11 Apr Empire State Performance Rally to Join 2019 ARA East Region Championship

Originally written for the American Rally Association website here.

Narrowsburg, NY (April 11, 2019)

American Rally Association (ARA) and Empire State Performance Rally (ESPR) officials are happy to announce the addition of the New York event to the 2019 ARA calendar. Scheduled for October 25-26 in Narrowsburg, NY, ESPR will be a Super Regional event within the ARA East Region Championship.

Based in New York’s Hudson Valley Region near the Delaware River and the state border with Pennsylvania, ESPR has been a tradition in the region for 7 years. The rally’s proximity to Manhattan makes it a popular event for drivers from the NY Tri-State Area and for teams looking to take on more stage miles after September’s National Rally Championship Presented by AMSOIL stop in nearby Wellsboro, PA.

For 2019, ESPR will feature 73 miles of dirt and gravel stage road along a 165 mile route through land owned by the Boy Scouts of America. Divided into 14 stages, the quick tests of the rally will challenge drivers to master variable weather and stage conditions. Snow, rain, tropical storms, and dry sunshine all have an equal chance of occurring in the area, and teams need to be ready for any situation.

For the fans, ESPR will offer spectator viewing locations along 10 of its 14 stages in 2019. Stage-side rally fans will be able to see the action up close at 5 different spectator areas, and the event’s tight layout makes traveling between those locations a breeze.

“We’re really looking forward to this year’s rally and can’t wait to see if Paddy and Matt make it 4 for 4,” said ESPR Chairwoman Fran Gager. “Joining with ARA is an exciting step in growing ESPR. We’re happy to become part of the series.”

In recent years, the event has been dominated by the fast Mitsubishi Evo IX of Paddy Brennan and Matt James. Limited 4WD class winners at last month’s 100 Acre Wood Rally, the RKT Motorsports team scored an ESPR hat trick last year with their third win in a row at the event. With the defending winners likely to return and defend their streak, the level of competition at ESPR 2019 promises to be high.

The rally joins the 2019 ARA season as it’s third Super Regional event for the year. Super Regional rallies are a new event classification for events that fall in-between national rallies and one-day regional rallies in scope. While not a national championship stop, Super Regional events like ESPR will optionally award competitors with 50{35d58eeb8b49444ad810a23b95fe22fb037ffcdad0061d8ef06091e66aa30395} national championship points. For teams not chasing the national championship, ESPR is part of the 2019 ARA East Region Championship.

More details about ESPR 2019 and how to register as a competitor or volunteer will be announced closer to the rally’s October 25th start date. In the meantime, check out the ESPR website at esprally.com to learn more about the history of the event.

The 2019 ARA season is packed to the gills with the best rallies America has to offer. 9 stops in the National Rally Championship Presented by AMSOIL, 3 Super Regional events, and 6 One-Day Regional rallies make this season ARA’s largest yet. For more information on the 18-event 2019 ARA season, go to americanrallyassociation.org/schedule.

We’ll see you in 6 months time on the ESPR stages.

The updated 2019 ARA calendar:

2019 ARA National Rally Championship Presented by AMSOIL

Sno*Drift Rally

January 25 – 26, 2019
 

100 Acre Wood Rally

March 15 – 16, 2019
 

Olympus Rally

April 27 – 28, 2019
 

Oregon Trail Rally

May 31 – June 2, 2019

Idaho Rally International

June 22 – 23, 2019
 

New England Forest Rally

July 19 – 20, 2019
 

Ojibwe Forests Rally

August 23 – 24, 2019
 

Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally

September 13 – 14, 2019
 

Lake Superior Performance Rally

October 18 – 19, 2019

ARA Super Regional Events

Southern Ohio Forest Rally

May 16 – 18, 2019

Tour de Forest Rally

September 21, 2019

Empire State Performance Rally

October 25-26, 2019

ARA One-Day Regional Events

Nemadji Trail Rally I

December 1, 2018

Missouri Ozark Rally

February 2, 2019

Headwaters Rally

TBA May, 2019

Summer Sno*Drift

August 3, 2019

Show-Me Rally

October 5, 2019

Nemadji Trail Rally II

December 7, 2019