Last weekend DC BMX team member Dave Mirra got his first taste of competitive rally racing by driving in the Rally of the Tall Pines, the final round of the 2007 Canadian Rally Championship. Dave finished 22nd overall, an awesome finish for his first-ever rally. Because his experience was so fun at Tall Pines, Dave now plans on entering more events in next year's Rally America National Championship!
Dave has been experimenting with motorsports for the last few years... most notably, Dave won the celebrity portion of the Grand Prix of Long Beach earlier this year. His desire to get behind the wheel of a rally car evolved from that love for motorsports.
Given DC's involvement in the sport, you can guess that Dave's first rally effort wasn't a solo one. He had Ken Block by his side providing support, advice, and guidance. About Dave's driving, Ken said, "Dave did a great job, he had a good racing, learning and competition mind-set and showed that he has the potential to be a top level competitor sometime in the near future."
Dave also had the opportunity to tune his driving skills at the Team O'Neil Rally School in New Hampshire, the same place that Ken and Travis Pastrana trained a few years back. He also had the opportunity to spend some time with rally legend John Buffum, an experience that yielded even more rally knowledge and skills.
Despite such advantages, Dave was faced with heaps of difficult challenges throughout the weekend at Tall Pines as he piloted his Group N Subaru WRX STi. He was greeted with snowy icy roads, slickness that forced Dave into a ditch at one point. He also battled through not one but two tire punctures. However, successes included a few top 15 stage times, including one stage where he finished in the top 10.
Afterwards, Dave said, "This was an amazing experience. The elements you must overcome to finish a rally are unbelievable. I have a whole new respect for the drivers and the sport of rally."
Ken also competed in Rally of the Tall Pines (in a lower specification Open Class car), there to help his good friend Dave as much as he could. He was leading the race early on, but on the third stage he slid off of the road into a ditch, costing him time. By the time he got pulled back onto the road (by Mirra), he arrived to service too late and his time had expired. He was forced to retire from the weekend's racing.
Congrats on a great entry to rally racing, Dave! As noted, we can expect to see more from Dave next year on the Rally America National Championship. Stay tuned!
