Subaru Driver David Higgins Secures Tenth U.S. Rally Championship
With the driver’s championship a foregone conclusion heading into LSPR, the two Subaru teammates looked forward to a head-to-head fight for the last event win of the year. Higgins came out of the gate fast on Friday, winning the first four stages of the day to build a lead over Solberg and the rest of the field. Unfortunately, his car struck a tree stump on Stage 5, damaging the left front suspension and putting the win out of reach. Solberg inherited the lead and began collecting stage wins through Friday’s night stages, building a lead of more than a minute over second-place driver Barry McKenna by the end of the first day. With a consistent and fast drive on Saturday, Solberg and Johnston brought home the first-place trophy and earned enough points to move into third in the final championship standings.
“From the beginning of the season our focus has been on the championship,” said Higgins after the event. “Of course it’s disappointing not to end the season with the performance we wanted, especially here at LSPR where we’ve won in the past, but I’m very proud to have earned my tenth title. We put together strong events when we needed to, and lots of credit to Craig and the rest of the team for all their hard work this year as well.”
“It’s been a long season, and a fantastic season!” Solberg said. “Last race of the year, and we won it. It’s just amazing to end it on this high. Thanks to Subaru and thanks to Vermont SportsCar for this incredible experience.”
With Higgins’ ARA driver’s title and the Americas Rallycross (ARX) team championship secured earlier this month, Subaru Motorsports USA becomes the first team ever to win U.S. national championships in both rally and rallycross in the same year.
About Subaru Motorsports USA
Subaru Motorsports USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Idemitsu Lubricants, Yokohama Tires, Method Race Wheels, DirtFish Rally School, KÜHL and RECARO. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/motorsports.
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