Subaru Rally Team USA(SRT USA) driver Travis Pastrana overcame a close battle with his Subaru teammate Ken Block to win the New England Forest Rally, Round 6 of the 2009 Rally America National Championship (RANC) which was held from 17-18 July. The Subaru duo of Pastrana and Block, each driving identically prepared the lates model of Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally cars, fought all weekend with former Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L'Estage. Mechanical trouble for L'Estage and a late spin and tire puncture for Block handed Pastrana the victory on the final stages. The win extends Pastrana's points lead and puts him one step closer to winning his fourth consecutive RANC.
The 2009 New England Forest Rally featured highly technical and rocky gravel logging roads near the Maine/New Hampshire border. "I wasn't the fastest driver here this weekend," said Pastrana. "It was hard to keep up with Block, but we were just close enough to capitalize when he hit some trouble at the end of the rally." The win at New England is Pastrana's fourth win from six events this year.
Ken Block was the pace setters for most of the rally, winning five of the eleven competition stages. However, a spin and a puncture on the final loop of three stages cost Block over twenty-five seconds and allowed Pastrana to slip into the lead. "It's extremely frustrating," said Block at the finish. "I put myself in the right position to win and it didn't work out for us." Although it wasn't the victory Block had hoped for the strong 2nd place points haul lifts Block from 5th to 2nd Overall in the Rally America National Championship standings.
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A highlight of the rally again this year was the Concord Pond stage, a favorite among drivers and fans for its numerous jumps and serpentine-like flow. Block was able to crush his stage record on the 5.6 mile stage by an impressive eight seconds. "Our Subaru was perfect and the grip was amazing," said Block. "That stage means a lot to Alex (Gelsomino) and I so to break our record and by such a large margin was really exciting for us."
A contingent of SRT USA heads next to Germany for the Baja 300 Powerdays, where Ken Block will be in has been invited to compete in his SRT USA new Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car. Following this event will be the much-anticipated X Games 15 to be held again at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The next round of RANC, round seven "Ojibwe Forests Rally" will be taken place from 28-29 August.
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