X-Games star and rookie rally driver Travis Pastrana fell victim to the grueling 2005 Maine Forest Rally, round 5 of the Rally America Championship this weekend. Pastrana was off to a flying start on day one and was battling for the lead when he ran wide on a deceiving turn and damaged his car and getting stuck in a ditch. Pastrana’s teammate, DC Shoes Co-founder Ken Block, picked up where Pastrana left off and battled his way to an impressive 3rd overall, marking Ken’s first Overall podium in the Rally America Championship
The 12.4 mile, 156 turn climb to the 14,200 ft summit of Pikes Peak is one of the most revered challenges in the eyes of motorsports fans and drivers around the World. The high speed ribbon of road changes from asphalt to hard packed gravel as it climbs over 4,000 vertical feet to the cold and windy summit above the clouds.
The teams entered in the Rally America portion of the event ran a total of 50 miles of competition on the hill over the course of three days and seven stages. The stages all took place on shorter sections of the Pikes Peak toll road, including some paved lower sections of the road that are not used during Saturday’s main event.
Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino in the #43 car had their troubles as well but felt luck was on his side at this rally. “We never had a clean run this weekend, we had everything thrown at us and somehow came out ok,” said a relieved Block at the awards ceremony late Saturday. “There were so many things that happened, a flat tire on the longest stage, a bent control arm that we had to fix ourselves between stages and tons of dust that really slowed us up.” This is Ken’s best result in the Rally America Championship.