It’s getting towards the end of October, and for some of you, that may mean you start planning your holiday shopping lists…

The NEFR is once again offering its VIP Bus Holiday Offer, whereby if you purchase tickets for the NEFR 2013 VIP bus by December 14, you will receive

• $10 off the daily purchase price ($10 off for either Friday or Saturday, and $20 off for both days)
• A festive gift certificate enclosed in a red envelope
• A 2013 Worker Polo Shirt with a total added value of $26 (polo shirts will be delivered to the ticket holders at bus check-in).

Our VIP Bus program offers riders the chance to watch the rally in style, while dining on gourmet food,  watching the rally from the best (and sometimes exclusive) viewing spots, enjoying great company (including a rally guide to explain the sport) and  traveling without hassle Learn more by clicking on the VIP Bus web page.

Tickets for the VIP Bus make a unique and exciting gift for the rally lover, auto enthusiast, race fan (or, if you’re a rally competitor – the sponsor!) in your life.

Be sure to purchase your tickets no later than December 14, 2012!

Team O’Neil Rally School & Car Control Center and Johnson Project Consulting both stepped up once again in 2012 to sponsor New England Forest Rally stages, providing an extra $1200 in cash prizes available to Regional competitors.

The Team O’Neil Rally School was founded by 5-time National Rally Champion Tim O’Neil and has helped train some of today’s biggest rally stars in the U.S.  The school’s methods are based on O’Neil’s belief that rally drivers must first learn how to drive slow cars fast, mastering techniques critical to finishing (and ultimately winning) races, before progressing to more powerful vehicles.

Students at Team O'Neil prepare to learn rally driving techniques in 2WD Ford Fiestas.

O’Neil, who also serves as the NEFR’s Chairman, is a champion of the grassroots competitor, and believes that supporting these competitors in any way he can is the key to growing the sport.  Becoming a stage sponsor, which provides a purse of $600 per sponsored stage to Regional competitors only, was one way Tim felt he could incentivize more potential competitors to take part in the rally.  The school will be sponsoring the two Super Special Stages at Sunday River as one package deal, and the teams with the top combined scores will take home the prize money.

Johnson Project Consulting is again proud to sponsor the Concord Pond Stage since it is such big crowd pleaser for the Dickvale and Woodstock communities.

Niall Johnson, the Principal of Johnson Project Consulting, was first introduced to rally in the early 70s.

In 2006 Niall began rally navigating and saving for a entry level rally car.  In 2009 Niall and his wife Daniela started the “Toltec Rally Team” and bought a ‘02 Subaru WRX PGT class car (a.k.a., “The Dragon”) from Ted and Lise Mendham.

Toltec Rally Team competes at NEFR 2010

Today Niall and Daniela compete all over the North East as a husband and wife regional rally team.  Often Toltec Rally Team is asked, “How can a married couple rally together without killing each other?”  The answer is easy: it’s cheaper and more fun than couples therapy… plus how often do couples get to compete together for the same goal in life?  NEFR 2012 will be Toltec Rally Team’s 13th event.

The New England Forest Rally’s Supplementary Regulations are now posted.  There are some exciting changes for this year’s rally, particularly our completely new stage roads for Saturday’s race.  Competitors – be sure to review this document thoroughly!

NEFR 2012 Supps

The New England Forest Rally has extended its deadline for early bird competitor registration rates until this Saturday, June 23.  This is a last chance for competitors to take advantage of the early rates, which are 1/3 off regular rates for National competitors and 1/2 off for Regional competitors.  Rates can be found by clicking here on the document NEFR 2012 Entry Letter Final.

The organizers of the New England Forest Rally (NEFR) are pleased to announce the addition of the new DMack 2WD Challenge to the race this year.  The challenge essentially replaces the previous MaxAttack! event for 2WD competitors, with the exceptions that it will be limited to a single rally (the NEFR) and will only be open to regional competitors, thereby allowing them more opportunities to win and earn money and great prizes.  The DMACK 2WD Challenge is being organized with cooperation between DMack Tyres USA and the New England Forest Rally to promote Regional 2WD competition and provide incentives to help drivers getting started in the sport.

Ed McNelly navigates his Ford Fiesta R2 around a corner at OTR on his DMack tires.

DMack Tyres is a relatively new tire company based in Carlisle, England that was started about three years ago by Dick Cormack, formerly a motorsports manager at Pirelli.  Despite the brand’s young age, it is already established as one of only two FIA-approved supplier to the World Rally Championship and has garnered wins at rallies in Australia, Canada, UK, New Zealand and Spain.  Though DMack is successfully competing alongside other better known tire brands, DMack has the advantage of a lower price point, making them more affordable for the grassroots rally racer.

Justin Carven, an NEFR regional competitor who has raced his Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems rally car in the New England Forest Rally since 2009, became the exclusive DMack importer this year, operating his distributorship from his warehouse in Holyoke, MA.  This year also marks the first year that the full range of DMack Tyres is available in the U.S.  Sponsoring the DMack 2WD Challenge allows Carven to combine his desire to support the sport and racers at a grassroots level along with promoting DMack Tyres USA to the rally community.

The competition will be open to all registered regional 2WD competitors at no cost, so long as competitors agree to place a decal package on their rally cars during the NEFR.

A $2250 cash prize will be awarded to the top regional 2WD competitors and a variety of other prizes will be awarded to racers further back in the field. Additional prizes will include: DMack tires, a 2-day Rally School provided by Team O’Neil Rally School & Car Control Center, and a Regional entry for the 2013 New England Forest Rally.

The 2WD field is made up of a wide variety of cars ranging from vintage models to brand new production cars driven by both beginners and racing veterans.  This diversity makes competition both fun to watch and hard to predict. All 2WD teams, regardless of class, entered in Regional competition will be battling for position and will be eligible to win prizes.

Additional news regarding the DMack 2WD Challenge will be posted on the NEFR website at  as it becomes available.  To learn more about DMack, visit dmacktyresusa.com.