Semenuk Stays Perfect as Intense RC2 Battle Heats Up at Oregon Trail Rally
- masonrunkel
- May 21
- 10 min read
(Dufur, OR – May 19, 2025) ~ With a massive 83-car entry list and some of the most iconic stages in the championship, the 2025 Oregon Trail Rally (OTR) drew huge crowds and delivered excitement across all three action-packed days, including tight battles across multiple classes.
After 19 stages and 108 miles of competition, Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams secured their fourth consecutive victory along with maximum Power Stage points, completing a perfect first half of the 2025 American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship presented by Kubota Tractor and earning redemption after a disappointing run in the 2024 OTR. Meanwhile, the RC2 class fight at this year’s was decided by less than a handful of seconds.
Subaru Earns Redemption from 2024 Double Retirement
As has been the case all season, the battle for the overall win amounted to a showdown between three-time reigning champions Semenuk and Williams of Subaru Motorsports USA (SMSUSA) and the rising Kubota-backed Martell Racing duo of Conner Martell and Alex Gelsomino.
Martell was first on the road, following the Seeded Draw for the fastest entries, during Friday night’s Portland International Raceway (PIR) Super Special Stages and remained the lead car through all of Saturday’s stages, with Semenuk just behind, avoiding road-sweeping duties for the first time in a while.
Although the second Super Special was canceled after Doug and Melinda Folsom rolled their crowd-favorite Volvo Amazon in the PIR chicane causing a schedule delay, Semenuk had already staked his claim on the lead.
The No. 1 SMSUSA WRX ARA25 charged through each stage with unrelenting pace, never relinquishing the top spot, but Martell put up a strong fight on Saturday, sweeping roads he hadn’t driven in seven years, all while managing a host of mechanical challenges. Throughout the day, he battled steering issues and a broken axle, while Sunday brought a puncture, bodywork torn off during water crossings, and even turbo trouble on the Power Stage. Despite it all, Martell still managed to come within just a few seconds of Semenuk’s pace on multiple stages.
While victory eluded the bright orange Kubota-backed WRX STI, the weekend was still a success for the team as they continue gathering valuable experience in their inaugural ARA season.
“It was a crazy up-and-down weekend for us,” Martell said after the rally. “We swept the road on Saturday, which was a really good learning experience for me, having to deal with no lines and all the looseness. Trying to figure out the line as you go through was difficult, but I really enjoyed it and learned a lot.”
Adding to SMSUSA’s success at Oregon Trail, Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino claimed their first LN4 class win in just their second outing in the Vermont SportsCar-built Subaru WRX ARA25L. The result also served as redemption for their 2024 effort, when they were forced to retire on day two of the rally.
The pair faced a stacked LN4 field that included three Rally3 cars, DirtFish’s WRX STI, and some of the top NA4WD Subarus in the Pacific Northwest.
Pastrana jumped straight into the lead, while the Rally3 Renault Clio of Sean Donnelly and Zach Pfeil battled for second with the Ford Fiesta Rally3 of NRX Next star Georgie Megennis, who was making her ARA debut.
Co-driven by Michael Szewczyk, Megennis traded stage times with Donnelly throughout the rally, keeping the competition tight. Madelyn Tabor and Sophie McKee also competed in the Rally3 class in their Ford Fiesta but retired after a slow rollover on day two. Despite this, the experience was worthwhile enough for Madelyn and the entire Tabor family to skip her college graduation to race on Oregon’s stages.
The NA4WD 2001 Subaru Impreza RS of Jacob and Michael Despain played spoiler to the European-built cars for much of the rally, reaching as high as second in the LN4 class on SS10 before unfortunately retiring two stages later.
But in the end, no one could touch Pastrana, and the Subaru emerged victorious in LN4 on the rocky Oregon roads, while also landing third in the overall standings.
“We had a great day today,” Pastrana said at the end of the Power Stage. “’Nagles Revenge’ is probably our toughest stage, with all the uphill climbing. The pace just increases as everyone gets to know the road, so the Rally 2s and the R5s were catching up on time. But we’re super stoked. We had zero problems, and the overall podium with the limited car is a huge step to prove that we can have a lot of fun in a car that's a lot less money than the current open cars, which the crowd seems to enjoy.”
Rounding out the LN4 podium were Donnelly in second and Megennis in third, earning a podium finish in her first-ever ARA event.
Tight RC2 Battle Ends With 4.4-Second Victory Margin
Continuing the trend of the RC2 class being one to watch in 2025, the six-car entry didn’t disappoint at OTR.
