Speedway, IN | Coming on the heels of one of the tightest championship races in recent U.S. rally history, the American Rally Association, presented by DirtFish has set the National Championship schedule for the 2023 season.
The series plans to move to an eight race national championship next season, bringing back all of its 2022 national rounds with the exception of the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally.
The new season will begin with the challenging Sno*Drift rally February 10-11. Based out of Atlanta, Mich., Sno*Drift is the nation’s premiere winter rally covering more than 120 of snow and ice covered roads and features the popular BonFire Alley.
The largest contingent of competitors will fill the region surrounding Salem, Missouri March 17-18 for the annual Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. The event has averaged 90 car fields over the past few years and brings some of the fastest rounds in the series.
The ARA will make its swing out west with stops in Washington and Oregon. The Olympus Rally is set for April 22-23 in Shelton, Wash. and was the longest rally on the national ARA schedule at 136 stage miles.
One month later, the series heads a few hours south for the Oregon Trail Rally. OTR will return to Portland International Raceway on Friday, May 19th before heading east along the Columbia River for two days of rally competition.
The Southern Ohio Forest Rally will open up the summer portion of the ARA schedule on June 8-10. SOFR has grown into a popular stop amongst both ARA competitors and spectators in recent years. The three-day rally will start with the energizing Super Special stage and Parc Expose in downtown Chillicothe.
The New England Forest Rally will return in 2022 in full-send mode. The rally offers up the most diverse stages in the championship, as well as the most airtime at an American-based rally. The always popular Concord Pond stage will highlight a grueling rally.
Round seven of the ARA National Championship heads to northern Minnesota August 25-26 for the Ojibwe Forests Rally. Ojibwe is one of the longest stage rally events in the U.S. and is a competitor favorite for its smooth, quick and free-flowing stage roads.
The season will come to a conclusion in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula October 13-14. The Lake Superior Performance Rally offers a final test of endurance and performance, taking place in the picturesque fall foliage of Northern Michigan with competitors fighting through always-changing weather conditions in their final title tilt.
As for STPR, the ARA has been working with its organizing committee to finalize a decision on its national status moving forward. The event, which ran in September, has been working to transition its leadership team after the unexpected loss of Chairman James Monks. The event also came under scrutiny after permitting issues once again came to the forefront in the days and weeks leading up to the historical event.
“STPR has been a staple in U.S. rally for the past 40 years, and the decision to keep it off of the current national schedule at this time was difficult,” said Preston Osborn, ARA Competition Director. “As STPR organizers work through the transition of leadership, they are also working through the complicated relationship of securing road permits that have persisted in the region. We have left the door open for STPR to resolve these issues and continue as an ARA national event.”
All ARA National events are accompanied by an ARA Super Regional rally. The complete ARA Regional Championship schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
About ARA: The American Rally Association is the premier stage rally association in the United States. Owned and operated by the United States Auto Club, the ARA is the sanctioning body for the nine-round ARA National Championship, as well as regional events and championships throughout the United States. To learn more about the ARA and its partners, go to www.americanrallyassociation.com.