into the first lineup. Sit back with a tire dust whippet and enjoy.

The Finn—celebrating his 24th birthday on the day of the accident—had already gotten off to a shaky start in the 2009 WRC season, going off the road in two of the three races before his big roll. While leading the fourth stage, his Ford hit the cliffside on a narrow dirt road, flipped over the Armco and began its roll down the hillside:

We rolled and rolled. I don't know how many times, but I had time during the accident to think about how it might end and what might happen. It was not nice.

When we were rolling, I could see the roll cage getting lower and lower and coming towards me. When you have an accident like this, you think it’s going to stop, the noise is going to stop soon, but this time it didn’t, it just kept on happening.

The Focus came to rest after 17 rolls against a tree and Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila walked away from the wreckage:

The work the FIA and Ford have done definitely helped Miikka and I walk away from it. That wouldn’t have happened 10 or 20 years ago. The work on side impact, the seats, everything has helped and I have to say a very big thank you for that.

Source: Autosport.com, Photo Credit: Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

The reality is it’s got great music, a lovely analog look, prodigious shots of a Lamborghini Miura SV, a guy who changes from a tux into a racing suit and sings in a mumbling baritone while driving—and all this is interspersed with Group B rally footage. Including heavy crashes. And Formula 1 crashes too!

WTF, right? But WTF in a most excellent way.

It turns out that No Problem Raceway, site of the Laissez Les Crapheaps Roulez LeMons New Orleans race in June, has a full quarter-mile dragstrip. That means that the very same cars that spend all day Saturday being beat to hell on the racetrack (which should feature parts-breakin' 100-degree/100%-humidity weather conditions) will be able to spend the evening making like the protagonists in a Jan & Dean song (had Jan & Dean included references to cane fields, voodoo, and big scary swamp insects in their drag-racing-themed work). Ah, the smell of fried clutches… the staccato chorus of E30 engines bouncing off the rev limiter… the sight of connecting rods fleeing their confines via new holes in hoods and oil pans- it ought to be concentrated essence of hoonage. But hold on there, Big Daddy- it gets even better! Those LeMons cars won't just be knocking off 16-second times against each other; the Big Apple To Big Easy Rally contestants will arrive in New Orleans just in time for the 24 Hours Of LeMons. The BABE Rally features $500 cars, just like LeMons, and we're sure the BABE teams will be eager to put those so-called race cars in their place when the Christmas tree goes green. So make sure you mark your calendar for the first weekend in June, because you'll definitely want to be there for the First Annual JunkerNationals! Here's what LeMons Chief Perpetrator Jay Lamm has to say:

Don't let the crocs and the voodoo dissuade you, mon cher: There's just one week left to enter LeMons New Orleans (aka "Laissez les Crapheaps Roulez," 23-24 May at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose LA). Get those apps in no later than midnight on Saturday, 28 March 09, or you cry in your gumbo without us. Click here to apply.

What's that? You say that endurance-racing $500 junkers in full Nomex at 100% humidity isn't quite idiotic enough for you? You think it'd be easier to just stay home, seal yourself in a trash bag, and spin in the dryer all weekend? Fear not: In addition to the usual LeMons hullabaloo, Saturday will see the first-ever BABE Rally vs. LeMons Drag-Race Junker-Nationals. If those limeys think their $500 rally cars can blow up more spectacularly than our $500 racecars on the dragstrip, they've got another think coming. It's two ill-conceived, rod-bearing-destroying motorsport contests in one, n'est-ce pas?

Naturally, we can't discuss the glorious automotive industry of the Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics without the sound of the Red Army Choir belting out the Soviet National Anthem, so get this video playing and crank up the volume before you continue:



What we've got here is a Russian-language site focusing on the triumphs of Soviet rally teams of the 1960s through the 1990s. Don't read Russian? Doesn't matter! Just click on random links and check out the Moskviches (plus some Volgas and other assorted Soviet steel) doing their thing.
[Soviet Rally]

With enough speed to seal Ken's fourth win at the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, MO, the resulting footage is nothing short of breathtaking. New to our in-car game is a spiffy set of live data gauges telling the viewer exactly what's going on with those pedals.

Up next, we've got video interviews with Block and Pastrana, Behind the Scenes with Subaru Rally Team USA, and, of course, our 100 Acre Wood mega-gallery. Can you contain your excitement? We can't. Keep your browsers locked on our RallyAmerica tag for all this upcoming dirty fun. And as always, Press On Regardless!

