Dusty conditions await Brendan at Ojibwe Rally

Brendan and Rhianon have completed their reconnaissance and shakedown ahead of their next event, the Ojibwe Rally, which starts on Friday (US time). Recce was the first opportunity for Brendan to drive on the Minnesota roads and it has given him a good idea of what to expect this weekend.

"Recce was extremely dusty so it's going to be interesting when we do the night stages on Friday night," Brendan said. "The stages are full of corners and crests with hardly any straights but they are much flatter than the other US roads we've rallied on so that should really suit our car."

Most of the stages in the event are between eight and 12 miles long which Brendan says is a good thing as it will allow him to set a consistent pace for the whole event rather than having to change his rhythmn between long and short stages.

After completing their recce, Brendan and Rhianon did a short shakedown in the Team O'Neil Ford Fiesta R2 and Brendan came away very happy.

"The tyres gripped really well on the sandy roads and we've only made one small suspension change since the last event to get the balance right," he said. "Everything is looking good for the rally."

The Ojibwe Rally gets underway on Friday with three stages held during the day and then another three run in the dark. With only a minute gap between cars, lingering dust could cause some problems, particularly on the night stages. On Saturday, crews will contest another nine daylight stages.

With just 23 points separating him and current 2WD series leader, Andrew Comrie-Pickard, Brendan is keen to extend his three-rally winning streak and close the gap even further with just one more rally to go.

Come Saturday night (US time), we'll know if he's been able to do just that.