Brandon Semenuk won the Lake Superior Performance Rally in and around Marquette, Michigan last week to cap off a perfect season of American Rally Association competition.
It wasn’t even close, neither for the race nor the championship as Semenuk completed the stages in the Upper Peninsula with an accumulated eight-minute margin on the competition and after winning every round during the season.
“Overall, we found a setup early on,” Semenuk told NBC Sports on a brisk afternoon as the driver tested Subaru’s newest rally car. “We had a couple of really good events to begin the season that took the pressure off for sure in terms of the championship hunt. As the season went on, the car was super-reliable.
“And then an exciting end of the year being that we have a new car, which was kind of like the wild card for us. We knew that is was going to be coming at some point in the year and we were hoping we weren’t going to be in a championship battle.
“Taking this risk of bringing a new car to an event and not knowing if a small little issue could put us out of the event. Is it worth it? Is it not? But we had a good lead, so we could take that risk. The performance was spectacular. We took the car to Ojibwe, which was the perfect debut.”
And as incredible as Semenuk’s season was, it’s only part of the story for a driver who may only now be reaching the top of his game.
Driving for the factory Subaru Motorsports USA team, Semenuk and co-driver Keaton Williams won their second consecutive title and gave Subaru a third straight. Travis Pastrana, who will return to the team in 2024, won the ARA championship for Subaru in 2017. Since then, the manufacturer has taken every title with a single exception. Barry McKenna won in 2020 with Semenuk slotting into second.
Semenuk finished third the following year behind teammate Pastrana as Subaru reassumed their dominance. Ken Block was second that year.
But in rally racing, challenges are always there albeit in a slightly different form than oval track aficionados have grown to expect. Being the dominant team means the world is always trying to eat into that advantage. To that end, the sanctioning body massages their rules in an attempt to level the playing field.
Given the narrow and treacherous confines of rally racing, cars start each stage one minute apart. Drivers are forced to race the track, the elements and their own limitations.
“It was definitely a much different season than last year,” Semenuk said of 2023. “We came in and there were some regulation changes to the rules in a direction that was much different than the two years prior, so the cars essentially got slowed down and with the lack of aero, you had less assisting grip. It made the driving style different. It’s a bit more of a raw feeling in the car but you also have less of a safety blanket.
“Air can save you a lot of time. You can throw the car in and carry the speed. In this scenario, you have to modulate the car and be a bit more careful in the fast stuff.
“It changed the balance of the car. When you were really committed and carrying a lot of speed, that aero worked really hard for you and it was pretty impressive what the car was capable of. It’s a couple little carbon pieces that you bolt on and suddenly you’re seeing it in the times and you can feel it as a driver . The car’s getting more grip and you get more confidence and suddenly you’re pushing harder.”
The Key to Competition
The car is an essential part of the equation, but it’s only a part.
There’s not a lot that can be done about one’s competitors. Since the cars are spread out over course with stages up to 10 miles in length and more than 100 overall, drivers cannot do all those little things they can in oval racing to minimize the other’s speed.
And racing the course means having a good set of notes.
Drivers get two passes through each stage in recce sessions. Often this is the first time they ever see a section of the track and it is done in a passenger car at 30 mile per hour. On the first pass, Semenuk tells his co-driver Williams what he is seeing in each turn. On the second pass, Williams repeats those commands and then the two make any adjustments necessary.
MORE: The Perfect Relationship of Driver and Co-Driver
It’s only on race day that Semenuk and Williams see the track at speeds reaching well over 100 m.p.h. - with trees flashing past in a blur and blind corners coming up in a hurry.
“Pace notes, getting them right, will make or break your rally,” Semenuk said. “Having confidence in the car and confidence in your abilities is big, but if you go into it with good pace notes and find a rhythm, you find the right line, that’s how you create this kind of speed.”
Semenuk holds the wheel, but in order to make the transition from 30 m.p.h. to 100 m.p.h. on a claustrophobic course, he needs a little help. That help comes from his co-driver Williams.
“He’s feeling the road through his seat as much as I am,” Semenuk said. “He’s calling the notes and understanding, okay, we just went through that now we’re on the straight or he feels the jump, whatever it is. And he’s kind of just always reading maybe a corner and a half ahead and maintaining that.
"[He’s] making sure the way he delivers the notes, if there’s something to take care on or caution or maybe a don’t cut [the corner]. The way that he is saying that on stage in a way where it’s quickly consumed by me. I can process this while there’s all these other things going on. I’m driving the car and I’m thinking about the road and I’m hearing the notes. He’s kind of almost singing it to me in a way where it’s like, very easy and enjoyable to take in.”
In 2024, Pastrana will return to the series in a second car with Subaru, and if the past is an indication the two drivers will be one another’s closest competition.
