Pastrana Picks Up First Season Win at a Challenging Ojibwe Forests Rally

Detroit Lakes, MN – In their first season back in American Rally Association (ARA) action, the Subaru Motorsports USA team of extreme sports icon Travis Pastrana and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino garnered its first win of the ARA season at the 2024 Ojibwe Forests Rally in Minnesota. Two-time defending ARA champions Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams ran into significant trouble on Friday, making their pursuit of an ARA three-peat that much more difficult.

“I’m really happy with my first win in three years and my eighth win here,” said Pastrana post-rally.

“Not the rally we wanted,” said Semenuk, “but congrats to Travis on a great win.”

The 2024 Ojibwe Forests Rally lived up to its reputation as one of the more challenging and unpredictable events on the ARA calendar. Shifting weather saw teams and drivers adapting to conditions in the 70s with light showers for Thursday’s kickoff Special Stage to 80s and humid on Friday, when the difficult stages themselves tested competitors.

Trouble started with a car going off on Stage 4 leading to the cancellation of Stage 5. Then on Stage 6, a rock described by one competitor as akin to a “small moon” did significant damage to Semenuk and Williams’s WRX ARA24. Effectively out of the running for a victory at Ojibwe, the team came back Saturday to super rally to claim any championship points it could: “It was nice to get those five extra points and salvage something from our weekend,” said Williams.

Pastrana, meanwhile made the most of Semenuk’s misfortune, piloting himself and Gelsomino through Saturday’s stages to claim the win at Ojibwe even despite struggling with some engine issues. Moving forward, the question becomes can Pastrana find a way to eke out an ARA championship? “We’ve done some math,” says Pastrana. “It could be close.”

“We got some power stage points,”
 said Semenuk. “We’ll take this fight to Tennessee.”

Formerly known as the Bristol Forest Rally and a new addition to the ARA calendar for 2024, the Overmountain Rally Tennessee takes place on September 14-15. The competition is heating up and things are getting interesting; keep up with the latest by following Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, and TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa.


About Subaru Motorsports USA
Subaru Motorsports USA is directed by Subaru of America, Inc., managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by MOTULYokohama TiresR53 SuspensionTriple-R LightsDirtFish Rally SchoolSparco USAweBoost and Peplink. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/motorsports.


Follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, and on TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa.

About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect 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. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

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