Pastrana Ascends 6,288-Foot Peak Driving Subaru Rally Car Besting 100 Years of Previous Attempts

The 149-year-old Mt. Washington Auto Road has seen the likes of horses and carriages, camels, people, bicycles and most famously, competition race cars. Yesterday, traveling at an average speed of nearly 72mph in a Vermont SportsCar prepared, BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car, four-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana made sure the project name, Red Bull Speed Chasers, lived up to its name. He reached the summit faster than anyone else in history by clocking an officially timed run of 6 minutes 20.47 seconds, besting the previous record by more than twenty seconds. Amazingly, Pastrana achieved the impressive time on his first ever high-speed run to the summit. Pastrana has effectively thrown down the gauntlet in advance of the legendary Mt. Washington “Climb to the Clouds” Automobile Hillclimb, which will take place in 2011 after a 10-year hiatus.

The 7.6-mile-long Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile, the serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dangerous drop-offs above the mountain’s tree line as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak. The road, which features more than 100 turns, is mostly paved but features a technical dirt section that is approximately one mile long. The road climbs 4,618 ft from an altitude of 1,527 ft with an average gradient of 11.6%.

Pastrana was up to the challenge, and on his first attempt was able to set his fast time, besting “Climb to the Clouds” Hillclimb record holder Frank Sprongl’s time of 6 minutes 41.99 seconds, set in 1998. Pastrana attempted three more runs but each time he was slowed by near zero visibility conditions at near the summit, as low rain clouds inundated the area. Pastrana’s test session was officially sanctioned by RallyCar (formerly Rally America).

“This is an amazing road, it’s just so much fun,” said Pastrana, who last New Year’s Eve, set the world record for distance jumping in a car at 269 feet. “It’s extremely challenging, there is no room for error and the scenery is epic. The Mt. Washington Auto Road has some amazing history to it.”

Pastrana, with his Vermont SportsCar team, as well as officials from the Mt. Washington Auto Road, conducted the Red Bull Speed Chasers test session to evaluate the road conditions ahead of the 2011 Climb to the Clouds, which will make a return June 22-26, 2011 as part of the 150th anniversary of the Mt. Washington Auto Road.

Pastrana teamed with veteran co-driver Marshall Clarke of Ireland on his runs to the summit. The duo spent Tuesday familiarizing themselves with the auto road in a street car at legal roads speeds and made detailed stage notes, the same process used for stage rally competition. Both Pastrana and Clarke had never driven the Mt. Washington Auto Road before, and thus the detailed notes played a key role in the at-speed attempt the following day.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road was completed in 1861 and is the oldest man-made attraction in North America. Considered one of the oldest motorsports events in the United States, the Climb to the Clouds was first run in 1904, with a winning time of 24 minutes 37 seconds, seven years before the first 500-mile race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. The Climb to the Clouds was then run sporadically until 1961, making a comeback in the 1990′s. The last time the Climb to the Clouds ran was in 2001 on a shortened course due to severe weather. In fact, the highest-recorded wind speed in the United States – an incredible 231 miles per hour – was on Mt. Washington in 1934.

“Travis’ run was incredibly thrilling on a number of fronts,” said Howie Wemyss, General Manager of the Mt. Washington Auto Road. “It’s amazing that he was able to drive that car to the summit in 6:20, and all the more so when you realize that he and his co-driver had just seen the Auto Road for the first time the day before, and the top quarter-mile was in thick fog! Our racing heritage here at the Auto Road runs deep, having started in 1904 and now Travis is part of that heritage as the fastest person to the summit by automobile.”

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Rallycross features wheel-to-wheel racing among production based cars on short tracks that feature a mix of tarmac and dirt. In addition to the dirt sections, rallycross tracks feature a “Joker” lap section that each car must take a once at some point during the race. A Joker lap is a small detour that typically takes the driver a few seconds longer to complete than the standard course lap. It adds a level of unpredictability to the race outcome and drivers must strategize on the optimal time to take the joker lap. Many of the cars competing in New Jersey were rally cars that also compete in the Rally America National Championship with the exception of a few purpose-built rallycross cars brought over from Europe. The sport is extremely popular in Europe, where the FIA’s European Rallycross Championship represents the highest and most competitive level of the sport.

