Third victory in a row extends Higgins points lead in Rally America National Championship

Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew have won the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR), round five of the 2011 Rally America National Championship, by a mere 1.3 seconds over rival Antoine L’Estage. Higgins and L’Estage battled back and forth throughout the event with Higgins staging a late rally comeback that saw him take the rally lead on the penultimate stage after overcoming a thirty-seven second deficit midway through the final day of action. The amazingly close finish came after over 120 stage miles spanning two days of competition on high-speed forest roads of north-central Pennsylvania. The win at STPR is Higgins’ third victory in a row in the series and extends his points lead in the Rally America National Championship standings heading into the sixth and final round next month, the New England Forest Rally.

Higgins’ Subaru teammate Dave Mirra with co-driver Marshall Clarke finished 5th overall after staging his own comeback by working his way up the leaderboard from a 12th overall position after giving up nearly eleven minutes due to a pivotal pace notes error. Mirra’s Subaru STI sustained damage from the resulting accident but remained mechanically sound, and Mirra was able to continue and impressively work his way up the field for a valuable points finish.

The battle between Higgins, a winner at STPR in 2002 and 2003, and Antoine L’Estage, the defending Rally America Champion and 2010 STPR winner, was exceptional. L’Estage struck first and grabbed a 14 second lead after a short first day of competition. Higgins then battled back early on day-two and took a slight lead before dropping time when his in-car intercom with co-driver Craig Drew failed while on-stage forcing Higgins to slow down while they used an improvised hand signal system.

“With no intercom it was very challenging, Craig (Drew) would be waving signals to me but it was hard to see his hands and to know what exactly he was trying to tell me,” explained Higgins. “In the end I worked out that when he was waving like crazy I needed to slow down!”

Higgins was then hampered by a tire puncture in-stage that slowed him further, leaving him thirty-seven seconds adrift of L’Estage with just four forest stages and one short Super Special Stage remaining. Higgins then pushed his Subaru STI to the limit and began to catch L’Estage on the final loop of stages. In a nail biting comeback Higgins eventually overtook L’Estage on the penultimate stage and took a 2.5 second lead into the final Super Special Stage where he held off L’Estage’s final charge to win by a mere 1.3 seconds.

“It was a fantastic battle with Antoine and (co-driver) Nathalie (Richard). It’s always great to win a close fight so think I will remember this for some time,” said Higgins at the podium celebration. All of STPR’s competition stages were won by either Higgins or L’Estage, with Higgins fastest on seven stages and L’Estage six.

STPR is round five of the six-round Rally America Championship and is based in Wellsboro, PA. STPR features some of the fastest roads in the series with many technical sections with trees closely lining the roads. Severe dust caused visibility issues until approximately midway on day-two, when heavy rains in the area challenged teams with slippery roads.

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.

Photos: Lars Gange | subaru.com/rally

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The Rockstar Mitsubishi crew of Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard finished in a close second place after controlling the rally lead up until the second to last stage. The privateer driver set a blistering pace from the start despite being down on power and went on to win six of the event’s fourteen stages including both passes of the Super Special at the Tioga Fairgrounds.

The Susquehannock Trail Rally is round five of the six-round Rally America Championship and is based in Wellsboro, PA. STPR features some of the fastest, roughest gravel stages in the Series with technical sections and ‘gotcha’s’ scattered throughout. Severe dust caused visibility issues until about Stage 8, when heavy rains in the area challenged teams with slippery roads. The changing weather conditions contributed to an already heavy rate of attrition, putting several of the top crews and many regional competitors out of the event or out of contention.

