2022 Ojibwe Forests Rally Preview
NAME: 2022 Ojibwe Forests Rally
DATES: 8/19/22 – 8/20/22
HOST TOWNS: Detroit Lakes, Itasca and Park Rapids, MN
TIME ZONE: Central Daylight Time (UTC -5)
NEAREST INTL AIRPORT: Hector Intl Airport (FAR)
WEATHER: Sunshine and clouds mixed. Humid. High near 75F. Low around 57F.
After a thrilling win in New England last month, Subaru Motorsports USA returns August 19-20 at Ojibwe Forests Rally in northern Minnesota! American Rally Association (ARA) championship leaders Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams will look to maintain the momentum from their razor-thin victory in the Maine forests, while defending 2021 champions Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino are out to pick up their first win of the year at Pastrana’s favorite event.
Ojibwe presents a very different challenge from the rocky surfaces and big, high-speed jumps of New England Forest Rally. The Minnesota lake country brings sandy soil which can be forgiving for an aggressive style like that of Pastrana, who has won the event seven times including the last two contests in 2020 and ‘21. Semenuk has a third-place Ojibwe finish to his credit from 2020 but missed the 2021 edition after a roll in pre-event testing.
With only three rounds remaining in the ARA championship’s “best six of nine” scoring format, drivers’ title hopes will quickly come into sharper focus as weaker scores begin to be dropped out of the calculation. Semenuk’s 99-point total includes four completed events, as does Block’s sum of 90; the pair have high potential for increasing their totals, but each can only afford a single DNF out of the final three rounds to log six scoring events and maximize their points. By contrast, Pastrana has five finishes and 94 points, but thanks to his fewer high-scoring finishes for the year so far has a lower potential maximum total than his rivals.
Tune in for updates from Subaru Motorsports USA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok for all the updates from Ojibwe Forests Rally! Live tracking and timing is available via the RallySafe app on Apple or Android.
PASTRANA: “Ojibwe has been my best rally in the ARA championship. Rhi and I got our first win as a team at this event in 2020 and we were able to win it again last year, but we desperately need to make it three in a row if we want to keep our championship hopes alive.”
SEMENUK: “Heading into Ojibwe Forests Rally last year was the best I felt in the car all season, but unfortunately, we had an off during testing and weren’t able to compete. So, this year I’m missing that valuable stage experience, but hopefully we can find that good feeling again and Keaton and I can battle for more championship points!”
2022 Ojibwe Forests Rally Stage Info
Total Distance: 293.40 miles
Number of stages: 17
Stage distance: 122.60 miles
Stage surfaces: Sand and dirt
Longest stage: 12.30 miles (SS2 Steamboat)
Highest Elevation: 2,000 ft
Recce: Open
Service Parks:Gladen Construction, Laporte, MN. (Fri)Pioneer Farms, Shevlin, MN.(Sat)
Official Start: 1:00pm on Friday
Superspecials: 4
Power Stage: SS13
Stages in darkness: None
