(Oct 17, 2013) The 2013 Rally America National Championship will come to a thrilling conclusion this weekend (October 18-19) at the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR), where Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins will fight for his 3^rd straight Rally America driver’s title. The event, widely regarded as the ‘oldest, toughest and meanest rally’ on the Rally America circuit is held on the forest roads in northern reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Subaru driver David Higgins has led the Rally America Championship all season and has been the model of consistency reaching the podium at every round including two victories. However chief rival Ken Block can steal the championship away from Higgins should Block win at LSPR, setting up a veritable winner-take-all scenario.

The Lake Superior Performance Rally has been running for over thirty years and although the course has changed the challenge has not. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula supplies a brutal combination of highly variable weather and technical tree-lined gravel roads for the legendary event. This year’s edition endured some last minute course changes as the recent US Government shutdown forced the closure of Federal lands that were scheduled to be utilized in the event. Event officials revised the route and although some miles were lost the event should still retain its classic challenging character.

“LSPR was always my favorite event back in my early championship wins in 2002 and 2003,” said Higgins, “The conditions can be very like home (in Wales, UK) with many surface changes along with variable grip and weather. We can get everything from sun to snow and ice. It’s going to be a tough battle but we are bringing the best tool to the fight with our Subaru STI. I’m super proud of my team the way they have reacted to the challenge from Ken (Block) and his WRC based car and the fact that we are fighting for our 3^rd straight title.” Higgins will have co-driver Craig Drew alongside him, and the duo will make the most of their Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive 2013 Subaru STI.

The mathematics of the drivers points table are complicated by the fact that Rally America this year instituted a ‘drop-score’, allowing drivers to drop their lowest score, thus counting only the best six finishes of the seven events this season. Assuming Block will drop his earlier DNF Block must win LSPR to take the championship from Higgins. Higgins on the other hand does not necessarily need to win to seal the championship, but to prevent Block from winning Higgins essentially needs to win the event himself, thus setting up a thrilling winner-take-all finale for the 2013 Rally America National Championship!

A revised LSPR spectator guide with the alternate schedule and viewing locations is available for download here: http://bit.ly/1fsUkI5

About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA 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, Exedy, Race Proven, and MOTUL. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit http://subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @srtusa.

Photos from pre-LSPR testing below: