Sno*Drift Rally Lives Up to Reputation for Unpredictability as Piatkowski Takes Season-opening Victory*
- masonrunkel
- 2 minutes ago
- 12 min read
Stars shine and then fall as Pastrana loses lead in a snow bank and Block comes agonizingly close to historic win
MINI and Christian Perocarpi claim second in O2WD in first ARA National outing
GoPro CEO and ARA rookie Woodman scores L4WD podium in first-ever rally
NOTE: All 2026 SnoDrift National Rally results are provisional pending the outcome of multiple protests.
(Atlanta, Mich. – February 10, 2026) ~ 2021 LN4 (combined national class of Limited 4-Wheel Drive and Naturally Aspirated 4-Wheel Drive) Champion Mark Piatkowski provisionally claimed his second upset overall victory at the American Rally Association (ARA) Sno*Drift Rally, alongside co-driver Aris Mantopoulos, February 6–7 in Atlanta, Michigan. But Piatkowski’s surprise overall win was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg as the snowy-but-unstudded season opener once again proved fickle.
The ARA National Championship’s long-standing first round is renowned for its lack of grip, with competitors battling snow-covered roads with glare ice lurking just below. As possibly the only snow-and-ice rally in the world where studded tires are prohibited, due to Michigan state law, Sno*Drift has earned a reputation as the great equalizer — a place where home-built, lower-horsepower cars can challenge factory-backed machinery at the front of the field.
Piatkowski first achieved the feat in 2022, and in 2026 repeated it against a powerhouse entry list that included factory-supported teams, high-end RC2 and Rally3 cars, and a cast of past ARA champions.
With cars buried in snowbanks, untimely mechanical failures, and a drama-filled final stage, Sno*Drift 2026 will be remembered as one of the wildest editions ever of the mercurial Michigan event.
Chaotic Final Stage Flips Rally Results
Subaru Motorsports USA’s (SMSUSA) Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino entered Sno*Drift as clear favorites in their Vermont SportsCar–built Subaru WRX ARA25L Limited Four-Wheel-Drive (L4WD) machine. A four-time Sno*Drift winner, Pastrana was tied with David Higgins for the most overall victories at the event, and a fifth would have given him sole possession of the record.
From the opening stages, the No. 199 Subaru began building a slim but consistent lead. Close behind, the No. 243 Green APU–backed Hyundai i20 Rally2 of two-time RC2-class National Champion Pat Gruszka and Florian Barral struck early with a stage win on SS2, remaining within reach through much of Friday’s running.
Further adding to the intrigue, 2023 Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) National Champion Lia Block impressed in her first-ever snow rally, running third overall alongside co-driver Alex Gelsomino in the Rockstar Energy–backed Element Rallysport Ford Fiesta Rally3. Despite limited experience on snow, Block’s pace in the L4WD-class entry saw her outrun several RC2-class cars throughout the opening day.
After closing Friday night just 30 seconds behind Pastrana, misfortune struck the Hyundai camp. A transmission failure following the final Friday stage forced the No. 243 to retire before Saturday’s running, promoting Block to second overall.
“It was a bummer for us, especially as a team, with Patrick and us debuting the new car, for the gearbox to go,” team mate and fellow RC2 competitor Alastair Scully said. “That was a huge disappointment. We tried to get a new gearbox for the new car overnight, and the wheel fell off the road car that was bringing it up.”
Behind the leading trio on Friday, a compelling battle unfolded between 2022 Sno*Drift overall winner Piatkowski and co-driver Mantopoulos in their Naturally Aspirated Four-Wheel-Drive (NA4WD) MAP Rally Team Subaru Impreza, and Javier Castro and Ezequiel Garcia in RC COMPETITION’s RC2-class Audi A1 Maxx Rally.
The lack of traction initially favored Piatkowski’s home-built Subaru, but Castro responded quickly, taking control by SS2 as the two crews traded times through the night stages. By the end of Friday, Piatkowski had regained the upper hand, starting Saturday in third overall following Gruszka’s retirement.
Saturday morning saw Pastrana continue to lead, but with Block and Castro steadily increasing their pressure as their confidence grew despite the slippery conditions. That fight came to a head on SS14, when Pastrana slid off the road and became stuck in a snowbank for over 20 minutes. The No. 199 Subaru was eventually recovered with assistance from the L4WD MINI JCW Countryman ALL4 of Luis Perocarpi and Mark Wells, but the delay dropped Pastrana eight positions down the order.
