Dave Mirra had an interesting weekend. Seemingly driving his 2011 Subaru STi like a pissed off teenager and being as aggressive as he could. It was amazing to see how hard he was driving and how he was able to really battle it out with the others. Subaru has released this video of his performance and you can see how close some of these battles really were.
Photo by Kyle Lewis
We saw some epic stuff from Global Rally Cross Round 2 in Seattle. With the rain, new ‘track’, and guys getting aggressive so they can make it to the Xgames finale we saw some intense competition.
Photo by Kyle Lewis
So Check out this video that we found on Youtube with Dave Mirra with his destroyed rear end doing what he can to finish the heat! Enjoy!
This weekend is the premier of Global Rally Cross at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, CA! Our one of our favorite Subaru Rally Team USA member, Dave Mirra will be there to compete!
To see all the action, check it out at Global Rally Cross’ website http://www.globalrallycross.com/!
Looks like Subaru Rally Team USA has found their Travis Pastrana replacement, David Higgins. Who is David Higgins? He is an accomplished European Rally Racer with multiple championships under his belt. Check out the Press Release for more information:
Accomplished Rally Driver David Higgins Joins Subaru Rally Team USA
CHERRY HILL, N.J., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Subaru of America, Inc. announced today that it would be returning to the Rally America National Championship in the Open class with a 2-car program in 2011. Led by current Subaru Rally Team USA (SRT USA) driver Dave Mirra and joined by British seasoned rally driver David Higgins; each driver will be piloting a Subaru Impreza WRX STI prepared and fielded by technical partner Vermont SportsCar.
Higgins brings extensive rallying experience to SRT USA, most recently competing in the Chinese Rally Championship having gone on to help his team secure championship titles in 2004, 2007 and 2009. No stranger to the American rally circuit, Higgins claimed consecutive SCCA ProRally titles in 2002 and 2003 before returning to the UK and winning the 2004 British Rally National Championship. Notably, the 38 year-old driver has also won the Group N British Rally National title in 1997, 1999, and 2002. As a testament of his passion for the sport, Higgins and his family also operate a UK-based training facility, The Forest Experience Rally School.
“The first impression of any car is always very important and I felt at home in the 2011 Subaru STI from the very first mile,” said Higgins. “Everyone thinks of Subaru when you talk about rally and to be racing for SRT USA is a great honor; I won my first USA SCCA ProRally Championship in 2002 with an STI. I cannot wait for the 2011 season, Rally America has a great program, and it is going to be incredibly fun and competitive.”
Mirra is back and proving that he is a force to be reckoned with; earning rookie of the year honors in 2008 from Rally America, he is poised to have a breakout season with SRT USA. This year he achieved two podium finishes in three rounds of the inaugural RallyCar Rallycross series as well as a podium finish in the Rally America Olympus rally. Widely known as a pioneer in BMX Freestyle and the winningest X Games athlete in history, Mirra now has his sights on being successful rally competitor with Subaru.
As part of SRT USA’s acclimatization program last week, Mirra joined new teammate Higgins for his first shakedown run of the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car at the team’s proving grounds in upstate New York. Testing footage can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacAGUj43LU<span> </span>
Subaru of America has claimed titles as well, sales gains in 2010 resulted in breaking their overall sales record in November and follow successive sales growth in 2008 and 2009 which were driven by increases across the board with strong sales for Outback, Forester, and Legacy Sedan and Impreza. Sales for the brand have grown by close to 50% in just over three years and company officials expect full-year sales for 2010 to exceed 250,000 units. Also, at the 2010 LA auto show Subaru was rated the 2011 Best Retail Brand by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com and bestowed with four residual value awards from ALG. On and off the track Subaru is on the path to success.
About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, VP Fuels and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit subaru.com/rally or follow the team at Twitter.com/SRTUSA.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.
Seems like the boys from the Subaru Rally Team America have been very busy with the new Rally Car series that have been going on the East Coast. During the second round of the series, Dave Mirra has been able to capture his second podium win!
Subaru Rally Team USA Team Driver, Dave Mirra, Captures Second Rallycross Championship Podium Finish
Cherry Hill, N.J., October 4, 2010 – Subaru of America, Inc. – Rain added an additional element to this weekend’s Rallycross competition at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. With limited visibility, a red flag restart and his team member, Travis Pastrana out with complications with his car, Dave Mirra was still able to finish second in the A Main All-Wheel-Drive Class in his Subaru WRX STI.
“In rally you race in all conditions, rain or shine,” said Mirra “I am pumped to be on the podium for a second time and equally as excited to have moved up a position. I would like to thank the fans that came out and stood in the rain to show their support, without them we would not be here.”
Throughout the weekend Mirra held consistent results during the practice and qualifying rounds. Coming into the finals he was positioned second on the starting grid. Mirra took an early lead in the A Main and had completed two laps when competitor Liam Doran crashed into the tire barrier at turn two and the course had to be red flagged to reset the safety wall. After the restart Mirra fought off Liam Doran and three-time European Rallycross Champion, Jussi Pinomaki to finish second behind Tanner Faust, his highest rally car career finish ever.
