MEXICO – Shiny, loud, colorful, and sporty-looking race cars parked in two rows Friday afternoon at the Mexico Recreation Park attracted hundreds of people of all ages.
Called a Parc Expose, it was the Maine Forest Rally’s chance to show off all 50 cars, drivers and co-drivers before they hit the road in the afternoon for 90 miles of high-speed, backcountry road racing during the grueling 18-hour event.
At times, it was difficult to distinguish the media from the fans with all makes and types of camera equipment.
But it was the chance of a lifetime for young people like John Paul of Rumford, a big fan of 21-year-old Maryland racer Travis Pastrana, gold medal winner in the X Games and fourth in overall rally points.
“I’m a car freak,” Paul said, standing in awe near Pastrana’s car, which was mobbed by several youths and more than a few members of the media.
“I’m big into cars, dirt bikes, anything with RPMs. I follow it all. I go to a lot of national races just to see Travis, but this is really cool to be able to meet him for once,” he said.
Paul excitedly rattled off his reasons for following Pastrana.
“I’ve got his videos and on one of them, he does a back flip on a dirt bike in the Grand Canyon. He’s nuts, but he’s a big-time legend in motocross,” Paul said.
And, after meeting with Pastrana, Paul said, “He’s pretty cool, decent, down-to-earth. He doesn’t seem like he’s as famous as he is. But you never know, of these famous people, some aren’t so social, but he is.”
Rally spokesman Michael Doucette of Team O’Neil Rally School in Dalton, N.H., said Pastrana “is a big draw for us.”
“He’s taking time off from training for the X Games. He’s a regular guy who will talk to anybody, so he’s very good for the sport,” he said.
Casey Arsenault, 18, of Mexico, said his love of rally racing drives his desire to see the forest rally every year.
“This is the highlight of my life all summer,” Arsenault said. “I love the sport, and the adrenaline of seeing these cars going on public roads at much over the speed limit.”
Teams competing in the 15th running of the Maine Forest Rally race against the clock, one at a time, on closed gravel roads at the fastest speed possible. The roads are owned by Dillon Logging, Seven Islands Land Co. and LandVest.
Unlike the Oxford 250 race at Oxford Plains Speedway this Sunday, the Maine Forest Rally “racetrack” is nine different roads, or stages, over which competitors race along wide two-lane and narrow one-lane roads.
Each car has a driver and a co-driver, who yells instructions to the driver over a communications system in their helmets, Doucette said.
“During the stage, the co-driver is reading the route book, while the driver is doing 100 mph down the road, so there’s a lot of trust there,” he said.
The team having the fastest time over the whole course wins.
But unlike the Oxford 250, there’s no money prize for finishing first in the rally.
“Racers don’t expect to get rich out of it. It’s not a money sport. The only money in it is going out of your pocket to keep the car going,” Doucette said.
After the meet-and-greet session, racers quickly headed for Oquossoc after a 60-second, gravel- and dust-spewing, spectator race through the park.
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