BEMIDJI, MN -- Defending Rally America champion Travis Pastrana was narrowly in the lead early on Day 1 of the Ojibwe Forests Rally, as the battle for the 2007 title heated up in Minnesota.

Despite their lead, Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom said they battled poor visibility early in the race.

“It feels good, but it’s dusty as all hell out there,” said Pastrana, who won this race in 2006. “There are a lot of really dusty blind crests.”

They started the rally fourth on the road and the dry Northern Minnesota weather has made for dusty conditions all day. The dust will only get worse as the skies darken. Under the headlights, the particles in the air ahead will light up like a solid wall.

Still, Andrew Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant, who were the first car on the road at the start of the day, said their position wasn’t an advantage. The road surfaces are soft and very sandy and the earliest cars tend to bog down as they fight through it.

“It’s a really loose surface and being first on the road is costing us time on every corner,” Pinker said.

The teams restart after the first service in a new order that’s based on their early times, with Pastrana in the lead.

At this seventh round of the Rally America Championship the fight for the title is heating up. Rockstar Energy Drink Syms driver Pinker was looking to defend his early-season lead from Subaru Rally Team USA challengers Ken Block and Travis Pastrana, who were both within reach of the top spot.

“I’ve got to be in the top three,” said Block between signing autographs during the race-opening exhibition at the Bemidji Speedway Friday afternoon. “But to win would really help my championship position.”

Block has never finished this rally. He crashed badly at this event in 2006 and also failed to finish the year before. He credits his spills to inexperience and said he feels good about his chances in 2007.

This event marks a return to the series for X Games gold medalists Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis. Foust, who is also a top threat in the Formula D drifting series, had to miss the two previous rounds due to scheduling conflicts. Hot off his victory at X Games 13 earlier this month, he said he is happy to be back in the rally game.

“This is back to reality,” said Foust, who hasn’t competed in the series since May. “Things feel good but at this rally there is so much racing on the first day that warming into it is not an option. I have to go hard right off the bat.”

This rally features more than 150 miles of stage miles spread over two days – nearly half of which take place on Day 1 as the day wanes and cars race into the night. Held on smooth and fast roads through Northern Minnesota’s lake and vacation country, the surface is marked by soft, sandy spots, which can create trouble for rally teams.

Entering this weekend’s rally, the top three drivers in the 2007 Rally America standings are separated by just 12 points. Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant lead the standings, 86-77, over Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom.

Block and co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino are third, while Pinker’s RockStar Energy Drink teammates Foust and Beavis are fourth with 55 points.