September 24, 2018
The spectacular rallycross course at the Nitro World Games event in Salt Lake City went from promise to heartbreak Sunday. SRTUSA’s fleet of Subaru WRX STI’s had been top performers all week and a great result seemed well within reach. Travis Pastrana started off Sunday setting the fastest practice lap before a mid-day pause gave technicians and drivers a break and time to prepare for the busy afternoon.
The race format was slightly modified by eliminating the Last Change Qualifier in favor of a challenge race to determine the final start position. Based on points standings, Chris Atkinson had earned a place in the Semi-Final and was able to sit out this next round.
Travis Pastrana and Patrik Sandell were grouped in the same challenge race and after a strong start, attacked turn 1 and the jump ramp with matching speed. With the jump designed to accommodate multi-car takeoffs and landings, the twin WRX STI’s flew side by side over a hundred feet. Unfortunately, on entry to the high-speed banked turn after the landing, Pastrana and Sandell’s cars made contact and Sandell was forced to retire. However, the revised format meant all three Subarus would move through to the Semi-Final rounds.
During Semi-Final A, Chris Atkinson didn’t get a great start but held solidly onto second place. “I sent it around the outside on turn 1 and slotted into second position. I couldn’t quite keep up with the Peugeot with the dust, but I held off Tanner Foust, so now it’s on for the final!” In Semi-Final B, Sandell and Pastrana were again side-by-side on the start Grid, and got a clean start. However, on the final lap Patrik Sandell and another racer made contact, resulting in a flat tire and subsequent DNF for Sandell. Pastrana finished third.
Echoing the results from the Semi-Final races, the Final race was a slurry of impacts, mayhem and DNF’s that only saw four of the eight cars finish. Chris Atkinson, who had produced fast times all weekend and was in a good start position, got a flat early on and was forced to retire. Atkinson commented, “I’ve never been so disappointed in a race finish I think ever. Just all the hard work everyone has put in, to come away with basically nothing apart from knowing we’ve got a fast car.”
Travis Pastrana got tangled with another competitor in turn 1 and was immediately taken out of the event, while Patrik Sandell was running 4th and fighting for position when he was hit and taken out. For a team that had proven its speed throughout the weekend, it was a shocking turn of events and a frustrating result. Despite the high rate of attrition, all the SRTUSA technicians did a remarkable job turning damaged cars around and sending them back out on the track. But even with the unrelenting effort and dedication that goes into preparing these amazing machines, a top finish remained out of reach.
SRTUSA wastes no time and heads to Circuit of The Americas for the final event of the 2018 Americas Rallycross Championship next weekend. After demonstrating their outright speed this week, the team will look to end the season on a high note.