The podium was rounded out by Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis, who once again placed third overall and first in the Super Production (SP) class. Lagemann nearly retired from the rally early on day two after running out of fuel on Stage 7 only three miles from the finish. Lagemann’s Subaru sputtered to a stop on the following transit, but rival SP class driver Travis Hanson displayed excellent sportsmanship by towing him back to Service. Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson placed fourth overall and second in class, clinching the 2011 Super Production title at STPR. The remainder of the Super Production field fell victim to attrition, leaving Lagemann and Hanson as the only crews in the class to finish the event.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, Chris Greenhouse piloted his 1995 Plymouth Neon to his first-ever National class victory. Greenhouse and co-driver Billy Mann finished sixth overall with a 38 second lead over the second fastest team in their class and were the quickest 2WD crew on both passes of the Super Special. Brian Gottlieb and co-driver Pat Darrow placed second in class in their 1989 Honda Civic with a comfortable cushion of over one minute on Dillon Van Way. Van Way and co-driver Jake Blattner placed third in 2WD despite losing time on Stage 7 after rolling their 2011 Ford Fiesta.

2010 Two-Wheel-Drive champion Chris Duplessis is the first in North America to build and field a Ford Fiesta R2, which made its U.S. debut at STPR. Duplessis and co-driver Catherine Woods’ rally came to a disappointing end after breaking a control arm tie rod near the finish of Stage 12. Duplessis was sitting sixth overall and was well over 8 minutes ahead of his 2WD rivals when he retired.

The 2011 Rally America National Championship comes down to the wire at the sixth and final round, the New England Forest Rally based in Newry, Maine this July 15-16.

About RallyCar

Based in Golden Valley, Minn., RallyCar sanctions the premier performance rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2011, RallyCar is conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Washington to Newry, Maine. RallyCar competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. Additionally, RallyCar sanctions the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship featuring rally cars racing door-to-door on tricky tarmac/dirt race tracks. More information about rally and rallycross can be found at www.rally-america.com, and videos can viewed at www.youtube.com/rallyamericaseries.

RallyCar’s 2011 Rally America National Championship is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., VP Racing Fuels, Best Buy, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, Danza del Sol Winery, Ford Racing, Team O’Neil Rally School, RECARO USA, Hawk Performance Brakes, Exedy Racing Clutches, Racewatches.com and Rally-Tire.com.

Higgins and Lagemann photo credit: http://WorldRallySport.com | Mike Proulx
Greenhouse photo credit: http://WorldRallySport.com | Mat Janiak

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As the oldest, continuously-running motorsports event in the state of Pennsylvania, the 2011 STPR event, which is round five of the RallyCar Championship Series, will take place June 3 and 4, 2011, in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. The rally, promoted by the Finger Lakes STPR Motorsports LLC committee, is chaired by Meridith Croucher, from Newark, N.Y. (Rochester area), and she reports the Committee is pleased to announce that recent format which includes racing stages at the Tioga County Fairgrounds is now being combined with both a Friday and Saturday appearance of the cars on the Green in the center of town.

“This has become a very popular family event, especially with the Fairground stages, where kids can get up close to the rally cars, meet the drivers, enjoy some refreshments, and then watch the cars battle on a closed course for competitive times and a chance to win the event,” she said, “but some local residents and merchants have missed the second appearance of the cars on the Green on Saturday.”

“We have brought that back by instituting a Parc Expose – an open exhibition of the cars – on the Green at noon on Friday for the traditional viewing and ceremonial send-off into the Waste Management territory for the timed racing stages, plus a revival of the Saturday morning send-off from the Green as well,” said Ms. Croucher.

The Fairgrounds stages cost five dollars for admission each day, with event tickets on sale in advance at the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce (info at 570-724-1926).

One of the other changes made several years ago – the transition of STPR to an alcohol-free event – has helped enhance the family enjoyment of the rally for everyone, and made the administration of the event, both in town and in the woods, easier.

More than 40 race cars, the infusion of millions of dollars to local area businesses rivaling a national convention, and RallyCar championship points chase all highlight the arrival of STPR to the state forests near the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, again announcing the coming of spring in Tioga County.

Citizens & Northern Bank, Waste Management return

With Waste Management, plus Citizens and Northern Bank and the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce sponsorship of the event helping to defray overhead expenses, the STPR Committee is able to offer the rally to the area at little or no cost to the community. Besides the 400 volunteers who work the rally – many of whom come in from out of town and use local services – another estimated 10,000 people come to the Wellsboro area either as spectators or workers for the various teams and their sponsors.

