Piotr Fetela and Dominik Jówiak win Sno*Drift 2019
Fetela and Jówiak make their way through stage 9 of the 2019 Sno*Drift Rally.
ATLANTA, MI — Montmorency County came into the international spotlight while hosting the 2019 Sno*Drift Rally. Sno*Drift marks the start of the American Rally Association’s (ARA) racing season.
The race was separated into 2 days: six stages were held Friday, while the final ten took place on Saturday. The road conditions matched the race’s name perfectly as each stage was completely covered in snow and a layer of ice.
Sharp turns along with icy conditions forced drivers and navigators to time each turn perfectly. Any imperfection could result in the car veering off the course and into a snowbank.
Racers compete for the top overall time and top time within their car’s class. Open is the most competitive class, followed by Super Production, and finished with two wheel drive.
There were 7 total areas where the public could gather and watch the cars make their way through the course. Some of those locations could be used twice as racers made their way from downtown Lewiston through Atlanta on Friday. The course directed cars Northwest of Atlanta along the border of Vienna and finishing in Hillman.
Piotr Fetela and navigator Dominik Jówiak won the race in a 2017 Ford Fiesta Proto. They were about four minutes faster than second place finishers Cameron Steely and Preston Osborn (2007 Subaru STi). Fetela and Jówiak also won the race in 2016.
Rally cars are specially modified for extreme turns and demanding conditions. They must still be street legal to compete in an ARA race.
Fetela and Jówiak are both originally from Poland and had a strong showing of Polish support during the race. Fetela Rally Team is currently based in Chicago.
The asterisk in “Sno*Drift” denotes a snow flake.
TOP 5 FINISHERS
Piotr Fetela/Dominik Jówiak 2:20:04.5 2017 Ford Fiesta Proto
Cameron Steely/Preston Osborn 2:24:01.5 2007 Subaru STi
Travis Nease/Matthew James 2:31:51.9 2017 Subaru WRX STI
Jimmy Pelizzari/Kate Stevens 2:36:33.0 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
Jacob Bryant/Steven Stewart 2:39:28.1 1997 Subaru Impreza OBS
