Subaru and Travis Pastrana were expecting to have some work to do to put themselves en route to the Nitro Rallycross title, and things actually went better than expected, as the mind behind Nitro RX won the Glen Helen Raceway round and led a Subaru 1-2-3, while the Red Bull Hansen Peugeots were unable to mount a proper challenge when it mattered the most.
Heat 1 had Fraser McConnell on top for one and a half of laps until trouble hit his Olsbergs Fiesta RX, being passed by Andreas Bakkerud, who dominated the race until the final laps, where team orders had an influence in the result as he and Travis Pastrana swapped positions.
Heat 2 was all about Scott Speed while Kevin Eriksson had his second place the hard way, with Kevin and Timmy Hansen pressing both the Olsbergs Civic and the Subaru WRX STi for almost the whole race, having to settle for third and fourth in the final lap.
Semifinal 1 started with Robin Larsson snatching the lead from Andreas Bakkerud while the Norwegian was holding Kevin Hansen, and after that, Bakkerud was decided to keep the battle going, so Larsson opted for an early Joker lap to try an undercut, which was of no use as Bakkerud took the clean air to increase the pace and win the race.
Semifinal 2 had Kevin Eriksson leading Steve Arpin in their particular battle while Liam Doran was on the watch from third place. Arpin and Timmy Hansen were hoping to change the tide with an early Joker, but while Doran fell victim of them, Eriksson had the pace to not let them get any closer, dominating the race with authority.
On LCQ 1, Timmy Hansen had to watch Oliver Eriksson lead it early, so the first lap Joker was an alternative to be used, and with clean air and a hard push, the Olsbergs driver was left behind and Hansen just went straight to the win and the Final ticket.
The other Hansen was in LCQ 2, but Liam Doran was determined to spoil the party, so Kevin Hansen opted for the same strategy as his brother. After some argy bargy between Doran and Hansen, the Red Bull Hansen driver found the wall by going on the outside, so Doran had the lead and the race win all for himself. After the race the stewards felt that Doran’s moves were too questionable, so he was penalized with 5 seconds in his total time, promoting Ronalds Baldins to the Final.
The Subarus were guarding the front row ahead of the Final, and with Bakkerud doing the guard dog role from third place, Pastrana and Speed were focused on opening the gap while the rest of the field tried other tricks under the sleeve. Contrary to the predictions, Speed went first to the Joker, and in the space of a lap, Bakkerud and Pastrana followed him, and while Arpin looked like a threat, he had a Joker to do, so the Subaru 1-2-3 was re-established, and it stood firm until the finish, with Speed and Bakkerud following the race winner Pastrana.
Pastrana now has a more comfortable lead with 182 points while Speed can be Subaru’s second shot at the title with 175, and only Timmy Hansen and his 165 points can spoil the Subaru party at The Firm on 4 and 5 December.
PHOTO: Subaru Motorsport USA
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