Prescott, Ariz. ~ The small mountain town of Prescott, Ariz., has long been home to one of the United States' most challenging stage rallies. First introduced in 1985, the Prescott Rally reached national championship status with both the SCCA and Rally America and has long been part of the California Rally Series.
The 2023 Prescott Rally marks the 31st running of the event and its first under the American Rally Association as part of the ARA's West Regional Championship.
Prescott features two days of competition in its return, but each day will be a stand-alone regional with points awarded each day. (The change was made after Rally Nevada and the Oregon Trail Regional cancelations.) Prescott features some of the most scenic rally roads in the country, and once competitors leave downtown, they will encounter elevation changes from 6,000 to 7,000 feet over classic stages such as First View and Witty Tom.
Photo Courtesy of Mack Colwell
The event was scheduled for four stages on Friday, but a public nuisance incident at the start of the final stage caused a cancellation of that stage. Nevertheless, competitors took advantage of the scenic views and fast pace, with current ARA West Regional O2WD points leaders Chris Miller and co-driver Crystina Coats taking the overall (and class) win. Miller drove a very quick SS3, besting the field by an impressive 36secs on the stage to take home the win and his fourth straight rally with a podium in class.
Photo Courtesy of Mack Colwell
Defending West Regional L2WD champion Tim Wickberg (co-driver Matthew Trott) drove his 2016 Subaru BRZ to a win on SS1 before finishing second overall and first in class. It marks his best overall finish since the start of 2022, but Wickberg has also stood atop the L2WD podium in four of his past seven rallies.
Kubo Kordisch (Drew Carlson) secured his best ARA finish since 2019, finishing third overall and second in Limited 2WD. Kordisch piloted his 2015 Ford Fiesta ST to a win on SS2 and led the rally by 2.2 seconds after the first loop. Kordisch held off a charge from Camerion Gholson (Jeremy Agostino) for third by 1.4sec. It was Gholson's first rally with the ARA, and he finished it fourth overall and first in Limited 4WD.
David Peretz (Aron Cohen) was fifth overall on Friday while also winning the NA4WD class. It was Peretz's second straight podium finish, who was second in class (and third overall) at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in August.
Photo Courtesy of Mack Colwell
Scott Crouch (Ryan Scott) finished sixth overall and second in L4WD, as Santiago Caballero (Richard Dickson) was third in class (ninth overall).
Erick Christiansen (Amy Floyd) drove a 1987 Volkswagen Golf GTI to second in O2WD and seventh overall. Tony Chavez (Ryan Bakeman) took third in O2WD.
Photo Courtesy of Mack Colwell
Flynn Baglin (Marc Moscowitz) was sixth overall after the first loop before finishing eighth overall and ending the day first in Open 4WD, his first ARA class win. Arto and Mary Ylikangas were second in O4WD.
Finishing tenth overall was Kurt Northrop (Andres Bautista), who held off Eliza Coleman (Alex Gelsomino) by 10.7secs for second in NA4WD.
Photo Courtesy of Mack Colwell
Jennifer and Terry Stonecipher finished third in L2WD in their first rally since the 2021 Gorman Ridge Rally,
Up next for the American Rally Association is the second day of competition at Prescott on September 30. Saturday's contest will be a separate round as part of the ARA West Regional Prescott Rally in Prescott, Ariz. For more information on the American Rally Association and the Green APU National Rally Championship, go to www.americanrallyassociation.org.