October 12, 2018
, Olympia, WA
-
DAVID HIGGINS AND CRAIG DREW CAPTURE 2018 AMERICAN RALLY ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP
DAVID HIGGINS AND CRAIG DREW CAPTURE 2018 AMERICAN RALLY ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP
Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew secured their first American Rally Association (ARA) title at Tour de Forest Rally after a dominant season highlighted by four outright event victories. Higgins, piloting a 2018 Subaru WRX STI rally car prepared by Vermont SportsCar, was a force to be reckoned with throughout the seven-event ARA season and has now collected a total of nine U.S. rally championships.
Despite their history of success, Higgins and Drew began the 2018 season in an unfamiliar position after narrowly missing out on 2017’s inaugural ARA championship to Subaru teammates Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant. The UK-based team came fast out of the gate at the season-opening Oregon Trail Rally, winning thirteen of the event’s twenty stages and securing the overall victory by more than six minutes. However, the following month’s Olympus Rally proved a setback; a mechanical issue led to a DNF and opened the door for teammate Patrik Sandell to take the event win and move within a point of Higgins’ early championship lead.
With five events remaining, Higgins and Drew mounted a midseason offensive that would ultimately prove insurmountable. A dominant drive at Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally reestablished their overall points lead, and another win on the rock-strewn mountain roads of New England Forest Rally made it three victories in four starts. Finally, a win over Pastrana and Robbie Durant at Minnesota’s Ojibwe Forests Rally – the same event where Pastrana had secured the 2017 championship – meant that Higgins could adopt a more conservative strategy for the season’s last two events to bring home the overall title. With a second-place finish behind Sandell at Idaho Rally, Higgins and Drew earned enough points to render the season-ending Tour de Forest Rally a championship formality.
“Coming into this year, our number one objective was to win a championship,” said Higgins. “We knew we’d get a challenge from our teammates throughout the season, and there were some new events on the calendar this year, so we expected some ups and downs. It’s tough because as a driver you always want to go flat out for stage wins and event victories, but Craig (Drew) and I just had to trust our strategy so we could focus on bringing home the trophy. Lots of credit to the Subaru team for keeping the #75 (rally car) in good order, and we’ll look forward to our title defense next year!”
The 2018 ARA crown represents Higgins’ ninth overall rally championship in the U.S. and seventh with Subaru. This season’s title is also the seventh for Craig Drew – moving him into a tie as the winningest rally co-driver in U.S. history – and the twelfth rally championship in the last 13 seasons for Subaru Rally Team USA and Vermont SportsCar.
Follow Subaru Rally Team USA on Instagram @srtusa, on Twitter @srtusa, and on Facebook.
About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Idemitsu Lubricants America, Method Race Wheels, DirtFish Rally School, KÜHL, DMACK Tires, PIAA, RECARO and DBA USA. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/rally.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $120 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Despite their history of success, Higgins and Drew began the 2018 season in an unfamiliar position after narrowly missing out on 2017’s inaugural ARA championship to Subaru teammates Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant. The UK-based team came fast out of the gate at the season-opening Oregon Trail Rally, winning thirteen of the event’s twenty stages and securing the overall victory by more than six minutes. However, the following month’s Olympus Rally proved a setback; a mechanical issue led to a DNF and opened the door for teammate Patrik Sandell to take the event win and move within a point of Higgins’ early championship lead.
With five events remaining, Higgins and Drew mounted a midseason offensive that would ultimately prove insurmountable. A dominant drive at Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally reestablished their overall points lead, and another win on the rock-strewn mountain roads of New England Forest Rally made it three victories in four starts. Finally, a win over Pastrana and Robbie Durant at Minnesota’s Ojibwe Forests Rally – the same event where Pastrana had secured the 2017 championship – meant that Higgins could adopt a more conservative strategy for the season’s last two events to bring home the overall title. With a second-place finish behind Sandell at Idaho Rally, Higgins and Drew earned enough points to render the season-ending Tour de Forest Rally a championship formality.
“Coming into this year, our number one objective was to win a championship,” said Higgins. “We knew we’d get a challenge from our teammates throughout the season, and there were some new events on the calendar this year, so we expected some ups and downs. It’s tough because as a driver you always want to go flat out for stage wins and event victories, but Craig (Drew) and I just had to trust our strategy so we could focus on bringing home the trophy. Lots of credit to the Subaru team for keeping the #75 (rally car) in good order, and we’ll look forward to our title defense next year!”
The 2018 ARA crown represents Higgins’ ninth overall rally championship in the U.S. and seventh with Subaru. This season’s title is also the seventh for Craig Drew – moving him into a tie as the winningest rally co-driver in U.S. history – and the twelfth rally championship in the last 13 seasons for Subaru Rally Team USA and Vermont SportsCar.
Follow Subaru Rally Team USA on Instagram @srtusa, on Twitter @srtusa, and on Facebook.
About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Idemitsu Lubricants America, Method Race Wheels, DirtFish Rally School, KÜHL, DMACK Tires, PIAA, RECARO and DBA USA. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/rally.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $120 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.