What is STPR and Performance Rally?

The Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally was first conducted by the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA in 1977, with the assistance of members of other sports car clubs in the Rochester, NY area. Members of these clubs (Triumph Touring Club, Corvair Owners Club, MG Car Club and others) had experience with previous performance events such as the Snowblower and Lunar Lunge which ran out of Rochester as early as 1965 and were part of the M.O.N.Y. series (Michigan, Ohio and New York), the forerunner of the SCCA ProRally series.

In the United States, performance rally teams have a driver and co-driver (or navigator) for each car, and the competitors race in segments (or stages) on closed public roads, trying to get from the beginning to the end of the stage as fast as they can. Unlike other forms of motorsports, there is no practice allowed, and the course is not revealed to the competitors until the navigator receives the route instructions before the start of the event. The navigator then barks out the route instructions while the drive proceeds – sometimes at speeds exceeding 100 miles-per-hour – through forest, desert, and logging around at events around the country. The cars, all street legal to allow driving on public roads between racing stages, are compact and sub-compact cars with varying amounts of performance modifications depending on the class they are running in. The sight of these cars, running at speed through the woods to beat the clock, makes exciting spectating for the fans who come out to watch performance rally.

STPR was the last of the great endurance events on the national schedule maintaining the one day format and is designed with a high stage/transit mileage ratio and, thanks to the outstanding cooperation of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), some of the best and most demanding roads in the country.

The Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally presented by Citizens and Northern Bank is a National Rally, approximately 280 miles long with approximately 127 miles of competitive stages. The Sherwood Forest Rally is a Regional Rally, coefficient 2, which includes Stages One through Seven and is approximately 52 miles. The Finger Lakes Rally is a Regional Rally, coefficient 3, which includes Stages Eight through Fourteen and is approximately 71 miles.

In 2008, STPR changed to a new two-day format to better utilize new competitive content, and give spectators more daylight viewing options. The Super Special Stages at the Tioga County Fairgrounds sponsored by Subaru and will once again run once on Friday and once on Saturday. STPR has six spectator locations to show the sport to maximum advantage in all its exciting aspects to the public and media.

VIP Super Pass Back for 2011

After last year’s sold-out STPR VIP Super Pass, the Committee is continuing its expanded spectator option to include separate Friday and Saturday programs for those who might not be able to do both days.

Starting Friday afternoon with the Waste Management stages, where you will be escorted to a private viewing area, to Saturday afternoon, when a bus will take you to a secluded, private area to watch the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon stages, you can get a view of the action previous reserved only for the working media. Food and drinks will be served, and VIP Super Pass holders will receive special rally mementos. Bring your camera for even better photos than before.

Plus, there will be VIP seating for the stages both Friday and Saturday nights at the Tioga County Fairgrounds. Bus transportation will be provided to and from the Fairgrounds to all points. All this for only $50.00 per person per day – kids are not free, as the number of VIP Super Passes are limited. Pick them up today at the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce and Tioga Publishing Company, or call 570-724-1926 for additional information.

The Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, presented by Citizens & Northern Bank, is a National Rally, approximately 300 miles long with approximately 128 miles of competitive stages. The Sherwood Forest Rally is a Regional Rally (for competitors who are not running for national Rally America Championship points), coefficient 2 that includes Stages One through Six and is approximately 48 miles. The Finger Lakes Rally is a Regional Rally, coefficient 3 that includes Stages Seven through Ten and is approximately 80 miles – both Regional rallies are run in conjunction with the full national event.

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 2011 RallyCar National Championship series consists of six exciting events throughout the country in many different weather and road conditions. 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 – with some of those spots being decided at STPR. Among the marques typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

L’Estage/Richard Won 2010 STPR

Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard, from St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, survived a big rain storm that came through North Central Pennsylvania to win the 2010 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) presented by Citizens & Northern Bank.

