Subaru Earns Second Straight Podium in Global RallyCross Championship

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Aug. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team earned their strongest finish of season this past weekend at the Global RallyCross Championship round at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Drivers Sverre Isachsen and Dave Mirra finished third and fourth respectively, earning Subaru their second straight podium finish after Isachsen's Bronze medal finish the weekend prior at X Games Los Angeles.  The finish is all the more impressive considering Isachsen and Mirra started the Final at the very back of the nine-car grid. Isachsen has now advanced to the past five finals and has three consecutive top-five finishes.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130812/PH62885)

Held on a custom built dirt and tarmac course on Atlanta Motor Speedway's front stretch, the event was one of this season's roughest.  A massive jump combined with deeply-rutted loose gravel led to frequent body damage, but made for great racing.  The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team entered a trio of Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru WRX STI RallyCross cars for drivers Sverre Isachsen, Dave Mirra and Bucky Lasek, featuring Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and nearly 600hp.

The path to the strong finish was anything but easy for the team.  All three drivers experienced challenges in their early Heat races.  Isachsen was assessed a stop-and-go penalty in his first Heat for alleged aggressive driving as he was cut-off entering the chaotic first turn.  The penalty dropped him to third place in his Heat race, missing a chance to transfer to the Final.  Meanwhile both Mirra and Lasek had challenging Heat races, narrowly missing a top two finish position that would transfer them to the final. All three Subaru PUMA RallyCross team cars ran the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).

Mirra showed impressive speed in the LCQ by passing teammate Isachsen then chasing down and passing the race leader Timur Timerzyanov, the defending European Rallycross Champion.  Mirra went on to win the LCQ, with Isachsen third.  Lasek was beset by a mechanical problem and unable to advance.

In the Final, both Isachsen and Mirra started from the back of the nine car grid and expertly avoided the inevitable first-turn carnage.  Mirra, fast yet again, was spun out from behind early in the Final by rival Scott Speed, dropping him to the back of the pack and earning Speed a black flag stop-n-go penalty.  Isachsen then worked his way up to third overall and his second podium in a row while Mirra clawed his way back to fourth overall and his best finish to-date in Global RallyCross competition.

"It was good fighting in the Final here," said Isachsen at the podium celebration. "It was everything or nothing in the Final and I gave everything and ended on top!

"My Subaru was dialed in this weekend and my crew didn't miss a beat," explained Mirra. "They gave me an amazing car this weekend and it was great to go out and finish 4^th. I'm certain we would have finished even better if it were not for getting spun out early, but we showed we could bounce back."

About Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team USA

The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), PUMA, Method Race Wheels, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Race Proven Inc., and MOTUL. For more information on the team, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally. For the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @srtusa.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

Rob Weir
Subaru of America, Inc.
630-250-3453
rwei@subaru.com

Dominick Infante
Subaru of America, Inc.
856-488-8615
dinf@subaru.com

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.