This was an absolute blast, a lot of fun,” said Pastrana. “This series has a chance to be the most epic and the most fun thing that anyone’s ever raced and driven.”

Pastrana and Mirra were 2nd and 3rd quickest in qualifying, which determines lane choice and running group within three subsequent heats. Impressive performances in the heats solidified Pastrana and Mirra in 1st and 4th respectively for the A-Main, the final event.

On the first lap of the A-Main, whilst trailing close to Tanner Foust, Pastrana pushed wide on a tarmac-to-dirt transition and impacted a tire wall. Pastrana was able to continue and his Subaru was undamaged, but the A-Main was red flagged due to the damaged and now mis-aligned tire wall. Pastrana was penalized to the back of the six car grid and the race was restarted, with a new standing start. With just five laps on the 1.3 mile course Pastrana quickly went to work pressuring and passing each driver in front of him with a show of skill and aggression that thrilled the thousands of fans in attendance. Pastrana eventually reached 2nd place and trailed Foust, the race leader by just seconds, but Pastrana had yet to complete his Joker lap and in doing so ran out of laps to continue his fight toward Foust. Pastrana exited the Joker lap just ahead of teammate Dave Mirra who was pressuring from behind, and the Subaru duo crossed the finish line in 2nd and 3rd Overall, with Tanner Foust taking victory.

Travis Pastrana acknowledged the crowd’s intense enthusiasm, “I could literally hear the fans cheering from inside my car! But I had the best seat in the house having to start at the back of the grid and getting to battle everyone out there on this course.”

“My goal was to finish 3rd since I knew Pastrana and Foust had a small edge on my lap times all weekend, and so I stuck to my game plan and had a great, clean run. I’m very happy.” explained Mirra. “I’ve never done anything like this and have very little track experience so I’m happy withmy performance. It will be pretty cool to see the sport grow together with the fans and the cars and everything kind of matching up and going together,” said Mirra.

RallyCar’s U.S. Rallycross Event #2 will return to the New Jersey Motorsports Park October 2-3 and Event #3 will be held November 6-7. Tickets are available at: http://store.njmp.com/store/category/9/157/

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, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, VP Fuels and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit www.subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

Photos by Lars Gange | subaru.com/rally

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Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom built a solid early lead and continued to put time on the rest of the field over the course of the two-day rally — despite a badly injured left shoulder.

“Man, I’m really excited,” said Pastrana. “Everybody next rally is going to come with a sling.”

Pastrana broke his collarbone last Sunday during a motocross ride and had to undergo surgery this week to plate it back together before he could drive. But, ever the optimist, Pastrana said the injury actually helped his performance.

“As slick a the roads were out here, I drove as smooth as I could – for the shoulder – and it made me focus a little bit more,” he said at the finish. “It was probably the best thing that could have happened for us.”

In second place, more than a minute and a half back, were challengers Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard. The former Canadian champions typically run select events south of the border and added Sno*Drift to their calendar this season.

“I was hoping to be closer to Travis and fight for the win but he was the fastest this weekend, so congrats to him,” said L’Estage. “It was such a tough rally with crazy conditions – glare ice on all the stages.”

Bill Bacon and co-driver Peter Watt earned the third spot on the podium with a measured drive. Bacon is a proven podium threat, but typically runs only a partial championship season.

“Everyone’s saying how icy it was, but the reality is you could have skated half of the rally,” said Bacon. “People don’t really know how icy it was out there.”

Fourth place went to the NOS Energy team of Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey, while the father-son team of Travis and Terry Hanson rounded out the top-five and took the Super Production class win.

The top two-wheel drive team was Chris Duplessis and Catherine Woods, who finished 11th overall in a 1990 Volkswagen GTI. The duo were the only two-wheel drive car to finish in the top half of the field. Duplessis is an extremely talented two-wheel drive competitor who cut his teeth as an instructor at the Team O’Neil rally school.

