Gravelwerx Racing Win 2024 Ojibwe Forest Rally In Condor Equipped E36

Rally fans are a different breed entirely. Where the casual sports fan can hardly be bothered to sit in an air-conditioned arena for a couple of hours, rally fans will drive to the most remote of areas, camp outdoors, and brave all kinds of terrain and weather conditions to catch a short glimpse of competitors whizzing by; sometimes at less than an arm’s length from the spectators, cliffs, trees or guardrails.The teams and drivers within the sport are even more committed, and nowhere is that more apparent than at Gravelwerx Racing.

Following up on their strong 2023 campaign, driver Matt Nykanen and co-driver Lars Anderson arrived at the legendary Ojibwe Forest Rally eager to improve on their previous year’s performance and propel their Condor-equipped E36 325i to a podium position in the Two-Wheel drive class at 2024’s event.Their E36 as it currently sits has received the full Condor treatment, including Condor Speed Shop engine and transmission mounts, control arm, subframe, rear trailing arm, differential bushings, and our complete E36 Chassis Reinforcement kit. It is powered by an M54B25 engine with a B30 intake Cam and equal-length headers. For their suspension setup, they are running Samsonas External Reservoir Gravel Coilovers and an E46 control arm conversion along with Condor Speed Shop conversion bushings for increased negative camber, which is optimal for their application.

This year’s Ojibwe Forest Rally began on Thursday with a short .54-mile uper Special at Soo Pass Ranch which was a very fan-friendly part of the event, allowing spectators to view a good deal of action in a convenient location before setting off through the woods for the remainder of the weekend. The competition for this stage was tight as predicted and the Gravelwerx crew finished the day in 4th place, not far off from a prospective podium position. All in all a positive first day going into the rest of the rally.The next day of competition was not until Friday, and this is when the stages would become longer and much more complex.

“Friday's stages were very tight and technical, and very loose and sandy. It was difficult to find confidence in the notes, especially on the first loop, with a mistake (in our notes) costing us around 30 seconds on 2 stages”, said driver Matt Nykanen. “We started finding a rhythm on the last loop of stages, finding speed and bumping us to 1st overall Regional standings by 37 seconds, and 6th overall National”.

Going into Saturday, the team was confident in the car’s performance and their driving. With that confidence in mind, they planned to hit the first stage at a more conservative pace. This would help them preserve components, and as long as they could maintain a gap to their competition, they would drive at a reduced pace.As it usually goes in racing, this did not last long and they were back to a flat-out mentality after just a couple of miles.

“When you take your driving down by 15%, it seems like your concentration drops by 40%. It felt choppy and I felt like I was making stupid mistakes” said Matt. With something as visceral as rally driving, it’s really hard to calibrate a lower intensity with so much on the line.Their keen intuition benefited them as best as it could and by the end of the day they were able to secure 1st place overall within their region, and 6th overall Nationally, finishing minutes beyond their closest competitors.

Gravelwerx’s approach is as professional as they come in a truly competitive series like the ARA. Their consistency and work on and off the track pay dividends when competing at these high-profile events. We at Condor Speed Shop are stoked to be a part of their competitive journey and look forward to what the future will bring for Matt, Lars, and the whole team over at Gravelwerx Racing.They will look to defend their first-place position within the regional championship in October, at the Lake Superior Performance Rally. Another truly historical event on the American Rally calendar. Stay tuned for more updates from the crew as they continue their efforts within the American Rally Association Championship.