Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block has won the 100 Acre Wood Rally, Round 2 of the Rally America National Championship, driving his BFGoodrich Tire shod 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino dominated the rally from the first stage, building an insurmountable lead while the rest of the field fought for 2nd Overall. Block's Subaru Rally Team USA teammate, defending Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana, won that hard fought battle for 2nd overall after moving up the standings during the second half of the rally.
The 100 Acre Wood rally took place over two days, covering more than 100 miles of challenging dirt and gravel roads near the Mark Twain National Forest, of south central Missouri. Clear weather on Friday gave way to torrential rain and heavy winds on Saturday, testing the driver's ability to adapt to changing conditions.
Block's speed was unmatched all weekend and his lead was never threatened as he won seven of the event's fifteen stages.
"I really like these roads, we pushed hard without taking too many chances and I was surprised by how much faster we were than everyone else. We were able to really back off at the end of the rally and let the other guys fight for the final podium spots." explains Block. "This win means a lot to me because the first win of my rally career was here last year, so it feels good to come back and taste victory again!"
Travis Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom found themselves in 4th Overall at the conclusion of the first day of competition. Pastrana felt he drove too conservatively on day one, but he found his speed on day two, winning three stages and securing 2nd Overall.
"I was just slow on Friday, playing it way too safe, plus my car setup wasn't perfect," explained Pastrana. "Saturday was a new day and everything felt better, we pushed hard on a few stages and the car ran perfectly, but Block had such a big lead it wasn't worth taking risks to try to catch him."
After crashing out of last year's 100 Acre Wood Rally Pastrana has now won or finished on the podium in every event he has entered since then, ten events total with five wins. This amazing success is a testament to the reliability of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI as well as Pastrana's maturity early in his rally career.
Subaru Rally Team USA now heads straight to the Corona Rally Mexico, round four of the 2007 World Rally Championship where both Pastrana and Block will compete against the World's top rally drivers. Pastrana will be officially entered in the Production Car World Rally Championship (P-WRC), and will also compete in P-WRC events in Argentina and Great Britain later this year.
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