Update: As it turns out, the video was just too friggin' awesome to be contained by our hamsters. We've moved it to Vimeo and all should be well. Sorry for those of you who's browsers we've imploded. It'll grow back, promise.

That's just what this rally-equipped 330 GT's owner does, and reader Paul spotted it parked in front of an Alfa Romeo shop in The Hague, Netherlands. Here's what he has to say about his find:

Spotted in Den Haag, Netherlands, Fall 2008. Why not to include it: It's Just Another Ferrari
Why to include it: When was the last time you saw a rally-driven 60's Ferrari with bolt-on driving lights, side exhaust and knock-offs that have clearly been used in anger? It's just got the look of a car that's driven hard and often. And, if it were mine, that's how I'd treat it too.

Here's an easy one for you, folks. We considered zooming it in on just the fender and making you search paint codes to up the ante, but that's no fun. Here's a hint: You'd have to be batshit insane to rally one of these. After a short chat with the genial driver and crew, we can confirm that they are indeed crazy.

The answer will be revealed once our 100 Acre Wood mega-gallery goes live. In the meantime, throw out your best guesses below. Keep an eye on our RallyAmerica Tag for further dirtysport updates.

This year's Sno*Drift Rally, held in Atlana, MI, brought a frothy mixture of high horsepower and tasty hydrocarbons to a quaint, rural town. Did you catch those friggin' sweet AfterEffects titles? Expect more of the same.

Right now, we're deep in the heart of Missouri to cover the 100 Acre Wood Rally here in Salem. We've upped our camera count from two to five to bring you exactly what you crave: dirty, naughty racing obscenity. If you catch us in our megaphone-equipped gunmetal-brown Saab 9-7x, stop and say hi. Press on regardless!

Photo Credit: Alex C. Conley
Video Credit: Kyle "Dangerzone" Conner and Brian "Nannerpuss" Shepanek

The 105S was made from 1956 through 1959, and this one proves that a left-hand-drive version was built. Kip shot this car, plus the Beetle in Gulf Oil colors, in downtown San Francisco. And that wraps up our DOTS-O-Rama Sunday!

[via break]

Michigan is home to both the start and end of the yearly RallyAmerica racing circuit. The 2008 season came to an end in Houghton, Michigan last October at the Lake Superior Pro Rally. The fresh 2009 season begins anew here in Atlanta, Michigan during the dead of winter.

Snowmobiles and 4x4 trucks aren't just a convenience in Atlanta - they're a necessary facet of life. Good thing we were locked, stocked and two smoking cameras while rolling in our Roush Propane-powered F-150. This time we were pushing giant steamroller tires on chrome wheels as the factory hides met a smokey demise at an earlier date.

The rally went down as a classic snow rally with plenty of snowbank-Plinko and lots of off-course sliding. Spectators were quick to jump in and assist when drivers chose to jam their cars firmly into the stout, powdered walls. Our rookie favorite of last year Kyle Sarasin was stuck in an old front wheels-driven Mitsubishi Eclipse after his previous yellow Subaru-wielding team was disbanded. The title of Most Jalopnik Rally Car of this event was taken by Greg and Tom Woodside in their turbo 1987 Dodge Shadow.

After a short battle with Travis for the lead, Ken Block was knocked out in the first day with a mechanical failure as a result of a minor crash. Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom secured the first place finish while Tanner Foust and Co-driver Chrissie Beavis locked in the second rank in their Hyundai Tiburon. Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard and Marc Goldfarb snuck into third place after fighting against some handling problems in their Mistu Evolution IX. BMX baddie Dave Mirra pulled in a strong 6th-place finish.

Keep an eye on our RallyAmerica tag as we'll soon be following up with an exclusive behind the scenes look at Subaru's Rally Team, a full HD video of Sno*Drift and Travis and Ken's In-Car video. We're stuffing our hatchbacks in preparation of the 100 Acre Wood rally in a few weeks time located in Salem, MO. Press on regardless!

Partial Photo Credit: Alex "Tater Salad" Conley

Pricey rally cars eating snowbank is a perennial favorite up here in freezin' Atlanta, Michigan at the Sno*Drift Rally. Consider this a teaser for the massive, steaming pile of coverage we're about to bestow upon the internets. At the moment, we're digging through the 10 gigabytes of tasty action shots and miles of HD videotape we captured in the past weekend. To whet your appetite for now, please accept this epic shot we've lovingly placed below for your consumption.

