It didn’t take long before the retirements starting piling up. Ojibwe Forests Rally had an eventful opening leg that saw a roll, plenty of mechanical issues and an inspired drive from a would-be champion.

After running a Super Special stage at Bemidji Speedway to kick off the weekend, competitors moved on to more than 60 miles of proper rally stages. Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana dominated the day, but it was the retirement of his team-mate, Ken Block, that was the story of the afternoon.

Block rolled his WRX eight miles into the day’s third stage. Piotr Wiktorczyk also blew a turbo on the second stage, and Christopher Duplessis (a Max Attack! title contender) suffered mechanical problems, as well.

Rally America is reporting that Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino were both unharmed.

Block rolled – Friday, August 28, 2009
Reports are that #43, has rolled approximately eight miles into SS3. The team is out of the car and OK. Unfortunately, it looks likes any chance the team had at the Championship may be gone.

Pastrana carries a lead of nearly four minutes into the second day. If he wins here, the driver’s title is decided, and we’ll crown a rally winner and a title winner tomorrow night.

Photo gallery
Official results

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