As many have noticed our event sanctioning has been an interesting topic to follow.
We spent several years with NASA Rally Sport and are very grateful for what they have provided to both our event as well as Rally in the United States in general.
As of 2018 we as a club voted to move to American Rally Association ARA in an attempt to increase our visibility and attract factory teams.
A recent announcement by ARA that Unites States Auto Club USAC was taking over the day to day operations of ARA. The statement is as follows.
[center]In a move to bring the sport of Rally competition to the
forefront of American motorsports and restore its rich history and legacy in auto racing, the
United States Auto Club (USAC) reached an agreement with the American Rally Association
(ARA) to bring the sport directly under the USAC operations effective immediately.
With added support provided by USAC’s involvement, which includes additional staffing, daily
oversight, technical and marketing operations, the sport of Rally will have a firm foundation
from which it can grow and expand. Additionally, as a member of ACCUS-FIA, USAC brings
needed alignment into world rally sport for ARA in the coming years. New marketing assets will
be a key first step in enhancing the tremendous start ARA achieved in its first year of operation
in 2017.
The American Rally Association, founded in 2016 as a non-profit enterprise, is supported by
leading Rally organizers across the United States. Featuring a national series comprised of
premier Rally events in 2017, ARA’s efforts to create a united effort led by seasoned Rally
enthusiasts proved to be very successful.
“The sport of Rally aligns well within the USAC view of motorsports with its extreme racing
action over dirt roads, through tree-lined forests and led by grassroots passionate racers,”
stated Kevin Miller, CEO of USAC Racing. “While we have sanctioned Rally competition since
2013, this new direction will allow us to increase our focus with additional assets and personnel
to strengthen and unify Rally competition throughout the USA. We are extremely excited to get
to work building on the great start ARA achieved in 2017.”
Since 1956 USAC has proven itself as being the most diversified motorsports sanctioning body
in the world. It is the official sanctioning body of many of today’s largest racing series including
its own suite of circle track series in Sprint, Midget and .25 Midget racing (quarter midgets),
Pirelli World Challenge, Red Bull Global Rallycross, International Snowmobile Racing, Robby
Gordon Stadium Trucks, TORC Off Road Championship, Ultra 4 Racing, Formula Race
Promotions and Karting. USAC has over 17,000 competitors racing at more than 1,000
sanctioned events globally.
Additional announcements are expected in the coming weeks regarding personnel placements,
sponsorship announcements, contingency programs and new marketing initiatives.[/center]
There are several questions this leaves open.
Is ARA going to still be listed as the sanctioning body or will it be USAC?
With the events like Idaho Rally International which has been very open to including vehicles from diverse classes and vehicle types (UTV, Trophy Trucks, Motorcycles, Atv's etc,,) And USAC having those vehicles and many more as part of there sanctioned competitions. Can we expect to see Staged Rally become a much more vehicle diverse sport. Potentially becoming the one sport that is able to truly tie all but the most asphalt specialized vehicles into one arena and letting them compete with each other like they have never been able to before? Can you imagine an 850hp arena trucks competing with sprint cars and UTV's as well as against the likes of Rally greats like Pastrana? Just some thoughts.