With two stages remaining, Block led the rally, while just 4.2 seconds separated Castro in second from Piatkowski in third.
The rally’s decisive moment came on SS16, the ARA Power Stage. Just 100 meters from the finish, the timing belt on Block’s Fiesta Rally3 failed, leaving her stranded on stage. Spectators assisted in pushing the car across the line.
Further controversy followed at the final control, where multiple competitors reported an illegal service attempt by RC COMPETITION as Castro’s Audi entered the previous service. While Castro initially won the rally on the road, post-event penalties and steward inquiries ultimately led to the exclusion of the No. 367 Audi for illegal service infractions, as well as outside assistance. Under ARA regulations, competitors are prohibited from working on their cars or receiving outside assistance within a control zone, infractions the No. 367 Audi is alleged to have committed.
Block was also excluded from the results due to an alleged outside assistance infraction within the finish control zone of the final stage, a decision that the team intends to protest.
"It is what it is,” Block told DirtFish after the rally. “Rally is very fun some days and very cruel on others."
As a result, Piatkowski and Mantopoulos were elevated to the top step of the overall podium for the second time at Sno*Drift, once again demonstrating the value of consistency and reliability in the event’s unforgiving conditions.
“We had a rally-long battle with Javier, trading stage times, and having so much fun, but I feel gutted for Lia and Javier. I’ve been on the receiving end of penalties, and it’s just not a nice situation for anyone to be in. But in this sport, a successful weekend is not always just about fast stage times. The reality is, they both suffered mechanical issues, which caused their penalties, and we were there to pick up the pieces.”
Behind them, Sean Donnelly and Zach Pfeil secured second overall and victory in the combined LN4 classification in their Garage 126 Renault Clio Rally3. During podium celebrations, Donnelly also collected a $5,000 prize as the 2025 Pirelli Privateer Cup winner, an annual award program introduced last season to recognize top-performing national competitors without factory backing.
Winning the RC2 class and classified third overall, Scully and Stefan Trajkov delivered a measured and consistent performance in their Green APU–backed Hyundai i20 R5, marking Scully’s best-ever finish at Sno*Drift.
Completing the LN4 podium, GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman and co-driver Ryan Scott claimed third in class in Woodman’s rally debut, piloting an Argonaut Motor Club–prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
“The rally was such a big challenge,” Scully said. “Friday really showed that we were struggling to put grip down. It presents a whole new challenge that’s so different from everything else on the circuit.
“We ended up being pretty happy with some of the times. On Saturday, I kind of found a rhythm and started figuring out how to drive with zero grip and no studs, which is just crazy. We got a top-three stage time, which we were really proud of, and that gave us some motivation.
“I did not think this was going to play out the way it did. Stefan looked at me on the last loop and said, ‘All right, man, we’re three minutes down to Javier. What’s our plan?’ And I told him, ‘I think the only thing we can do is just let the rally play out. We’ll keep driving our drive, and whatever happens, happens.’ What a wild way to get my first overall podium, the last thing I expected, and a win in RC2. I can’t wait to get into my new car at 100 Acre Wood and see what we can do. It really shows the difference between the Rally2 cars and the R5s.”
Nykanen Takes Second Straight Sno*Drift, MINI Podiums in First National Outing
The 2025 ARA Ken Block Rookie of the Year Award winner once again proved his snow-driving credentials in the opening round of his second National Championship campaign. Piloting an updated BMW 328i featuring a new titanium exhaust system, Matthew Nykanen and co-driver William Ross delivered a dominant performance at Sno*Drift, winning 14 of the rally’s 16 stages in the Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) class and claiming maximum points toward the 2026 championship.
“I’m feeling ecstatic after Sno*Drift.” Nykanen said. “Fantastic start to the year, and one wild ride to break in the new co-driver—Haha! The car felt great, and it's a nice jump on points going into the season. The extra power was pretty fun; it felt like I was trying to play Mozart with sledgehammers for fingers sometimes on that ice out there, but the cup of luck didn't run out and we made it through.”
Richo Healey and Michelle Miller initially challenged for second in class, but an issue on SS5 cost them more than half an hour, promoting the MINI Cooper John Cooper Works of Cristian Perocarpi and Carlos Schrunder into second position.
