OLYMPIA, WA -- Australian driver Andrew Pinker was looking to make it two in a row this weekend in the Pacific Northwest after he vaulted his Syms Subaru into the lead at the Olympus Rally.

"It's good; it's pretty much going to plan," Pinker said Saturday afternoon. He earned his first overall win of the at the previous round of the Rally America championship a month ago.

After 10 stages in the contest, Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant had climbed nearly 30 seconds ahead of their closest challengers, Ramana Lagemann and Mark Williams.

Lagemann, who has had a series of poor showings due to mechanical failure with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution this season, is hoping to score enough points in the early rounds this season to make his return to the X Games. He appeared cautiously optimistic Saturday afternoon that he could turn in a strong result.

"For the last couple of rallies we've been going well, but bad luck has struck us," said Lagemann. "I wouldn't say it's redemption… yet."

Meanwhile, Tanner Foust and co-driver Christine Beavis were close on Lagemann's heels after a flat tire on their Subaru late Saturday cost them precious seconds.

"The tire just disintegrated and shot smoking rubber out in front of the car -- which was pretty cool," said Foust. "We were lucky just to end up with a bent fender."

Notably absent from the top three were the two Subaru Rally Team USA cars, both of whom were struggling in the early stages of the contest.

Ken Block and co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino found themselves in fourth, more than a minute off the lead at the end of Day 1, while Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom were out of the game after they apparently ran out of fuel midway through the seventh stage. "I'm not sure what happened -- whether we punctured a fuel tank or what," Pastrana said late Saturday.

Also struggling was seven-time U.S. champion Paul Choiniere, who suffered damage after running on a flat tire and finished the day with apparent mechanical trouble. Likewise, Andrew Comrie-Picard was well off the pace, saying he was down on power much of the day due to problems with his turbocharger.

But with more than half of the 125-mile course remaining, the race was still very much up for grabs. It is expected that a pair of 26-mile stages on Sunday will ultimately determine the winner. Not only do they make up a significant portion of the race mileage, but the long distance is certain to take a toll on competitors -- and their cars.

"Those long stages have a lot going on," noted Foust. "Nobody in the top five is going slow and anything can happen."

In addition to the 2007 Rally America National Championship title, drivers are competing for entry into X Games 13. For the second consecutive year, rally racing will be featured in the Summer X Games, with the first five races of the 2007 Rally America season serving as qualifying events for the popular action-sport competition.

Entering the Olympus Rally, the top four drivers in the 2007 Rally America standings were separated by just 10 points. After three of the series' nine events, Subaru Rally Team USA's Block and co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino lead the standings, followed by Foust and co-driver Christine Beavis. Defending champions Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom are third.

Although a new addition to the Rally America schedule for 2007, the Olympus Rally was a World Rally Championship race from 1986-1988. Rally racing legends such as Rod Millen, Juha Kankkunen and American John Buffum have claimed victories at the famed event.

Rally America drivers compete in street-legal vehicles that are modified for safety. Six vehicle classes, ranging from stock to highly modified, compete under the Rally America banner. Eleven different automobile manufacturers are represented in Rally America events, led by Subaru, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Ford and Volkswagen.

Media Contact:
Alan Perry
Olympus Rally
media@olympusrally.com
206-499-5501