National points chase to become clearer in Pennsylvania
Speedway, Ind. ~ A large field is lined up for this weekend’s 43rd Annual Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, and several of the 75 registered teams are banking on a strong rally in upstate Pennsylvania to keep their American Rally Association championship hopes alive.
One of those teams is Subaru Motorsports USA’s David Higgins and Craig Drew. Fresh off their third win of the season at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in August, Higgins and Drew lead the National Overall championship race by 20-points with just two rounds remaining. Higgins has won STPR nine times in his career and looks to stay clean and find another podium.
“The remaining two rallies we can drive a bit more carefully,” said Higgins after his win in Minnesota. “If we can bag a podium the next two rounds, it should be enough to get the championship.”
Their competition at STPR will continue to do everything in their power to slow the momentum Higgins and Drew have accumulated over the two events. Piotr Fetela and Dominik Jozwiak are second in the overall points, and Barry McKenna and Co-Driver Andrew Hayes have shaken off the early season funk with two straight second place finishes. After a podium in New England, Ramana Lagemann and Chrissie Beavis will also challenge in Pennsylvania.
As always, Higgins and Drew don’t have to look very far for competition as Olympus Rally winner Oliver Solberg returns to ARA action this weekend with Co-Driver Aaron Johnston back in the car. In the four United States rallies Solberg has competed in this year, the rookie has had the fastest time in 52-percent of his stages.
STPR opens Thursday with a parc exposé on The Green in downtown Wellsboro. Friday and Saturday will feature two days of rallying on forestry roads in Tioga and Potter counties, as well as the recently revamped stages at the Waste Management property near Wellsboro.
Follow round eight of the American Rally Association, presented by AMSOIL at www.americanrallyassociation.org. Event coverage can be found on the ARA Facebook, Instagram, You Tube and Twitter pages. For more information on STRP, go to www.stpr.org.