A brief off on SS12 dropped Perocarpi back behind Andy Cowan and John Vinti, who moved into second in their Volkswagen Jetta VR6 and held the position through to the finish.
Despite the setback, and from a high-traction road racing background, Perocarpi and Schrunder recovered to second in class due to a penalty on Cowan, showing notable pace gains over the remaining stages and earning MINI its first-ever podium finish in an American Rally Association National event.
“First of all I want to start off by thanking all the fans that came out,” Cristian Perocarpi said. “I really didn’t know what to expect coming into Sno*Drift. It’s only the third rally of my career, so I’m still learning it all.
“Friday’s night stages were epic and super tricky. We knew we needed to stay on the road but also try to keep the speed up if we wanted to be there at the end of the rally. We definitely had some ‘moments’ but kept it on the road.
“Saturday we knew it was going to be tricky on tire choice. Either go on a snow tire for the deep snow that we knew was out there or try to predict that it would ice over. Well, everyone knows it iced over!
“Definitely the sketchiest driving I have ever done. The easier corners were now super difficult, and the brake zones were straight ice. We were cooking pretty good until the end of SS12, where we had a small off that resulted in us getting stuck. We knew we had lost all the time we had worked hard to get. After service I knew that I needed to attack even though the conditions were going to be worse.
“The two-door MINI JCW handled great and gave me everything I needed to get the job done. We were relieved to finish and realized that we had got back all the spots we had lost. I’m super happy to podium at our first national event as a team and very thankful to MINI and the team around me for giving me everything I needed to succeed!”
Cowan and Vinti’s five-minute penalty for performing an illegal service is currently under protest.
Escuderia Boricua Rally Fights Motion Sickness and Makes Final Stage Pass to Win L2WD
In the Limited Two-Wheel-Drive (L2WD) class, long-time competitors Santiago Iglesias and Robert Kassel secured a dramatic last-stage victory in their Escuderia Boricua Rally Subaru BRZ after running second for nearly the entire event.
Despite Kassel battling worsening motion sickness during Friday night’s stages—and completing the final miles of SS8 without notes—the crew elected not to withdraw. Instead, they pressed on, staying within reach of the leading 2007 Lexus IS250 of Ryan McGrath and Crystina Coats.
After holding second throughout the rally, Iglesias and Kassel finally moved into the lead on the ARA Power Stage, where a 20.6-second advantage on the stage translated into a winning margin of just 15.1 seconds.
“The icier it got, I think my experience came in handy, and I could push hard where there was grip,” Iglesias said. “I was too cautious on Friday, but my car didn’t seem to like the inconsistent grip. I had a lot more fun on the second pass Saturday.”
“It was a very difficult but rewarding rally,” Kassel added. “Everything felt great at the start on Friday, but I unfortunately got very ill as the night went on. We planned to put a different co-driver in the car, but I made the last-second decision to get back in the car today and avoid withdrawing. I’m glad I did. Today was difficult, but we stuck to our plan and leveraged our experience to get the win.”
McGrath and Coats finished second in class, while Stepan and Bohdan Kravets completed the L2WD podium in their 2014 Ford Fiesta ST.
Subaru Privateers Earn Awards for Performance
As part of Subaru’s longstanding and ongoing support of American Rally, the Subaru “For the Love of Rally” Award provides cash prizes for the top-three-finishing non-factory Subarus at each ARA National round.
At Sno*Drift, Piatkowski won the top prize of $1000 by taking first overall in his humble GC Impreza.
Notably, first time rallyist Nick Woodman took home a $500 prize for his performance in the Argonaut Motor Club-prepared GoPro Subaru that he drove to a class podium.
“Sno*Drift exceeded my expectations on every level, and I learned first-hand the importance of having an ace co-driver to succeed. My co-driver, Ryan Scott’s coaching and mentorship is the reason we achieved such a strong result, hammering home how important teamwork is in rally and how that makes it such unique form of motorsport. Huge thanks to the entire Argonaut team for providing us with such a capable and reliable Subaru for the event.”
Finally, Erik and Jordan Beutow were the third-highest finishing Subaru in their 2008 NA4WD Impreza, earning $250 for their efforts.
