Conner Martell’s first full American Rally Association season was the year everything came together.

He began the 2025 American Rally Association championship in a Vermont SportsCar-built Subaru WRX STI with a brand new Kubota partnership before jumping into the 2C Compétition Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the second half of the season. Along the way, he and co-driver Alex Gelsomino delivered six national podiums, his first overall ARA National event win, and second place in the ARA Driver’s Championship with 115 points, eight points ahead of Travis Pastrana.

For Vermont SportsCar, it was a season that showcased what their test and development driver can do when he finally gets a full campaign and the chance to go head-to-head with the best rally drivers in the United States and beyond.

Kicking off the 2025 ARA Championship

Starting strong with Vermont SportsCar and Kubota, Martell’s year began in the snow and ice of Michigan at SnoDrift, where he made his first start at the event in the Kubota-backed Subaru. On roads where no studded tires are permitted and where grip changes corner by corner, he and co-driver Alex Gelsomino settled into second place on Friday. They held onto it until the finish, only a few seconds off the fastest time on the Power Stage, set by Brandon Semenuk. This second-place finish was his third consecutive ARA national podium and the perfect launch for his first full championship campaign.

Rally in the 100 Acre Wood

One month later, at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Missouri, another debut brought another second place. Martell and Gelsomino immediately put the No. 21 Kubota Subaru into the lead battle by winning a stage on the opening loop, and finishing the rally just behind defending champions Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams. That result extended Martell’s ARA national podium streak to four events in a row.

Battle in the Pacific Northwest

The third round of the championship brought the duo out west for the first of two rallies in the Pacific Northwest. Olympus Rally in Washington State delivered what Martell called the most challenging rally he had ever done, with long technical logging roads that have tested world and national champions for decades. Because this was his first time running the event, he worked methodically through the pace note learning curve, fought for the lead when trouble briefly delayed the rally leaders, pushing him closer to his first national win, and ultimately finished a close second. It was his fifth consecutive ARA national podium and another sign that Martell had established himself a threat for victory anywhere he shows up.

Flatout in Oregon

The following month, the next round took the team from the forests of Washington to the wide open vistas of the Oregon Trail Rally. Drawing on past experience there and Gelsomino’s long history at the event, Martell was able to push hard on the fast stages while driving smart on the technical sections where consequences were higher. He once again finished second overall, (his 6th in a row!) keeping his first full-season campaign within the ARA championship fight. During the rally, he and Gelsomino produced one of the standout moments of the event, flying 115 feet at more than 100 miles per hour over the infamous Boyd Jump.

During the summer break

Between rallies Martell climbed back into a 1,000-horsepower FC1 X electric rallycross car for the Pine Mountain HillClimb in Kentucky. He set an unofficial course record, underscoring how quickly he can adapt to new machinery and roads.

Boone Forest threepeat and the move to Škoda

To kick off the second half of the rally season, Martell took an important step in his rally career as he signed with French team 2C Compétition and moved into the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the remainder of the ARA season.

His progression was on full display in August at Boone Forest Rally, one of the newest and fastest-growing events on the calendar. In only his second event in the Škoda, Martell dominated from the opening stage, went unbeaten across all 12 stages, and won the rally by more than five minutes for his third consecutive Boone Forest victory.

Boone Forest also marked another milestone. With that win added to his growing list of national podiums and his previous regional victories, he now has three rally wins and a consistent record of running at the front whenever he starts.

Rally-winning pace at Ojibwe

Later in August at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Minnesota, Martell and Gelsomino showed exactly how much speed the new Škoda package and a year of experience had unlocked. They won the opening Super Special, led the rally by fractions of a second on Thursday night, then extended that lead to more than 17 seconds over the reigning ARA champion on Friday with a string of stage wins on fast, flowing gravel that is often compared to Rally Finland.

A puncture on Friday dropped them back, but they answered with another stage win on the opening test on Saturday. They were several seconds clear on Stage 12 when a soft roll forced them to retire from the overall classification. The 2C Compétition crew rebuilt the Škoda and sent them back out for the final two stages, where they once again ran at the front. The team’s “never give up” attitude earned them the 43i Institute’s Ken Block Flat Out 43ver Award for their pace and refusal to quit.

Even without the result on paper, Ojibwe confirmed that Martell’s pace in the Škoda gave him the potential to fight for outright wins against the reigning champions.

First national win at Overmountain Rally Tennessee

That potential became reality in September at Overmountain Rally Tennessee. On the opening Super Special at Newport Speedway, Martell lined up against six-time national champion Travis Pastrana and set the fastest time overall, a clear signal for the weekend ahead.

Through changing weather and a mix of rocky, extremely technical mountain roads, Martell and Gelsomino managed tire temperatures, dialed in the Škoda, and steadily built a commanding lead. By the end of Saturday, they had already won most of the stages and were out front by nearly a minute. On Sunday, they won every stage, set a new stage record on the Big Clifty stage, not once but twice, and collected maximum Power Stage points to complete a near-perfect weekend. Their final winning margin was five minutes and twenty-seven seconds. The result marked Martell’s first overall ARA National Championship victory as well as the first ARA national win for Michelin tires since the brand launched its current North American program.

Sealing second in the ARA Championship at LSPR

The season finale at Lake Superior Performance Rally in Michigan brought both adversity and a fitting conclusion. On the opening stage, Martell rolled the Škoda in slick, muddy conditions, dropping out of contention for the event win. The 2C Compétition crew worked through the night to repair the car, and later that day, Martell and Gelsomino returned to the stages and won every remaining stage, including the Power Stage for five extra points.

Those points were enough to secure second place in the 2025 ARA National Championship in Martell’s first full season, with six national podium finishes and the Overmountain victory forming the backbone of his 115-point campaign. It was a season built on consistency, resilience, and the ability to learn new rallies quickly, often setting stage records on roads he was seeing for the first time.

A breakthrough in Europe

The ARA finale wasn’t the end of Martell’s year. In November, he and Gelsomino traveled to France for their European debut at Rallye Terre de Vaucluse. On unfamiliar roads and in a completely different format, with only a single pass recce, they used Saturday as a learning day on the tight, technical roads, then attacked on Sunday and won three of the final four stages, climbing to second overall from a list of strong Rally2 entries.

Their podium finish in Courthézon also helped 2C Compétition clinch the 2025 French Gravel Rally Team title at the team’s home event, a significant achievement for the French squad.

Looking Ahead

From rallycross, hillclimbs, and now a full ARA season plus his European gravel debut, Conner Martell’s trajectory has been steep, and 2025 was the clearest picture yet of what he is capable of.

With a first ARA national victory, second place in the Championship, a Boone Forest threepeat, and a European podium all in the same season, 2025 looks like the moment Conner Martell truly announced himself as one of the next leaders of North American rallying, and as a Vermont SportsCar athlete poised for even bigger things in 2026.