It was a banner weekend for SRT USA with a dual 1-2 podium finish! This past weekend’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, Missouri ended in victory with a dominating performance by Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino in their #43 STI. Block managed to win an impressive eight out of fifteen total stages to take the lead from the start and never looked back. This event marks the one year anniversary of Ken Block’s first-ever career Rally America win, and what better way to celebrate than with another victory. The competition was intense, with road conditions ranging from dusty gravel on Day One, to heavy rains and wet mud on Day Two.
Teammates Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom were running a bit more conservatively in their #199 STI, and found themselves in fourth place after Day One. The pair poured on the speed for Day Two, cleaning up on stages 11, 12, and 13, nd set the fastest times on each of those stages. Moving up swiftly from fourth, Travis Pastrana & Christian Edstrom finished the event on the heels of their teammates less than ten seconds back, securing them the second podium spot.
The competition this weekend was more intense than ever before, with everyone vying for the chance to compete at this year’s X Games Rally. On stage 8, just over four miles in length, the first five cars all finished within a second and a half of each other. Stage 10, although very short, was even closer with the top five cars separated by less than one second.
Ken and Travis weren’t the only ones in Open Class to put up a good fight over the weekend. Driver Lauchlin O’Sullivan and co-driver Scott Putnam finished stages 8 and 15 with the fastest times in their STI. Despite having engine problems and issues with their intercom system, they managed to place fourth overall, 38.2 seconds behind Block.
Tanner Foust and Chrissie Beavis, who finished second at Sno*Drift, took fifth place at 100 Acre Wood. Driving their new Subaru WRX STI, they finished about two minutes behind Block. The Production GT Class saw a fair share of ups and downs this day. Matt Johnson, who at times held the lead, carried too much speed into a left hand turn and simply ran out of road, causing him to run into some trees at considerable speed. Fortunately, he and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey suffered only minor injuries. Kenny Bartram in his #690 Subaru, and Justin Pritchard in car #28, both experienced mechanical problems, and the Hanson and Hanson duo had a major off on the last stage of the day. On top in the Production GT Class was another Subaru WRX, #429 driven by Stephan Verdier with Scott Crouch co-driving.
With a win for Block at the Rally in 100 Acre Wood, and a win for Pastrana at Sno*Drift, SRT USA’s 2007 season is off to a fantastic start. To add to the excitement, on March 9, 2007, SRT USA will head to Leon, Mexico for Travis and Ken’s first ever P-WRC event. This is a significant step for SRT USA and the beginning of an exciting new challenge for the team. Be sure to check rally.subaru.com for updates during the Corona Rally Mexico on March 5-12, 2007. As always, there will be extensive photos and updates as well as a driver’s blog and additional coverage not normally found on the Rally America-based events. Stay tuned!
