Subaru Rally Team USA has dominated the American rally scene for over a decade, which has a chance to change this year.
A Decade Of Dominance
Subaru Rally Team USA has won every Rally America and American Rally Association title since 2005. This started with Richard Patrick winning the Rally America title in 2005. Travis Pastrana would win the title four straight times from 2006 to 2009. In 2010 Subaru would lose the championship to Antoine L’Estage. The main reason behind losing in 2010 was they had no set factory driver. Pastrana only raced one event before leaving the team. In 2011 Subaru found Pastrana’s replacement David Higgins.
Higgins would go on to win the rally America championship six straight times from 2011 to 2017. In this period, Higgins and Subaru were barely challenged. With the only real challenge coming in 2013 when it was a final rally showdown between Block and Higgins, Higgins would win after Block rolled and was forced to retire. In 2017 the American Rally Association was formed, and Subaru Rally Team USA moved to the ARA. Travis Pastrana would return to win the championship and end the reign of Higgins. Higgins would bounce back, winning the title in 2018 and 2019, as Pastrana would once again leave the rally. In 2020 Subaru Rally Team USA would decide to part ways with David Higgins and bring back Travis Pastrana and rookie driver Brandon Semenuk. Semenuk had previously raced in the Canadian Rally Championship.
A Slight Break
In 2020 Barry McKenna would end Subaru’s dominance. McKenna, however, was helped along by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Due to COVID, most of the rallies for 2020 were canceled, meaning fewer chances for points. Subaru, as always, would skip Sno*Drift, unknowing half the season would be canceled.
The first rally back for Subaru was the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. Just as things couldn’t get any worse for Subaru, Travis Pastrana’s car would burn to the ground. This meant they had to build an entirely new car before the Ojibwe Forests Rally. Pastrana would go on to win Ojibwe. While Semenuk won the Show-Me Rally to put Subaru back in the hunt, or so they thought. The Lake Superior Forest Rally would be canceled at the last minute, meaning only one event remained in 2020. The final rally would be the Olympus Rally. Unfortunately for Subaru, McKenna would win the rally and clinch the championship.
Uncommon Competition At The Top
During Subaru’s dominance at the top of the American rally scene, they have been basically unchallenged. As previously mentioned, the only time an outside team challenged them was in 2013 when Block and Higgins squared off. In the 2021 season, they have seen an added challenge as Ken Block would return to a basically full ARA schedule for the first time since 2013. However, Block would do it in a Subaru. The car was identical to the ones Semenuk and Pastrana were racing, but he was still a privateer. It ultimately meant the only real competition for the title was from another Subaru.
This year Block would bring a different brand of car, and a brand that hadn’t seen much rally time in America, a Hyundai. However, Block’s Hyundai wasn’t any Hyundai, as it was a modified Hyundai i20 WRC. This would mean faster competition for Subaru, with no room for error from Pastrana or Semenuk. Block’s Hyundai has delivered so far, winning three rallies so far and being on the edge of winning two more. This challenge has forced the Subaru drivers to step up. Something Brandon Semenuk has done perfectly.
New Modifications To Keep Up
Due to the very obvious aerodynamic and downforce differences between the Subaru’s and Block’s Hyundai, there have been some changes to the Subaru’s mid-season. The first of these changes would come at the New England Forest Rally. The modification made would come to an area of the car that hasn’t been touched in a while, the rear wing. Subaru would add a wing that went right to the ARA limits. This wing was one they have used in Rallycross before.
This change appeared to have worked on paper, with Semenuk beating Block. Unfortunately for Subaru, it wasn’t a great test as Block would experience issues throughout the rally costing him time. The second change made would be to the front splitter. The change would be made before the Ojibwe Forests Rally. The front splitter would be extended to balance out the new wing. Unfortunately for Subaru, this didn’t go to plan as Block still won the rally by a healthy margin.
Is This A Sign Of Things To Come?
The 2022 ARA season is the final season with this type of O4WD car. As of 2023, new regulations will restrict the cars further to compete better with the RC2 cars. This is a change that may see the end of Subaru’s dominance altogether, as more competitors at the top will make it harder to win. The Vermont Sportscar crew is actively working on the 2023 cars. What car is unknown. We will likely get a sneak peek of the new car soon, but we will have to wait for now.
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.
