2021 Southern Ohio Forest Rally Preview

NAME:  2021 Southern Ohio Forest Rally (#SOFR)
DATES:   6/11/2021 – 6/12/2021
HOST TOWNS: Chillicothe & Portsmouth and West Portsmouth OH.
TIME ZONE:  Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4)
NEAREST INTL AIRPORT:  Columbus International Airport (CMH)
WEATHER: Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds light and variable. Humid. Sunset is 8:58pm ET.

2021 Southern Ohio Forest Rally Stage Info
Total distance: 283 miles
Number of stages: 15
Stage distance: 118 miles
Stage surfaces: Gravel with some tarmac sections. Roads are well-groomed.
Longest stage: 13.26 miles (Top Gun N Short SS6 & SS9)
Recce: 2 pass
Service Park: Portsmouth West High School, West Portsmouth, OH
Official Start:  7:00pm on Friday
Superspecials: 1 (SS1)
Stages in darkness: Possible (SS3/SS15)

Subaru Motorsports USA returns to rally action this Friday and Saturday at Southern Ohio Forest Rally, the first American Rally Association event in over a year to welcome spectators! Although they lead the 2021 ARA championship with three consecutive wins to open the season, Travis Pastrana and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino come to the Ohio stages with something to prove; the 2020 version of SOFR saw Pastrana’s full-time return to Subaru derailed by an engine fire, so the #199 duo will look to reverse last year’s luck and keep the 2021 championship campaign on track.

The Canadian pairing of Brandon Semenuk and John Hall fared better at this round in 2020, running as high as second and eventually securing third place in their debut event with Subaru Motorsports USA. Semenuk will look to bounce back from a DNF at Olympus that cost him a chance for his first win of 2021. With Barry McKenna returning in his WRC-spec Ford Fiesta and Ken Block gaining pace in his Hoonigan Racing Division WRX STI, the fans returning to the stages should be in for a top-level fight.

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TRAVIS PASTRANA #199 SUBARU WRX STI
“Looking for some redemption this time out! My rally ended early at SOFR last year, which means I’ll still be learning some of these stages at full speed this weekend. There’s a good mix of gravel and tarmac, high-speed and technical sections, so Rhianon and I will be working hard to keep it tidy and bring home as many points as possible.”

BRANDON SEMENUK #180 SUBARU WRX STI
“Southern Ohio was my first event with Subaru Motorsports USA last year. It was a conservative start as I was still unfamiliar with the car, so I’m excited to head back now with some experience! The roads are very narrow and technical here which should play to my strengths. I’ve been getting quicker in the car this season although the results haven’t really shown it so far–hoping to change that this weekend.”