Peterke Clinches ARA Central Region Title at Show-Me as MINI Returns to Rally Roots
- masonrunkel
- 1 minute ago
- 7 min read
(Potosi, MO., November 12, 2025) ~ Dustin Peterke and Robert Judge celebrated one year since their rallying debut by earning the American Rally Association (ARA) Central Region Championship title at Show-Me Rally in Washington County, Missouri this past weekend.
The November 8 Regional event marked the end of the 2025 American Rally calendar, but it also signified the start of something new: the ARA debut of longtime MINI USA racing partner LAP Motorsports and MINI’s return to its rally roots.
The LAP team entered a pair of newly prepared John Cooper Works MINIs, a Countryman in the Limited 4-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) class and a 2-door Hardtop in Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD).
Show-Me was the first of two planned regional outings for MINI this year, as the team continues testing and developing the vehicles and the brand assesses American Rally as a potential fit for its ongoing motorsports efforts.
The one-day rally brought together 25 teams to take on the high-speed roads of the Mark Twain National Forest, featuring 10 stages and nearly 70 miles of competition on some of the same legendary roads used for the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, the round two of the ARA National Championship presented by Kubota.
After a Parc Exposé in downtown Potosi, the final rally of the 2025 season delivered tight battles from start to finish, as teams pushed for one last chance at championship points on the Show-Me state’s stages.
Peterke Tops Tight Podium Battle for Victory
After placing fourth overall in their 2024 Show-Me Rally debut, Dustin Peterke and Robert Judge entered the 2025 event determined to reach the podium, or better. Before the rally even began, Judge made their intentions clear: the goal was to secure the championship in Missouri.
As soon as the first stage ended, however, it was clear the competition wasn’t going to make things easy. SS1 was won not by Peterke, but by the Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) Bearded Ryno Rally Team BMW M3 of Ryan George and Heather Stieber, competing in their first rally since the same event last year.
Peterke was just 2.1 seconds behind in second place, and incredibly, the entire top ten sat within ten seconds of the leaders heading into the second stage. Peterke struck back on SS2, overtaking George and beginning to open a small gap, though still just one mistake away from losing podium contention.
Throughout the first half of the rally, stage wins were traded among Peterke, George, the Naturally Aspirated Four-Wheel-Drive (NA4WD) 1999 Fervor Motorsports Subaru Forester of Tayler Hoevenaar and Noah Macomber, and the Limited Four-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX of Robert Dupree and Kevin Dobrowolski.
After five stages, the four frontrunners were separated by less than 30 seconds, but as the rally moved past its halfway point, the order began to solidify. Peterke held the lead, Hoevenaar climbed into second, and George settled into third.
By the finish, Peterke and Judge had dominated the rally, winning by more than a minute and 20 seconds, taking their second career overall win, and officially claiming the ARA Central Regional Championship.
“It has been a hell of a year for us,” Peterke said. “Our plan was to win the Central Regional Championship, with our rollover at Ojibwe Forests Rally it seemed like all hope was gone, but coming to Show-Me to finish the season with hopes of just getting enough points to get us the championship was the plan. Winning the whole rally, both in class and overall, was just a blast, and the icing on the cake.”
“It was great coming out to Show-Me Rally again,” Judge added. “The entry list showed some good competition in our battle for the regional championship. We had some brake issues before the last service that we were unfortunately unable to fix, but we were still able to power through and put down some great times on the last few stages. Night stages have proven to be a strength and favorite of ours. We can’t want to come back and race again next season!”
Hoevenaar and first-time co-driver Macomber impressed in their first gravel rally, finishing second overall and claiming two stage wins in their Forester, proving that Fervor Motorsports can excel beyond the icy roads of Sno*Drift, where Hoevenaar has competed for the past four years.
“It was a lot of fun!” Macomber remarked. “This being my first time codriving, I had done a lot of preparation, but I wasn’t prepared for the motion sickness it can cause.”
Hoevenaar and Macomber also placed second in the NA4WD class, behind Peterke and Judge, while Ethan Hunter and Alex Augustine took third in class in their 1994 Subaru Impreza.
MINI Makes Promising American Rally Debut
Also drawing major attention at Show-Me Rally was the rally debut of LAP Motorsports and MINI USA, as the Brownsburg, Indiana-based team entered two development cars: a 2025 John Cooper Works (JCW) MINI Countryman in the L4WD class and a 2025 MINI 2-door Hardtop in L2WD.
The program, led by team owner and driver Luis Perocarpi, aims to demonstrate MINI’s performance and reliability in rally competition with minimal modifications beyond safety and brake upgrades.
