The Loam Ranger, aka Ryan Kelly, is our guest on this episode of the Flatirons Syndicate Podcast.

Ryan fell in love with Rally Racing at almost the same time as he found Mountain Biking. Because Mountain Biking was much easier to get involved with, that is where he started, but he always dreamed of trying his hand at Rally...

Now that Dream is turning into a Reality

Ryan had already started down the road of building a top tier Rally Driving sim rig when he stumbled across a Barn Find Rally car that he couldn't pass up. He went through his Turbo Impreza L Rally car to get it competition ready, and has already completed 2 full Stage Rallys!

We talk about this process, and what it was like going from racing Mountain Bikes to a Rally Car, and what some of his next steps might be to find more speed and handling in this chassis.

Be sure to check out Ryan's Road to Rally on Youtube!

Thanks for listening and Stay Tuned!

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest

01:46 Transition from Mountain Biking to Rally Racing

04:42 Experiences in Rally Racing and Car Modifications

07:32 The Canadian Rally Community and Its Growth

10:17 Rally Car Performance and Challenges

13:06 Future Plans and Engine Modifications

15:49 Standalone ECUs and Tuning Options

19:00 Understanding Engine Monitoring and Safety Features

21:54 Tuning and Performance Enhancements for Rally Cars

25:46 The Importance of Drivetrain and Differential Upgrades

33:59 Evaluating Transmission Options for Rally Performance

40:41 Rally Car Evolution and Decision Making

43:16 Building a Rally Car from Scratch

44:50 Driving Dynamics: All-Wheel Drive vs. Front-Wheel Drive

46:37 The Importance of Reliability in Rally

49:32 Learning and Adapting in Rally

51:44 Measuring Success in Rally and Content Creation

55:22 The Role of Sim Racing in Rally Training