A fourth crown is within the Subaru driver's reach as the crews head to Minnesota for this week's Ojibwe Forests Rally
Photography by Jacob Halfman
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
Brandon Semenuk is a numbers guy. In Utah last October, he knew five was better than four when it came to Red Bull Rampage wins. In Ojibwe this week, he’s well aware four is better than three as he chases another ARA National Championship presented by Kubota.
To make that happen, he needs a one. And a two. So far in 2025, he’s won four from five, led for 62 stages and set 73 fastest times. All in the pursuit of a third straight successful title defense.
Typically, the Canadian’s staying focused and taking nothing for granted.
“The summer break is over,” he told DirtFish. “I’m looking forward to being back in the car. The goal this weekend isn’t to overreach, we’re in a strong position to wrap up the championship early, so it’s about driving smart and doing what’s needed to get it done.”
Predictably, his co-driver aboard the Subaru Motorsports USA WRX ARA24 Keaton Williams is all over the math.
“Win the rally and finish no lower than second on the powerstage,” is the Englishman’s response, almost before we can get the question out.
Winning rallies is what Semenuk and Subaru do Stateside and there’s nothing to suggest anybody will come close to derailing their collected march towards another title in Minnesota.
Martell's first start in the 2C Škoda didn't go to plan but he's successfully racked up miles since
Ojibwe’s up and running with a brace of spectator stages just south of Detroit Lakes on Thursday evening. The mainstay of the action sits on the gravel roads further north. Friday is two loops of four stages and 64 miles, with a further two loops of four on Sunday before a third – powerstage – run at the Otterkill test and short (0.6 miles) dash around Stanford Center to close the event.
Behind the #1 WRX, there’s a five-strong RC2 contingent with Conner Martell coming into the event fresh from his Boone Forest Rally win aboard his 2C-run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. There’s the usual two Green APU Hyundais for Pat Gruszka and Alastair Scully as well as Javier Olivares’ Ford Fiesta Rally2 and Roberto Yglesias’ Audi.
Travis Pastrana leads the L4WD charge in the WRX ARA25L, with his progress towards this year’s class title potentially eased by nearest rival Sean Donnelly’s decision to move away from the Renault Clio Rally3 in favor of a Peugeot 208 Rally4.
Donnelly will find himself in the thick of a fierce fight for O2WD honors, with Matthew Nykanen looking to return his BMW to the top of the table. Richo Healey will be co-driven as usual by DirtFish’s senior instructor Michelle Miller aboard his Lexus, with Seamus Burke also present in his venerable Ford Escort Mk2.
Words:David Evans
Tags: ARA, ARA 2025, Brandon Semenuk, Ojibwe Forests Rally, Ojibwe Forests Rally 2025
Publish Date August 21, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/08/jXTa7VMd-Jacob-Halfman-SOFR-2025-Sat-SS15-1-780x520.jpg August 21, 2025
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