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| Coming into STPR® 2022 are American Rally Association National Championship point leaders, Brandon Semenuk |
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Photo by Tim McBride Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew fly through the mud on the Waste Management stage during STPR® 2019. |
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| Coming into STPR® 2022 are American Rally Association National Championship point leaders, Ken Block |
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| Coming into STPR® 2022 are American Rally Association National Championship point leaders, Travis Pastrana |
This year marks the 44th running of the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® (STPR®), which returns to north central Pennsylvania and Wellsboro, home of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17.
STPR® is round eight of nine in the 2022 American Rally Association National Championship series presented by AMSOIL and counts in the ARA’s Eastern Regional Championship.
For the first time in its history, STPR® was moved in 2019 from its traditional early weekend in June to mid-September. Because it was closer to the finish of the national championship series, the excitement for fans and rally competitors increased.
Due to the pandemic, STPR® was cancelled in 2020, breaking its 43 consecutive year run. In 2021, STPR® ran only as an ARA Eastern Regional Championship event because of the loss of forestry roads, which led to the cancellation of its national event.
“Thanks to our partners and supporters, STPR® is back in the forest as a full National American Rally Association Performance Rally, which is drawing premiere national and regional rally teams to our area,” said Julie Henry, executive director of the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce.
“State Representative Clint Owlett, Waste Management, Inc., Patterson’s Lumber and the Bureau of Forestry worked with STPR® organizers to make this happen,” Henry said. “Supporting that effort were the Tioga County Commissioners, our state and federal legislators and businesses in Wellsboro and other areas.
“Wellsboro welcomes all to enjoy STPR® 2022,” said Henry. “There are two full days of competition with multiple spectator areas along the course that includes both traditional routes and some new ones.”
Coming into the Wellsboro rally, Subaru Motorsports USA’s Brandon Semenuk currently holds the lead with 116 national drivers’ championship points after round seven of the ARA series. Ken Block is close behind with 112 points. Also in the championship hunt is Travis Pastrana with 95 points.
Rally headquarters will be at the Tioga County Fairgrounds in Whitneyville, near Wellsboro.
The 2022 course totals 366.95 miles, including 233.03 transit miles and 133.92 competitive miles.
There will be spectator areas from which to view high-speed racing action on both the Friday and Saturday forest stages, as well as special stages that will also offer close-up rally viewing at Waste Management on Friday.
STPR® will start on Friday (Day 1) at 8:30 a.m. when the first car leaves the service area at the fairgrounds to transit to the course. In the forest at the Asaph Picnic Area spectator area, fans will see the cars come through the sharp 90-degree right-hander on the Asaph stage in the morning and again in the afternoon.
Also on Friday, event sponsor Waste Management will host two stages of the rally on its expansive grounds just outside of Wellsboro in Duncan Township. The exciting jump stage where cars can travel up to 125 feet in the air will be run twice on Friday afternoon. Fans can view rally action from the Jump and Pit Mound spectator areas at the Waste Management Complex. Portable bathrooms will be available. Admission is $5 per person at the gate. Children under 8 and active military personnel with identification will be admitted free. Parking at Waste Management is free. As always with the forest spectator areas there are no fees.
Saturday (Day 2) will begin with the Parc Expose around The Green, a park located in the heart of downtown Wellsboro. Between 9 a.m. and noon, the rally cars will be parked on Pearl and Charles streets that border The Green to give fans the opportunity to see the cars up close, chat with the drivers and co-drivers, take some selfies and get some autographs.
During the Parc Expose, the competing rally cars will line up for the ceremonial start on Main Street in front of the Tioga County Courthouse. At 10:31 a.m., the first car will leave Main Street followed in one-minute intervals by the others.
They will transit to the Joerg stage, home to the popular 12 Mile Spectator Area. Note that there is a new longer route for spectators to get to the 12 Mile spectator area, but it is worth the trip, according to organizers.
The Cushman spectator area on the Randall stage in the forest gives fans both a morning and an afternoon opportunity to see the cars slide through this fast switchback.
The Wilson Point spectator area on the Wilson stage is another favorite. The cars come through beginning around noon and again at 3 p.m. and have to maneuver around a hay-bale chicane at a tight corner.
After the final stage, the rally will end with the traditional podium champagne spray at the Tioga County Fairgrounds.
Details are on the event website at www.stpr.org and at the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce office at 570-724-1926.
STPR® Event T-Shirts Available at Wellsboro Chamber
STPR® event T-shirts will be available for purchase from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 15 and 16 and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce office at 114 Main Street in Wellsboro. For more information, call 570-724-1926.
Volunteers are Needed
This year’s return to the forest means more volunteer workers are needed, especially on Friday. Volunteer as an individual, or as a group of family members or friends. Volunteering is the best way to see rally action up close and have direct contact with the competitors.
To volunteer for Friday or Saturday, Sept. 16 or 17 or both, go to the STPR® website for Volunteer Job Descriptions and to register at https://stpr.org/volunteers.
American Rally Association – a different kind of sanctioning body
A sanctioning body, the group that organizes the points championship, creates and enforces the rules, regulates the safety of the event, and insures the rally for liability risks, is a very important part of the weekend. For the fourth year, STPR® decided to team with the American Rally Association (ARA). A member-driven organization dedicated to the sport of Stage Rally, the American Rally Association provides a transparent, inclusive, and growing sanctioning body to competitors throughout America. A 501 (c)(3) non-profit and wholly owned subsidiary of the United States Auto Club (USAC), ARA is led by seasoned Stage Rally professionals who work hand in hand with an experienced board of directors to deliver a framework for safety, competition, promotion, and education for all aspects of the sport. The shared goal of members, volunteers, and the organization is a thriving Stage Rally program in America.
What is STPR and Performance Rally?
The Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® was first conducted by the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA in 1977 with the assistance of members of other sports car clubs in the Rochester, N.Y area. Members of these clubs (Triumph Touring Club, Corvair Owners Club, MG Car Club and others) had experience with previous performance events such as the Snowblower and Lunar Lunge which ran out of Rochester as early as 1965 and were part of the M.O.N.Y. series (Michigan, Ohio and New York), the forerunner of the SCCA Pro Rally series.
In the United States, performance rally teams have a driver and co-driver (or navigator) for each car, and the competitors race in segments (or stages) on closed public roads, trying to get from the beginning to the end of the stage as fast as they can. Unlike other forms of motorsports, there is no practice allowed, and teams are only allowed limited passes to review the course at the public speed limit before the event. In competition, the navigator then barks out the route instructions while the drive proceeds – sometimes at speeds exceeding 100 miles-per-hour – through forest, desert, and logging roads at events around the country. The cars, all street legal to allow driving on public roads between racing stages, are compact and subcompact sports cars with varying amounts of performance modifications depending on the class they are running in. The sight of these cars running at speed through the woods to beat the clock makes exciting spectating for the fans that come out to watch a performance rally.
STPR® was the last of the great endurance events on the national schedule maintaining the one day format and is designed with a high stage/transit mileage ratio and, thanks to the outstanding cooperation of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), some of the best and most demanding roads in the country. With the addition of the Waste Management stages and the Service Areas
at the Tioga County Fairgrounds in Whitneyille and Patterson's Lumber in Galeton. the Rally went to two days in 2008 with two days of forest stages as well as the Waste Management roads.
Complete schedule is on page 6 of the Supplementary Regulations – link below:
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