Six days on from an epic World Rally Championship finale in Italy, the ARA National Championship delivered its own astonishing storyline, with Aoife Raftery winning the L4WD title and Seth Quintero taking the overall crown on Saturday’s final stage of the Lake Superior Performance Rally.
Raftery, co-driven by Hannah McKillop, needed a class win and maximum powerstage points to lift her first ARA title in Michigan. The 25-year-old delivered the perfect performance, leading L4WD from start to finish and winning all but one of the event’s 16 stages in the DirtFish Women in Motorsport-liveried Ford Fiesta Rally3.
Talking just moments after securing her first American title, Raftery said: “We knew what we had to do. It couldn’t have been much tighter [in terms of points], even coming into the powerstage, we knew we had to win. We’ve done it, we’ve won the powerstage, the class and the championship.
“I have to say a very big thank you to my co-driver Hannah and, of course, to Josie [Rimmer, DirtFish WiM team manger] as well as the whole team. What a way to finish the year and what a season we’ve had with DirtFish, it’s been class. Thanks to everybody who’s made it happen.”
Raftery’s stellar performance left her close to five minutes ahead of her nearest class rival and an outstanding fifth overall. She also won the Pirelli Privateer Cup, an annual award for the highest placed non-factory team.
Toyota's Californian star Quintero won the ARA National Championship title at his first attempt
The ARA finale was won overall by Conner Martell and his British co-driver Ross Whittock. The Subaru pair were deputizing for the injured Travis Pastrana aboard the Open class Subaru WRX ARA24 and delivered a faultless lights-to-flag victory through the stunning fall colors of the Upper Peninsula.
Second on the event, but lifting the ARA National Championship crown in his rookie season in rallying was Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Seth Quintero.
Arriving into Marquette on the back of a second consecutive World Rally Raid Championship win in Morocco, Quintero’s position was clear: he had to bring his GR Corolla Rally RC2 home ahead of title rival and series leader Lia Block. Co-driven by James Morgan, Quintero built an advantage over Block across the two days, but knew he still had to deliver on the powerstage.
To lift her title and make more history, Block needed third on the rally and third on the powerstage. The 20-year-old was locked-on, aboard the Rockstar Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
In scenes reminiscent of Rally Italy Sardinia on Sunday, the teams and crews watched and waited for Quintero and Block. It was a heartbreaker for Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino, shipping more than a minute with a double left-side puncture on the final 7.6-mile stage of the season.
Quintero took the title by two points.
The Californian said: “It’s been an absolutely amazing year. The team worked so hard with me and was so patient, welcoming and open throughout the whole season. I’m just so thankful to be part of this team, and it was nice to repay all their hard work by bringing home the championship. I’m kind of speechless, to be honest. It’s been an amazing year, and I’m looking forward to doing more in the future, hopefully getting a few more wins and wrapping up a few more championships.”
Block’s third place came as little consolation on an event where her father Ken had come so close to landing the Block family’s maiden overall American title four years ago.
Fellow Hyundai i20 N Rally2 driver Pat Gruszka wrapped up his season with a strong fourth, just over a minute ahead of fifth-placed Raftery, following her dominant L4WD drive.
The top six was rounded out by DirtFish managing director Brenten Kelly, who made his Rally2 debut aboard a Steven Redd Racing-run Ford Fiesta. Kelly, co-driven by Stefan Trajkov, overcame his lack of experience with the car to build his speed through the event and was only slowed by a final-stage puncture.
