The second day of the Ojibwe Forests Rally has passed, marking the end of the rally. Ken Block would win the rally.
First Loop
Ken Block would start the day off with a win on SS9. He would cut another 4.3 seconds into Pastrana’s lead, cutting Pastrana’s lead to 1.2 seconds. Pastrana’s chances at the win would soon be over, as on SS10 Pastrana would go off the road ending all hope of him winning and giving the lead to Block. Brandon Semenuk would win SS10 and SS11 to cut into Block’s lead. Semenuk would end the loop just under three minutes behind Block.
Second Loop
The second loop of the day featured just two stages. Ken Block would continue to lead the rally, but would also lose the Power stage. These points are critical for Semenuk who is too far away from Block to win the rally.
Third Loop
The third loop of stages would feature four short super special stages. Block would win all four stages to win the event. Semenuk would finish second. Dave Carapetyan would finish the day in third, ten minutes behind Semenuk.
Pastrana Out
Travis Pastrana would go off the road on SS10, ending all hope of a win. Pastrana came into day two with a 5.5-second lead over Block. Pastrana came into the event knowing he needed to win to keep any hopes of staying in the championship battle alive.
Too Late
After a rough day one for Brandon Semenuk he was able to bounce back on the second day. Winning three of the nine stages on day two. This push was expected but the damage was already done. As a result Semenuk would finish the rally just under three minutes behind Block.
Power stage Points?
Due to a crash and subsequent pause on SS13 rally stewards have decided Power stage points would not be awarded for this event. As stated in ARA bulletin 2022-2, “If the Power stage is stopped/cancelled before all drivers eligible for points start the stage, the Stewards may decide that no points are awarded for that Power stage. The Stewards decided no points were to be awarded for the Power stage due to only two competitors scoring points.
The rest of the drivers had to drive the stage at transit speeds due to the crash, making accurate scoring for the Power stage impossible. If points were being awarded Semenuk would’ve gotten first place points on the Power Stage, while Block would’ve gotten second. There is the potential that Power stage points will be awarded as a competitor has chosen to appeal the decision made by the stewards. The party who submitted the appeal has 48 hours to either complete or withdraw the appeal. As a result of the appeal National Championship scores will not be updated until this is resolved.
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.
