· By Billy Westbrook
Consistency Pays Off At Olympus for Seehorn Rally Team
Spokane, Washington May 24th, 2018 - Jeff Seehorn and Karen Jankowski of the Seehorn Rally team scored a Limited 4wd class win and second place overall at the Olympus Rally (https://www.olympusrally.com), round two of the American Rally Association championship (ARA). That means with two class wins and two second place overall finishes this season Jeff and Karen are leading their class and the overall ARA championship.
As a small privateer team battling against the larger manufacturer backed Subaru Rally Team, events like Olympus with extremely short service times favor the larger teams. The service crew made up of volunteers and family members never missed a beat ensuring the car was ready to do battle again after every service.
Karen Jankowski, Co-Driver Seehorn Rally Team: "This is one of the toughest Olympus rallies I have ever competed at. I think every team had some type of issue with Saturday stages creating the most challenges.
Even though we only had three 30 min services for the entire weekend and many challenges of our own Isaac Fish, Matt Fish, Matt Turner, Rex Bethune, Don Jankowski made sure the car was ready to go each time. Still can’t believe we ran over a railroad spike while driving to one of the stages but it was THAT kind of crazy event."
The event featured close to 50 teams with about half being from the West coast. Warm temperatures, tricky jagged rock littered roads coupled with extreme dust at times meant for a very challenging event for teams. In their Nameless Performance Dick Hannah Subaru STI they also had their share of challenges as well but were able to persevere and keep themselves in the overall podium hunt throughout the weekend.
Jeff Seehorn, Owner/Driver, Seehorn Rally Team: “We won this weekend because our team, sponsors, and friends were there to back us! Nameless Performance and Dick Hannah Subaru proved once again that they are the best team to partner up with in North American Rally. Fishhead Performance Tuning worked their magic to adjust our tune and keep our car battling all weekend and setting top times from the start to finish. Maxxis gave us a tire that could survive the rough conditions and the grip needed to win. Big thank you to everyone who was there to support us. The Olympus Rally volunteers and fans also deserve a big thank you, without them our sport wouldn’t exist!”
Right before Oregon Trail Rally Nameless Performance and Dick Hannah Subaru came aboard as additional sponsors for the team. As both are local companies this provided Seehorn Rally team the additional financial resources they needed to do this event plus additional ones and for both companies, it has provided increased exposure and new fans.
Shawn Leafdahl, Internet Marketing Director, Dick Hannah Subaru: "This is a fantastic result for the Nameless Performance Dick Hannah Subaru Rally Team.
We are so happy to see this team elevated to the top of the National Championship. Jeff and Karen have shown real professionalism and commitment, while remembering to have fun along the way. We also want to thank our partners at Nameless Performance. They continue to show their commitment to Rally here in the Northwest and their engineering brilliance year after year. I run their stuff on my car, and you should too."
John Hoyenga, President, Nameless Performance: “We here at Nameless Performance are proud to be a part of this amazing team. Jeff and Karen showed they have what it takes to bring home a championship and we look forward to seeing what they can do with the rest of the season.”
Next up for the Seehorn Rally team is the New England Forest Rally (http://www.newenglandforestrally.com/) July 20-21 in Newry, Maine. Challenging logging roads with some of the longest stages in the championship set the tone for this event. Last year the team won their class and finished 3rd overall at this event so they plan to build off of that success for this year.
** All Pictures Courtesy of Emotive Image Alex Wong:
http://www.emotiveimage.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/emotiveimage/
About Seehorn Rally Team: A Pacific Northwest-based stage rally team out of Spokane, Washington competing in events throughout North America. Jeff Seehorn has over 30 yrs experience in motorsports first starting in motorcycle racing and then moving into stage rally racing Subarus. He has won events and championships on both 2 and 4 wheels. Karen Jankowski has been racing in stage rallying in the USA, Canada, and Mexico for many years and has multiple overall wins and both 2wd and 4wd class championships.