OTR

Rally America’s Verena Mei Surprises With New Co-Driver for STPR

As the days to STPR (Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally) rapidly approach, rally driver Verena Mei suddenly learned that her regular co-driver Leanne Junnila would not be available for the event. Leanne has been working hard at school and won a scholarship which gave her a rare opportunity to present at an International Design conference. As it would happen this conference that is only held once a year is the same weekend as the next round of the Rally America Championship. That didn’t leave Verena much time to get acquainted with someone new for the upcoming rally in Pennsylvania.

If we rewind back a little bit, you might remember the loss of the Rockstar Energy Team’s 2005 WRC Lancer at the Oregon Trail Rally a couple of weeks ago.  Not having a car meant that the team had to pull out of STPR and possibly future Rally America rounds this season.  Apparently that loss has a bit of a silver lining for Verena Mei.  As fate would have it Rockstar Energy Co-Driver Nathalie Richard was now available and willing to step into the right seat to take Leanne Junnila’s place in the Tokidoki/TrueCar Rally Team Ford Fiesta for the STPR event.

Source: OpenPaddock.net

Verena Mei returns to the 2013 Rally America National Championship, Oregon Trail Rally with Upgraded #335 tokidoki/TrueCar Ford Fiesta

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Verena Mei and Leanne Junnila are back for their second year at Oregon Trail Rally! Last year the only all-female Rally America National Championship team, placed top-10 overall in the B-Spec TrueCar Ford Fiesta #335. This year Verena's tokidoki/TrueCar Ford Fiesta has moved up to the G2 class while still running the stock 1.6L 120hp Fiesta engine.

"Oregon Trail is my favorite event of the Rally America season, and I'm excited for it to start! I love the mix of tarmac, tight & twisty, and fast & flowing stages.” said Mei. “With all the long straights, and having a major horsepower disadvantage, I’m going to be pushing hard to keep my speed up in the corners. This weekend I have Fiesta R2 front brakes which allows me to brake so much later, and I'll be able to shave off a lot of time. I came into the 2013 season with a whole different mind set, more experience and confidence . . . I'm going for it!"

As always, Verena will be bringing something special to the race for the fans. Verena Mei's 2013 tokidoki hero card will make its debut this weekend at Oregon Trail Rally and will include original art by tokidoki co-founder Simone Legno and the new “Star Girl” tokidoki character based on Verena. There will also be new tokidoki x Verena Mei stickers - including the "Star Girl", “Rally Porcino” character. Last but not least there will be a contest sponsored by tokidoki!

tokidoki Verena Mei Twitter contest!

Verena's fans can enter to win $75 in tokidoki / TKDK merchandise!

How to enter: 1) Follow @VerenaMei on Twitter  2) retweet her "follow @VerenaMei on the Oregon Trail" post
One winner will be randomly selected and announced on 5/10/13

Source: Rally America

TrueCar Rally America Driver Verena Mei Finishes Top 10 in the 2012 Oregon Trail Rally

TrueCar Rally America Driver Verena Mei Finishes Top 10 in the 2012 Oregon Trail Rally

Portland, OR, May 9, 2012 -- TrueCar Rally America Driver Verena Mei and her Co-Driver Leanne Junnila finished one of the most technical and demanding events in the Rally America National Championship at the top of the Factory B-Spec Class and top 10 overall in the 2012 Oregon Trail Rally, in a field which included 350 horsepower, AWD Open Class cars and competition from drivers including former British Rally Championship, Winner David Higgins.

VIDEO: Rookies Lead The Way At Oregon Trail

VIDEO: Rookies Lead The Way At Oregon Trail

Rookies Ed McNelly and Verrena Mei led the way a tthe Oregon Trail Rally in their Team O'Neil Motorsports Ford Fiesta. McNelly finished third in the 2WD class to claim his first podium finish and Mei came in fourth in class and tenth overall in her TrueCar Fiesta.

Rally America Season Preview Part 2: The Newcomers

Rally America Season Preview Part 2: The Newcomers

“When Verena first came to me and said she wanted to rally I told her to start with the school, then co-drive then finally drive and she has done everything I asked of her,” O’Neil said. “The way she went about putting her program together is text book. She is extremely intelligent and her marketing background has served her well. She won a class in Formula D so she has the ability and she has gone about things every methodically and building her confidence in the car. She is fast and she is tough and I am excited to see how her season unfolds.”