New England Forest Rally
The New England Forest Rally is a performance rally event in New Hampshire and Maine, United States. Originally known as the Maine Forest Rally, it first appeared in 1991 as a winter rally. In the past, the event was part of the SCCA ProRally schedule, now it is a Rally America sanctioned event.
The event is held mainly on logging roads with some of the longest stages on the Rally America schedule. As the event is held during July, the road conditions are often dry and dusty.
In 1994 the Maine Summer Rally was added. The event ran as a 60% National/Divisional and as a full National event starting in 1995. In 1996 an in-town spectator stage was added to the summer event to the delight of the spectators. The most recent in-town stages, held at the Mexico Recreation Area, have featured a 1 meter high man-made jump.
At its peak, the Maine Forest Rally had the highest number of starting cars in the SCCA ProRally series. The 2001 event, with 121 National and ClubRally starting teams, broke the 111 car starting record held by the 2000 Maine Forest Rally. As a bellwether of the event's success, it was voted the SCCA's ProRally of the Year in 1992 and again in 2001.
In 2007, the name of the event was changed to the New England Forest Rally to better reflect the continued growth of the event by expanding to include stages in the city of Berlin, New Hampshire.
Notable competitors
The 1999 event saw 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist drive the late Carl Merrill's Ford Escort Cosworth to victory over 83 National and Divisional teams.
In 2007, freestyle motocross star turned rally driver Travis Pastrana drove a Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STi to victory.
Ken Block, co-founder of DC Shoe Co. and rally driver competes at the New England Forest Rally regularly.
John Buffum, the most successful American-born rally driver ever, is a key organizer of the event, and in 2008, he drove his Group B Audi Quattro on the first stage of the event.
Past winners
Source:[1]
| Year | Driver / Navigator | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Paul Choinere Jeff Becker |
Audi Quattro S2 |
| 1995 | Carl Merrill John Bellefluer |
Ford Escort Cosworth |
| 1996 | Paul Choinere Jeff Becker |
Hyundai Elantra AWD |
| 1997 | Frank Sprongl Dan Sprongl |
Audi Quattro S2 |
| 1998 | Paul Choinere Jeff Becker |
Hyundai Tiburon |
| 1999 | Stig Blomqvist Lance Smith |
Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| 2000 | Paul Choinere Jeff Becker |
Hyundai Tiburon AWD |
| 2001 | Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI |
| 2002 | Mark Lovell Steve Turvey |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| 2003 | David Higgins Daniel Barritt |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII |
| 2004 | Paul Choinere Jeff Becker |
Hyundai Tiburon AWD |
| 2005 | Patrick Richard Nathalie Richard |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| 2006 | Ramana Lagemann Michael Fennell |
Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| 2007 | Travis Pastrana Christian Bjorn Edstrom |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| 2008 | Niall McShea Marshall Clarke |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 2009 | Travis Pastrana Christian Bjorn Edstrom |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |
| 2010 | Antoine L'Estage Nathalie Richard |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
| 2011 | Antoine L'Estage Nathalie Richard |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
| 2012 | Antoine L'Estage Nathalie Richard |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |
| 2013 | Ken Block Alessandro Gelsomino |
Ford Fiesta RS WRC |
| 2014 | David Higgins Craig Drew |
Subaru Impreza WRX STi |