Subaru Driver David Higgins Secures 2016 Rally America National Championship with Victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally

August 30, 2016

Cherry Hill, N.J. August 30, 2016 - Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins re-affirmed his dominance of American rallying with a faultless victory at the Ojibwe Forests Rally, mathematically securing both the Manufacturers’ Championship for Subaru and Driver’s Championship for the 2016 Rally America season. Both Subaru and Higgins celebrate their sixth-consecutive championship titles.  

After losing time to teammate Travis Pastrana on the opening stage, Higgins and Drew attacked the sandy Minnesota forest stages with vigor, winning all the remaining stages to earn a convincing victory.

“A great result here, and it feels amazing to secure our sixth title in a row with Subaru.  All the pieces are together here on this team, our Subaru WRX STI is a joy to drive fast and the crew and Craig (Drew) work so hard,” explained Higgins at the podium.

“We’re extremely proud of Higgins and Drew, and the entire team for securing the 2016 Rally America National Championship once again for Subaru,” stated Subaru Motorsports Marketing Manager Rob Weir. “We thank our technical partner Vermont SportsCar and associated team partners for their support of Subaru Rally Team USA.”

Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Travis Pastrana with newly-appointed veteran co-driver Robbie Durant put pressure on Higgins from the start of the rally, but hanging dust slowed Pastrana on the opening night stages allowing Higgins to accumulate a healthy lead by the end of the first day.

After overnight rains helped control dust issues, Pastrana went back on the attack for the lead on day two. While pushing flat-out, Pastrana went off stage and suffered chassis damage, but was able maintain pace and to continue to service. After completing the first loop, Pastrana and Durant we forced to retire due to safety concerns after roll cage damage was discovered during service.  

Higgins and Pastrana will duel one last time in 2016 at the final round of the 2016 Rally America Championship, the legendary Lake Superior Performance Rally in northern Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, October 14-15.

Full coverage of Subaru Rally Team USA is available on the Subaru Motorsports App. To download from the iTunes App store, click here. Follow the team on Instagram @srtusa and Twitter @srtusa.