Wellsboro, PA — The notoriously tough Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally was living up to its reputation on Saturday.

Canadian Antoine L’Estage was in first place after the opening stages of Day 2, as early leader Andy Pinker battled mechanical trouble that dropped him into fourth place.

But L’Estage wasn’t having an easy day, and pulled into the first service break of the day complaining of handling and turbocharger problems.

“We’re having some little mechanical problems and, honestly, it’ll be hard to keep up,” he said.

Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust was holding firm in second-place overall Saturday afternoon, but he was also concerned about his car. He said suspension adjustments made overnight to his competition Subaru WRX STi were making the car difficult to control on the technical course.

“We’re holding it together,” said Foust. “There are some good battles but we’re trying to be a little safe with the car.”

Andrew Comrie-Picard, meanwhile, had battled up to third place overall – even after knocking a roadside bank that damaged to the left-rear corner of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. After short, 10-minute service break, it was unclear whether repairs would be sufficient to get him through the next stages.

Rockstar’s Pinker, who is low in the standings after suffering mechanical problems throughout the opening four rounds of the series, had been looking to finish third or better at this event in the hopes he might earn an invitation to the X Games.

Young driver Kyle Sarasin, meanwhile, was also struggling. He said he was unable to get power to all four wheels and was effectively competing in two-wheel drive by the first service break of the day. With seven stages remaining in the rally, Sarasin was in sixth place, behind Matt Johnson who reported smooth sailing early in the contest.

“The number one goal is no car damage at the end,” said Johnson. “Number two is to finish somewhere in the top five, hopefully.”

It was another difficult day for Subaru Rally Team USA. Travis Pastrana started Day 2 hoping to battle back from ninth-place overall, but he suffered a rollover and was unable to continue.

It has not been an easy debut for the team’s ‘08 Subaru WRX STi competition cars. Driver Ken Block was out of the contest on Day 1 after suspension problems and a crash.

Foust said the name of the game early in the rally was simply “survival," with teams forced to walk a fine line between preserving their competition cars and setting top times.

STPR is running for a 32nd year in 2008. Vehicles will rally through the state forests near the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon on Friday and Saturday. This year, the event has debuted a new event sponsor, Waste Management, and a new format that includes rallying for the first time on Friday as well as Saturday.

In addition to championship points, drivers are vying for a starting position at the summer X Games this August in Los Angeles. Top scorers after this, the fifth, round of the championship are expected to secure an invitation to the high-profile contest. The Summer X Games is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN.

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.

Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series.