The X Games 17 RallyCross finals concluded in a heated battle of eight cars attacking downtown LA's South Figueroa Street in a cacophony of engine noise and squealing tires. Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and Dave Mirra cleanly negotiated the carnage at the first turn and slipped into second and third place. David Higgins suffered significant damage to SRT USA #75 when a high-speed spin late in the race resulted in a collision with the wall. Although his Subaru persevered throughout the remainder of the race, Higgins had lost too much time and finished sixth. Dave Mirra displayed excellent skill and drove a terrific race overall. In an unfortunate instant halfway through the race, he spun out during the difficult tarmac-to-gravel transition in turn one and dropped from second place to fourth. Although Mirra's #40 WRX STI quickly returned to the chase, he finished just short of the podium.
X Games superstar Travis Pastrana also piloted a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI prepared by Vermont SportsCar to the same specifications as the two SRT USA vehicles. After Pastrana broke his right foot and ankle in the Freestyle Motocross Best Trick event Friday, technicians fabricated a bespoke hand-controlled throttle linkage to compensate for Pastrana's inability to operate the gas pedal. In a demonstration of heroic sportsmanship, Pastrana disregarded the immense pain encumbered upon him by his injury and drove his #199 WRX STI with incredible skill. In the final lap, Travis locked his sights on the podium when he overtook rally legend Marcus Gronholm and stole third place until a head-on collision with a tire barrier brought his race to an agonizing end.
Although the X Games 17 RallyCross competition results fall short of expectations, the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI exhibited an unquestionable competitiveness this weekend. In a field comprised of the absolute best rallycross teams in the world, Subaru Rally Team USA was never outgunned. The Subaru Impreza WRX STI has risen to the challenge of X Games RallyCross and Subaru Rally Team USA sees gold in their future.