Pelizzari Earns Hard-Fought Sixth Sno*Drift Super Regional Victory
Jimmy Pelizzari, driving the No. 887 Blind Deer Rallysport L4WD 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, once again proved why he is the benchmark for Sno*Drift’s Super Regional Rally. Run concurrently with the National event and contesting every stage except the Power Stage, the Super Regional has long been Pelizzari’s domain.
A five-time winner entering the weekend, Pelizzari’s experience on Northern Michigan’s low-grip roads was evident once again. Joined this year by co-driver Bryce Proseus, Blind Deer Rallysport emerged victorious—but not without a fight.
Early honors went elsewhere, as Gabe Jacobsohn and Jason Hack led the Super Regional field after SS1 in their L4WD 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Close behind were Sam Jacques and Kyle Cooper in their NA4WD 2006 Subaru Impreza, followed by Camden Sheridan and Jeremy Frey in a NA4WD 1999 Subaru Impreza.
Pelizzari and Proseus didn’t hit their stride until SS3, where they claimed their first stage win and jumped from fourth to second—passing Jacques on pace and inheriting position after an off for Jacobsohn.
SS5 marked the turning point, as the No. 887 moved into the overall lead. Sheridan later fell down the order after losing more than 20 minutes on SS7. Friday night ended with Pelizzari leading, Jacques in second, and Tim Michel and Zachary Goldstein holding third in their NA4WD 1996 Audi A4 Quattro.
Saturday appeared to be shaping up comfortably for Pelizzari until SS10, when the Subaru met a not-so-soft snowbank. The impact triggered a RallySafe alert and caused significant damage, including a destroyed rear wing, torn-off bumper, and a heavily dented rear door.
Despite the damage, Pelizzari and Proseus persevered through the final five stages to secure yet another Sno*Drift Super Regional victory.
Behind them, Jacques and Cooper finished second overall and claimed the NA4WD class win despite a challenging weekend.
“What a rough weekend,” Jacques said. “We did everything in our power to throw it away, and somehow managed to squeak out a class win. On SS10 we looped out and punched a log into our radiator, pushing it into the front drive, but we managed to hold out. Tough conditions, but slower is faster, and we got back to the top of the box in NA4WD.”
Second in NA4WD and third overall went to Michel and Goldstein in the Audi, while Sheridan and Frey completed the NA4WD podium.
In the L4WD class, Tom Mayer and Dillon McKenna finished second behind Pelizzari as the only other finishers in the category, piloting their 2002 Subaru WRX.
Nonacks Impress Yet Again in 2WD
Chris and Sara Nonack of the ANY% Rally Team are no strangers to the top step of the podium, and Sno*Drift 2026 was no exception. The duo dominated the Super Regional L2WD category, winning every stage in class, and finishing ahead of all Super Regional O2WD competitors as well.
Driving their L2WD 2013 Subaru BRZ, the Nonacks placed an impressive fifth overall out of 16 Super Regional entries. National L2WD winner Santiago Iglesias even noted that had the two teams been entered in the same category, the Nonacks would have emerged victorious.
“These were the best Sno*Drift conditions we’ve seen in our years attending the event,” Chris Nonack said. “We tried to make the most of them and had a ton of fun playing with the varying grip levels and fresh snow.
“The spectator turnout was awesome too. The traditional Bonfire Alley party just spread out to a bunch of different corners instead. Huge thanks to all of the volunteers. The cold was brutal this weekend, and everyone who endured it to make this happen is a hero.”
Luke Quilliams and Eric Dieterich finished second in class with their former LeMons L2WD 2002 Ford Focus, marking the car’s stage rally debut. Sixteen-year-old Imogen Thompson earned her first podium, taking third in her Ford Fiesta, alongside her co-driver Steve Harrell.
The Open Two-Wheel-Drive (O2WD) class victory went to the striking 1981 Porsche 911 SC of Larry Parker and Elisha Papanicolaou, who led the class from start to finish despite the event marking the car’s first-ever rally outing. The visually stunning Porsche was a fan favorite while also proving competitive and reliable throughout the weekend.
Scott James and Michelle Donovan held second in class in their 2008 Volkswagen GTI through SS10, but were eventually overtaken by Chase Blakely and Michael Callaway in their 2000 Volkswagen GTI GLX, who claimed second at the finish. James and Donovan rounded out the regional O2WD podium in third.
Complete Sno*Drift results: https://www.americanrallyassociation.org/event-results
~Mason Runkel for the ARA