Are there any North American rallies?

[bigborefan]

Are there any rallies in the US or Canada that an amateur can attend? I don't remember ever seeing any coverage of any of these anywhere.

Thanks

[youngblood]

Funny you should ask. Look for threads below for info on the Sandblast rally in February, and check out RallyMoto.com

[Robb Mc]

Originally Posted by bigborefan

Are there any rallies in the US or Canada that an amateur can attend? I don't remember ever seeing any coverage of any of these anywhere.

Thanks

Depends on what type of Rally you are talking about.. There are some rallies in the vein of WRC (think Suburu).

There are no official 'Cross Country' rallies (think Dakar). We do some training and unofficial rallies in the Dakar style in California/Arizona. If you want to try out navigation, PM me.

[HogWild]

As pointed out above, there are two quite different "rally" events. The short sprints as in Rally Moto (at car events, which recently have allowed bikes), and the LONG multi-day types navigated using Dakar style roadbooks through tough desert terrain not well suited for cars. Robb and the others interested in Dakar take part in the DVR rally training (not a race, but you'll feel like you're riding in the Dakar):
DVR Thread
DVR Photos

There's also Nevada Rally Experience (NRE) which is less hardcore than DVR, but similar in format (also not a race):
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=244658

[ktmJOE]

I would recomend Nevada Rally Experience. I have done this for last 2 years, and it is great intruduction to rally racing. You get to meet a lot of people who are going to Dakar or have done it.

[Seth S]

KTMJoe....so we gonna see you at some of the Rally Moto's this year? I have heard rumor that there will be some "real" rally bikes at Sandblast this year. Based on what I saw of you guys at NRE I suspect you would do well in the Rally moto.

[ktmJOE]

Probably not. I would like to race some of BITD races in 2008, may be even VTR, so I need to really watch my budget.(I wish I had a budget) And then the UAE desert challenge looks very tempting. How about you Seth? Any international rallys on your calendar for 2008?

[Seth S]

Probably no international events for 2008 as I have dedicated my budget to competing in all of the rally moto events. That being said the UAE is probably the most appealing from a budget/time off point of view. I'll probably look to 2009.

[Bicycle Phil]

Originally Posted by bigborefan

Are there any rallies in the US or Canada that an amateur can attend? I don't remember ever seeing any coverage of any of these anywhere.

Thanks

Robb and Charlie(TeamRallyPanAm) put on great rally training rides in the California desert. I've been to a few of their events and have come away thoroughly impressed with the whole experience. I learned a lot about rally nav and my riding skills improved as well.

The riding was the best off-road riding I've ever experienced. Desert, forest and vast expanses of sand all combine for big epic rides.