The 2022 American Rally Association season continues with the Southern Ohio Forest Rally this weekend. The Southern Ohio Forest Rally is the fifth even on the ARA schedule out of nine events.
The Championship Battle
Brandon Smeneuk did just enough at the Oregon Trail Rally to maintain a lead over teammate Travis Pastrana. Ken Block had a significant bounce back after a disappointing ending to both The Rally In The 100 Acre Wood and The Olympus Rally. Block gained 26 points at the Oregon Trail Rally, moving his point total from 17 to 43 and putting him back into contention for the 2022 ARA title. Travis Pastrana has had a rather bumpy start to the 2022 season, with his best result coming at the Olympus Rally, where he placed second. This hasn’t stopped Pastrana from being second in the Championship standings and only 16 points behind leader Brandon Semenuk.
American Rally Association Championship Standings
1 Semenuk, 72
2 Pastrana, 56
3 Williams, 43
4 Block, 43
5 Piatkowski, 34*
*Piatkowski is not eligible for the ARA Championship
O4WD Class Rundown
Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, and Brandon Semenuk will be back at it, battling each other this weekend. Semenuk’s roll was slowed at Oregon Trail, but that shouldn’t set him back much as he should be looking for his third win this season. Block should be looking to upset Semenuk and win his second straight event. Pastrana, as previously mentioned, has had a bumpy start and will be hoping for his first win of the season this weekend.
RC2 Class Rundown
Tom Williams and Kyle Tiley are both out this weekend. Leaving Enda McCormack and Dave Wallingford as the only drivers in the RC2 class this weekend. McCormack is driving their 2018 Hyundai i20 R5. Wallingford will be driving a 2014 Ford Fiesta R5. McCormack placed seventh overall at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood, which was the only event they have attended so far this season. This will be Wallingford’s first event since the Oregon Trail Rally in 2021.
L4WD Class Rundown
Dave Carpetyan should be looking to take over the L4WD standings with an in-class win. Carpetyan won the L4WD class at Oregon Trail and The Rally In The 100 Acre Wood. He currently sits nine points behind Dylan Murcott, who has 56 points and will also be attending the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. Murcott won the L4WD class at the Olympus Rally and placed second in both the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood and the Oregon Trail Rally.
O2WD Class Rundown
O2WD Class leader Derik Nelson will not be attending the Southern Ohio Forest Rally giving Micah Nickelson a chance to gain some points in the O2WD class as a result. Nickelson currently sits eight points behind Nelson, who has 50 points. Lia Block should be looking to climb the O2WD standings after having troubles at both the Olympus Rally and the Oregon Trail Rally.
Southern Ohio Forest Rally Rundown
The Southern Ohio Forest Rally consists of 15 stages and 114 stage miles. The stages are made up of mostly gravel but with some tarmac sections as well. Last year, Barry Mckenna won the event, with Travis Pastrana placing second and Brandon Semenuk third.
Can He Win Two Straight?
Ken Block had a rather unlucky start to the 2022 ARA season but was able to find some luck and bounce back at Oregon Trail. He will look to win or have a good result at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally to keep him in the battle for the 2022 ARA championship title. Block placed 18th last year after having to retire temporarily, but he would later rejoin.
What’s Up With Pastrana
Reigning ARA Champion Travis Pastrana hasn’t had an up to par start to the season. Only finishing in the top two one time, which came at the Olympus Rally after both Ken Block and Barry Mckenna were forced to retire. Pastrana feels as if he is currently the fourth-fastest driver behind teammate Brandon Semenuk, a longtime friend, and rivals Ken Block and Barry Mckenna. He has found a way to stay in contention for the ARA title, currently sitting in second behind Brandon Semenuk. Who holds a 16-point lead over Pastrana. Pastrana has a 13-point lead over Ken Block, who should and will be looking to close the gap between him and Pastrana at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally.
No Tiley Or Williams
Both Kyle Tiley and Tom Williams will be absent from the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. Williams placed fourth overall at the Oregon Trail Rally and first in the RC2 class. Williams currently leads the RC2 class, and it will stay that way until the New England Forest Rally in July. Tiley sits 12 points behind Williams in the national standings and 33 points behind Williams in the RC2 class. Tiley was entered to attend the Southern Ohio Forest Rally but would later pull out. This is likely due to him rolling on the first stage at the Oregon Trail Rally. He currently is not entered for the New England Forest Rally, but that could soon change.
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.