This was Antoine’s second win in three years at STPR in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, and expanded his points lead over Nashua, NH’s Bill Bacon and co-driver Peter Watt, who finished second in their Mitsubishi Evo IX. It was the boost that L’Estage and Richard needed to carry them to the series championship. But the rally didn’t start off that well for the winning team, however, as they lost a power steering fluid hose fitting on the second stage, and their competitors actually save the day.

“The hose popped off during the last part of the stage, making it very difficult to steer. Fortunately, the real twisty part of the stage was over, but the next stage would have been a disaster with no power steering. But competitors Bill Bacon and Pat Moro saw we were in trouble, and dove under the hood to get the fitting back on so we could not only complete stage three, but we won the stage. That’s real sportsmanship,” said L’Estage, a two-time Canadian and North American Rally Champion.

“We realized by that time that we were competitive, and the car was good, but we couldn’t quite go as fast as Block(Ford factory driver Ken Block), so we set our own pace and concentrated on keeping ahead of Bill Bacon, who was just behind us in the standings. When Ken broke, our strategy paid off, and we were able to take the victory” said L’Estage, who won his first Rally America title a month later.

The two favored, factory-backed entries – the Ford Fiesta of Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino and the Subaru Impreza of Dave Mirra/Martin Headland – both failed to complete the rally, leaving the top spots up for grabs for the Mitsubishis. Block was leading the event until he lost his transmission on stage #10, while Mirra went off the road at high speed on stage five, bending both the front and back of the car. Mirra was okay, and co-driver Headland was taken to Wellsboro Hospital with back pain, but was treated and released.

Third was the Subaru Impreza of Ramana Lagemann/Christine Beavis, the highest finishing Subaru (they also won the Super Production class). Fourth overall and second in Super Production was the Subaru Impreza of Tim Rooney/Jeremy Wimpey, while the Patrick Moro Ole Holter Subaru Impreza was fifth overall and third in Super Production.

Charity Rally to Benefit Cancer Society

On Friday, June 3, the 22th annual Relay for Life street rally will take place in conjunction with the STPR event. This year’s event will benefit the Tioga Country chapter of the American Cancer Society, and is opened to the general public.

A time-speed-distance rally designed for any legal vehicle, within the legal speed limit, on high quality paved and unpaved roads in Tioga County. This event will not use the forest roads of the Performance Rally. The instructions will have a mileage to each turn, and are intended to be easy to follow. There are no tricks or traps involved in following the course. Awards in four classes: Novice (less than six (6) rallies by anyone in the car); Stock (stock odometer & single memory calculator); Limited (any equipment which cannot accumulate time and distance simultaneously, including non-programmable calculator, relocated odometer, – SCCA class “L” equipment; and Equipped (anything goes). Door Prizes, too. No limit to the number of people in each car. Limited to the first 50 paid entries.

Registration for the charity rally is from 11:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m., with a class for newcomers to time-speed-distance road rallying at 12:30 p.m. – all at the Tioga County Fairgrounds. There is a mandatory drivers meeting at 1:00 p.m., and the three-hour event starts at 1:31 p.m. the fee for paid, pre-registered competitors is $35/car before May 25, and $40/car after that. More information can be found at www.stpr.org.

Schedule of Events – 2011 STPR

All Registration activities occur at the Tioga County Fairgrounds, Route 6 between Mansfield and Wellsboro, PA.

STPR is an alcohol-free event!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011
7-9 p.m.,Registration at the Tioga County Fairgrounds for competitors, service crews, officials & scrutineers

Thursday, June 2, 2011
9 a.m.- Noon/2-5 p.m./7-9 p.m., Competitor Registration and Service Crew Registration Hours NOTE: If you need special consideration, please contact the Competitor Registrar.

9 a.m.-1 p.m./2:30-8 p.m.,Volunteer registration for STPR NOTE: If you need special consideration, please contact the Volunteer Registrar.

3-8 p.m.,Scrutineering for all cars. No appointment needed. Team Crew at Scrutineering must be registered!

