2022 Lake Superior Performance Rally Preview
The final round of the American Rally Association championship is here! After eight hard-fought rounds on snow, ice, gravel, mud, sand and tarmac, the ninth and final event of the ARA season brings Subaru Motorsports USA back to Michigan for Lake Superior Performance Rally. One of the longest-running rallies on the U.S. calendar, LSPR is known for its beautiful fall scenery, cool weather, and road surfaces that tend to be slippery and damp.
The stage is set for a showdown between the two championship front-runners: the Subaru Motorsports USA duo of Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams in their #180 WRX STI against the #43 Hyundai i20 WRC of Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino. The unique ARA scoring format, which counts each driver’s best six finishes plus Power Stage bonus points from each event, has the two crews effectively neck-and-neck on points.
Thanks to Block’s win at Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally last month and subsequent takeover of the championship lead, he and Gelsomino can win the title with an overall victory at LSPR—but Semenuk and Williams, who led the title race for most of the season, can still bring it home with an event win and at least a third-place finish on LSPR’s Power Stage. Block also holds an advantage on experience; he was the only driver of the three to compete at LSPR in its new Marquette location last year, so has more up-to-date pace notes than his rivals.
Defending champions Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino have been mathematically eliminated from the title race but could still secure second place overall depending on the outcome of the Block-Semenuk battle at the top. After a challenging season that nonetheless saw the #199 teammates secure five total podiums, Pastrana and Gelsomino will be pushing to close the season on a high note. For the first time ever, the ARA championship finale will also be viewable via live-stream! Tune in to Subaru’s YouTube channel on Saturday afternoon for coverage from the season so far, the final stage of LSPR, and the podium celebration. Subaru Motorsports USA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok are your source for all the updates from Lake Superior Performance Rally, while live tracking and timing is available via the RallySafe app on Apple or Android.
PASTRANA: “LSPR is one of my favorite rallies. Always challenging with tight twisty roads and variable conditions, which makes it tough to prepare for. I haven’t raced there in 10 years so we will be making notes from scratch just like our teammates. It’s going to be an epic battle between Ken and Brandon for a winner take all event… disappointed that Rhi and I aren’t in the fight, but still pushing to get the event win!”
SEMENUK: “LSPR is the final round of the year and the final opportunity to fight for the Championship title after a tough weekend at STPR. This will be another new event for Keaton and me, and the notes will be a big challenge to get right, but we will throw everything at it!”
NAME: Lake Superior Performance Rally 2022 (LSPR)
DATES: 10/14/22 – 10/15/22
HOST TOWNS: Marquette, Michigan
TIME ZONE: Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4)
NEAREST INTL AIRPORT: Sawyer Intl Airport (MQT)
WEATHER: Overcast with possible rain showers. High near 48F. Low around 34F. Sunset 7:04pm
2022 Lake Superior Performance Rally Stage Info
Total Distance: 367.2 miles
Number of stages: 16
Stage distance: 113.3 miles
Stage surfaces: Gravel
Longest stage: 12.30 miles (SS2/6 Far Point I/II)
Highest Elevation: 1,833 ft
Recce: Open
Service Parks:
Camp Sidnaw (Fri)
Aspen Ridge Elementary School (Sat)
Official Start: 2:42pm on Friday
Superspecial: Yes (SS16)
Power Stage: SS13
Stages in darkness: Yes (SS5-8)
