Teammate Ken Block Secures Third Place

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana put an authoritative stamp on his fourth consecutive Rally America National Championship with a dominating win at the 2009 Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR). Pastrana, from Davidsonville, MD, mathematically won the 2009 Rally America Championship at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in late August. With nothing to lose and no pressure, Pastrana entered LSPR stating he was intent on simply driving to dominate, taking risks and putting on a proper show for the fans. He lived up to his claims by leading from the start at the wheel of his 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car and finishing fastest on fifteen of LSPR’s seventeen stages. Pastrana, with co-driver Christian Edstrom, won by a comfortable margin of over four minutes. The win at LSPR is Pastrana’s 6th of the nine-event 2009 Rally America National Championship and caps the most successful season of his rally career. Pastrana’s Subaru teammate Ken Block, with co-driver Alex Gelsomino, finished in third position overall and won the Super Production class.

The Lake Superior Performance Rally is headquartered in Houghton, at the northern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The rally is revered by rally drivers for its difficult conditions, which typically include high speeds on tree-lined roads with variable weather making stages a white-knuckled affair. Adding to the challenge are over seventy miles of night stages where visibility can be in short supply.

“I drove flat out, took some risks and had a lot fun,” explained Pastrana at the podium ceremony. “Christian [Edstrom] and I wanted to win as many stages as possible and really show how fast we can go, its definitely a different strategy when the points and the championship don’t matter!”

Pastrana’s goal of winning all of the event’s seventeen stages was interrupted only by former Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L’Estage who narrowly beat Pastrana on two stages on the first day of competition. Pastrana went on to win all eight competitive stages on the second and final day of LSPR cruising to a victory of over four minutes.

“It’s sometimes difficult to believe that Travis only began his rallying career a few short years ago,” said James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc. “In that time, he has really developed into a devastatingly quick and well-rounded driver who can also maintain a consistent pace and provide the team with sufficient feedback to maximize car set-ups. Achieving four consecutive Rally America national titles is quite a testament to Travis and his co-drivers, the strength of Subaru’s technical partner in Vermont SportsCar, and performance from our Subaru Impreza WRX STI.”

Pastrana’s Subaru teammate Ken Block entered LSPR in a Super Production (SP) Class 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The production-based, minimally modified, Subaru stood in as a replacement for Block’s usual Open Class STI rally car which sustained heavy damage in a crash at the Ojibwe Forests Rally. Block performed well to wring out all he could from the car and achieved a podium result, a rarity for a Super Production class car amongst the more powerful Open Class specification vehicles. In the latter stages of Day 1, Block found himself having to measure his pace as his car began showing signs of engine trouble. Block backed off considerably but was still able to handily win the Super Production class overall as well as finish in third position overall.

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, DiRT2, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, GReddy, and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit rally.subaru.com and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

Photos: Lars Gange | rally.subaru.com

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Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana has mathematically secured his fourth consecutive Rally America National Championship with a dominating win at the Ojibwe Forest Rally in northern Minnesota this weekend. Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom cruised to victory in their 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI after several of their closest rivals hit trouble. The win, his fifth of the season, hauled in sufficient championship points to place Pastrana mathematically out of reach to his closest challengers and thus securing his fourth consecutive Rally America national title. Pastrana has won each of his Rally America championships (2006-2009) behind the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car.

“It is game-on for the next two rallies,” said Pastrana at podium. “It’s great to drive without any pressure. A lot of the other drivers have had hard a season and bad luck, but things have just gone my way. My Subaru Impreza WRX STI has been perfect all year. It just works for me at every rally, it’s easy to drive and lets me focus on winning.”

“Travis really has transitioned into rally like fish to water ever since his first event with Subaru in 2004,” said James Han, motorsports marketing manager at Subaru of America, Inc. “To think that he has earned four consecutive national titles under Subaru Rally Team USA is all testament to Travis’ skills as a rally driver, thorough preparation by our team partner Vermont SportsCar, and consistent performance capability of the Impreza WRX STI regardless of terrain or driving condition.”

The Ojibwe Forests Rally featured over 130 miles of technical, sandy gravel, forest roads in northern Minnesota, around the town of Bemidji. The event is a favorite amongst rally drivers for its demanding fast and flowing roads and numerous stages run in darkness of night.