To follow all of our obscene coverage of Sno*Drift and the rest of the scene from here on out, hit the RallyAmerica tag.

Photo Credit: Alex "Chocolate Lovin" Conley

The Alpine A310 for 1984 had a V6 in the back, wild what-the-hell-is-that styling, and a top speed pretty close to 140 MPH, which was pretty good for its time. This one has only 39,000 miles on the clock and looks very nice. These cars sold new for around $30,000- about 77 grand in '09 dollars- and they're quite rare even in Europe nowadays. $23,500 for one, though? What do you think?


[eBay Motors, thanks to Franzouse for the tip]

If you don't think the Renault 5 Turbo is one of the most awesome factory hot rods ever made, you need to reevaluate your automotive priorities ASAP! To build this rally monster, Renault ditched the front-wheel-drive setup normally found in the 5 and replaced it with a turbocharged engine mounted behind the driver and delivering totally unreasonable amounts of power to the rear wheels. The few hundred street-legal units sold for homologation purposes had 185 horsepower, and they sold for $22,500 in 1984. That's about $46,000 in 2009 dollars, so how much is a very nice 34,000-mile example worth today? Would you pay $39,500 for one?
[Princeton Lotus, thanks to MyDatsunIsInCali for the tip!]

The scene is northern Michigan. Very north. We're headed for the Houghton area, which is so far north it can't be properly represented by the usual "Michigan=Hand" model. We're in a convoy with amateur rally driver Billy Elliot and his tired but trusty VW GTI Group 2 racer. We're hauling fast to make it on time for the Parc Expose, the opening portion of the rally where the drivers must display their cars for viewing by the public. After all, it's the least they could do as a torrent of horsepower, oversteer and raucous noise is about to befall their tiny town.

With Travis Pastrana the far and away points leader coming into this race, this one is simply run for bragging rights and the second place position. Being the last race on the RallyAmerica circuit for the year, with also being the toughest and roughest, all of the cars are truly going for broke with the dire hopes of clinching a win. The regional guys push extra hard as this is their turf; they've got the home team advantage. The surface is hard packed dirt with a short stage over the Brockway Skyway, which is medium-quality tarmac that connects the Copper Harbor mountaintops. Brockway is the only stage on the entire RallyAmerica circuit to be run on true tarmac at race speeds, including its harrowing jumps and sheer cliff faces.

Heading up the Michigan regional racers and winning the award for Most Jalopnik Rally Car Ever is a bloke by the name of Mark Utecht in his Foxbody Mustang powered by a stroked 383 Windsor. Nothing can speak for the badassery of such a ride more than having it kick a half ton of fine silt into your lens from 20 feet away before speeding off into the sunset, back tires desperately fighting and losing a battle between a low traction surface and a high horsepower engine.

Ken Block eventually cinched the overall win, cementing himself in second place just below Travis and right above upcoming superstar Kyle Sarasin. Our pivot Billy Elliot walked away with no awards but was ultimately satisfied to leave his first performance rally alive and with a mostly functioning car.

Would you like to see more RallyAmerica coverage? Check back here as we're due to cover the Sno*Drift Rally next week in Atlanta, MI. We'll be on the scene in a Roush Propane F-150 just like this one and on the back of a pair of snowmobiles. If you spot us, feel free to say hi! See everyone out on the stage.

Video and Partial Photo Credit: Clutch Creatography

Yes, you're looking at a total of 34 minutes of vintage rally action below, in a vintage Shell documentary put up on YouTube courtesy of this kind soul. We don't want to spoil things for anyone, but you'll be awed by the parade of race cars that go past the starting line (about 2:20 into the Part 1), and it just gets better from there. The usual Alfa Romeo and Porsche suspects are there, of course, but fans of British and French machinery won't be disappointed. Thanks to Scroggzilla for hipping us to this super-addictive find!

This car belongs to 24 Hours Of LeMons Assistant Perpetrator and Ecurie Ecrappe member Nick Pon, better known around these parts as TheEastBayKid. He's an Oakland guy, but he had some business to attend to in nearby Alameda and I took advantage of the opportunity to shoot his daily-driver/vintage-rallyer 2002 while it was parked here.


