Motorsports | Subaru Global

Event Bulletin
25 October 2005

Patrick and Nathalie Richard won the 2005 Lake Superior Rally, the final round of the Rally America Championship. This victory gave them 2005 Rally America National and Group N titel in last minutes.Travis Pastrana and Mat Iorio finished 2nd and 3rd respectably. As Ken Block also finished 4th overall and 3rd in Group N, SUBARU drivers dominated top 4 potision in oberall. Ken Block also achieved Rookie of the Year honors!

Friday

Weather: Overcast with light drizzle
Temperature: 40's
Road Surface: Loose Gravel

With beautiful fall colors surrounding Lake Superior, rally racers once again descended into Houghton, Michigan for the final round of the 2005 Rally America National Championship. A large field of sixty cars started the first stage Friday afternoon as sunshine and clear skies gave way to some clouds and light drizzle.

Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom in car #199 had a great start Friday winning two of six stages outright and loosing a third stage by only 2/10ths of a second! These are fantastic stage times for Travis and Christian and are definitely giving the Richard's something to think about.

However, after the six Friday stages were completed Pat Richard was sitting on top with a comfortable lead of over thirty seconds. Pat and Nathalie must win this event in order to claim both the Group N and Overall Championship titles. Their challenge has been made a little easier due to the fact that Stig Blomqvist and Ana Goni who are current point leaders decided to not run this last event. They essentially rolled the dice hoping that the Richards don't win.

#43 SUBARU with Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino also had some excellent runs tonight winning a stage and having a good ride in the car. Finishing this last event is important to Ken as it is the last event of the season and he has DNF'ed two of the last three events entered.

The weather report looks somewhat grim for tomorrows racing which pushes even farther north into the Upper Peninsula of Lake Superior. Rain is likely with snow over higher terrain in the evening... it could make for some classic rallying that's for sure! We'll keep you up to date as the 2005 season wraps up tomorrow evening.

Saturday

Weather: Rain
Temperature: 40's
Road Surface: Muddy Gravel

Day two of the Lake Superior Rally went off without any major glitches as racers completed the remaining eight stages. The weather on the other hand did not do much to help out as consistent rain throughout the day made stages more and more slippery. Patrick Richard who was leading the race after day one maintained his lead but definitely had decided not to push it any more than necessary. Finishing the race in the number one spot was their only goal, and winning by a large margin would do nothing for the Canadian Richard Team except increase their risk of making a mistake.

With wet leaves flying through the air and turbo engines boosting their way through the Michigan forests, Patrick and Nathalie Richard stuck to their expert rally skills and got it done. Feeling comfortable enough with his position and tricks behind the wheel, Patrick even decided to save a set of new tires for another time. Obviously they were well within their limits. The charging field of WRX's right behind was no match for Patrick and Nathalie who by winning this event were also crowned 2005 Rally America National and Group N Champions! They have worked very hard all year and with less resources than some of the other teams. Thus this is a well deserved year end result. A huge congratulations goes out to the both of them on behalf of the SUBARU Rally Support Program and hopefully they will be back to contend in the upcoming 2006 rally season.

Car #199 with Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom had a fantastic run today finishing the rally second overall. This was a great way for Travis to end his first rally season and he is very excited to continue in the future. Winning several stages and driving a clean race was imperative for Travis and Christian. There is no question that his skills on four wheels are top notch and with some more practice Travis will be an even stronger force on the circuit.

Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino had a brush with some shrubbery and a ditch causing minor damage, but lost no time. They drove fast and smart all day fighting for the third podium spot. When they crossed the finish line Matt Iorio and Ole Holter in their zebra WRX were slightly ahead, but it had been a fun match. In the Group N class Ken had managed to stay ahead of Alfredo De Dominicis and Massimo Daddoveri, a new Group N team from Italy. With rumors that they are running the championship next year it will make for some tough and fun rally racing that's for sure!

As far as the Production GT Championship it had come down to the last race, if not the last few stages. Tanner Foust and Scott Crouch had been trading stage wins all day with Matt Johnson and Wendy Nakamoto. It was not without sacrifice for Matt who during the race actually rolled his car causing limited damage. With full focus Matt Johnson charged ahead, determined to overtake Foust. Not only was this race at stake, but also the 2005 Rally America Production GT Champion. Despite a hard battle, Tanner came out on top and took home the 2005 Championship Title. Congratulations to Tanner and Scott!