Snowy winter rallies are not strictly the domain of Scandinavians – with some focused googling, you can find some winter rallies taking place in North America. Replete with fast cars sliding around turns, spectacular snow sprays, and adrenaline-junkie drivers and co-drivers, the only thing different is the small clutch of fans. However, the fans that did come to watch at the Waste Management Winter Rally (some family members of the teams and some spectators that came from two hours away simply to watch the rally) were truly hardcore, enduring the 9*F/-12.8*C temperatures of a cold snap and an afternoon of sometimes heavy snow.
In its fourth year, the Waste Management Winter Rally is held on property privately owned by the company in Wellsboro, PA, located in the northerly reaches of Appalachia known as “Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon,” 60 miles southwest of Watkins Glen. Breathtaking views from the winding local routes are punctuated with the occasional house or store, and the frozen rivers snaking through the valleys are dotted with heavily bundled figures ice fishing. Several miles from the Tioga County Fairgrounds, the rugged, rural terrain is ideal for a stage rally.
The final entry list of 15 included local teams as well as teams from North Atlantic states – Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York – even a team with a driver from my New York City borough of Queens. Represent! Cars ran the gamut as well – the grid was Subaru and Ford-heavy, but with several Mitsubishis, a Volvo, Nissan, a Dodge Neon, and the oldest car – a 1978 Datsun 280Z – rounding out the field. The five-stage rally covers 44 miles of competition with fourteen turns per stage, and in the area mid-course for spectators, a high-speed jump on a long straightaway.
Stage 1 claimed its first victim – the Nissan Sentra driven by Ozgur Simsek, Alp Seyhan co-driver pulled off at Turn 5 with a fire. One of the two Mitsubishi teams – Greg Roumiantsev driver, Zsanett Fabian co-driver – also didn’t make it to the second stage. Last year’s champ – Alvin Fong with William Machin in a Mitsubishi Evo IX – suffered a DNF after completing only the first stage. At one point, both 2014 Ford Fiestas – driven by brothers Anthony and John Concha – sufferend simultaneous offs, but were able to get unstuck and back in the race. Ultimately, Subarus swept the podium. Jon Kramer (Ligonier, PA) and Adam Kimmett (Leesburg, VA) won the 2015 rally in the number 777 ’93 Subaru Impreza. Claiming second place was Alex Kuklov, driver, and Chris Rosato, co-driver in a 2000 Impreza RS. In third was local Jeremy Keck with James Quattro co-driving a 1999 Impreza. Wellsboro will also host the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® in warmer weather June 5-6, 2015. Scroll down for complete results and gallery from the Waste Management Winter Rally.
| Pos O/A |
Pos Cls |
Car# | Driver Co-driver |
Class Vehicle |
Total Score |
Total Score |
| 1 | 1 | 777 | Jon Kramer Adam Kimmett |
Open Light Subaru Impreza |
75.143 | 01:15:14 |
| 2 | 2 | 137 | Alex Kuklov Chris Rosato |
Open Light Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS |
80.299 | 01:20:29 |
| 3 | 3 | 554 | Jeremy Keck James Quattro |
Open Light Subaru Impreza |
84.332 | 01:24:33 |
| 4 | 4 | 225 | Corey Crossan Anthony DeGuiseppi |
Open Light Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS |
88.189 | 01:28:18 |
| 5 | 1 | 280 | Gregory Healey Michael Waterhouse |
Group 5 Datsun 280Z |
94.252 | 01:34:25 |
| 6 | 1 | 143 | Antonio Esposito Philip Barnes |
Open Subaru WRX |
97.184 | 01:37:18 |
| 7 | 2 | 80 | Gary DeMasi Mike Morrone |
Group 5 Ford Ranger GT50 |
98.217 | 01:38:21 |
| 8 | 1 | 412 | Alan Edwards Daniel Baker |
Group 2 Dodge Neon |
117.270 | 01:57:27 |
| 9 | 3 | 348 | John Concha Santiago Alban |
Group 5 Ford Fiesta ST |
132.184 | 02:12:18 |
| 10 | 4 | 648 | Anthony Concha Mark Tisdel |
Group 5 Ford Fiesta ST |
135.477 | 02:15:47 |
| 11 | 2 | 33 | Jason Smith Jared Lantzy |
Group 2 Volvo 242 |
154.262 | 02:34:26 |
| 12 | 127 | Alvin Fong William Machin |
Super Production Mitsubishi Evo IX |
DNF | ||
| 13 | 555 | Greg Roumiantsev Zsanett Fabian |
Super Production Mitsubishi Evo |
DNF | ||
| 14 | 145 | Ozgur Simsek Alp Seyhan |
Group 2 Nissan Sentra SE-R |
DNF |
