Pastrana, Mirra and more return to Rallycross in New Jersey October 2-3

Sep. 28, 2010 By Press Release
MILLVILLE, NJ -- Top action sports stars including Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra and Tanner Foust plus some new international stars will be at the New Jersey Motorsports Park this weekend for Round 2 of the U.S. Rallycross Championship (October 2-3rd).
 
Rhys Millen, the California-based stunt, drift and racing driver, is an exciting new addition to the field. Formerly a factory backed U.S. rally competitor, Millen is a regular at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, is the 2005 Formula DRIFT champion, and works as a stunt driver in movies including "Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift.” He will debut in a 2002 Hyundai WRC car and with his rare combination of rally and drifting skills, Millen is expected be an instant threat.
 
Top European Rallycross Championship driver Liam Doran is travelling from London, U.K., to attend the US event in the 2009 Citroen C4 rallycross car that he uses in European competition. Joining Doran from overseas is Finland’s Jussi Pinomaki, a seasoned ERC competitor who will compete in an Oslberg MSE Ford Fiesta.
 
Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra will return to fly the Subaru flag after taking 2nd and 3rd place for Subaru Rally Team USA in the first U.S. Rallycross Championship event in late August. Pastrana staged a massive comeback in the first U.S. Rallycross event when he hit a barrier on the first lap and had to restart the race in the back of the pack. He charged hard to take 2nd place in the Main event final.
 
Rockstar Energy Drink driver Tanner Foust will return to defend his Round 1 victory. Foust, a double X Games Rally gold medal winner this year, has the most experience against the new entrants having competed against Rhys Millen in the Formula Drift Series and against Liam Doran in five rounds of the European Rallycross Championship this season. Foust will be driving an Olsberg MSE prepared 2010 Ford Fiesta rallycross car.
 
NOS Energy Drink’s Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard will also return, hoping to improve his position in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. The 2009 North American Rally Champion, ACP has competed against Millen and Foust in the Formula DRIFT Series this season and took on a two-wheel drive class in the European Rally Championship event earlier this year.
 
The two-wheel drive class features the return of Josh Wimpey, who is looking to defend his dominating August win. He will need to ward off hard-charging 18-year-old Dillon Van Way who wants to prove he has what it takes in rallycross since winning RallyCar’s 2009 Rally America Two-Wheel Drive Championship and "Rookie of the Year" honors. Josh will also face 3rd place overall Two-Wheel Drive finisher, Randy Zimmer.
 
About Rallycross
Americans have seldom seen the speed, power, intensity and overall competition of a Rallycross event. New to America in 2010, the sport sits at the intersection of rally, drifting, and road racing disciplines and features stars from each respective autosport.
 
Five drivers line up to start at once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, hills and transitions between pavement and gravel. Each car must also take a “Joker” lap at some point during their heat.  A Joker Lap is a small detour – normally over a jump – that adds a level of unpredictability to the heat’s outcome by changing a driver’s strategy in an instant.
 
Fans get close to the action with trackside viewing of aggressive door-to-door action and the sliding and jumping that makes rally car events unique among motorsport.
 
The sport is debuting this year in the US with a three-event series at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. For 2011, the calendar will feature a full, US championship series with events held nationwide.
 
RallyCar is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., BFGoodrich Tires, the Team O’Neil Rally School, Able Planet, Hawk Performance Brakes, Rally-Tire.com, RaceWatches.com, Exedy Racing Clutches, RECARO, Mazda and the Danza del Sol Winery.


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