Dillon Van Way Wins 2WD Class at Rally America Round Three
Olympia, Wash. – Dillon Van Way took the leap from Supermoto motorcycle racing to rally cars shortly after receiving his driver’s license with a goal to learn the ropes of this unique series. After just three rounds, Van Way won his first event in the Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Class at the Olympia Rally this past weekend, part of the Rally America Championship. What’s even more impressive is that this rookie finished 10th overall among all competitors that includes the premier drivers.
The Carencro, Louisiana resident made the trek west to Olympia, Washington. Being a rookie every course is all-new to him and his co-driver Joshua Knott who also hails from Carencro. The courses use real roads and real cars. Their vehicle of choice is a 2002 Ford Focus. With a third at the opening round and a second at round two, there was only one place to finish higher. Van Way and Knott did just that with the win at the two-day event in Olympia, Washington.
Van Way gave a report on his first win, “The first day was really fast. We had a huge disadvantage because we are under-powered compared to the drivers who had all-wheel drive cars. But we finished close to seven minutes in front of the next 2WD team. The second day was still fast and so much fun. A few of the stages were nice and twisty. We posted a few times faster than a couple of teams in the next class up, but by then their lead was too much.”
The nine-round Rally America Championship continues through October. The series has three classes: 2WD, Super Production and Open which is the premier class.
“We are so pumped to be able to progress this fast,” adds Van Way.”Our goal is to keep learning, be consistent and win the class title.”
Rally America Championship - 2WD Standings
- Dillon Van Way 53
- Burak Tuglu 22
- Chris Greenhouse 22
- Kyle Sarasin 17
- Jim McClelland 14
Meanwhile, Van Way is still hopping on his Supermoto bike to take to the confines of the asphalt and dirt courses. At the opening round of the XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championship, he finished seventh in the 250cc Lites Class among a very stacked grid of established pros. This marked his best pro Supermoto finish. The event was held on March 22 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. In the series, Van Way rides an independently-sponsored KTM250SX-F.
The 17 year-old Van Way added, “Although I have been riding Supermoto and raced during Daytona Bike Week, I wasn’t focused solely on the XTRM/AMA series with me doing well in rally. I was very excited to get a top ten at Infineon, and glad that I can hit most of the pro rounds this year.”
XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Standings – Lites Class
- Matt Burton 25
- Joey Pascarella 22
- Danny Casey 20
- Jacob Lehmann 18
- Dustin Hoffman 16
- Steve Marty 15
- Dillon Van Way 14
- Sean Butterman 13
- Mike Ingle 12
- Brandon Ward 11
Next up for Van Way is round four of the Rally America Championship at the Oregon Trail Rally in Portland, Oregon on May 15-17. To learn more about the series, visit www.rally-america.com. He will then head to round three of the XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championship at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 31. To find out more, visit www.xtrm.com/supermoto. Check out the number 600 at both events as this is Van Way’s number of choice for cars and bikes.
About Dillon Van Way
Dillon Van Way of Carencro, La. is a multi-faceted action sports athlete participating in both the Rally America Championship and the XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championship. The nine-round Rally America series has multi-day events that feature real cars racing against the clock on closed-off sections of real roads that are usually unpaved and unforgiving. Seventeen year-old Van Way is competing for the first time with a 2002 Ford Focus with co-driver Joshua Knott, also of Carencro, La., in the Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Class. The five-round AMA Supermoto series provides fans unique action as the racers take specialized motocross bikes on typically 70 percent asphalt and 30 percent dirt courses with jumps. Van Way is competing for the second consecutive year in the 250cc Lites Class on a KTM.
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