The Olympus Rally has passed marking the end of the third round of the 2022 American Rally Association season and a lot has changed, Semenuk takes home his second consecutive rally win to take the lead in the ARA championship and much more!
Day 1
Brandon Semenuk leads the pack after day 1 with a 32.7 second lead over Barry McKenna. Ken Block’s rally was cut short after going off the course on SS3 and being unable to continue, Block was tied with Rival Travis Pastrana for second place.
Day one of @OlympusRally ends with @BrandonSemenuk holding off Barry McKenna’s advances ✋?
— ARA Rally (@ARA_Rally) April 24, 2022
? @TravisPastrana dropped more time in the final split of the day – he’s got a big task to improve on P3 tomorrow pic.twitter.com/WA6oZOKXRR
Day 2
It was a back and forth battle between Mckenna and Semenuk. Mckenna closed Semenuks lead from 32.7 seconds to 23.5 seconds after SS9. Unfortunately, McKenna’s rally would be ended on SS11 with a crash. Semenuk won the event with a 2-minute and 35-second lead over teammate Travis Pastrana.
Wildcat had one final twist for the @olympusrally result, as Matthew Dickinson retired and promoted Kyle Tilley to the top five ? pic.twitter.com/GHkWJgYhxy
— ARA Rally (@ARA_Rally) April 24, 2022
Unfortunate Luck For The Block’s
The Block family was rather unlucky at Olympus, with Ken’s rally being ended after just 3 stages to Lia being unable to finish day 1. Lia was forced to retire on Day 1 after having to brake unexpectedly due to a car being stuck and partially on the road while braking the rear end of her car slid out and put her in a ditch, she was unable to get out. Although her Husband and Daughter had unfortunate luck. Lucy Block had a very good rally, finishing fifth in class and 14th overall. Ken hasn’t seemed to have any luck so far this season, from a deer taking away his win at the 100-acre wood to now being forced to retire at Olympus. Hopefully, Block can find some luck at the Oregon Trail Rally.
A Short Return
David Higgins’s return was cut short after he was forced to retire due to a steering rack failure on SS4. Higgins was 51.4 seconds behind Semenuk and in 5th place at the end of SS3. Hopefully, Higgins will return soon with better luck.
Subaru Rally Team USA
Brandon Semenuk has found his footing and is only getting better behind the wheel. Travis Pastrana is the reigning ARA champion. Due to this Pastrana has become arguably one of the best drivers in America in Rally and Rallycross. There isn’t much Pastrana hasn’t done in his career and being backed by Subaru Motorsports USA for all of it. Pastrana had the ability to learn from the best driver in American Rally History in David Higgins. Due to this, Pastrana has become the top driver for Subaru Rally Team USA, after Subaru Motorsports USA and David Higgins parted ways at the start of the 2020 season. For that reason, Higgins was subsequently replaced by Brandon Semenuk. Semenuk only has room to grow, having only two seasons under his belt and this year he’s found himself in the championship hunt with the big boys as a result of his learning
Championship
Semenuk now leads the Championship standings with 52 points, he has won 2 out of 3 events this season. As a result Semenuk only needs to win 3 more events to secure the championship. Travis Pastrana sits in second place with 37 points. Mark Piatkowski sits in third with 34 points, and Kyle Tilley and Tom Williams round out the top 5
A Look Ahead To The Oregon Trail Rally
The Oregon Trail Rally should be a close fight for the lead. Pastrana should be looking to try and take away the gap between him and teammate Semenuk in the championship standings. Block should be looking for a rebound as a result of two unfortunate rally endings. Barry McKenna should be looking to rebound due to his unfortunate ending at the Olympus Rally. All the top drivers should be looking to try away as many possible points away from Semenuk. As a result, If Semenuk wins the Oregon Trail Rally it’s going to be a difficult task for anybody else to win the championship.
My name is Joe Moore, I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