The treacherous event claimed several high-profile victims.

Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino, who made the move from Subaru to Ford this year as part of their campaign with the Monster World Rally Team, failed to finish after a mechanical failure on Day 1.

“We had some sort of component in the suspension break,” Block said. “It’s really unfortunate because I was driving conservatively and was in third place and just trying to finish.”

Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer – who moved up from Super Production to Open class for 2010 – had been running as high as fourth overall in the event before they found some snow banks and a tree late on Day 2. The team pulled into the final control of the day shedding pieces of bodywork from their battered car. But, even after the incident, they still managed to finish in sixth place.

Comrie-Picard and Wimpey also slid into a snow bank on Stage 9 and were stuck until rally novices Craig Decker and co-driver Adam Craig – pro mountain bikers who are running their first national event this weekend – stopped to help them out.

Sno*Drift is one of the few true snow rallies in the world. Located in the region of the 45th parallel — the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole – and the weather here at this time of year is bitterly cold. For the 2010 running of the event, the course roads were covered in glare ice. Teams cover 130 miles of competitive stages over two days.

Unusual among snow events, the Sno*Drift rally does not permit teams to use studded tires so competing in these conditions is an extremely specialized skill. Rally rules traditionally require cars to be street legal and studs are not allowed in this part of Michigan.

The second round in the Rally America championship is the 100 Acre Wood Rally February 26 – 27 in southern Missouri.

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.

This year there will be six forest events from Maine to Washington, before X Games 16, plus three new European style rallycross events after X Games — all based in Southern New Jersey.

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.

All results are considered provisional pending official post-event race processes.

Photos: Matt Young/World Rally Sport

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Returns to Rally America Series with 4-Time, Reigning Champ Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra

Subaru Rally Team USA announced today that reigning four-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana and BMX Freestyle legend Dave Mirra will both return as factory team drivers. Subaru Rally Team USA will contest the entire 2010 Rally America National Championship, ESPN’s X Games 16 Rally Car Racing event as well as participate in Rally America’s new and highly anticipated European-style rally cross exhibition events. Pastrana and Mirra will each pilot a 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car prepared by Subaru technical partner Vermont SportsCar.

Action sports icon and rally champion Pastrana has driven exclusively for the Subaru brand since he first began to compete in rally in 2004. Pastrana has dominated rallying in the USA since 2006 and has amassed eighteen overall rally victories, thirty-six podiums and two Golds, a Bronze and Silver medals at the ESPN X Games Rally Car events. “Subaru is like family to me; they have given me every opportunity and resource available to help me become rally champion,” explained Travis Pastrana. “The sport has grown and the competition in 2010 will be better than ever and so I’m glad to be in the best car with the best team again to go for my fifth championship.” As in 2009, Pastrana will have co-driver Christian Edstrom at his side for his rally campaign.

Mirra, who became a pro BMX rider in 1992, holds the record for most X Games medals (including most Gold medals), and has medaled in every X Games since their inception in 1995. He is recognized as one of the World’s most well known Action Sports athletes and is credited with bringing freestyle BMX into the mainstream. Mirra began a transition to rally racing in late 2007 and joined Subaru Rally Team USA in 2008 where he earned Rally America’s Rookie of the Year. “I’m so excited to get back in my STI for the 2010 Rally America Championship!” exclaimed Mirra. “It’s great having the support of Subaru to race with the best drivers in North America and allowing me to develop as a rally driver. The Subaru Impreza WRX STI is the best car for rallying and my teammate and mentor, Travis Pastrana, is the four-time champion. Is that a dream or what?” Mirra will again team with former WRC champion co-driver Derek Ringer who has been instrumental in Mirra’s rapid ascension to a top driver in the Rally America Championship. Mirra will move up to an Open Class Subaru WRX STI from that of a lower specification Super Production class Subaru that he campaigned in 2009.

