2022 Olympus Rally Preview

April 19, 2022

OLYMPUS RALLY EDITION

NAME: 2022 DirtFish Olympus Rally
DATES: 4/23/22 - 4/24/22
HOST TOWN: Shelton, Washington
TIME ZONE: Pacific Daylight Time (UTC -7)
NEAREST INTL AIRPORT: Seattle-Tacoma Intl Airport (SEA)
WEATHER: Partly cloudy. Low 38F. High 61F. Winds variable. 10-30% chance of rain. Sunset 8:13pm PDT.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE RALLY

Live Updates: Subaru Motorsports USA Instagram https://www.instagram.com/subarumotorsportsusa/
Live Tracking / Results: Rallysafe https://app.rallysafe.com.au/Event/EventViewer
General Info: https://www.olympusrally.com/

After a thrilling finish to March’s 100 Acre Wood Rally—and a victory for Subaru’s Brandon Semenuk—the 2022 American Rally Association (ARA) championship moves to the Pacific Northwest for the next two rounds, beginning with the epic DirtFish Olympus Rally outside Seattle, Washington. As the last U.S. rally to host a round of the World Rally Championship, Olympus is a driver and fan favorite and one of the most challenging events of the year. Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams, currently leading the Open Class driver’s championship field, will again be joined by Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino as Pastrana continues his comeback from injury.

The Subaru duo will take on a huge 93-car entry list—up from 73 in 2021—which promises to make this year’s running of one of America’s most popular rallies an event to remember. Ken Block is back after missing out on the win at 100 Acre Wood, while endurance racer Kyle Tilley will be back in a Rally2 car.

The mountainous roads of the Olympic Peninsula feature a rocky, tire-shredding gravel surface and variable weather that almost inevitably produces rain over the course of the two-day event. Sudden showers can bring immediate shifts in grip levels, which can even change mid-stage, and often create unexpected areas of standing water that must be crossed at full speed. Olympus also features one of American rallying’s longest and most treacherous stages, the 18-mile behemoth known as Wildcat. Be sure to follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok for all the updates from the event!

Quotes from the drivers:

PASTRANA: "Washington is my second most difficult rally of the season but I’m now 100% healthy going into this round. Rhi and I need a good result and we came off a win there last year so it’s hammer down for us! Anything can happen since the weather changes so much, so we’ll push hard and see if we can bring home our first win of the year.”

SEMENUK: “Definitely some highs and lows for me at Olympus, but I love the event. These are proper rally roads! Our speed at this event last year was really strong, so I’m hoping to find a good rhythm again and carry it through the extensive 140 miles of stages! This is one of the events where I really feel like I can be competitive, so Keaton and I will be trying to keep our momentum going from the win in Missouri.”

2022 Olympus Rally Stage Info

Total Distance: 347 miles
Number of stages: 14
Stage distance: 136 miles
Stage surfaces: Hard-packed and loose gravel
Longest stage: 18.60 miles (Wildcat SS11 & 14)
Highest Elevation: 2,500ft
Recce: Open
Service Park: The Ridge Motorsports Park, Shelton, WA.
Official Start: 9:00am on Saturday
Superspecials: 2 (SS10 & 13)
Stages in darkness: Possible (SS8)