MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Loud cars, large crowds, and rally racing took over Marquette mountain this weekend for the annual Lake Superior Performance Rally.
Over 80 cars coming from all across the Midwest hit the trails this weekend to compete in the lake superior performance rally. The race is a part of the American Racing Association’s National Championship Series.
“They call it the oldest, toughest rally and it is for sure tough,” remarked Camden Sheridan, who is from Spring Lake, Michigan.
With drivers hitting speeds as fast as over 100 miles per hour you might assume that most of them are full time professionals. For a majority of the competitors, rally car racing is something that’s done outside of their 9-5 jobs.
“I have always enjoyed driving my entire life and now I get to legally drive as fast as I want to,” Sheridan added.
The cars aren’t cheap; most teams spend nearly $30,000 to get a vehicle ready to race. Throughout the course of competition crashes and malfunctions can lead to additional costs.
“A month and half ago we did a stage rally in Felch Michigan,” Sheridan went on to say “We blew our engine on the first stage, we quickly had to get a new engine in and prep for this event because this is the entire event we built the car for.”
While it may seem like it just takes a driver to compete, each car has two team members inside and a support staff to keep the car operational. Ryan George and Heather Stieber are a husband and wife team. Ryan serves as the driver and Heather is the navigator.
“I tell him what turns are coming up and hopefully keep him on the road, and I am also his wife and babysitter to make sure he goes where he should be,” said a laughing Steber.
The race drew thousands to Marquette Mountain and allowed spectators to get a close up view of the excitement that is rally car racing.