“We’ve made some significant gains in building both brand and team recognition while showcasing the performance capabilities of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI,” said James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc. “I’m pleased with our 2010 driver line-up comprised of Travis and Dave and excited at the prospect of retaining the Rally America National Championship title in what should prove to be an exciting rally season.”

Long time Subaru driver Ken Block will be departing Subaru Rally Team USA for 2010. “It was a pleasure having Ken [Block] as part of Subaru Rally Team USA (SRT USA) from the very start of his rally career and supporting him in securing Rally America’s Rookie of the Year honors for 2005,” said James Han, Motorsports Marketing Manager for Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru Rally Team USA will be in action again in less than three weeks on the snow and ice-covered roads of Michigan’s Sno*Drift Rally. The team will then crisscross the country over the next seven months to compete in Rally America National Championship events in Missouri, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania and New England. In early August the team will star yet again at the ESPN X Games Rally Car racing event.

The team will also officially participate in Rally America’s new European-style rally cross events in the fall of 2010. Rally America have announced they will hold three European-style rally cross events in 2010, to be run as exhibition events in 2010 with the expectation of more events on the 2011 calendar. European-style rally cross combines disciplines from road racing, short-course off-road racing and X Games-style rally car racing.

For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA please visit rally.subaru.com or follow the team on Twitter at twitter.com/srtusalineup.doc

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Regional Rally Teams come from all over to claim their share of the MaxAttack! cash awards

With the first five rally events of the 2009 Rally America National Championship in the record books already, the top Regional and National rally teams from across the United States and Canada will soon be making their way to the tiny resort village of Newry, Maine for the New England Forest Rally – home to the Sunday River Resort and round #6 of the 9-event Rally America National Championship.

Set for Friday and Saturday, July 17 & 18, 2009, as many as 45 or more top-level rally teams are expected to be competing on some of the fastest gravel and forest roads in the country for top honors at this always-popular rally event.

Sitting atop the Rally America National points championship right now and expected to be competing at this year’s New England Forest Rally is 3-time Rally America Champion and Freestyle Motocross legend Travis Pastrana who drives for Subaru Rally Team USA – the factory-backed rally team based in Colchester, Vermont. Along with his teammates Ken Block, co-founder of DC Shoes USA, and X Games & BMX legend Dave Mirra, the Subaru rally team will be looking for another overall rally victory at this year’s New England Forest Rally.

Also expected at the top of the charts at this year’s event will be Canadian rally Ace Antoine L’Estage along with his Co-Driver and fiance’ Nathalie Richard driving their John Buffum-prepared & Rockstar Energy-backed Mitsubishi Evolution X. A former overall winner of the New England Forest Rally, L’Estage is a very technical driver as well as a multi-time Canadian Rally Champion who can’t be overlooked regarding the overall victory in Maine.

New to this year’s New England Forest Rally will be a large contingent of Regional rally teams from across the Northeastern United Sates and Eastern Canada. These teams will be competing for their share of $15,000 in prize money as the Maine-based rally will be just one of three rally events in the United States that make up the 3-round MaxAttack! Championship for Regional rally teams for 2009 – the other two rally events include Rally Idaho and the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Minnesota.

Although the New England Forest Rally will be contested over two days and 125 plus miles of gravel and forest stages for the National competitors, the Regional rally teams will compete on the very same roads as the National teams, but in two separate 1-day Regional rally events run simultaneously with the National rally.

Friday’s Regional rally will be known at the “Drive Your Future Rally” presented by the National Guard and will be highlighted by a “Super Special” in the town of Mexico, Maine. Taking place at the Mexico Recreational Area located just off Rt. 17 in Mexico, spectators will be have the opportunity to watch their favorite rally driver or team complete an entire gravel rally stage, complete with a jump, from start to finish right in front of them. Fans will also have the chance for an up-close look at the service crews as they take care of their rally cars at the Service Park which will also be based at the Mexico Recreation Area. As a special attraction for fans of all ages, National Guard units from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will be on hand at the Mexico Recreation Area with a large display of state-of-the-art military vehicles to check out.

