The Subaru Rally Team USA pairing of Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino (Subaru Impreza WRX STI) took first overall at Rally New York USA on the weekend.

At the end of nearly 400 miles of motoring, and 100 miles of high-speed special stages, the two Californians were over three minutes ahead of the NC Rally Team car of Otis Dimiters/Dominik Jozwiak (Subaru Impreza WRX). Martin Donnelly/Stephen Duffy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) completed the top three.
 
For Block/Gelsomino, it was a smooth performance - the only glitch was a flat tyre in the middle of the final day. On the other hand, the car of Dimiters/Jozwiak suffered from various minor problems, ranging from a loose intercooler hose to a lack of fuel pressure.
 
Several of the top competitors were sidelined by mechanical problems, particularly on the first day. Seamus Burke/Ole Holter (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) went out when the car's transmission stuck in fifth gear. Celsus Donnelly/Barry Smith (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) suffered a broken front differential, while Enda McCormack/Bernard Farrell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) broke the rear output shaft in their car's four-wheel-drive system.
 
In the two-wheel-drive category, Bruce Davis/Jimmy Brandt (Dodge Neon SRT-4) were clear winners. Hampton Bridwell/Josh Katinger (Ford Focus SVT) were second, three and three-quarter minutes back, and were the best-placed Production 2WD entry. Mark Lawrence/Robert Maciejski (Volkswagen Golf) had been expected to be among the top finishers, but withdrew after an off-course excursion.
 
The route of the event was entirely paved; rare for a performance-type auto rally in North America. The roads were wet on the first day from moderate rains, but drying on the second day due to partly-sunny skies. It was the opening round of the United States Rally Championship.

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