Newly sanctioned by RallyCar (formerly Rally America), this all-new race series combines the action of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition into one exciting race. Developed from the European Rallycross, drivers line up to start all at once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, hills and transitions between pavement, gravel and dirt.
Race finishing positions for the all-wheel drive class were as follows:
1. #34 Tanner Faust
2. #40 Dave Mirra
3. #3 Liam Doran
4. #9 Jussi Pinomaki
5. #465 Rhys Millen
6. #70 Chris Duplessis
This recap video from Round 1 of the Rally Car series showcases the action and drama that really happened between Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra.
An amazing video and the battle for first was fierce but former Subaru Driver, Tanner Foust takes the first place win but the two Subarus take Second and Third! Valiant effort!
As usual, my good friends at Live Sockets Entertainment provides me with great news about rally! I found this press release about Rally car and I figured I’d share this with you guys!
First American Rallycross Event A Success!
Millville, NJ (August 29, 2010) — RallyCar’s inaugural U.S. Rallycross held at the New Jersey Motorsports Park was a successful event where the competition was fierce and thousands of fans cheered the intense action. Rallycross racing has finally arrived and made a lasting impression!
The highlight of the Rallycross event was the dramatic A Main Final, where Rockstar Energy Drink’s Tanner Foust driving a 2010 Ford Fiesta won the inaugural event in the 4WD Class. Josh Wimpey hailing from Steeles Tavern, VA won the 2WD Class in a 1987 Volkswagen GTi rally car.
Ex-factory Subaru Rally Team USA driver, Ramana Lagemann, showed remarkable promise on this weekend’s event behind the wheel of an MSE Olsbergs prepared Rallycross 2008 Ford Fiesta. It was Lagemann’s first outing in this car with no prior testing, so you can expect he will become a regular threat in the Main events in RallyCar’s upcoming events.
The first event of RallyCar’s 2010 U.S. Rallycross Championship goes down as a significant moment in American motorsports history. Spectators, competitors, the track, and sponsors were pleased with how this first Rallycross unfolded and the exciting outcome of the weekend.
“This is an excellent racing format and I see so many excited spectators,” said NOS Energy Drink’s Andrew Comrie-Picard, “and the cool thing is seeing so many excited drivers. You could see it when Dave Mirra and I immediately caught up with each after our Heat race to discuss what happened out there!”
Travis Pastrana acknowledged the enthusiasm the crowd’s intense enthusiasm, “I could literally hear the fans cheering from inside my car!”
Over the weekend, a total of 23 Rally and racecar drivers from various disciplines challenged the 1.3 mile Lightning Racetrack, modified to include three dirt sections and “Joker” lap section. Each car must take a “Joker” lap once at some point during their Heat races. A Joker Lap is a small detour – normally over a jump – that adds a level of unpredictability to the heat’s outcome by changing a driver’s strategy in an instant.
RallyCar’s U.S. Rallycross Championship returns to the New Jersey Motorsports Park for the second round of three events in 2010. Join us in Millville to witness this new, exciting, and highly unpredictable form of racing on October 2-3 and again on November 6-7. Tickets are available at:http://store.njmp.com/store/category/9/157/
Throughout the weekend RallyCar distributed exclusive driver interviews and action videos. You can review the videos at: http://www.rally-america.com/events/2010/NJMPRC1/gallery/
Heat and Main event results can be found at: http://www.rally-america.com/events/2010/NJMPRC1/news/
About RallyCar, Inc.
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., RallyCar sanctions the premier performance rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2010, RallyCar is conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Washington to Newry, Maine. RallyCar competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. Additionally, through a partnership with ESPN, qualifying RallyCar drivers are invited to compete in ESPN’s Summer X Games 16, the annual leading action-sports event that’s broadcast live on ESPN. For more information, be sure to visitwww.rally-america.com.
RallyCar is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., BFGoodrich Tires, the Team O’Neil Rally School, Able Planet, Hawk Performance Brakes, Rally-Tire.com, RaceWatches.com, Exedy Racing Clutches, RECARO, Mazda and the Danza del Sol Winery.
About New Jersey Motorsports Park
Sitting on more than 500 acres in Millville, N.J., New Jersey Motorsports Park is nestled snugly in a beautifully forested region surrounded by scenic rivers and nearby Delaware Bay. Directly adjacent to Millville Municipal Airport, NJMP is conveniently located close to Philadelphia, the Jersey Shore, New York and Baltimore, offering diverse and dynamic motorsports attractions.
The well landscaped park includes two world-class road courses (Thunderbolt and Lightning), a motorsports country club known as the Drivers Club with the Finish Line Pub and Breighton Room Restaurant, which are open to the general public, and F1 New Jersey, one of the top karting facilities in America. Entering its third race season, NJMP hosts a number of professional motorsports events and countless club events and track and facility rentals.
Subie Life: For the Love of Subaru 