STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO -- The battle will be intense this weekend as rally drivers travel to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to fight for points at the crucial seventh round of the Rally America championship.

Fresh from a win at the Ojibwe Forest Rally, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana will be looking to defend his championship lead.

But so far, each race in the series has crowned a new winner and with the season battle heating up, victory at Colorado Cog is anyone’s guess.

Subaru teammate Ken Block, Matt Iorio and Andrew Comrie-Picard – all drivers who have taken wins this season – will have Pastrana in their sights.

For his part, Pastrana will be looking for a clean finish. He suffered his biggest rally career crash a year ago at Colorado Cog– rolling seven-and-three-quarter times after pushing too fast into a corner. He and co-driver Christian Edstrom were unhurt, but the car was a write-off.

Stunt driver Tanner Foust, who called Steamboat Springs home until recently, is also expected to challenge for a top finish in his Production-GT Subaru. He is chasing North Carolina driver Matt Johnson for the class win.

However, the terrain will favour the higher-powered competitors. The race features plenty of high-power fast straight-aways, and engines are taxed by the high altitude.

About 30 teams are expected to compete over more than 100 stage miles this weekend.

The rally is the seventh of nine races in the 2006 Rally America National Championship. The Rally America National Championship series takes competitors across the continent to compete in many different weather and road conditions – from the slick winter roads of northern Michigan and the forest logging roads in Minnesota, to the high-altitude Yampa River Valley in Northwest Colorado.

Cars competing in the rally are street-legal vehicles modified for safety. The cars are separated into six classes ranging from stock to highly modified. Cars popular in rally racing include makes such as Audi, Dodge, Mazda, Hyundai and Subaru.

Sponsors supporting the Colorado Cog Rally 2006 include: Steamboat Springs Chamber of Commerce, Sheraton Resort and Conference Center, Super 8 Motel and Miller Lite.