The 2021 American Rally Association National calendar has been announced, with a one-day Sno*Drift event and a revamped Lake Superior Rally among just some of the changes.
Off the back of a heavily disrupted 2020 season due to the outbreak of COVID-19, ARA organizers have elected to issue a number of changes to the new calendar, with Sno*Drift moving from its traditional January slot to mid-February as well as switching from a two-day to a single-day event.
Nine National events will be held next season, with six Regional and five Super Regional rallies bringing the total to 20 ARA events across the year.
The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood retains its customary mid-March date before the National series heads to Shelton, Washington for the Olympus Rally in April and Oregon Trail Rally a month later.
The Southern Ohio Forest Rally has also made the 2021 calendar following a successful inaugural year as a National event this year. The SOFR was a three-day event in 2019 but moved to a one-day affair this year; for 2021, it will be held over two days.
Unchanged events New England Forest and Susquehannock Trail Performance Rallies sandwich a new-look Ojibwe Forests Rally, before the season concludes with a revamped Lake Superior Performance Rally, at its new home of Marquette, Michigan.
Photo: David Cosseboom
Speaking about the new calendar, ARA competition director, Preston Osborn said: “We were very fortunate to be able to rally this past year, but we plan to be at full strength in 2021.
“We know the event organizers are working towards normalcy, and we expect minimal impact heading into the new year.”
Headlining the 11 regional events will be five Super Regionals, with the two-day rallies expected to field larger entries than the Nationals.
The season begins with the Empire State Performance Rally in New York on the weekend of May 1-2, with Rally Colorado moving to the beginning of June and Idaho Rally International reverting to its traditional July date.
The New York Forest Rally – organized by a team including ARA National champion Barry McKenna -will take over the first weekend of October before the ARA season concludes with the Show-Me Rally in late October.
“We are really excited to expand our Regional and Super Regional schedules,” Osborn added.
“We will continue to expand the opportunities for our teams to race, and especially for our regional teams to be successful within the ARA.”
Provisional 2021 ARA National Championship schedule
February 20: Sno*Drift (Atlanta, Mich.)
March 19-20: Rally in the 100 Acre Wood (Salem/Potosi, Mo.)
April 24-25: Olympus Rally (Shelton, Wash.)
May 21-23: Oregon Trail Rally (Portland, Ore.)
June 11-12: Southern Ohio Forest Rally (Chillicothe, Ohio)
July 30-31: New England Forest Rally (Bethel, Maine)
August 27-28: Ojibwe Forests Rally (Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
September 17-18: STPR (Wellsboro, Penn.)
October 15-16: LSPR (Marquette, Mich.)
Provisional 2021 ARA Super Regional Championship schedule
May 1-2: ESPR (Narrowsburg, N.Y.)
June 5-6: Rally Colorado (Rangely, Colo.)
July 10-11: Idaho Int. Rally (Idaho City, Ida.)
October 2-3: New York Forest Rally (Monticello, N.Y.)
October TBD: Show-Me Rally (Potosi, Mo.)
Provisional 2021 ARA Regional Championship schedule
May 22: Missouri Ozark Rally (Eminence, Mo.)
July 19: Summer Sno*Drift (Atlanta, Mich.)
July TBD: Headwaters Rally (Duquette, Minn.)
October TBD: Tour de Forest (Shelton, Wash.)
November 6: Rally Nevada (Tonopah, Nev.)
December 4: Nemadji Trail Rally (Duquette, Minn.)