Right from the start, Ryan Booth and Nick Dobbs, the second-place team in points after Olympus Rally, took the lead in their 2024 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, building a 43-second lead by the end of the first loop on Saturday.
While they maintained their lead for most of Saturday, an off on SS8 forced their retirement from the rally. Suddenly, the battle for second between the Green APU Hyundai i20 R5 of Patrick Gruszka and the Element Rallysport Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Javier Olivares became a fight for the overall class win.
After falling back by about 40 seconds to Olivares and co-driver KJ Miller on Saturday, Gruszka and co-driver John Hall mounted a massive push, clawing back 35 seconds over nine stages. The two traded stage wins throughout the day, with Gruszka ultimately narrowing the gap to just 5.6 seconds heading into the five-mile Power Stage.
Gruszka claimed the Power Stage win, but only by 1.2 seconds, leaving Olivares the RC2 class victory by just 4.4 seconds after 108 miles of racing.
“It was a great weekend!” Miller said after the rally. “Always fun to have a super tight battle like this. It felt really good to take the RC2 win in our first event back after 100 Acre Wood. Looking forward to carrying that momentum to SOFR!”
Despite being on the losing end of it, Hall and Gruszka enjoyed the close competition, with Hall stating, “capturing P2 on the Power Stage finished off the race on a high note. It’s battles like we had with Javier and KJ, trading tenths, that make rally such fun.”
With Olivares and Miller in first, and Gruszka and Hall in second, the podium was completed by class-newcomers Steven Redd and Dylan Hooker in their 2014 Ford Fiesta R5.
Redd and Hooker are more recently known for their striking wide-body N12 Subaru WRX STI, which they’ve campaigned throughout the region in recent years. But with Redd now expanding his business to include an arrive-and-drive rental rally fleet, the R5 is his latest acquisition—and what better way to advertise than by beating half the field on your first outing?
The Steven Redd Racing Fiesta climbed from fifth to third over the course of the rally as its crew acclimated to the car, engaging in tight battles for stage times with Alastair Scully and Stefan Trajkov in the other Green APU Hyundai i20, and ultimately coming out ahead.
Hooper Wins in First Oregon Trail Outing, Cyr Maintains Perfect L2 Season
After a string of guest drivers took O2WD wins in the Team FJ Peugeots at recent events, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium, as long-time favorite Michael Hooper and co-driver Michael Hordijk put their Lexus IS350 back in the top spot for the first time since Overmountain Rally Tennessee last year.
Making it all the sweeter, Hooper’s win came in his first-ever outing at OTR, despite a 23-year history behind the wheel.
“What a great rally!” Hooper remarked. “The roads were very different than what I’m used to, with no tree lines to reference, just notes, a ton of grip, and tons of commitment to the notes Hordijk was calling, often in 6th gear!”
Hooper rallied fairly uncontested after the opening stages, with competitors Richo Healey and Michelle Miller retiring on day two after an off, and second-place Seamus Burke and Gary McElhinney trailing by over a minute after Saturday’s stages.
Rounding out the O2WD podium was the 2004 Ford Focus of Eric Zabala and Casidy Hoel behind Burke.
Chris Cyr and Glen Ray continued their dominance in the L2WD Championship, winning by over two and a half minutes and taking full Power Stage points. This gave them a total of 100 championship points, well ahead of second-place Henry Tabor.
Tabor took second alongside co-driver Jack Gillow-Wise, while Johan and John Friesen rounded out the class podium in third.
Miller Earns Third Straight West-Coast Sweep
Andy Miller and Shaun Tracey once again set the high bar for Pacific Northwest competitors, dominating the 53-car Oregon Trail Regional Rally field to win by three and a half minutes. Their victory marked their third consecutive win at both the Olympus and Oregon Trail Regional Rallies.
Miller and Tracey’s NAEZ30R-swapped Subaru Impreza STI is a regular fixture at West Coast rallies—and for good reason. Its reliability and speed, combined with the duo’s expertise behind the wheel, have now delivered 14 class victories, with their latest coming at OTR.
“We had a great rally weekend!” Miller said. “You couldn’t ask for better gravel roads and scenery. No real problems or issues with the car. We kept a strong, consistent pace, and got the finish we were pushing for. Thanks again to everyone who makes it possible. Volunteers, organizers, and sponsors! Already looking forward to next year.”