On Saturday, July 18, 2009, the rally action moves west along Route 2 to Coos County and the city of Berlin in Northern New Hampshire where rally teams will compete on a series of gravel and forest stages from Berlin north along the Androscoggin River to the sleepy village of Errol and beyond. A number of scenic spectator areas will be available along the competition stages where fans will be able to watch their favorite drivers compete. They will also be treated to a “Super Special” in Berlin on Saturday morning where teams will test their skills on a half-mile course that winds its way in and around the old Berlin paper mill site located on the north side of the city.

Also available throughout the 2-day New England Forest Rally will be a number of spectator buses provided by the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine. The buses will depart from a variety of locations and take interested spectators out to the designated viewing areas along the rally course. Tickets for the spectator buses can be purchased the day of the event and will cost just $5.00 per person!

Amateur photographers will again have the opportunity to participate in Rally America’s popular photo contest where they can submit their best shots from the New England Forest Rally for a chance to win great prizes – visit www.rally-america.com for all the details.

For ongoing live updates through out the New England Forest Rally or for more information regarding a detailed event schedule, lodging and an on-line Spectator Guide, please visit the official Rally America web site at www.rally-america.com.

Sponsors for this year’s New England Forest Rally include Subaru of America; DC Shoes; Endless Brakes; Exedy Racing Clutches; Q Racing Oil; the Army National Guard; Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine; the Team O’Neil Rally School from Dalton, NH and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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 taking 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 known as stages.

The 2009 Rally America National Championship series consists of nine exciting events that take place throughout the United States in many different weather and road conditions. Top teams in the Rally America Championship are also invited to compete in ESPN’s Summer X Games, the leading action sports event broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. Eight top teams have already been invited to this August’s contest. Among the marquees typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

About Rally America, Inc.:

Based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2009, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Portland, Ore., to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street-legal rally cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow.

Additionally, through a partnership with the leading sports network regarding action sports, ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers are invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action-sport event that is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. For more information, visit www.rally-america.com.

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The 2009 Olympus Rally featured over 100 miles of sinuous, tree-lined logging roads near Aberdeen, Washington. The typically unpredictable Pacific Northwest weather was absent throughout the event allowing calm dry conditions to persist. Although the Olympus Rally is relatively new to the Rally America calendar, having returned to the national series in 2007, the event has a memorable past. It was first run as a national event in 1973 and served as a stop on World Rally Championship calendar from 1986 to 1988.

Pastrana found himself in 3rd position in the Olympus Rally at the conclusion of the first day, trailing rally leader and teammate Ken Block by over twenty seconds. On Day Two, Block dropped out of the hunt for victory early with engine trouble, leaving Pastrana locked in a tight battle for overall victory with Canadian driver Andrew Comrie Picard. “It was a great battle, our stage times were really close with ACP (Andrew Comrie Picard), we even tied on a stage to the tenth of a second,” explained Pastrana. “But I managed to pull out a small lead and keep it for most of the day, then charged hard on the last few stages for the win. It’s a great feeling to win with such strong competition.” Having secured two wins from three events, Pastrana now sits tied for 2nd Overall in the Rally America National Championship points standings.

Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino had their sights set on their third victory of 2009 after winning the previous Rally America round, The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, as well as the non-championship Rally New York USA event. Block leapt into the lead at the start of the Olympus Rally, winning half of Day One’s eight stages to amass a lead of over twenty seconds. However, Block’s impressive run was halted early the next day when his Subaru experienced engine trouble, forcing him out of the event. “Although we hit some bad luck my confidence is boosted from our stage times on the first day where the competition was so good and everyone was going flat-out. The next round in Oregon has roads similar to Olympus so I’m sure we will have the speed again there,” said Block.

