Gottlieb/Gager winning IRNY 2011 Photo by Liviu Hrituleac, www.LHImages.com

The up-and-coming rally team of Matt Gottlieb and Austin Gager (Subaru Impreza WRX) took advantage of breakages by the favorites, as well as their own speed, to win International Rally New York 2011. This should be a popular win in the Catskill Mountain region of New York State where the rally is held. Both are locals who ran their first national rally at the spring Rally New York USA in 2009.

Gottlieb/Gager ran in the top five on the first leg, as the more veteran entries of Martin Donnelly/Brendan McCabe (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, from Ireland) and Michael Reilly/Josh Benthien (Ford Focus turbo, from Maine) raced for the lead. But the Reilly/Benthien car suffered a broken transmission casing on the first afternoon, and Donnelly/McCabe went out with unspecified mechanical problems on the second day. (For Reilly, this must have been especially disappointing, because this was the first time that his 2 wheel drive Ford was among the theoretically faster 4 wheel drive leaders.) Gottlieb then had to cope with an engine problem, which robbed the Subaru of power at the top end in the closing miles.

Alvin Fong/Billy Machin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) achieved what many can only dream about – placing second in their first national rally. They were 2-3/4 minutes ahead of the more veteran Niall Johnson/Daniela Manago (Subaru Impreza WRX). Those two teams also finished first and second in the Production All Wheel Drive class. Fong’s team, in order to keep him focused on finishing, had not told him where he stood in the rally. He didn’t find out that he was the runner-up until the staff of a checkpoint broke the news just before the end.

With Reilly/Benthien out early, the local father/son team of Tom and Brian Barton (Mazda 323) looked set to take home the rally’s 2 Wheel Drive category. But wheel bearing or axle problems late in the second day allowed the novice team of J. Tyler Rohrer/Dane Hylan to take home the top 2WD prize ahead of the Bartons. (This was the second rally for Rohrer. It was the first for Hylen, who just a few weeks ago was flying helicopters for the U. S. Army in Afghanistan.)

Mechanical failures did not prevent the 2011 United States Rally Championship leaders from taking home top honors. In the All Wheel Drive category, Mitchell Williams/Alix Hakala (Audi 80) came into this final series event with a huge lead. They went out of the rally on the first special stage with a flat tire and broken wheel, but the points for starting the rally put them over the top. Likewise, the husband/wife team of Chris and Lori O’Driscoll (Subaru Impreza WRX) were near the top of the standings, went out with clutch failure here, but placed second in the AWD points race. Similarly, in the 2 Wheel Drive championship, Michael Reilly/Josh Benthien were sidelined early, but claimed the season title. Eric Potts/Steve Case (Ford Focus) were second, despite a poor finish in International Rally New York due to contacting a tree.

United States Rally Championship contenders will now have the winter to rebuild, before gathering again in the Catskills for Rally New York USA next April.

Photo by Liviu Hrituleac, www.LHImages.com

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The Sno*Drift Rally featured nearly 130 miles of snow and ice-covered roads in northern Michigan with nearly one third of the miles run at night. Constantly changing weather and road conditions historically make this rally one of the most difficult in the Rally America Championship. The event is made even more challenging due to Rally America rules that prohibit the use of spiked or studded ice tires, placing a premium on traction.

Mirra started the rally cautiously, as he grew accustomed to working with his new co-driver, the experienced Marshall Clarke, as well as the difficult conditions that the Sno*Drift Rally is notorious for. However, the duo would encounter a major setback when they were forced to stop on stage late into day one and change a punctured tire, losing nearly five crucial minutes in the process. But Mirra stayed composed and patient, slowly increasing his speed on day two and began to leapfrog up the leader board from 5th to 3rd position. Then on the final two stages Mirra moved into 2nd Overall position and held on for his best ever stage rally finish.

“I had a game plan for Sno*Drift to start slow and stay composed and mistake free, while not worrying much about stage times,” explained Mirra at the podium. “So much can happen here, the conditions and the traction change from turn to turn. As things progressed I felt more and more comfortable with the car and the notes, plus Marshall and I were working perfectly together. It feels great to earn a podium here after having stuck to my strategy and staying patient. My Subaru ran great in these tough conditions.”

