Subaru Wins Oregon Trail Rally

Rally racing and Subaru go hand-in-hand, and the global success of Subaru Imprezas in rally racing as a whole since replacing the Subaru Legacy as the preferred vehicle of choice in the World Rally Championship in 1993. 

Success Every Year

In the American Rally Association series, Subaru Motorsports USA have won 5 of the past 6 seasons of championships, and with that level of success, it is easy to see why Subaru are willing and able to dedicate so much of their efforts towards this rally series. 

In May, the racing team won the coveted Oregon Trail Rally, taking a win in each stage of the total of 19 for the event, allowing them to lead from start to finish for the entirety of the race. 

Leading The Whole Way

The 2023 Subaru Motorsports USA team consists of Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams as driver and co-driver. The start of the rally event took place on a Friday night with two stages at the Portland International Raceway. Semenuk and Williams were able to take a 28.4-second lead over the competition in front of excited spectators. When Saturday rolled around, the ambient temperature reached the upper 80s, meaning that the heat inside the rally cars would be even higher. Because of their stage wins the previous evening, Brandon and Keaton were starting from first. This forced them to be the car that would be sweeping the dust and dirt as well as throwing the rocks and debris off the road for the competition behind them, giving themselves less of an edge. Basically, it’s good when someone goes before you because they’re able to create a path. Think of driving in the snow. It’s always easiest when a truck or other vehicle has created a driving lane with their tires. But this didn’t stop Subaru from gaining a near-4 minute lead over the other drivers at the 10th and final stage of the day. 

On the final day, temperatures had dropped, and stages 11 and 12, named Boyd Loop and Shadow Buck, went swimmingly. However, at stage 13, known as Nagle’s Revent, the dust was pretty bad. The day only got rougher and took more of a toll on the Subaru WRX STI, but luckily it walked away with just a cracked bumper and dented fender. Stage 11 turned out to be the fastest of all for the Subaru Motorsports team, and Brandon Semenuk went on to say, “We had a blast today. A lot of fast stages. I think the overall speed was like, almost 80 mph – fast. The car is in great shape, it’s got a week back in the shop before we head to Ohio so it will be tip-top for the next round,”

For the 2023 rally season, the Subaru Motorsports USA team has won all four of the season’s races, with four more rounds to go. The next round will be the Southern Ohio Forest Rally from June 8-10.  

Let Us Assist You

If you find yourself interested in a new or pre-owned Subaru to have your own adventures in, whether that be rallying, or camping, Centennial Subaru will do the best job possible to help you get what you need.