New England Forest Rally 2023 Preview
Newry, ME – After a month break following June’s Southern Ohio Forest Rally, Subaru Motorsports USA driver Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams are back in American Rally Association (ARA) action for the 2023 New England Forest Rally (NEFR), taking place July 14-15. The sixth of eight 2023 ARA Championship events, Semenuk and Williams can claim the 2023 season title with a NEFR win, but the wild Maine and New Hampshire stages mean victory never comes easy – in fact, the Semenuk/Williams team took first place in the 2022 NEFR by a margin of less than a second, thanks to a stunning last stage performance.
The New England Forest Rally was founded in 1994 and is one of the most popular events on the American Rally Association calendar thanks to its collection of great spectator spots and exciting jumps. The most famous among these is the Concord Pond Jump, an exciting slight left-hander where cars don’t necessarily catch a huge amount of air, but rather carry a tremendous amount of speed from takeoff and through low-level flight before landing at the turn’s exit. Other jumps get cars higher in the air, arrive under braking, or land just before sharper corners. Add these jumps to a course with terrain ranging from the straight and flat to outright rocky, and it soon becomes clear that the NEFR is a test of driver skill as well as a great spectator event.
With only three remaining events on the 2023 ARA Championship calendar, drivers are sure to be going all-out to gain every last point possible, making an already exciting New England Forest Rally a can’t-miss racing weekend. Don’t miss out on news and updates: be sure to follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, on TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa, and on Twitter @subarums_usa.
Driver Quotes:
Brandon Semenuk: “It will be hard to top the epic race we had last year at NEFR, but Keaton and I have been looking forward to this event all season. It’s easily a favorite of the championship and we are ready to fight for another win!”
Keaton Williams: “My favorite rally of the year! There’s always a buzz from competitors and spectators on this one. It’s the closest we get to Finland, so the stages are always enjoyable. Let’s make it a good one!”
NAME: 2023 New England Forest Rally
DATES: 7/14 – 7/15/23
HOST TOWNS: Newry, ME. & Errol, NH.
TIME ZONE: Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4)
NEAREST INTL AIRPORT: Portland International Jetport (PWM)
WEATHER: Possible scattered thunderstorms. Low 62F. High 80F. Sunset 8:25pm EDT.
2023 New England Forest Rally Stage Info
Total Distance: 527.6 miles
Number of stages: 15
Stage distance: 111.83 miles
Stage surfaces: Dirt and loose gravel
Longest stage: Icicle Brook SS5 (16.06 miles)
Highest Elevation: 2,000 ft
Recce: Open
Service Parks:
Sunday River Resort, Newry, ME. (Fri)
JML Trucking, Errol, NH. (Sat)
Official Start: 10:31am on Friday
Power Stage: SS15
Superspecials: None
Stages in darkness: None
About Subaru Motorsports USA
Subaru Motorsports USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., MOTUL, KMC Wheels, Yokohama Tires, DirtFish Rally School, KÜHL, AT&T Business, weBoost and PepLink. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/motorsports.
Follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, onTikTok @subarumotorsportsusa, and on Twitter @subarums_usa.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
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