Friday, June 3, 2011
9-11 a.m.,Competitor Registration/Service Crew Registration

9-11 a.m.,Scrutineering open, no appointments needed. If you need Scrutineering after this time please contact the Chief for special consideration.

9 a.m.-1 p.m./2:30 – 8 p.m.,Volunteer registration for STPR NOTE: If you need special consideration, please contact the Volunteer Registrar.

10:30 a.m – 11:30 a.m. – Novice seminar fo new rallyists – Fairgrounds

Noon – ,Parc Expose opens at the Green in Wellsboro

1 p.m.,All cars must be checked in to MTC/Mandatory Drivers meeting with Rally America Stewards at the fountain at the Green

2:01 p.m.,The Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally Phase 1 begins (Sherwood Forest Rally Begins)

7 p.m. (approx),Subaru Super Special Stage, sponsored by the Philadelphia Zone of Subaru of America, at Tioga County Fairgrounds

9 p.m. (approx) – Welcome party

Saturday, June 4, 2011
7-10 a.m.,Service Crew Registration on the Green at STPR merchandise Tent

8:30 a.m.,Parc Expose opens around the Green in Wellsboro

9 a.m.,All cars must be checked in to MTC

10 a.m.,The Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally Phase 2 begins (Sherwood Forest Regional Rally continues)

12:50 p.m. (approx) – ,Scrutineering for cars wanting to RE-enter the second rally, located near food pavilion – Germania Service. Finger Lakes Regional Rally begins at Germania.

6.50 p.m.,First car arrives at fairgrounds. Begin 15 minute Service and Parc Ferme.

8:15 p.m. (approx),Subaru SSS begins

10 p.m.(approx) – Party at the Fairgrounds for all participants. Tickets are required.

ASAP after Rally ends – ,Posting of Provisional Scores

30 minutes after posting -,Deadline for filing Scoring Inquiries & Claims

After scores are finalized – Awards Presentation at the Fairgrounds

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Bacon also lands one of 12 spots for ESPN’s X Games 16 in Rally Car Racing at Los Angeles

NASHUA, NH: With west coast dust and dirt still in the tires of his rally car and a few bent and damaged body panels to replace, Bill Bacon, a full-time Firefighter from Chelmsford, MA, and his family went to work on their rally car – a brightly painted Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, safe and sound in their home garage located in Chelmsford, MA.

They had mere thirteen days to completely rebuild their rally car from top to bottom and front to back before they loaded their truck and trailer and headed south for the 6-hour drive to the village of Wellsboro, PA where they would compete in the legendary 2-day Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally – Round #5 of the Rally America National Rally Championship which took place June 3-5, 2010.

Although their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX faired extremely well following the two recent events they competed in at Portland, Oregon and Ocean Shores, Washington, lots of work still needed to be done in order for the family-run Bacon Motorsports Rally Team to fully prepare their rally car for the brutal pounding that was expected to take place at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Pennsylvania.

With their Mitsubishi rally car fully prepared and the team ready to go, Bill and his co-driver (also known as a navigator), Peter Watt from Ontario, Canada, successfully completed their reconnaissance (recce) run of the entire 100+ mile rally course on Thursday leading up to the Friday / Saturday event. That evening, during the seeded draw that determines the start order for the top five rally teams, Bill and Peter ended up being selected as the first car on the road, a new opportunity for both of them during a Rally America National Championship event!

The next two days and 100+ miles of hard-fought competition would prove to be adventurous for the Bacon Motorsports Team as they encountered numerous on-course challenges – everything from bent suspension components to broken brake lines. In the end however, the team of Bacon & Watt finished second overall out of 34 rally teams behind the current Rally America National Rally Championship overall points leaders, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard of Quebec, Canada.

With their second place finish at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally etched in the record books, Bill Bacon and the Bacon Motorsports Rally Team also solidified second place overall in the Rally America National Championship with just one event remaining, the New England Forest Rally which is scheduled for July 15-17, 2010 at the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine.

