Subaru Media Site SUBARU SURGES IN SEATTLE; ATKINSON AND SANDELL EARN PODIUMS AT GRC SEATTLE DOUBLEHEADER  CONTACT:    Rob  Weir 856-488-3453 rwei@subaru.com Dominick  Infante (856) 488-8615 dinfante@subaru.com   SUBARU SURGES IN SEATTLE; ATKINSON AND SANDELL EARN PODIUMS AT GRC SEATTLE DOUBLEHEADER  Cherry Hill, N.J., Sep 10, 2017  -  The Subaru rallycross program firmly asserted itself as a leading contender in the Red Bull Global Rallycross (GRC) series with a strong showing at the Seattle double-header round this past weekend. The Subaru team drivers took a clean sweep of Supercar qualifying in Seattle, as Chris Atkinson took pole on Saturday and Patrik Sandell answered with pole on Sunday, each at the wheel of their 600hp Vermont SportsCar-prepared Subaru WRX STI GRC Supercars. The duo followed up their strong qualifying by each earning a podium in the hotly contested Final, with Atkinson taking third-overall on Saturday and Sandell answering with a third-overall finish on Sunday. Sandell’s podium was Subaru Rally Team USA’s fourth podium this season and third in the last four rounds.The GRC Seattle double-header represented rounds 10 and 11 of the 2017 GRC series and was held on a challenging mixed surface course at Evergreen Speedway, just north of the Seattle metro area. Chris Atkinson excelled on Saturday after winning pole. He went on to win a heat race, Semi-Final B and then earned a third-overall finish in the chaotic final. A more challenging day on Sunday saw Atkinson fight from further back in the field to cross the finish line in fourth, but a post-race driving penalty would classify him in fifth.“We’re happy with the podium Saturday and it’s a great result for the team. Where we’ve been all weekend, with taking pole, then winning the earlier races, just shows we’re there at the top now,” explained Chris Atkinson. “The team has worked so hard all season and we know we have more speed to find yet with this chassis.”It was Sandell’s turn to shine on Sunday as the double-header concluded. Sandell won pole, followed it up with a pair of 2nd place finishes in the early heats, then won Semi-Final B to place on him on the front row of the Final. Sandell shined in the opening laps of the Final and slotted into a comfortable third position for a majority of the race to earn his 14th career GRC podium and second of the year with Subaru.“It was a great weekend for the team,” said Sandell. “We are really starting to show our speed now, these Subaru WRX STI rallycross cars are really amazing and getting faster all the time. Thank you to Subaru and the team in Vermont for all the effort. For both Chris (Atkinson) and I to earn a pole and a podium here is fantastic and we have a lot of confidence now.”“The Subaru rallycross program is now seeing the fruits of two years worth of race development with our technical partner Vermont SportsCar, combined with great driving by Atko and Sandell,” stated Subaru motorsports marketing manager Rob Weir. “It was great to put on a strong showing for our Subaru fans this weekend.”The Subaru GRC team will conclude the 2017 season at GRC Los Angeles on October 14th, 2017.Full coverage of Subaru Rally Team USA is available on the Subaru Motorsports App. To download from the iTunes App store,  click here  , for Android App on Google Play store,  click here  . Follow the team on Instagram  @srtusa  , on Twitter  @srtusa  , and on facebook  @Subaru Rally Team USA  .About Subaru Rally Team USASubaru Rally Team USA is managed by  Vermont SportsCar  and proudly supported by  Subaru of America, Inc  .,  Valvoline  ,  KÜHL  ,  Method Race Wheels,   DirtFish Rally School,   DMACK Tires  ,  PIAA  , RECARO and DBA USA. Follow the team online at  www.subaru.com/rallyAbout 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 Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 620 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  .Additional information and news from Subaru is available at http://www.media.subaru.com.