The first day of the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood has passed. Brandon Semenuk leads narrowly after the day.
SS1, Cubb Creek West
Stage one would see Brandon Semenuk take the stage win, beating Barry McKenna by 3.4 seconds. Tom Williams would place third on the stage, 9.2 seconds behind McKenna. Martynas Samsonas would place fourth on the stage, two seconds behind Williams. Alejandro Perusina would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 9.1 seconds behind Samsonas.
SS2, Hazel Creek North
Stage two would see Brandon Semenuk take his second consecutive stage win, beating Barry McKenna by 0.9 seconds. Martynas Samsonas would place third on the stage, 14.5 seconds behind McKenna. Patrick Gruszka would place fourth on the stage, 8.7 seconds behind Samsonas. Tom Williams would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.8 seconds behind Gruszka.
SS3, Pigeon Roost West
Stage Three would finally see somebody not named Brandon Semenuk win a stage. As Barry McKenna would take the stage win, beating Brandon Semenuk by a mere 0.1 seconds. Martynas Samsonas would place third on the stage, 27 seconds behind Semenuk. Patrick Gruszka would place fourth on the stage, 4.9 seconds behind Samsonas. Tom Williams would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.8 seconds behind Gruszka.
SS4, Floyd Tower East Short
Stage four would see Barry McKenna take his second consecutive stage win, beating Brandon Semenuk by 3.7 seconds. Tom Williams would place third on the stage, 20.9 seconds behind Semenuk. Patrick Gruszka would place fourth on the stage, 3.6 seconds behind Williams. Alejandro Perusina would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 11.4 seconds behind Gruszka.
SS5, Cubb Crest West
Stage five would see Brandon Semenuk back on top, beating Barry McKenna by 4.1 seconds to take the stage win. Alejandro Perusina would place third on the stage, 15.9 seconds behind McKenna. Patrick Gruszka would place fourth on the stage, 2.2 seconds behind Perusina. Tom Williams would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 4.6 seconds behind Gruszka.
SS6, Hazel Creek North
Stage six would see Brandon Semenuk take the stage win, beating Barry McKenna by one second. Patrick Gruszka would place third on the stage, 19.6 seconds behind McKenna. Tom Williams would place fourth on the stage, five seconds behind Gruszka. Alejandro Perusina would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds behind Williams.
SS7, Pigeon Roost West
Stage seven would see Brandon Semenuk take the stage win, beating Barry McKenna by 0.5 seconds. Patrick Gruszka would place third on the stage, 33.8 seconds behind McKenna. Alejandro Perusina would place fourth on the stage, eight seconds behind Gruszka. Micah Nickelson would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.7 seconds behind Perusina.
SS8, Floyd Tower East Short
Stage eight would see Barry McKenna take the stage win, beating Brandon Semenuk by 0.8 seconds. Patrick Gruszka would place third on the stage, 25.9 seconds behind Semenuk. Tom Williams would place fourth on the stage, 2.2 seconds behind Gruszka. Micah Nickelson would round out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.8 seconds behind Williams.
A Tight Battle
Brandon Semenuk has found a worthy challenger this weekend. As Barry McKenna has put up a fight. Only 5.3 seconds separate Semenuk and McKenna. This should make day two of the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood interesting. As one medium-sized error or multiple small errors could take Semenuk out of the lead or end McKenna’s chances at winning.
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.