In addition, their second place overall result in Pennsylvania also secured Bill one of twelve very hard-to-get slots in ESPN’s Rally Car Racing competition that’s part of the much sought-after Summer X Games 16 which takes place at the world famous LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, California July 29-August 1, 2010.

The Bacon Motorsports Rally Team would like to thank Hawk Performance Brakes, Kaps Transmissions, D-Force Wheels and Veloz Media for their products and service support.

Photos by Mat Janiak | worldrallysport.com

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- Teammate Travis Pastrana Finishes 2nd and Retains Championship Lead -

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block earned his second Rally America victory of 2009 with a dominating win at the 2009 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR). Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino were untouchable in their 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, leading from the very first stage and going on to win eight of thirteen competition stages at STPR, round five of the 2009 Rally America National Championship. Block’s Subaru teammate and defending three-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana with co-driver Christian Edstrom made it a 1-2 finish for Subaru Rally Team USA by placing 2nd Overall. Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer, in Subaru Rally Team USA’s Super Production Class Subaru STI hit a large rock while battling for the class lead and were forced to retire from the event.

The win at STPR is sweet redemption for Ken Block who has experienced hard luck early in the 2009 Rally America season and at past STPR events. The two-day STPR takes place on high-speed, tree lined roads in northern Pennsylvania. “I’ve rolled here, and I DNF’d last year; the year before that I crashed in shakedown and then only made it a stage and a half,” explained Block. “So, to win here with a good clean run is really satisfying. I’ve also had rough luck this season, not finishing three rallies. The win here really helps.”

Block set a blistering pace early at STPR, taking the lead on the first stage and never looking back. After winning all three of Day One’s stages Block had accumulated an impressive one-minute lead. Block could have afforded to throttle back on Day Two but he continued his rapid pace winning five of ten stages to take victory over Travis Pastrana by one minute and twelve seconds. “I’m always pushing myself and always trying to become a better driver so we didn’t really slow down on the second day. Everything was going well and my Subaru was performing flawlessly, so we just kept the pace up and drove smart,” explained Block. “This is such a tough event with really fast roads; you can’t afford to make any mistakes, and winning here means a lot.”

Block’s teammate Travis Pastrana may have been able to challenge Block for the win but a broken right front suspension on only the second stage of the rally cost Pastrana nearly a minute of lost time. Pastrana quickly fought his way from third to second overall and pulled away steadily throughout Day Two to secure a second overall finish. “The goal was to win if you can but podium for sure so we can extend our points lead in the championship,” said Pastrana.

The third Subaru Rally Team USA entry of driver Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer were gunning for a Super Production class victory in their 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The new Super Production (SP) class, a new category for 2009 that features minimally modified, production-based cars has showcased close battles at each rally thus far and STPR was no different. While battling for the class lead midway through the rally Mirra hit a large rock that damaged both left wheels of his Subaru, knocking him out the event. “It was like getting kicked out of a really good party early,” said Mirra. “We just hit a massive embedded rock on the inside of a turn and both left wheels were damaged.”

Vermont-based Subaru Rally Team USA stays close to home for round six, the New England Forest Rally (July 17-18), held on the dusty gravel logging roads along the Maine/New Hampshire border. Visit subaru.com/rally for all the latest team news and photos and follow the team on Twitter at 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.

Photos: Lars Gange | subaru.com/rally

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Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino have had their share of bad luck this season, with three DNFs in their previous four starts and Block said he was happy for the win – especially at an event that hasn’t been good to him in the past.

“STPR has been a struggle for me. I’m happy,” said Block. “I’ve rolled here, I broke last year, the year before that I crashed in shakedown and then made it a stage and a half.”

But he wasn’t ready to say he’d managed to shake off the season’s bad-luck streak: “I’m not going to say it’s over until I finish at least three or four more events.”

Block’s Subaru teammates Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom took second place. The duo lost a minute to suspension damage on Day 1, but managed to claw back into second place and hold it there to the finish.

