For Immediate Release: June 15, 2020
Speedway, Ind ~ The American Rally Association, presented by AMSOIL and the event organizers are excited to finally restart the 2020 season. The next event is the Southern Ohio Forest Rally (SOFR) scheduled for Saturday, July 18.
Due to the on-going COVID-19 Pandemic, this year’s event will be unique, with many changes from the traditional format. Please read through the event’s Supplementary Regulations, as well as the following to understand how our first summer event will function under new guidelines:
Changes to Registration
Entry for Southern Ohio is set to open this week, with a limit of 75 total cars. Due to a reduced national schedule in 2020, the ARA has implemented a new procedure which will give national teams a 24-hour entry window before regional entries will be allowed to register.
· National entries will open on Wednesday, June 17 at Noon Eastern Time.
· Regional entries will open on Thursday, June 18 at Noon Eastern Time.
· The Subaru Early Entry discount program codes for SOFR are as follows:
o National Entries use: SOHNAT
o Regional Entries use: SOHREG
· There will be no on-site registration available
· All competitors and crew members must be licensed by the ARA
No Public Events
All activities at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. All participants must be licensed by the ARA (competitors, crew members, media, officials and sponsors) or registered and licensed to work as a volunteer. Service Areas and stage access will be strictly limited to these participants with access points controlled. The event operations will be conducted in a manner to comply with social distancing and other public health requirements and recommendations.
· Novice Meeting, Media Meeting and Competitors Briefing and Seeded Draw will be done on-line.
· Competitor Check-In, Reconnaissance Check-In and General Scrutineering (Tech) will have different protocols and will be communicated prior to the event.
· There will be no Parc Expose.
· There will be no awards ceremony.
One Day, Night Rally
Due to the extremely hot weather in Ohio in July, and COVID-19 related requirements, this year’s event will be a one-day, night rally on Saturday, July 18.
· Tech and Recce will be open on Thursday and Friday (see Supps for details)
· The Official Start of SOFR will be at 19:00 ET on Saturday, July 18 and finish approximately at 2:30 am ET on Sunday, July 19.
· The stages will consist of two long stages totaling 16 and 12 miles each.
Volunteer
Officials at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally are still in need of volunteers. If you want to see rally cars on-stage, volunteering is a great way to get involved. Go toa
National championships
With a shortened 2020 National schedule and the cancellation of several events, the ARA has revised its national championship scoring procedures. A bulletin will be published in the next week detailing the following key changes for the national championship:
· The East/West participation requirement is dropped.
· The Overall Championship will be scored using a competitor’s best five finishes.
· The reorganized class championships – LN4, Two Wheel Drive, RC2 – will be scored using a competitor’s best four finishes.
All of us at the ARA, and especially those at with the Southern Ohio Forest Rally thank you for your patience over the past several weeks. We look forward to seeing many of you in Ohio next month. Please stay safe and healthy until then.
Doug Shepherd
ARA Series Manager
