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Saturday: Race Day Two 
The 2008 Waste Management STPR event has drawn to a close after a long day of eventful rallying. Echoing the tone set yesterday with the grueling Waste Management stage, the Susquehannock Trail Rally slowly whittled away at the participating lineup. Many of the top competitors were plagued with mechanical issues and crashes. It seemed that the strategy of the day was to approach the race with complete caution and hope to avoid the worsening attrition effecting the field. Among the ranks of teams to be swept out of competition at this rally were Subaru Rally Team USA's Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer. On stage four, they too incurred damage and were unable to continue racing. While it is unfortunate that Travis and Derek did not complete this weekend's race, unpredictability is one of the defining traits of rally racing and the team remains optimistic about the capabilities of the new 2008 Subaru WRX STI platform they debuted this weekend. Although Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino retired from the national championship portion of this event yesterday, they re-entered in today's regional rally to get some seat time in their new car. Without the opportunity to gain championship points and in the interest of preserving the car, Ken and Alex maintained an uncharacteristically conservative approach to the race. They still performed quite competitively, winning one stage and finishing in second place on two others. With the considerable number of retirements throughout the field, Subaru Rally Team USA's current Rally America National Championship standings are unlikely to be effected significantly. The current points leader, one point ahead of Travis Pastrana, was among those who did not finish the race and will therefore not gain any further advantage over SRT USA. The Production GT Class seemed to suffer the brutality of this rally as much as the Open Class. At the end of the day, there were only two finishing Production GT cars in the national championship event. In first place were Patrick Moro and Mike Rossey, who are leading the Production GT championship by a considerable margin. Five minutes behind in second place were Robert Borowicz and Mariusz Borowicz. Each of the surviving PGT teams pilots a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX. This race was also the final qualifying round for the X Games 14 lineup. Subaru Rally Team USA already has a secured spot at the X Games this summer, as both Travis Pastrana and Ken Block earned podium finishes at last year's event. The remainder of the X Games 14 competition will be picked from the top of the Rally America National Championship standings after this event's championship points have been tallied.
Friday: Race Day One 
The first day of racing has come to an end at the 2008 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally. This afternoon, competitors ran two stages at the Waste Management facility and then returned to the Tioga County Fairgrounds for a service stop. Following the service was the Subaru Super Special Stage, a spectator stage covering nearly a mile of stadium course. A massive crowd of spectators attended the Super Special. The fans applauded excellent driving and hay bale collisions with comparable fervor. The nine-mile Waste Management course featured an extensive variety of road conditions, seemingly covering every type of road run in the Rally America series except for snow and ice. There were intricate technical areas covering sand, gravel, and mud as well as wide-open straights on hard-packed gravel. Some sections of the stage were narrow and extremely rocky, similar to some of the toughest roads in Maine. Multiple jumps, bumps, and ditch crossings hammered at the cars.With the mixture of surfaces on that one stage, it served as a valuable testing ground for the two new 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STIs. The two SRT USA cars have made their debut as the first Rally America Open Class entries based on the new platform from Subaru. As is to be expected with any brand new rally car, there is a steep learning curve in the development of a perfect competition vehicle and SRT USA is not exempt from the challenge. On the second pass through the Waste Management stage, Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino were faced with an unexpected mechanical issue. The unfortunate hindrance forced the team to retire for the day, in hopes of addressing any pertinent issues so they might be able to get some stage time tomorrow in the regional event. Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer finished the day in ninth place after approaching this afternoon's lengthier stages cautiously. On the Subaru Super Special Stage this evening, Pastrana and Ringer had an excellent run, duly impressing the fans with a second place finish exactly one second behind first. Tomorrow, the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally continues with a long day of stages covering the traditional STPR course. Long stage roads jet through the dense forest at high speeds in what has previously been a whole rally packed into one day of competition.
Thursday: Pre-race 
Subaru Rally Team USA is in Wellsboro, PA for the 2008 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally. This year's STPR features some significant changes from the 2007 event. Along with many of the fast and long Pennsylvania rally stages, there is a new addition at the Waste Management facility in Antrim. A stage spanning over nine miles of varied terrain will be run in both directions, adding entirely different styles of roads to the race. With rough sections of tightly winding roads, some pavement, mud, and a jump or two, the Waste Management stages will present a challenge of adaptation to the teams and provide for an exciting change of pace. The roads aren't the only thing that has changed since the last time Subaru Rally Team USA was at STPR. This weekend's event marks the unveiling of SRT USA's 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Open Class rally cars. With the development and testing completed, they are ready to make their Rally America debut. At the shakedown and press stage today, Travis Pastrana took his new ride for a few flawless practice runs. Vermont SportsCar has put an incredible amount of time and effort into building these amazing rally machines. With the success of the practice runs today, Subaru Rally Team USA is excited to campaign their new fleet. The race begins tomorrow afternoon. Two stages at the Waste Management facility will be followed by a Parc Exposé and the Subaru Super Special Stage at the Tioga County Fairgrounds. The forecast calls for partially cloudy skies with highs in the eighties and a thirty percent chance of rain. The roads were a bit slick today as the competitors completed their reconnaissance of the stage roads, so the teams will likely be prepared in the event of precipitation. |
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