Pastrana admitted the course was fast enough to be scary at times, but he was able to keep a cool head and extend his championship lead.

“The goal was win if you can, but podium for sure,” said Pastrana. “It was a good event.”

Third place went to Bill Bacon and co-driver Peter Watt, their first U.S. podium result together.

“We tried to push right from the get-go,” said Bacon. “Until now, our best finish in the States was fourth, so we’re happy.”

Bacon is running a limited season this year but with a pair of top-five finishes early on, he has secured enough points to be awarded an X Games invitation. If he is able to attend, this will be his first time in the high-profile Los Angeles contest.

In addition to battling for championship points, many teams are vying for a shot at X Games gold in August. Four top points scorers in the Rally America series will earn an invitation after this event.

Polish driver Andi Mancin and co-driver Ryszard Ciupka – who are also expected to receive an X Games invitation – finished fourth this weekend. The event started poorly for the duo, who took a rock to a brake line on Day 1 and were forced to run a stage without brakes, then lost even more time to an ailing clutch on Day 2.

Piotr Wiktorczyk and Grzegorz Dorman took the Super Production class win, finishing in fifth place overall. Wiktorczyk is also expected to make the trip to X Games this summer.

STPR is typically tough and often becomes a battle of attrition as teams fall victim to the challenging course and tough roads. The 2009 event was no different.

Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard – who took the win here in 2008 – reported trouble with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X throughout the contest. After losing time on Day 1 to a blown turbo hose, the team continued to battle a variety of mechanical issues well into Day 2. Their transmission failed before the final stage but they pulled into the final service of the day on a tow-rope hooked to Andrew Comrie-Picard’s NOS Energy Mitsubishi and were able to finish in the top 10.

For their part, Comrie-Picard and guest co-driver Marshall Clarke found themselves out of the running for the podium right at the start after receiving a penalty for fueling procedures and then suffering a soft rollover on the fourth stage. They were able to continue after the roll and the team’s finish was enough to boost Comrie-Picard into second-place in the championship.

The rally ended early for BMX superstar Dave Mirra and co-driver Derek Ringer. The Subaru Rally Team USA’s Super Production class team took damage to their car after they struck a rock on Day 2 and were unable to continue.

The Swedish World Rally Team of Patrik Sandell and Emil Axelsson were out of the contest after only one stage with reported engine failure. It was tough luck for Sandell, who had been expected to challenge for the win at this contest. The driver has won two Production World Rallies so far this year, and was the Junior World Rally Champion in 2006.

Rally newcomer Brian Deegan and his co-driver Chrissie Beavis also had a tough event. The team’s crew repaired a broken driveshaft after a rough Day 1 stage, then the duo went off-road on Day 2 and did further damage before they lost their brakes on the second-to-last stage. But the team managed to cross the finish line and Deegan says he expects to receive a so-called “at-large” invitation to the X Games Rally competition.

“It was different than I thought but I like it,” said Deegan of his debut rally driving experience. “I thought trophy truck drivers were really talented but I think rally driving is where you really learn to drive – better than anyone else.”

Deegan made his name as a supercross and motocross star, and founding member of the Metal Mulisha group of riders. Deegan is the latest action sports star to try his hand at rally competition, joining the likes of Pastrana and Mirra — both series regulars.

The Susquehannock Trail event has been running since 1977, and has long been known as one of the most demanding events on the calendar. The 2009 running of the contest features a return to the popular two-day format, with a spectator-friendly daylight schedule and super special stages on each day.

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.

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.

Six top drivers — Pastrana, Comrie-Picard, Block, Mirra, Foust and Matt Johnson – have already accepted first-round invitations to X Games. The results after the first five rounds of the championship mean that Mancin, Bacon, Wiktorczyk and Gruszka are expected to round out the field, with two other so-called “at large” drivers yet to be named.

All results are considered informational pending official race processes.

Among the marques typically represented in Rally America events are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

The next round of the Rally America championship moves east to the forests of New England for the New England Forest Rally July 17-18.

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