Mirra’s new teammate, multi-time British and American Rally champion David Higgins made his competition debut with Subaru Rally Team USA at Sno*Drift. An expected battle for overall victory between Higgins and 2010 Canadian and Rally America Champion Antoine L’Estage never materialized as L’Estage retired after sliding off the road on the opening loop of stages. Higgins then inherited a strong lead of over two minutes heading into the final night stages of day one. However Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew had their rally abruptly cut short when their Subaru experienced an engine issue forcing them to retire.

“Although my debut with the 2011 Subaru STI was cut short, I had a really good feeling with the car and came away from Sno*Drift with a very bright outlook on the 2011 season,” explained Higgins. “I’m really looking forward to driving on the high speed gravel stages at next month’s 100 Acre Wood Rally.”

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), 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 subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.
***

Chris Yandell
Marketing Manager
Vermont SportsCar / Subaru Rally Team USA

The Mt. Washington Hillclimb: www.climbtotheclouds.com

office: 802.655.3533 ext16
cell: 802.233.7633
email: chris@vtcar.com
www.vtcar.com

Subaru Rally Team USA
subaru.com/rally

Follow the team on Twitter: www.twitter.com/srtusa

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Lewiston, MI, January 29th 2011: Cline Racing Sports/Exedy Rally Team own, Evan Cline and Grzegorz Dorman piloted their 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX to a 14th place overall and 6th place in Super Production class during the opening round of the Rally America National Championship Series presented by RallyCar, Sno*Drift Rally. The team, based in Brighton, MI fought their way thru snow and ice on the road of northeastern part of lower Michigan state improving their times throughout the entire event.

This year’s conditions were a lot better than previous years. Even though there was not much snow in the area, it covered over 130 competetive stage miles, divided onto 18 steges. Cline Racing Sports was one of the 47 teams that began the rally on the Friday afternoon from Lewiston, MI. Their stage times continuously improved on Friday and although they had two spins on Friday stages they finished the seven stages planned for the day with total result of 8th overall and 4th in Super Production (SP) class.

While other teams continued to have problems going off the road on the icy sections of the stages, Cline drove exceptionally well and by the end of stage 11, the team was sitting 5th overall and 2nd in SP. Unfortunately during one of the special stages on Saturday, their Subaru encountered problems with air delivery to the engine and the American – Polish crew had to stop on special stage 15 for over 13 minutes. After stopping on the stage and cleaning the snow out of the airbox, Cline and Dorman got the car to the last service of the day in Atlanta, MI.

Cline came out of this “unscheduled” stop on a mission to get back the lost time and to improve their position in class on the last two stages. He put in the 5th best time overall on that stage. Cline Racing Sports ended the rally in 14th place overall and 6th place in the SP class.

Cline commented: “As a team we gained a lot of experience during this difficult event. I even thought this was our very first ride together with Greg and we seemed to be working great in the car and only expect to improve from here on through the season”.

Team would like to thank local businessman Jeff Evans and his wife for having the team as a guest in their heated garage in Lewiston, MI. Jeff, owner of local business in Lewiston, MI, AMI Industries.

Cline Racing Sports next event will be at 100 Acre Wood Rally based in Salem, MO on February 25th and 26th, 2011.

Cline Racing Sports team driver, Evan Cline is sponsored by:

Exedy Clutches, Recaro, Disc Brakes Australia, Hawk, Carbotech, K&N, JE Pistons, Magnus Motorsports, Innovate Motorsports, KSport and Mobsteel.

For more information about the event go to www.sno-drift.org

For more information about the 2011 Rally America National Series go to www.rally-america.com

For more information about the team go to www.ClineRacingSports.com

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The Sno*Drift Rally features nearly 130 miles of snow and ice-covered roads in northern Michigan with nearly one third of the miles run at night. Constantly changing weather and road conditions historically make this rally extremely challenging made even more treacherous as Rally America rules prohibit the use of spiked or studded ice tires here placing a premium on road traction.

“I’m really looking forward to my first event with SRT USA,” explained Higgins. “I’ve driven the team’s 2011 STI several times in test sessions over the past two months on both gravel and snow and I’ve already got a comfortable feeling with the car which is important entering such a challenging event like the Sno*Drift Rally.” Higgins will be co-driven by the UK’s Craig Drew and it will be the duo’s first time working together in competition. Higgins is a past winner of the Sno*Drift Rally, taking victory in 2003.