The MINI Cooper JCW, driven by Cristian Perocarpi (Luis’ son) with David Quillen co-driving, impressed in its first-ever outing, turning competitive stage times in class as the crew settled into rhythm. Despite an off late in the rally, the Cooper showed clear potential against seasoned regional competitors.
Meanwhile, the MINI Countryman of Luis Perocarpi and Mark Wells completed its debut with a second-place finish in L4WD, marking a successful first rally for both driver and co-driver as they adapted to the pace and precision of stage rallying.
“The entire team had been up 48 hours straight by the time we unloaded our new MINIs at the service area,” Luis Perocarpi explained. “I was more concerned for my guys than how we were going to perform. We have tons of experience racing successfully in several different professional disciplines, but this was our first in rally, something I’ve personally been after for 40 years.
“The cars performed very well straight out of the box. I drove very conservatively and ended up finishing second in class and ninth overall. We learned a lot, and we are well aware that there is still a lot more to learn.
“I would like to thank all of the competitors and their crews for such a warm welcome and everyone at ARA for the help to make our transition into rally a smooth one. I can’t wait for the next one next month and to meet the rest of our new friends.”
Bearded Ryno Wins O2WD After Year Away
Finishing just 12.9 seconds behind the Fervor Motorsports Forester, Ryan George and Heather Stieber capped their return to competition with an impressive overall podium and an Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) class victory in their Bearded Ryno Rally Team BMW M3. The pair hadn’t competed since the 2024 Show-Me Rally, making the result even more rewarding.
The win marks their second consecutive class victory at Show-Me and their third career overall regional podium.
Despite early pressure from Emmons Hathaway and Zane Jackson in their Honda Civic, George and Stieber steadily pulled away, winning every stage in the O2WD class and ultimately taking the win by more than four minutes.
“We haven’t competed since Show-me last year, so we figured we’d be a little rusty to start off,” Stieber said. “Apparently we knocked all the rust off on the tow down to Potosi because we were absolutely on it from the start and won SS1 and SS3 overall. Our goals were simple--come down, hang out with friends and just have some fun. I’d say we accomplished that and more with a first place in O2WD and third place overall.”
Hathaway and Jackson—now the 2025 East Regional O2WD Champions—finished second in class, while Adam Brock and Sara Nonack rounded out the O2WD podium in their Volvo 244.
Dupree Earns L4WD Central Region Championship with Class Win
Finishing fourth overall, just 30 seconds off the podium, the L4WD 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX of Dupree and Dobrowolski claimed the class win and secured enough points to clinch the 2025 Central Regional L4WD Championship—capping off a season that also included standout performances at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood and the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR).
Needing at least a second-place finish to earn the title, the team’s goal was clear from the start. The Eclipse roared into the lead on SS1 and never looked back, running a clean, consistent, and fast rally to seal their championship run.
LAP Motorsports’ 2025 MINI Countryman of Luis Perocarpi and Mark Wells finished second in class after all ten stages, while Douglas Voss and Makisa Upton’s 1998 Subaru Impreza finished third.
HART Takes First and Second in L2WD
Gabriel Nieves took a well-deserved victory lap at Show-Me Rally after wrapping up the Central Regional L2WD Championship at LSPR in October. Co-driven this time by Michael Kaiser in the Honda of America Racing Team (HART) Rally Team 2023 Acura Integra, Nieves delivered yet another dominant performance—winning all ten stages in class and taking victory by exactly one minute.
The HART Rally Team, comprised entirely of Honda engineers, also entered a 2017 Honda Civic piloted by Weston Davis and Charlie Discoe, who matched Nieves’ consistency by finishing second on all ten stages.
"The team was really looking forward to Show-Me this year since we were bringing both Integra and Civic,” Nieves said. “Great results for both with a one-two finish in class to finish off one of the most successful seasons we’ve ever had for the HART Rally team!
“The guys put forth a tremendous amount of work throughout the year to make this all a possibility, and I can't thank them enough. Now it's time to get some much needed rest and start re-prep for next season!"
With both cars built on the same platform as the recently unveiled Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Rally XP—which made its Specialty Equipment Marketers Association (SEMA) Show debut this week—HART’s performance served as another encouraging sign for HRC’s ongoing exploration into the future of its rally program.
Running third in class for most of the rally, Nicholas Bukky and Robert Kassel were forced to retire on SS7 after rolling their 2008 Honda Fit, allowing Erik and Clarissa Votipka to move into third with their 1988 Volkswagen Golf, just barely ahead of Gavin Guyer and Tessa Jordan’s 2011 Ford Fiesta.
On the final stage, Guyer and Jordan mounted a last-minute charge, overtaking the Votipkas to claim the final podium position by just 1.9 seconds.
~Mason Runkel for the ARA
