SUBARU PUMA RallyCross Team at Texas Race
SUBARU PUMA RallyCross Team USA Ramped Up Competition at Inaugural Hoon Kaboom Texas RallyCross Race.
Fort Worth, Tx., June 12, 2012 - There was certainly no shortage of excitement during race day at round two of the 2012 Global RallyCross in Fort Worth, Texas. While SUBARU PUMA RallyCross Team USA was kept off the podium, they were front and center for much of the drama throughout the day's racing.
In the first heat, Sverre Isachsen led the pack off the line and drove his #11 Subaru WRX STI with vigor to secure a spot in the Main event with a second place finish in his heat. SUBARU PUMA RallyCross Team USA's Bucky Lasek finished fourth in the same heat and was seated in one of the two Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ). Dave Mirra in the #40 WRX STI was also placed in an LCQ, where he put up a tough fight and finished in second position, just a few seconds short of advancing to the final.
Bucky Lasek provided the greatest spectacle of the heat races, and possibly the event, during the running of the LCQ B. After a tight start, Lasek was chasing Liam Doran whose ailing car was leaking fluids and slowing. After Lasek chased Doran through the chicane, Doran ducked to the left as though he was pulling off, Lasek went for the pass only to have Doran pull back in during the lead-up to the narrow steel jump. Having braked hard to avoid the car in front him, Lasek felt he had scrubbed too much speed to clear the jump and made the split decision to abort the jump and drive off the side of it. In an amazing maneuver more suited to a skateboard than his #80 Subaru WRX STI, Lasek rode the water barrier beside the jump on two wheels and stuck the landing!
Sverre Isachsen entered the 10-car Main event with the podium in his sights. Starting in the 2ndrow, the Viking Warrior muscled his way forward through the pack off the start and got alongside Marcus Gronholm. The two collided when Gronholm tried to duck into the Shortcut through Isachsen. The impact forced Isachsen unwillingly into the Shortcut and the sent him sideways into the grass, but he stayed on the throttle and continued, losing several positions in the process. Things really got tricky on the next lap when Isachsen was slowed by another competitor as they approached the jump "We were heading towards the big jump, when the car in front of me suddenly braked. I had two choices; I could hit him and crash both cars, or I could brake! I braked and stopped just before the end of the jump as I would not have cleared the gap," explained Isachsen. The race was red flagged and Global Rallycross Officials would restart the Main but denied Isachsen the opportunity to continue in the event due to stopping on the jump. Isachsen pleaded with the Officials to no avail. Sverre remained confident in his decision and his future campaign in the #11 Subaru WRX STI as he stated, "I don't understand why I wasn't allowed to start again. All I did was try to avoid a big crash. But on the positive side the car was awesome today, and I'm really looking forward to the next race which is a part of X Games."
X Games 18 kicks off in Los Angeles on June 28 and runs through July 1. Similar to last year, the RallyCross course will run on the streets of downtown L.A. in the vicinity of the Staples Center.
For additional information about Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team visit: http://www.subaru.com/rally. Become fan on http://www.facebook.com/subaruofamerica and follow @subaru_usa and @srtusa. #PUMAGRC
For more information on GRC visit: http://www.global-rallycross.com/
About Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team USA
Subaru Puma Rallycross Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), PUMA, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Motul, Exedy, and Vermont SportsCar.