David Higgins in the #75 Subaru WRX STI led from start to finish and never looked back. Travis Pastrana in the #199 Subaru WRX STI was close behind in second place. Higgins and Pastrana were just 7.4 seconds apart after the first three stages but with the combination Pastrana missing a corner and Higgins turning up the heat on stage 4, the gap extended to 50.3 seconds by the end of the day.
The big news was Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino suffered heartbreak when the team’s 1991 Group A Escort Cosworth burned to the ground immediately following a crash on the day’s fourth stage. Block says the Cossie’s transmission failed to downshift while setting up a corner sending him and Gelsomino over a large rock, and rolling twice before landing on its wheels.
The car immediately caught fire from under the hood. The pair jumped out as the fire spread too quickly to save the car, and it burned to the ground. Before the accident, Block had been competing for an overall podium position and was setting strong stage times.
Day two saw Higgins and Drew push the pace as another Subaru WRX STI driven by Jeff Seehorn and co-pilot Karen Jankowski passed Pastrana and Durant to move into second place. It was a strong finish for the Subaru brand as they finished the New England Forester Rally one-two-three as Higgins keeps the lead in the ARA Championship standings,
Source: Torque News