With a win at the Lake Superior Forest Rally Brandon Semenuk has won the 2022 ARA National Championship.
Continuing Subaru’s Dominance
Subaru Rally Team USA has dominated the American Rally scene since the early 2000s. Taking home their first championship in 2005 and never really looked back. Subaru only failed to win the championship on two occasions, in 2010 and 2020. David Higgins and Travis Pastrana were the two main drivers to win championships for Subaru. With Pastrana winning from 2006 to 2009 and again in 2017 and most recently in 2021. Higgins would win from 2011 to 2016 and again in 2018 and 2019. In 2017 Travis Pastrana would become the inaugural American Rally Association National Championship. Pastrana would also stop David Higgins’ long reign at the top of the American Rally scene.
Higgins would be Subaru’s number-one driver after Pastrana left Rally in 2010. Immediately stepping up to the challenge at hand and becoming an American Rally legend. Unfortunately at the start of 2020 David Higgins and Subaru Rally Team USA would split. This would be a result of Subaru not wanting to run a team with both Pastrana and Higgins. Higgins would be replaced by up-and-comer Brandon Semenuk.
His First “Full” Season
Brandon Semenuk would make his Subaru Rally Team USA debut at the 2020 running of the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. His actual debut was meant to be at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood that same year. Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Semenuk’s debut would be delayed. Also due to the pandemic, Semenuk wouldn’t be able to race a full ARA calendar of events. As 2020 and 2021 would see event cancellations. The 2020 season would only see eight events on the calendar. 2021 would also only see five events. Semenuk came into the 2022 ARA season not knowing three of the nine rallies. Those rallies were The Ojibwe Forests Rally, STPR and LSPR.
Against All Odds
Along with not knowing the rallies, another thing made it hard for Semenuk to stay in the championship battle. That being Ken Block’s modified 2021 Hyundai i20 WRC. Fortunately for Semenuk, Block would experience a handful of misfortunes throughout the year costing him points. Most of the time Block’s misfortune would help Semenuk. The first time it would come was at Block’s first rally of the year, The Rally In The 100 Acre Wood. A rally Block has won seven times and was on track to win his eighth, that was until disaster struck. A deer would run out in front of Blocks car on the Power stage, which was also the final stage of the rally. Thus forcing Ken to lose time and hand Semenuk the rally win. At the New England Forest Rally, dust on the final stage would also help Semenuk beat Block.
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.
