Prior to the event the Detroit Lakes region had suffered several months of dry weather, raising concerns about dust before rain appeared in the forecast.
Ojibwe Forests Rally is known for its sandy soil, a favorite of Pastrana who entered the event with six overall wins in the Minnesota forests.
Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino won their second straight Ojibwe Forests Rally event, mathematically locking up the 2021 American Rally Association championship in the process.
The victorious pair celebrated their fourth event win of the 2021 season and fifth total since joining forces for the first time at Ojibwe in 2020.
Teammates Brandon Semenuk and John Hall suffered a roll during pre-event shakedown, unfortunately ending their event before it began due to damage to the car.
Morning rains meant Pastrana and Gelsomino had to exercise caution on Saturday’s five forest stages before making the transit back to Detroit Lakes for the two half-mile super special stages to close the event.
Pastrana entered the weekend knowing that only a victory would assure his sixth U.S. national rally title.
Co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino, a two-time national champion in the Open 2WD class, came into Ojibwe looking to cement her first title in the top-spec Open 4WD class.
With a solid lead in hand, the #199 crew continued to push for the remainder of Friday, sweeping the day’s eight stages to build the margin to over a minute.
The Vermont SportsCar crew kept Pastrana’s WRX STI running flawlessly all weekend.
Pastrana and Gelsomino took an early lead on Friday’s first two stages, taking 40 seconds out of primary rivals Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino.
Saturday’s stages brought variable weather as well as the Height O’ Land stage with its iconic road snaking between two lakes.
