Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block earned a critical win at Rally Colorado, setting the stage for a three-way shootout for the Rally America title when the series heads to the final event of the season in Michigan next month.
It was the second victory of the year for Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino. They battled back from an early deficit to the RockStar Energy Drink Rally Team of Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis, who had found themselves down on power and suffered a flat tyre on their 2007 Subaru WRX STi.
"This rally really suits me,” Block said. “It's high-speed and requires a lot of commitment. Now if we win the final round, we win the championship. I won (the Lake Superior Performance Rally) last year, so I am feeling really confident in my chances there."
Foust and Beavis, the X Games gold medalists, returned to the road in fine form on Day 2, but an abbreviated schedule left them little opportunity to regain lost ground. The contest, which began under sunny skies on September 22, saw a drenching rain force organizers to cancel the final three stages on Sunday due to safety concerns. Foust and Beavis finished second, 23 seconds off the lead at the early conclusion.
In third place were Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom, who were fortunate to recover from an exciting off-road excursion on Day 1 with little more than a flat tyre.
Pastrana called it “the most fun I've ever had in a car in my whole life" when his 2006 Subaru WRX STi toppled over a cliff and landed 60 yards off the road in a field. The pair regained the course and lost little time to their opponents. It was at this rally in 2005 that Pastrana famously slid wide on a corner and rolled his top-spec Subaru seven and three-quarter times.
The RockStar Energy Drink Rally Team duo of Andrew Pinker and co-driver Robbie Durant, the points leaders entering the Colorado event, finished fourth overall to maintain a slight lead in the series championship.
With Subaru Rally Team USA teammates Pastrana and Block tied for second behind Pinker, any of the three can take the 2007 Rally America title with a win at the upcoming Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR). The ninth, and final round of the 2007 Rally America National Championship season, LSPR will be held October 26 and 27 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
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