FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 24, 2007 |
Media Contact: Ashleigh Lockhart Rally America/WMG Phone: 704-506-2767 E-mail: alockhart@wmgllc.com Website: www.rally-america.com |
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO -- Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block earned a critical win at Rally Colorado, setting the stage for a three-way shootout for the Rally America title when the series heads to the final event of the season in Michigan next month.
It was the second victory of the year for Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino. They battled back from an early deficit to the RockStar Energy Drink Rally Team of Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis, who had found themselves down on power and suffered a flat tire on their 2007 Subaru WRX STi.
"This rally really suits me," Block said. "It's high-speed and requires a lot of commitment. Now if we win the final round, we win the championship. I won (the Lake Superior Performance Rally) last year, so I am feeling really confident in my chances there."
Foust and Beavis, the X Games gold medalists, returned to the road in fine form on Day 2, but an abbreviated schedule left them little opportunity to regain lost ground. The contest, which began under sunny skies on Sept. 22, saw a drenching rain force organizers to cancel the final three stages on Sept. 23 due to safety concerns. Foust and Beavis finished second, 23 seconds off the lead at the early conclusion.
In third place were Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom, who were fortunate to recover from an exciting off-road excursion on Day 1 with little more than a flat tire.
Pastrana called it "the most fun I've ever had in a car in my whole life" when his 2006 Subaru WRX STi toppled over a cliff and landed 60 yards off the road in a field. The pair regained the course and lost little time to their opponents. It was at this rally in 2005 that Pastrana famously slid wide on a corner and rolled his top-spec Subaru seven and three-quarter times.
The RockStar Energy Drink Rally Team duo of Andrew Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant, the points leaders entering the Colorado event, finished fourth overall to maintain a slight lead in the series championship.
With Subaru Rally Team USA teammates Pastrana and Block tied for second behind Pinker, any of the three can take the 2007 Rally America title with a win at the upcoming Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR).
The ninth and final round of the 2007 Rally America National Championship season, LSPR will be held Oct. 26-27 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
About Rally America
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2007, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Wash., to Bethel, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses of gravel, dirt or snow. All Rally America National Championship events are broadcast on ESPN2 from July to November in 2007. Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying Rally America drivers are invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the annual leading action-sport event that is broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. For more information, visit www.rally-america.com.