Subaru Motorsports WRX Victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally Clinches 2025 ARA Championship

The American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship isn’t finished yet, with two more competitions remaining this season. However, the championship itself has already been decided, and Ewing Subaru of Plano is proud to tell you that Subaru has claimed it. At the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Detroit Lakes, Itasca, and Park Rapids, MN, Brandon Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams drove their WRX to the overall victory, earning enough points to secure their fourth consecutive American Rally Association National Championship. 

The Ojibwe Forests Rally spans three days of competition: starting with a spectator stage on Thursday evening at Soo Pass Ranch, followed by two full days of racing on the sandy forest roads of Detroit Lakes, Itasca, and Park Rapids. The short opening stage on the first day gave spectators an early glimpse of the high speeds expected, setting the tone for a fiercely competitive event on Friday and Saturday. 

“Ojibwe is a really fun rally – a fast and tricky one – lots of jumps, and corners over jumps. [It was a] big job for me and probably a bigger job for Keaton, with how fast the notes are. We tried to minimize risk on this one with the goal being to get the points and wrap the championship,” said Semenuk after the event 

On Friday morning, Semenuk kicked off the competition with a stage win. However, the challenge quickly arose as Conner Martell, driving a Skoda Fabia RS, responded strongly over the next two stages and took the lead by the end of the first loop. The afternoon sessions favored the Subaru team, with Semenuk winning three of four stages, narrowing the gap.  

The tide turned when the Skoda suffered a tire puncture, giving Semenuk the opportunity to take the overall lead at the end of the day. Meanwhile, WRX driver Travis Pastrana was involved in his own fight; a tire puncture cost him significant time, and a power steering failure during the last three stages gave Pastrana an unplanned workout with his upper arms. Despite these setbacks, the seasoned competitor pushed through and finished with a commendable second-place overall. 

Saturday morning was cooler, with scattered rain showers accumulating on the surface of the sandy terrain. Early in the event, pressure increased on Semenuk’s lead as his margin started to diminish. The pivotal moment came when Martell had a major mishap, changing the race’s lead battle. Semenuk also faced challenges, including a power steering failure, but his time advantage stayed intact. After consistent effort till the end, the defending champion finally won the rally and secured the 2025 ARA National Championship title.

The rally concluded in downtown Bemidji, where enthusiasts gathered in the streets for a thrilling finish beneath the glow of Lake Bemidji. Subaru’s 1-2 sweep across two classes showcased both the team’s speed and resilience, while the championship result added another historic chapter to Subaru’s unmatched rally legacy. 

The championship has been decided, but the Subaru teams continue to Tennessee for the Overmountain Rally from September 19 to 21. Their WRX vehicles are modified versions of the WRX sold at Ewing Subaru in Plano. In fact, WRX stands for World Rally eXperimental and was a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive version of the Impreza built for rally racing.   

The showroom stock WRX can’t be driven directly from the showroom to an ARA rally course, but it gets you quite a ways there with a 241-hp 2.4-liter Boxer-4, high-performance all-wheel drive, a choice of manual or automatic transmission, and plenty of other high-performance hardware to give you a good sense of what makes this car a constant Rally champion.