MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- A hotshot motocrosser, a World Rally champion and a multi-time U.S. champion are among the drivers who will battle it out for Gold at the first-ever X Games Rally this August in Los Angeles.

WRC veteran Colin McRae -- known to fans as one of the most successful rally drivers of all time and the man who lent his name to a wildly popular series of driving video games -- will race against a raft of homegrown talent, including motocross superstar turned Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, eight-time U.S. champ Paul Choiniere and 2005 Rally America champion, Pat Richard.

Also selected to compete are: D.C. Shoes founder and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block; 2005 Production GT champion and stunt driver Tanner Foust; and 2005 North American and Rally America Open class champion Matt Iorio.

“These competitors have a lot of talent and we’re really proud to have them representing rally at the X Games,” says Rally America spokesman J.B. Niday. “We’re going to show America what some of the best driving in the world looks like.”

This year’s X Games Rally will feature a dozen teams competing for a gold in Open class cars. Rally America is awaiting final confirmation from several more drivers who have been invited to compete, and the last two spots will go to the top finishers of the next two rounds of the championship – the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in early June, and the Maine Forest Rally in July.

“There are going to be a lot of people very eager to try for X Games Gold – especially with such a competitive field already named,” says Niday. “The Rally America series is always exciting, but the chance to qualify for the X Games will up everybody’s game for the next two rounds.”

The X Games Rally will also feature a demonstration of two-wheel drive talent, although there is no word yet which Rally America competitors will be selected.

Speed factors and podium finishes in the 2005 and 2006 championship were among the key factors considered by the X Games Rally selection committee for the Open Class competitors.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift in January and wrapping up 12 months later with the Reno Rally in Reno, Nevada.

The annual X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally. X Games 12 will be telecast live on ESPN and ABC.

Rally America, a Minneapolis, MN, based corporation, holds the sanctioning and marketing rights to the Rally America Championship. The company was founded in 2002 by rally driver and CPD Rally Team owner Doug Havir.