Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant Win 2017 ARA Championship

August 27, 2017

In an extremely close battle, Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant narrowly beat teammates David Higgins and Craig Drew today to clinch the 2017 American Rally Association (ARA) Championship Title. Entering the Ojibwe Forests Rally this weekend, the two SRTUSA Teams were so close in points the event winner would not necessarily take the Championship win. In the case of Pastrana and Durant, they would also need to secure two more stage wins than Higgins and Drew to be crowned 2017 ARA Champions.

This was an intensely fought battle that raged on the rain soaked and twisty Minnesota forest roads all weekend. David Higgins dominated the majority of Saturday’s stage wins, however, Pastrana’s brilliant performance on Friday left the twin 2017 Subaru WRX STI’s, literally tied right down to the penultimate stage.

Rally fans lined the road along the final super special stage in downtown Detroit Lakes, Minnesota as the entire 2017 rally season and ARA Championship winner would depend on the results of these final two stages. On the first run through, SRTUSA #75 piloted by David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew unfortunately hit a chicane and were given a 15 second penalty. This effectively made it impossible for them to win the required two stages handing the 2017 American Rally Association Championship Title to Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant. Admittedly the winning duo in SRTUSA #199 put in a stunning performance over the last two days and earned it. Congratulations to Travis & Robbie for a truly impressive result and an exciting end to the season!