This year, the closest team was a surprise to many, as Alex Chadney returned to the stages in the No. 458 3.0-swapped Subaru Impreza for the first time since 2023 with Maribel Plaza co-driving, avenging three consecutive Oregon Trail DNFs by finishing second overall in 2025.
“We really had one goal going into the weekend: finish,” Chadney said. “I've run three other OTRs and DNFed all three for various mechanical reasons, and with it being my home event, I wanted redemption.
“I hadn't touched the car since 2023 until about 5 months ago, when I went through an extensive rebuild and redesign process to get it reliable. I can't even count how many hours it took because I changed pretty much everything forward of the firewall to address engine and oil cooling issues, as well as some chassis issues.”
“Maribel was on top of the notes all weekend, which allowed me to commit. The car performed extremely predictably and was quite a bit faster than we expected as well.”
“Safe to say we greatly exceeded any expectations we had of the weekend, and just kept building the confidence every single stage. Every stage was a personal best for me, and every re-run of a stage was faster than the first. We had very few mistakes and just some minor issues through the weekend.”
“We couldn't have done it without our fantastic crew. Three of them flew out from Colorado to help (Tim Wickberg, and Cameron and Mack Childress), plus Wesley Schweitzer and my partner Samantha Winfrey. All of them kept us focused on the racing rather than managing car issues.”
Chadney’s second-place overall Super Regional finish also earned him second in the NA4WD class, with both podiums rounded out by yet another 3.0L Impreza—this one driven by Josh Gierman and Gavin Bowen.
Surprisingly, the fastest non-NA4WD car was actually the O2WD entry of John Hill and Jake Blattner. The duo were out this weekend testing a new, blue, 1980 Ford Escort, and it could hardly have done any better for them, taking stage wins on Maryhill, over all of their 4WD counterparts.
“We came to the event to test a brand new car and have as much fun as possible,” Hill said. “We are thrilled it held up to the rigorous Oregon Trail Rally with great results! Thanks to the Oregon Trail organizers and our hard-working crew. We’re excited for more testing to fine-tune and for successful future events. It’s all for the fun!”
Second place in O2WD changed hands among four different teams throughout the rally. Early on, the BMWs of Sage Van Tilburg and Doug Heredos battled for the spot, but a retirement for Van Tilburg opened the door for Julien Sebot in his Fiesta ST, who held the position for much of the remainder of the event.
Unfortunately, Sebot retired on SS14, allowing Heredos to reclaim second place—until he was displaced on the final stage by Neils Kroeze in his Ford Fiesta R2. Kroeze and co-driver Sara Nonack ultimately took second in the 15-car O2WD class, while Heredos and co-driver Robert Kassell rounded out the podium in third.
Taking the final spot in the overall Top 5, Robert Shibao and Dillon McKenna’s 2002 Subaru WRX also took the L4WD win, their first in a Super Regional event.
“Last year, I hit 'the evil rock' on Dalles Down, damaging the suspension,” Shibao said. “We were lucky to finish with the help of our crew and fellow competitors. I am pretty sure we got last place. This year was quite the opposite, surprisingly smooth, great calls from Dillon kept me on, and we tried to maintain a good pace, which paid off as others ran into issues.”
Jonathan Myers and Mack Golos battled Jared Bendt and Tim Tokstad for second in class throughout most of the rally, a contest that came to an exciting conclusion, with Myers and Golos edging ahead by just 12 seconds to claim the final spot on the Regional L4WD podium.
The O4WD class also saw Brett and Hunter Livingston take their first class win together, edging out other family pairings: Arto and Mary Ylikangas in second, Elijah and Jeff Kleeman in third, and Brandon and Tobias Panek in fourth.
Finally, in the L2WD class, Chris Miller and Crystina Coats completed their own West Coast sweep, taking class wins at both Olympus and Oregon Trail in their 2016 Scion FR-S.
They battled for stage wins with the second-place 1994 Toyota Celica of Eric Frentress and Ethan Curtis, who notably carried two tarmac tires as spares for the Oak Flat/Maryhill loops, swapping them onto the front axle for the latter. The tactic paid off—not only did they place near the top ten on both runs, but they also had a blast going sideways through the corners.
When asked about the approach, Curtis said they got the idea from Julien Sebot, who used the same tactic to win a $1 bet against Doug Heredos on who could scale the hill faster.
With Miller and Coats in first, and Frentress and Curtis in second, the L2WD podium was completed by the 2010 VW Golf of Lucas Chalcraft and Jamie Willetts.
For complete results, visit https://www.americanrallyassociation.org/event-results
-Mason Runkel for the ARA