The rally began with a duel between Pastrana and his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block. Entering the Ojibwe Forests Rally, only Block had a mathematical chance to catch Pastrana in the standings but needed to secure a win to keep his hopes alive. After the first two stages, the highly competitive friends and rivals were separated by just seconds. The challenge however was cut short on stage three when Block impacted a large rock while cutting the inside of a corner that launched his Subaru off the road, hitting a tree and rolling to DNF. Both Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino were unharmed in the crash. With Block out of the picture and several of his closest challengers experiencing small problems of their own, Pastrana found himself with a healthy lead early in rally. The driver of the #199 SRT USA car backed off his pace but was still able to win all but three of the event’s fifteen competition stages.

In 2nd place overall for the majority of the event was the third Subaru Rally Team USA entrant of Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer, driving a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI in the Super Production class. Mirra drove one of his best events of his young rally career, consistently finishing each stage ahead of the rest of the field and chasing Pastrana while maintaining a healthy lead in the Super Production class. However, on the penultimate stage Mirra’s car suffered an electrical issue that brought his car to halt, ending his run to the podium prematurely. “Everything was going our way and I was driving really well so it’s unfortunate not to finish and get the result on paper,” said Mirra. “My Subaru was running great until that [electrical] problem forced me out of the event. But that’s rally, anything can, and does, usually happen.”

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, DiRT2, RECARO, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, GReddy, and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit rally.subaru.com and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

Photos: Max Lawton | rally.subaru.com

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Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana is back atop the Rally America National Championship standings after winning the 2009 Oregon Trail Rally this past weekend. Pastrana, the three-time defending Rally America National Champion strode to victory in Oregon with a faultless drive behind the wheel of his 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car, winning by nearly one minute. Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom have now won three of the first four Rally America rounds and are in prime position to challenge for a fourth consecutive championship with five rounds remaining.

The 2009 Oregon Trail Rally, round four of the 2009 Rally America National Championship, featured over 100 miles of competition on a course that included a mix of twisty, hard-packed forest conditions and wide-open farming roads. The event kicked-off with a night of fan-friendly mixed-surface stages at Portland International Raceway and then moved east to the Mt. Hood area for the remainder of the weekend. The conditions were sunny and bright, making for dry and dusty roads and a visibility challenge for teams.

Pastrana took the lead early on Day Two, and then set a blazing pace later in the day to increase his gap substantially. With a comfortable margin over challengers Tanner Foust and Andrew Comrie Picard, Pastrana was able to cruise to victory on Day Three while a battle ensued behind him for the remaining podium positions. “It was a near perfect rally for us, we fought hard early to establish a lead and then were able to take it easy through the rest of the weekend,” explained Pastrana. “Our Subaru was flawless again, and we have made good progress in finding more speed and drivability with our 2009 STI. My Subaru was an absolute blast to drive this weekend!”

Pastrana now vaults to the lead of the 2009 Rally America National Championship and is in an excellent position to challenge for his fourth consecutive Rally America National Championship. “In the past couple years I’ve had good success at each of the five remaining rounds, “said Pastrana. “The pressure is off just a bit now but this year the competition is much harder and the battles are tighter so I’m sure it won’t be easy!”

The pressure is now shifted onto the shoulders of Pastrana’s Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino who ran into more bad luck at Oregon. The duo were forced to retire from the rally after sustaining damage to their front left suspension after going off the road due to a tire puncture. “Under braking after a high speed section the car suddenly didn’t want to turn and in an instant I realized it was due to a sudden, and very bad, front left tire puncture. I had no choice but to go off the road and over a ditch, which damaged the front left suspension,” explained a dejected Block. Block has failed to finish three of the first four events but his strong win at the 100 Acre Wood Rally and his commanding speed in each rally give him hope of fighting back. Block re-entered the Oregon Trail Rally on Day Three, for exhibition only, and won all five stages, proving again he has the speed to win.

In the Super Production (SP) Class the story was attrition. Nearly all of the top SP Class finishers encountered problems and failed to finish. But Subaru Rally Team USA driver Dave Mirra with co-driver Derek Ringer stayed trouble-free and drove a smart rally at the wheel of their 2009 Subaru WRX STI to finish first in the SP Class and 6th Overall. During post-race inspection, however, a minor specification infraction on Mirra’s car led race officials to penalize the #40 car of Mirra and Ringer one SP Class position, dropping him to 2nd in SP Class. “There were some great battles early on but then as everyone started to have trouble I just backed off and found a comfortable pace,” said Mirra. “I’ve gotten much more comfortable with the new 2009 STI and feel I was much more consistent with my driving. The best is yet to come.”

Subaru Rally Team USA now transits back to the east coast for the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (June 5-6) and then on to the New England Forest Rally (July 17-18).

Follow Subaru Rally Team USA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/srtusa

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, GReddy, and Vermont SportsCar. Visit www.subaru.com/rally for Subaru Rally Team USA photo galleries, news and team information.

