ABERDEEN, WA — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana hauled into the lead at the Olympus Rally early Sunday, after his teammate Ken Block suffered a turbo problem and dropped to sixth place.

With four stages remaining, Pastrana and NOS Energy’s Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard are one-two, separated by 10.5 seconds. Both said they were prepared to fight hard until the end of the rally.

“Now it’s a battle between us and Subaru,” Comrie-Picard said Sunday. “If we’re going to push much harder, we’ll have to start taking some risks.”

Added Pastrana: “It’s buckle-down time.”

The two teams have been jostling for position throughout the contest, ending Day 1 just two seconds apart – behind Block. But a turbo failure for Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino early Saturday dropped out of podium contention.

And misfortune for the Rockstar Team of Tanner Foust and co-driver Chrissie Beavis on Day 1 meant the duo started Sunday’s stages with a replacement synchromesh transmission and were losing time to the rally leaders on every stage.

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. Foust’s technical skills meant he was putting up an able fight, but he was still third and nearly 30 seconds behind Comrie-Picard after 12 stages.

“It’s a little bit of dancing with the feet,” said Foust. “It’s costing us some time in braking but we’re going to keep on pushing.

In fourth place after 12 stages was Polish ace Andi Mancin and co-driver Maciej Wislawski, followed by Super Production class leader Pitor Wiktorczyk and co-driver Grzegorz Dorman.

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.

Meanwhile Subaru Rally Team USA’s newest member, Dave Mirra, said he was struggling in his new Subaru WRX STi. He and co-driver Derek Ringer were second in class and seventh overall after 12 stages.

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

Heading into Round 3, Comrie-Picard and Foust are tied for the series lead, followed by the Subaru Rally Team USA drivers -- Pastrana and Block -- who are tied for second place in the championship.

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.

About Rally America
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2008, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Portland, Ore., to Bethel, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses of gravel, dirt or snow.

Additionally, through a partnership with 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.