WELLSBORO, PA -- Defending North American champion Matt Iorio scored his first Rally America win at the fiercely competitive Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in northern Pennsylvania.

“You have to pick and choose when you’re going to show your magic,” said a grinning Iorio, as he stepped out of his car at the finish to accept a round of enthusiastic back-slaps from his crew.

Iorio and co-driver Ole Holter won three stages in a row mid-day to slide past Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom Saturday afternoon. The pair continued to widen their lead as day faded to night to finish more than a minute ahead of the Subaru Rally Team USA team.

Iorio was so excited by the win that it took an observant bystander to point out that his Open class Subaru rolled into the finish with a flat tire.

Second-place Pastrana had been fighting illness all day after he returned from the Erzberg Motorcycle race in Austria last week with a bout of strep throat. He said late Saturday he was feeling better and was already looking ahead to the rest of the season.

“I’m looking forward to the X Games,” he said. “It’s going to be great.”

In third-place overall was former Mitsubishi USA driver Lauchlin O’Sullivan. The podium finish earned the driver a chance to compete at the first-ever X Games rally in August.

“To go to the X Games and hopefully to do most of the rest of the season would be just a dream,” said an excited O’Sullivan after emerging from his Open class Subaru at the end of a long day of hard driving. “It just hasn’t even hit me yet.”

The two fastest drivers who had not already been invited to compete earned an automatic invitation to the X Games at this rally. With a host of top-tier drivers pushing for a shot at the contest, STPR saw one of the strongest fields assembled in its 30-year history.

Fourth overall and the second X Games qualifier was Australian Andrew Pinker in his Open class Subaru.

The rally ran all day and into the night Saturday, with competitors taking on more than 100 miles over nine stages. Tough, wet conditions and dense forest roads are this event's trademark. Competitors hit breakneck speeds on slick, clay and gravel roads as they pass by trees growing perilously close to the road edges.

As is typically the case at this often-brutal rally, attrition was high. After a strong early drive, Canadian points leader Antoine L’Estage suffered mechanical trouble in the final stages that put him out of contention, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block rolled his car on the seventh stage, while veterans Seamus Burke and Frank Sprongl crashed out of the race late in the day.

Eight top teams have already been selected to compete at the X Games, including WRC veteran Colin McRae, motocross superstar turned Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, eight-time U.S. champ Paul Choiniere, and 2005 Rally America champion, Pat Richard.

STPR is the fourth round of the Rally America national championship and this year will be televised on ESPN.

Although Rally America had originally expected that only one driver would qualify into the games at this rally, the selection committee opted just last week to open another spot. The two final X Games spots will be earned by top finishers at the Maine Forest Rally next month.

Also selected to compete at the August X Games Rally are: drifter Rhys Millen, D.C. Shoes founder and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, who is currently leading the Rally America Championship; 2005 Production GT champion and stunt driver Tanner Foust; and 2005 North American and Rally America Open class champion Matt Iorio.

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.