BMX legend Dave Mirra debuted his new Super Production (SP) class 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI at the Olympus Rally. The SP class is a new Rally America competition category introduced this year and features minimally modified, production-based cars with the backing of prize money from Subaru of America. Mirra, along with former WRC Champion co-driver Derek Ringer, took a conservative approach to the rally while getting accustomed to the new car and spent most of the rally residing in 2nd overall in the SP class standings. Towards the end of the rally, Mirra ran wide hitting a bank and incurring three flat tires plus some light damage to his Subaru. After changing out two of the three flats with the on-board spare tire units and limping to the stage finish, Mirra retired from the rally. “I was driving conservative with the new STI and getting faster as the rally progressed,” explained Mirra. “The new STI has a lot of potential and I just need some more miles with it to get fully confident.”

Subaru Rally Team USA will visit the Pacific Northwest again next month for the Oregon Trail Rally, based in Portland, Oregon and Hood River to the east on May 15-17.

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.

Photo: Lars Gange | subaru.com/rally

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“It was awesome – we tied to the 10th of a second on the first stage of the last leg,” said Pastrana the finish. “The competition was amazing.”

Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom hauled into the lead at the Olympus Rally early Sunday, after their Subaru teammate Ken Block suffered a turbo problem and dropped off the pace.

NOS Energy’s Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Robbie Durant finished in second place overall, unable to make up time to the Subaru crew in the final stages while fighting an ailing transmission.

“We lost third and fourth gear in the last two stages today, and had to hold it in fifth,” said Comrie-Picard late Sunday. “But this finish means we’re still in the championship lead, and we’re happy.”

Comrie-Picard and Pastrana traded times all weekend, entering Day 2 one-two, separated by only two seconds.

In third place was the Rockstar Energy Team of Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis, who had been in the hunt for the lead early on but suffered trouble with their transmission late Saturday that put them at a disadvantage.

After overnight repairs, Foust and Beavis were forced to start Sunday’s stages with a replacement synchromesh transmission and they spent the day fighting to stay on the pace. It’s the duo’s second run in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

“It was pretty good out there,” said Foust. “We were battling on the first day and putting good time on Travis until we had our problem – it’s a promising thing for the car.”

Top Open class cars use a dog-engagement gearbox that allows the drivers to shift without using the clutch – saving them time on every corner. Teams say it’s worth a second per mile and while Foust’s technical skills meant he put up an able fight, he was unable to catch the leaders.

The result means Comrie-Picard holds onto the championship lead with 48 points, followed by Pastrana and Foust, who are tied for second with 45 points apiece.

In fourth place were Polish ace Andi Mancin and co-driver Maciej Wislawski, followed by Super Production class winner Pitor Wiktorczyk and co-driver Grzegorz Dorman in fifth.

Young driver Dillon Van Way and Joshua Knott took top honors in the two-wheel drive class in their 2002 Ford Focus

Wiktorczyk and Dorman had been battling with Matt Johnson and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey for the Super Production class lead on Day 1, but brake failure for the latter duo took them out of contention.

Subaru Rally Team USA’s newest member, Dave Mirra, and co-driver Derek Ringer were reported out of the rally late on Day 2. Mirra had said he was struggling to adjust to his new Subaru WRX STi.

Drivers smashed the stage record on the Brooklyn Stage on Sunday, with Pastrana, Foust and Comrie-Picard all wiping out Carl Jardevall’s top time of 6:33, set in 2004. After Sunday’s run, the new record holder is Pastrana, with a time of 6:27.9.

Subaru’s Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino suffered a turbo failure early Sunday and dropped out of podium contention. Team mechanics were able to repair the trouble, but they withdrew from the contest after further mechanical problems.

Weather in the region is notoriously unpredictable at this time of year, but the rally was clear and dry throughout. Teams lined up in Aberdeen, Washington, for the opening Parc Expose under sunny skies Saturday morning and, after a sprinkle of rain overnight, the sunshine continued until the Sunday finish.

The storied Olympus Rally is relatively new to the Rally America calendar, having returned to the national series in 2007. But the event has a lengthy history.

It was first run as a national event in 1973 and was a favorite stop on World Rally Championship calendar from 1986 to 1988. Rally racing legends including Rod Millen, Juha Kankkunen and American John Buffum are among those who have claimed victories at the famed contest.

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.

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. Eight top teams have already been invited to this August’s contest. Among the marques typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

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