It's a good solid car, but BMW restoration fanatics would likely find much to frown about here. The engine is dead stock, except for the air cleaner (1976 model year cars are subject to California's super-strict emissions-equipment laws), but the suspension has some upgrades that wouldn't please the numbers-matching crowd. This is our sixth Alameda DOTS 2002 (after this pretty nice '72, this total beater '72, this '73 2002tii, this automatic-equipped '75, and this work-in-progress '75), and I've got a few more photographed and ready to go. The 2002 is actually one of the most commonplace old cars on Alameda's streets, though not as easy to find as Beetles, Mustangs, or Darts/Valiants.

Although the exact details are still beyond murky, we've got word straight from The Man describing a bit of what's in store for the future of rallying on the international stage. The official statement:

As already announced, the 2010 World Rally Car will be S2000 based. However, the removable kit, already adopted by the WMSC, will be redefined with no electronic benefits, or similar upgrades, to ensure cost reductions. The new S2000-based World Rally Car will only be permitted for use on World Rally Championship events.

The FIA Production Car World Rally Championship will be retained for Group N cars, including the existing S2000 car.

Let's back up a bit. Super 2000 cars are currently sporting naturally-aspirated 2.0 Liter or smaller engines with no electronic driver aids. There are a few other rules, but what sets these rockets apart from the rest of the field is one chief difference: affordability. Rally is sometimes leagues above other comparable motorsports in terms of cost. It's in the FIA's interest to keep costs low as possible to attract more manufacturers in an effort at capturing a larger market of viewers.

The year 2010 marks the arrival of the World Rally Championship spec vehicle. The only information available at the moment is word this car will be Super 2000-based, but will feature a removable performance kit featuring a spec'd turbocharger, aero package and a few other small modifications looking to add somewhere around 50 horsepower. The kit is expected to cost somewhere south of 30,000 euro. It's likely the kit will be used to differentiate between green and experienced drivers — slower rally cars are safer and more easily controlled.

This news brings the promise of more rally cars in more races in more countries, providing a rare happy moment during the Carpocalypse. [WRC]

Hat tip to Scroggs!

Apparently Travis Pastrana has injured himself sustaining a rumored broken hip and ankle—we don’t have full details on how, although Travis is no stranger to crippling injuries. At 14 years old, he separated his spine from his pelvis and put himself into a coma for two weeks, thereby joining the small handful of people who lived through such damage. Since then, he's had more surgeries than Cheney yet always bounced back.

For this who don't know what the Race of Champions is, or may have it confused with the long dead aquaneon International Race of Champions, here's a primer:

To boil it down to it's gritty essence, the ROC pulls drivers of circuit racing and offroad racing series from around the world, sticks them in twitchy little rockets like the KTM X-Bow or the Abarth 500 and sets them loose to compete against each other head-to-head in the newly minted Wembley Stadium in London. Sounds like a hell of an event to miss when you've already got yourself a seat, right?

Get well soon, Travis.

[Autofiends]

Before you go and scope out the galleries below, take a look at Bring A Trailer's excellent Melee coverage here. Then watch their in-Porsche video, shot in my favorite place for camping in California: the Trinity Alps.

First we have this '83 Lancia 037 rally, priced at 450 grand. It's got a 280-horse blown 2.0-liter engine, weighs just over a ton, and was built for one purpose only: to get a World Rally Championship trophy to display in Lancia HQ. It worked, too, with the '83 WRC Constructor's title going to the Lancia.


Does 0-60 in 2.1 seconds sound good to you? For a bargain $350,000, this genuine Ford RS200 Evolution, featuring "600+" horsepower, could belong to you! After the horrific RS200 crash at the Rally of Portugal, the FIA axed Group B, removing the reason for the RS200's existence but allowing this example to stay in like-new condition.


But wait! How about a car that utterly dominated its class in the Trans Am series, with wins in 8 out of 13 races? You could own that very car... provided you've got $450,000, that is. There must be some way to make this thing street-legal, right?

OK, which one will it be? You tell us!

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Since the X-Games format is a head-to-head tournament on the super-special stage, Picard's opponent, Dave Mirra, went on to win the race despite broken control arms on his Subaru, which caused him to limp around the course making three-point turns. In the final round, Travis Pastrana claimed the gold medal victory over none other than Top Gear USA host Tanner Foust. [YouTube]

Was in Dawson City, central Yukon last week and came across these Astons and the Lotus Elan on a Panama to Anchorage rally. Sorry for poor photos but they're beautiful cars and I thought you'd appreciate the extreme "downstreetness" of these.