Higgins brings extensive rallying experience to SRT USA, most recently competing in the Chinese Rally Championship having gone on to help his team secure championship titles in 2004, 2007 and 2009. No stranger to the American rally circuit, Higgins claimed consecutive SCCA ProRally titles in 2002 and 2003 before returning to the UK and winning the 2004 British Rally National Championship. Notably, the 38 year-old driver has also won the Group N British Rally National title in 1997, 1999, and 2002. As a testament of his passion for the sport, Higgins and his family also operate a UK-based training facility, The Forest Experience Rally School.

Dave Mirra meanwhile is looking forward to working on car setup development and driving techniques with the veteran Higgins as he looks to advance his driving in 2011. Mirra earned Rally America Rookie of The Year honors in 2008 and achieved two podium finishes in three rounds of the inaugural RallyCar Rallycross series in 2010 as well as a podium finish in the Olympus rally that same year. “It’s going to be a fun year with David and with my new co-driver Marshall Clarke, who has a lot of experience as well,” said Mirra. “Sno*Drift can be really tough and grip levels change constantly, so I plan on being conservative with my pace as Marshall (Clarke) and I get up to speed together with the notes and conditions.”

Competition begins Friday afternoon (January 28, 2011) with seven stages covering nearly sixty miles. The Sno*Drift Rally continues Saturday (January 29, 2011) with eleven more stages covering seventy snow and ice covered miles. For exclusive video and photos of SRT USA’s pre-event test session as well as event updates visit Subaru.com/rally. For event results and live updates fans can visit rally-america.com.

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), 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 subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

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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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Subaru Rally Team USA announced today the selection of Sverre Isachsen of Norway, the defending FIA European Rallycross Champion, to fill the team’s guest driver
slot at the 2010 ESPN Summer X Games 16 in Los Angeles, California on July 31st. Isachsen will

join Subaru Rally Team USA star drivers Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra for the debut of SuperRally
at the X Games, each will drive a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI modified for Rallycross with an over
550 horsepower Boxer engine and Symmetrical All Wheel Drive.

“I’m very excited to come to a huge event like the Summer X Games and to have the opportunity to be
teammates to legends like Pastrana and Mirra is very special,” said Isachsen. “I think a Rallycross
style event will fit perfectly with the X Games because it is a very entertaining motorsport with a lot of

action. Rallycross has traditionally been a European motorsport, but I think the concept can be big in
the USA and I’m happy to be a part of the very first Rallycross event in America!”

Isachsen was the Norwegian Rallycross Champion in 1999, 2000 and 2004 and debuted in the top

level FIA European Rallycross Championship (the ERC) in 2002. After finishing fourth in the ERC
standings three years in a row (2006-2008) Isachsen achieved ultimate success last year and was
crowned the ERC Champion. His title defense in 2010 has been exceptional so far and Sverre leads

the 2010 ERC standings after four of ten rounds, having won two events outright this year already.

“SuperRally will be an exciting addition to the X Games extreme line-up and it is only fitting to have

the world’s best Rallycross driver be a part of it,” said Todd Lawrence, Promotions and Sponsorship

Manager, Subaru of America, Inc.

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Teammate Pastrana Foregoes Event Due to Schedule Conflict

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Dave Mirra will be the lone team entry in this weekend’s 2010 Oregon Trail Rally based in and around Portland, Oregon. A previously scheduled engagement with the Nitro Circus Live tour in Australia precludes Subaru driver Travis Pastrana, the 4-time defending Rally America National Champion, from competing at the Oregon Trail Rally. Mirra currently holds 4th Overall in the 2010 Rally America National Championship standings while teammate Pastrana sits in 2nd having won the last round of the series, the Olympus Rally, late last month.

Pastrana will headline Nitro Circus Live in Australia this month, a series of stadium based events that will feature action sports stars performing never before seen tricks and stunts in a spectacular live action format.

The Oregon Trail Rally, round four of the 2010 Rally America National Championship, features over 115 miles of competition run over the course of three days. The action kicks off this Friday in Portland with a night of fan-friendly mixed-surface stages at Portland International Raceway. The bulk of the rally however will take place east of Portland in the Mt. Hood area on technical and flowing gravel roads. The ever changing Pacific Northwest weather adds to the challenge for drivers and crews. Area roads can get extremely muddy and wet with rain; however, it is just as possible for them to be dry and dusty.

