David Higgins brings home rally win for Subaru

Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins fought to his seventh consecutive victory of the Oregon Trail Rally behind the wheel of his 2015 Subaru WRX STI rally car. Higgins with co-driver Craig Drew have won the first three rounds of the championship. 

The Oregon Trail Rally is the most diverse in the Rally America Championship with a varying mix of road types that include both high-speed flowing and tight and technical roads. The team’s 2015 Subaru WRX STI met the challenge perfectly as Higgins won all but two of the event’s eighteen stages. “This rally has such a mix of road types, so if you have a car that works well at this rally then you know you have a car that can do well at all the other events,” explained Higgins. “It gives us really good confidence heading into the next round, the Olympus Rally, and the whole season ahead.” 

Higgins and Drew led from the start of the rally, winning all four stages at the spectator friendly stages held at the Portland International Raceway. But an intermittent technical issue coupled with new rules designed to limit performance factored into the duo losing some time on Saturday, but never relinquishing the lead. On the event’s final day Higgins pulled away from the field on the technical and tight stages and cruised to a nearly three-minute victory. 

'Drive around problems'

“The key for me is you’ve got to learn to drive around problems,” Higgins said. “Winning rallies and winning championships are all about making the best out of the bad situations, keeping your head down, concentrating, and enjoying it, because that’s the main thing: if you can drive through it all with a smile on your face it makes it a whole lot easier.” 

“This is a challenging rally with diverse conditions, and our competition continues to increase their pace,” stated Rob Weir, Subaru Motorsports Marketing Manager. “We’re proud of the team’s result this weekend and thank the organizers for putting on a spectacular event.” 

Subaru Rally Team USA will stay on the west coast after Oregon and prep for the Olympus Rally, May 16-17 based in and around Shelton, Washington. The Olympus Rally, a former round of the World Rally Championship in the 1980’s, is back on the Rally America National Championship calendar after a two year break.

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