A fish that swims in the dirt? Well, no. Just North of the town of Snoqualmie, a historic Washington State lumber mill town and the famous Snoqualmie Falls, lies more than 315 acres of mostly flat land, some open, some tree-covered, and home to the home of the largest rally school in North America. One of three, the other two are in the mid-west and the northeast. Drive through town and cross a one-lane bridge over the Snoqualmie River, turn left at a funny sign that looks like a fish, and you drop down into the front office of the facility overlooking the area, including industrial buildings that host the school cars where they are maintained and cleaned of the mud thrown on them from racing around the trails. They are DirtFish.
The Snoqualmie Lumber Company purchased the site in 1917 to use as a sawmill and lumber facility. They renamed the company Weyerhaeuser. The brick multi-story mill still stands on the property though most of the other Weyerhaeuser buildings are gone. The site was purchased in 2010 to create a rally school. An open flat area where the other buildings stood is now the school, the site of countless rally cross events and even an off-roading course. The facility can be configured into more than 20 different rally courses that all host different features of adventure; trees, mud, tarmac, and gravel. Ken Block has been there. Travis Pastrana has been there. Jenson Button and Jay Leno have been there.
In 2022, DirtFish launched its Women in Motorsport initiative through its inaugural Women’s Month events. Women’s Month spans the entirety of March, including a dirtfish.com website takeover featuring new content every day. It also hosts several All-Women driving classes and celebrates the month with the Women in Motorsport Summit, featuring a panel of the world’s top women in the sport. This year, the Summit will take place on March 11, 2023, and will host guests you will not want to miss.
Josie Rimmer, DirtFish’s Women in Motorsport Coordinator, said, “These events are changing the conversation. There’s a broad perception that women can’t be successful in the motorsport space, despite it having been proven wrong time and time again. Women are here, in every role in the sport, and are working together to make the motorsport world a stronger, more resilient, and more accessible community”. You can learn all about DirtFish’s Women in Motorsport initiative Women’s Programs – DirtFish
Gallery of a recent women’s training session on the course below. Photos provided by DirtFish Photographer Romaine Beaulieu.
