Last weekend marked the 2nd ever RallyCar Rallycross event, held again at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. Tanner Foust after dominating the first event and walking away with the win in the AWD class, was looking to do the same this time. Some rain during the final event made for an interesting finish.
Dave Mirra was out to an early lead in the final in his Subaru USA Rally Team STi, before Liam Doran crashed his Citroen C4 into a tire wall. The crash prompted a red flag and officials decided to regrid the cars and restart the final. Tanner Foust then jumped out ahead of Mirra on the restart and was able to hold off Mirra the rest of the way to secure his 2nd victory in as many events. Foust said, “It was chaos, but that’s what this sport’s about. It’s even more rewarding to come out on top when there’s so much going on. It was good fun, though!”
Tanner Foust drove his Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta to his 2nd Rallycar Rallycross victory of the year.
Mirra finished in 2nd, 6 seconds behind Foust, his highest finish to date in any Rally or other car racing event. Mirra’s Subaru teammate, Travis Pastrana, didn’t fair quite as well. Mud caked in his radiator caused his engine to overheat and eventually blow up in the final, causing Pastrana to miss the restart after the red flag.
Doran who caused the restart of the final by crashing into the tire wall, battled his way from the back of the pack after the restart to finish in 3rd. 3 time European Rallycross champion Jussi Pinomaki finished in 4th in his U.S. rallycross debut in a 2006 Ford Fiesta. Rhys Millen, former Formula DRIFT champion and also known for his Pike’s Peak Hill Climb runs finished 5th in his debut in his 2002 WRC Hyundai Accent. Millen was a bit disappointed with his finish as he was up in 2nd place before the red-flag and restart of the final.
Rally America 2WD champion Chris Duplessis finished behind Millen in a very impressive 6th in a underpowered car compared to the rest of the competitors.
Matthew Johnson took the 2WD win in a 1978 Ford Fairmount station wagon sponsored by Nitro Circus. The Fairmount is no ordinary station wagon however featuring a bored 348cc engine and was initially set up as a track car.
RallyCar Rallycross returns to New Jersey Motorsports Park on November 5-7 for the final Rallycross event of 2010.
