New cars, new drivers, and a new champion.
Arguably the most anticipated season in recent American Rally Association National Championship history gets underway this weekend at Sno*Drift Rally.
The form book has been blown wide open in 2026, with four-time champ Brandon Semenuk rallying elsewhere this season and 2025 vice-champion Conner Martell following suit.
Subaru Motorsports USA has also elected not to replace Semenuk and run an Open 4WD car – instead represented solely by Travis Pastrana’s Limited 4WD machine – meaning the RC2 class is set to come to the fore.
Toyota will bring its all-new GR Corolla RC2 (driven by Seth Quintero) to the series from next month’s 100 Acre Wood Rally, Patrick Gruszka and Alastair Scully will benefit from Hyundai Customer Racing support and many others are promising to join the battle.
For Gruszka, this unpredictability only serves to strengthen this year’s ARA.
Gruszka and Scully will debut latest-spec i20 N Rally2s at Sno*Drift
“For the longest time I was sort of a little bit demotivated in a rally championship because there wasn’t much you could really do, but I’ve got this reignited love for the sport and passion to get back into it,” he told DirtFish. “I can’t wait to get back into the car.
“For the first time ever, it feels like you can really be excited to watch every single round of the ARA, because it’s not like you have an Open 4 car blowing the entire field up by four minutes and everybody else fighting for second, third and fourth – which has always been an exciting battle to watch.
“And so I think this year going into it, everybody’s wondering who’s going to actually step up, develop up, improve and show what they can really do. And I think the American level has been proven with Conner Martell going over to France and hanging on to his own, and Brandon Semenuk fighting with Esapekka Lappi who’s a Rally1 driver that’s been at the top consistently, it goes to show that the ARA is no joke.
“We’re here to fight on our own, make Hyundai proud and try and bring an overall championship to them.”
Who’s competing at Sno*Drift?
Pastrana has the opportunity to become the most successful driver ever in the history of Sno*Drift Rally, as he and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino line up in their factory Subaru WRX ARA25L.
Pastrana has won the event four times before – the same number as old rival David Higgins – with his last victory falling in 2021; the year he last won the championship.
Pastrana last won Sno*Drift in 2021
But Gruszka and co-driver Florian Barral must surely be among the favorites too. While the 22-year-old has never won an ARA National event, he’s a two-time and reigning RC2 class champion and spies an early opportunity to score points with some of his rivals absent.
Team-mate Scully ended his 2025 strongly with a Regional victory at LSPR and is hunting the RC2 class title this year, while Javier Castro brings the Audi A1 to the party. Don’t discount Mark Piatkowski either – the 2022 Sno*Drift winner making his first ARA start since 2024 in his Subaru Impreza 2.5RS.
A big battle is expected between the Rally3s too, which could be ultra-competitive with their lower horsepower. Lia Block makes a welcome return to ARA alongside Alex Gelsomino in a Ford Fiesta for what will be her first Sno*Drift, with Sean Donnelly taking her on in a Renault Clio. They’re in the same L4WD class as Pastrana’s Subaru.
Matthew Nykanen (BMW 328i), Richo Healey (Lexus IS350) and Andrew Cowan (Volkswagen Jetta VR6) are the top Open 2WD seeds, while other notable entrants include GoPro CEO Nick Woodman who makes his stage rally debut in an L4WD Impreza.
Mini in the mix
Toyota isn’t the only new brand entering ARA, with Mini adding another exciting dimension to the 2026 season.
Mini US is backing Luis and Cristian Perocarpi, who'll drive a Countryman and Cooper JCW respectively
The Mini John Cooper Works Race Team, with backing from Mini USA, will contest a full National campaign with father and son duo Luis and Cristian Perocarpi behind the wheel.
Both drivers made appearances at Regional events Show Me Rally and Nemadji Trail Winter Rally, with father Luis steering an L4WD Countryman All4 and Cristian an O2WD Cooper JCW.
The challenge
Sno*Drift is a totally unique rally in not just the ARA, but the entire world.
Held on snow and ice (the only National event to do so), studded tires are forbidden due to Michigan state law, making the rally a true test of skill, patience and bravery.
“I think all the slower cars are fast, and all the faster cars are slow,” said RC2 driver Scully.
“For me it’s a game of being able to put traction down, and it’s 100% a game of tire choice. Guys with less power and less torque can put it down and that tends to work a lot better.
“As a driver you have to adapt a ton – be really smooth with the inputs, which doesn’t always compute in a rally car. It’s a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to doing it in an FIA-homologated car.”
Sixteen stages and 108 competitive miles will decide this year’s season-opener, which runs on February 6/7.
