If, by chance, you wanted an excuse to enjoy time outdoors, exercise your favorite wheels, and immerse yourself in a bit of Heartland history, then Ohio and SCCA®’s 2025 United States RoadRally Challenge® (USRRC) Oct. 10-12 was the perfect place to be.
Organized by Neohio Region rallyists Greg Lester, Ron Johnstonbaugh, and Jeff Arendas, the 30th USRRC featured a pair of National Touring rallies – Johnny Appleseed Friday, Oct. 10, and Ohio Milk Run Saturday, Oct. 11 – plus a “fun oriented” Regional Course rally, the Cleveland Alley Rallye, on Sunday, Oct. 12, which served also as a fundraiser for Slow Roll Cleveland, a local charity that organizes bicycle tours of Cleveland and other community activities.
(Left to right: Bruce Gezon, Cleveland Alley Rallye rallymaster; Jeff Arendeas, Johnny Appleseed rallymaster; and Greg Lester, event registrar. Photo by James Heine)
As might be expected, after Johnny Appleseed and Ohio Milk Run, Sunday afternoon’s Regional rally was a big change from Friday and Saturday’s traditionally organized Nationals, which had led teams from suburban Cleveland (Akron, OH) to Marietta, OH, and back via the Buckeye State’s undulating and serpentine (and often unpaved) rural roads. Not only did the Regional feature the big-city alleys of downtown Cleveland but also the narrow streets of the city’s historic 19th-century working-class immigrant neighborhoods that surround the city’s “Flats,” Cleveland’s turn-of-the-century docklands, and industrial areas abutting Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.
(On the USRRC’s Ohio Milk Run National Touring Rally Oct. 11, Rallymaster Ron Johnstonbaugh allowed teams plenty of time to negotiate Ohio’s Amish countryside, as rally cars were not the only transportation on local roads. Photo by James Heine)
It was different in another way, too, noted rallymaster Jeff Arendas in the drivers meeting before the start. “This is an old-school event,” he said about his Alley Rallye. “You’re limited to your stock odometer and a simple four-function calculator. No rally computers, no rally odometers, no GPS, no apps, nothing of that sort.”
Johnny Appleseed National Touring Rally
At 175 miles and 73 scored controls, Johnny Appleseed, as designed by rallymaster Greg Lester, led teams from Akron to Marietta via a route that paralleled (roughly) Interstate 77. Class winners: Mark Stone and Marc Goldfarb (Equipped); Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D'Souza (GPS); Ed and Douglas Sain (Limited); Donn Arthurs and April Awrey (Stock); Charles Cowap and Charles Cowap VI (Novice and First-Timer).
Ohio Milk Run National Touring Rally
Designed by rallymaster Ron Johnstonbaugh, the Ohio Milk Run’s 185 miles and 50 scored controls also paralleled (roughly, again) I-77, but on the western side of the interstate rather than its eastern side. It also skirted Ohio’s Holmes County, home to one of the world’s largest Amish populations. Class winners: Bruce Gezon and Bob Morseburg (Equipped); Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D'Souza (GPS); Ed and Douglas Sain (Limited); Merav and Jeremy Cronin (Stock); Joseph and Scott Harrington (Novice); and Jameson and Abby Rhoad (First-Timer).
Cleveland Alley Rallye
Top five (38 teams total). (1) Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D'Souza; (2) Ed and Douglas Sain; (3) Bruce Gezon and Bob Morseburg; (4) Bruce Fisher and Michael Bennett; and (5) Joseph and Scott Harrington.
Overall USRRC Results
Teams accrued Challenge points based on their finishing positions in each of the four SCCA National Championship classes (Equipped, GPS, Limited, and Stock), as well as the USRRC Novice Class on the Johnny Appleseed and Ohio Milk Run rallies, and from their overall finish positions on the Cleveland Alley Rallye, according to the following schedule: 1st, 20 points; 2nd, 19 points; 3rd, 18 points, etc., down to 20th (or greater), 1 point.
The top results are listed below as: Position, Driver/Navigator (Marque), USRRC Total
Equipped
- Bruce Gezon/C. Robert Morseburg (Mini), 57
- Michael Bennett/Bruce Fisher (VW), 51
- Janis Ford/David Sellers (Subaru), 47
- Thomas vonHatten/James Heine (Ford), 43
- Charles Hanson/David Head (Ford), 35
GPS
- Satish Gopalkrishnan/Savera D'Souza (VW), 60
- Kurt Schnippel/Tom Schnippel (Chevrolet), 42
- Gavyn Gill/Tyler Linner (Mazda), 36
Limited
- Ed Sain/Douglas Sain (Toyota), 59
- Thomas Benham/Charlotte (Hyundai), 46
- Wendy Harrison/Craig Beidelman (VW), 44
Stock
- Greg Wilkins/Theresa Wilkins (Mazda), 52
- Bob Sonntag/Cheryl Barnes (Genesis), 43
USRRC Novice
- Charles Cowap/Charles Cowap VI (Triumph) 31
- Yuliia Bezkorovaina/ Aleksandr Kuprikov (VW), 28
Repeat Challenge Champions
For Gopalkrishnan and D’Souza, this was their third consecutive USRRC GPS class title, having first won GPS in 2022.
“Savera and I really enjoyed the weekend,” Gopalkrishnan wrote in a post-rally email. “It was well organized and managed. We like brisk gravel (and snow) rallies, and both JAR and OMR did not disappoint. The Alley Rallye was a change of pace, and even though the speeds were low, the course-following through the city kept us on our toes.”
Gopalkrishnan added it was also great to see “a lot more local participation than we have seen in recent USRRCs.”
For Gezon and Morseburg, it was a third Challenge win in Equipped as a team – in spite of “bringing the wrong car,” Gezon noted after Sunday’s trophy presentations. His Mini struggles on uphill gravel climbs, he explained. “Four-wheel-drive would have been better,” he said.
(The wrong car? Bruce Gezon seemed to think so, although the results told a different story. Photo by Greg Lester)
For Ed and Douglas Sain (Limited), and for Greg and Theresa Wilkins (Stock) this was their first Challenge title.
“I enjoyed the entire weekend,” said Indianapolis Region rally chair and former RRB member Wendy Harrison, who with Craig Beidelman finished third in Limited.
“Sunday’s Alley Rallye was my favorite. We really didn't try to keep on time and had a fun time following the course and answering the questions. We enjoyed the scenery, and we want to go back to explore more of the city.”
In a wrap-up email, Lester noted that competitors traveled to Ohio from as far away as Alaska, Washington, and Maine for the 2025 USRRC, “and we also had one team cross an international border to compete.”
It was also gratifying to have several novice entries,” he added. “If you have any questions about rallying, do not hesitate to reach out to any of the organizers.”
The 2026 USRRC is scheduled for St. Louis, Mo., hosted for the fifth time by the St. Louis Region. The dates: Oct. 9-11. Details will follow.
Lead photos by Greg Lester