Photos by Lars Gange

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Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana took the win this weekend at the Oregon Trail Rally, and moved into the championship lead.

“It was an amazing rally,” said Pastrana. “That’s three wins and a tree this season – not so bad.”

The defending champion and co-driver Christian Edstrom set a blazing pace to pull into the lead early on Day 2, and held it there to the finish. It’s the third win in four starts for the duo in their Subaru WRX STi.

Second place went to Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis. The team put in a consistent drive all weekend and were cruising to their second-place finish when they spun out on the final stage and struck a rock with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X – almost costing them a position. They managed to hold on, finishing just 3.6 seconds ahead of the Polish team of Andi Mancin and co-driver Maciej Wislawski.

“It was a pretty clean rally the whole way,” said Foust. “Subarus are known for being really tough and I think our Evo X has proven tough this weekend, too. She brought us all the way home after we hit the rock and we’re pretty pleased to get second.”

It was the first U.S. podium for Mancin and Wislawski, who have proven at this event that they can match the pace of Rally America’s top drivers. Mancin said late Sunday that racing with the Jemba system of notes – as is typical in this championship – is something that has taken some getting used to. This is the first full season in the series for the Polish duo, who are accustomed to making their own pace notes from scratch.

“I’m very happy, it’s a very significant result for our team,” said Mancin, who pilots a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. “These were very difficult stages – but they were beautiful.”

A flat tire on Day 2 cost the NOS Energy crew of Andrew Comrie-Picard and co-driver Robbie Durant a minute to the leaders, and they finished in fourth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, just 2.8 seconds behind Mancin. It was a disappointment for Picard, who had battled hard to regain the podium. The finish drops him from first to third in the championship standings, behind Pastrana and second-place Foust.

“That flat tire yesterday was really tough to overcome and the times were incredibly close the end,” said Comrie-Picard. “We had been clawing back time since yesterday but I have to hand it to Andi – he drove a great race.”

Rounding out the top five were Arkadiusz Gruszka and co-driver Lukasz Wronski.

Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer took the win in the competitive Super Production class and finished sixth overall. Heavy attrition in the Super Production class this weekend saw Matt Johnson and Piotr Wiktorcszyk retire early and Mirra said all he had to do was hang on and keep it clean.

“A lot of it is just trying to find a pace,” said Mirra. “It’s great to be in this class with so many competitive drivers.”

Young Dillon Van Way and co-driver Benjamin Slocum scored another win in the two-wheel drive class. This is Van Way’s first season of competition and he’s proven a reliable finisher in his Ford Focus.

All results are considered informational pending official race administrative processes.

Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino found themselves also out of the contest early after yet another bout of bad luck at this event. A flat tire and damage to a control arm meant their rally ended on Day 2. The poor finish makes three DNFs in four starts for Block. He and Gelsomino returned to the action Sunday for a fun run at the regional contest and even though they didn’t score points, they set some of the fastest times of the day.

“It’s getting a little frustrating,” said Block. “I have the speed, I feel, to win every single one of these… I thought I had some bad luck last year and it’s getting worse this year.”

Teams at this event are also competing for a shot at X Games gold this summer. With six drivers already invited, there are four spots open to top-scoring competitors after the first five rounds of the series. Pastrana, Block, Comrie-Picard, Foust, Mirra and Johnson are expected to return to the Los Angeles event. Mancin, Wiktorcszyk are among the top contenders for the remaining positions.

Rally America will also extend X Games invitations to two additional so-called “at-large” drivers, who have not yet been named.

The Oregon Trail Rally took place over 100 miles of competition on a course that includes a mix of twisty, hard-packed forest conditions and wide-open farming roads. The Mount Hood area’s hilly terrain meant plenty of elevation changes throughout the contest. The conditions were sunny and bright, making for dry and dusty roads and a visibility challenge for teams.

Many fans took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend, turning out by the hundreds to take in the action at the Portland International Raceway, and the Mount Hood spectator areas.

Rally activities began on Thursday with a kick-off car show in downtown Portland. Key series players and their cars made an appearance Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square for a midday display where fans had the opportunity to meet with their favorite drivers and check out their race machines. The action continued at the Portland International Raceway on Friday evening, with a short super special stage that used sections of both the tarmac and motocross tracks and drew an estimated 1,500 fans.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The 2009 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions. The championship moves east to Pennsylvania for Round 5, the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro on June 5 and 6.

Top teams in the series are also invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the leading action sports event broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. Among the marques typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

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