Mirra, driving a BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI enters the Oregon Trail Rally on a high note after having earned his best-ever national finish at the previous round , the Olympus Rally, where he placed 3rd Overall.. “I can’t wait to get out to the Oregon Trail Rally and pick up where I left off at Olympus. My pace was solid but I’m not where I want to be yet,” explains Mirra. “I’m progressively getting quicker and more confident in my new, more powerful Subaru [Impreza WRX] STI this season, but I feel I made a lot of progress at Olympus. I’m hoping to find some more at Oregon and get a bit faster still.” Mirra will again have co-driver Martin Headland sitting alongside.

Dave Mirra will meet fans at the Oregon Trail Rally Fan Appreciation Show this Thursday (May 13, 2010) from 11 am – 1 pm at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. Later that same day, Mirra and his #40 Subaru Impreza WRX STI raly car will make an appearance at Dick Hannah Subaru in the Vancouver Auto Mall from 6:00pm – 7:30pm for an autograph session.

The Friday Fan Spectacular at Portland International Raceway (PIR) begins at 6 pm kicking off with a Parc Expose (car display) where fans can view the competition cars up close and mingle with drivers. This will be followed by a series of mixed surface competitive special stages specifically designed for spectator viewing.

Event updates, news and results can be found at www.Rally-America.com starting Friday evening. Nightly Subaru Rally Team USA updates and photo galleries can be found at rally.subaru.com.

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 rally.subaru.com and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

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“We were running pretty strong, and we were getting ready to re-claim the lead,” explained co-driver Alan Ockwell, of Toronto, ON. “But on a road section we noticed an odd sound coming from the engine bay. Despite that, we started the stage, but when the warning lights came up on the instruments, we pulled over and that was that. We still dont know what caused the problem but the mechanics will be going over it when we get back.”

Despite retiring from the event, Richard and Ockwell both remained buoyant for the remainder of the season. Driving a Subaru Impreza STI prepared by Rocket Rally Racing, of Squamish, BC, the team was able to dramatically claw back an early deficit, putting on a great show for fans and specatators lining the ice covered roads. An off-road excursion on the first stage of the event saw the team momentarily lie in 50th position out of a total of 55 entires. Once repairs were effected, the team dominated the remainder of the event, winning every stage but one, and at times being nearly 2 seconds per kilometer faster than their nearest championship rivals. This raw demonstration of speed put the team firmly into a podium position and in contention for the lead of the event when they had their problem.

“As usual, if I put myself in a position where I need to respond with really fast times, its not a problem, but it puts a lot of stress on the equipment, and the co-driver,” joked four time Canadian Champion Patrick Richard. “Its too bad we couldn’t finish the event, as we had already reclaimed all of the time we had lost at the beginning, and we were having a lot of fun in the process.”

It was also a fantastic debut for the team’s new tire supplier, Yokohama Tire Canada. Having recently signed a deal with Yokohama to run ADVAN Motorsport tires for the entire 2010 Canadian Rally Championship, the driver was adamant that running their tires was the right choice. “In Canada, unlike in most other rally championships world-wide, drivers must compete on ice covered roads without using any studs, meaning tire choice and selection is critical. On the ice and snow, the Yokohama product clearly gave us an advantage over the rest of the field, and we wouldn’t have been the fastest car out there without them.”

Despite not scoring any points at this seasons’ opening event, the team’s primary championship rivals also did not fare very well, with the 2009 Championship runner up also failing to score points due to an off-road excursion. “With all the championship contenders falling to finish, the championship is basically going to re-start at the next rally, and with the speed we’ve shown we’re confident for the rest of the season.”

The next round of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship will be the Rocky Mountain Rally, held in Calgary, AB. All events of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship are televised nationally in English on TSN and TSN2, and in French on RDS. The Canadian Rally Championship is also internationally broadcast in Europe/Asia on MotorsTV, please check your local listings for details.

Rocket Rally Racing is based in Squamish, BC, Canada and operates the Subaru Rally Team Canada on behalf of Subaru Canada, with associate sponsors Yokohama Tire, Gulf Lubricants, Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT providing product support for the 2010 championship campaign.

Photo: Andrew Harvey / www.andrewharvey.ca

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