David Higgins Takes Mt. Washington Record.

Sunday June, 26th 2011- David Higgins made Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds History as he crossed the line in 6 minutes 19 seconds during his first full-length timed run of Sunday morning. Higgins was just over a second faster than his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Travis Pastrana who ran the Mt. Washington Auto Road in a similar car to promote the return of the hillclimb last fall. The prior record set by Frank Sprongl in 1998 is 6:41.99 and has stood for 13 years.
Jon Kemp followed at 7:06.82 and Todd Cook has the 3rd fastest time with a 7:07.33, less than a second back.
The Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile, the 7.6 mile serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak.  The Mt. Washington Auto Road’s history goes well beyond just this Hillclimb as it celebrates its 150^thanniversary this summer.
Source: Climbtotheclouds.com
Picture: Lars Gange

Higgins Sets the Pace on Mt. Washington

June 24, 2011- The Mt. Washington Hillclimb, known affectionately as the "Climb to the Clouds" is making a comeback this weekend after a nearly ten-year hiatus. The event, one of Americas' oldest auto races, features a strong 70-car competition field with some of the best drivers and cars from around the world competing for "King of the Hill" honors. The first day of practice, on the lower half of the 7.6 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road, was conducted this morning with Subaru driver David Higgins, from the Isle of Man, toping the time sheets nearly twenty seconds faster than his closest challenger in rainy and challenging conditions.

The entry list includes two of the past course record holders, former and current rally champions, high-powered open-wheel cars, a vintage class filled with cars steeped in motorsports history and a first for the event; a purpose-built race-truck.

"What a road! Really good fun," said Higgins, who has never competed on the auto road before. "The conditions were really slick and challenging plus I'm still trying to learn the road." Higgins is driving a Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car.

Former Climb to the Clouds record holder Tim O'Neil of Whitefield, New Hampshire, who last competed here nearly twenty years ago, was sixth fastest on the morning practice session. "I don't think the auto road has changed much in twenty years but my memory has gotten worse!"

The Mt. Washington Auto Road will see a truck race up its narrow serpentine course for the first time in its history as daredevil Mike Ryan of Santa Clarita, California takes his purpose-built Freightliner 14.7 liter, 1,950HP turbo-diesel-powered race-truck up Mt. Washington in the Hillclimb Special Class. Ryan was an impressive 31st fastest on the morning practice session.

Evening entertainment kicks off tonight with the Jim Devlin Band performing at 8pm on the Climb to the Clouds stage at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road followed by a Fireworks show. A second practice is scheduled for tomorrow and at 8pm Boston-based TAB The Band, who recently toured the US and UK with the Stone Temple Pilots, will perform on stage. Race day is Sunday where all teams will have two full course attempts to the summit.

Grandstand seating will be available for spectators at the start area while several on-course spectating areas will be available. Tickets and schedule information are available at http://www.climbtotheclouds.com/.

Fans will also enjoy car displays, vendors, food and a beer garden. All festivities are located at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.

Photo/ Mike_Proulx-WorldRallySport

Subaru Isle of Man TT Record Attempt

Mark Higgins has a massive moment during testing for his record breaking run around the famed Isle of Man TT course - hold on.

Higgins Nips L'Estage For a Hotly Contested Susquehannock Trail Rally Win

Wellsboro, PA (June 5th, 2011)  -- Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew win the 2011 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) by a narrow margin of 1.3 seconds over rivals Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard. Higgins had a 37 second deficit halfway through day two after losing intercom at the start of Stage 8 and puncturing a tire on Stage 9, but came back to lead the rally by 2.5 seconds going into the final stage. This is the third time Higgins has taken the outright STPR win in his career, having won the event back in 2002 and 2003.

The Rockstar Mitsubishi crew of Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard finished in a close second place after controlling the rally lead up until the second to last stage. The privateer driver set a blistering pace from the start despite being down on power and went on to win six of the event's fourteen stages including both passes of the Super Special at the Tioga Fairgrounds.

The Susquehannock Trail Rally is round five of the six-round Rally America Championship and is based in Wellsboro, PA. STPR features some of the fastest, roughest gravel stages in the Series with technical sections and 'gotcha's' scattered throughout. Severe dust caused visibility issues until about Stage 8, when heavy rains in the area challenged teams with slippery roads. The changing weather conditions contributed to an already heavy rate of attrition, putting several of the top crews and many regional competitors out of the event or out of contention.

The podium was rounded out by Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis, who once again placed third overall and first in the Super Production (SP) class. Lagemann nearly retired from the rally early on day two after running out of fuel on Stage 7 only three miles from the finish. Lagemann's Subaru sputtered to a stop on the following transit, but rival SP class driver Travis Hanson displayed excellent sportsmanship by towing him back to Service. Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson placed fourth overall and second in class, clinching the 2011 Super Production title at STPR. The remainder of the Super Production field fell victim to attrition, leaving Lagemann and Hanson as the only crews in the class to finish the event.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, Chris Greenhouse piloted his 1995 Plymouth Neon to his first-ever National class victory. Greenhouse and co-driver Billy Mann finished sixth overall with a 38 second lead over the second fastest team in their class and were the quickest 2WD crew on both passes of the Super Special. Brian Gottlieb and co-driver Pat Darrow placed second in class in their 1989 Honda Civic with a comfortable cushion of over one minute on Dillon Van Way. Van Way and co-driver Jake Blattner placed third in 2WD despite losing time on Stage 7 after rolling their 2011 Ford Fiesta.

2010 Two-Wheel-Drive champion Chris Duplessis is the first in North America to build and field a Ford Fiesta R2, which made its U.S. debut at STPR. Duplessis and co-driver Catherine Woods' rally came to a disappointing end after breaking a control arm tie rod near the finish of Stage 12. Duplessis was sitting sixth overall and was well over 8 minutes ahead of his 2WD rivals when he retired.

The 2011 Rally America National Championship comes down to the wire at the sixth and final round, the New England Forest Rally based in Newry, Maine this July 15-16.

BLOCK HITS ARGENTINA FOR THE FIRST TIME, FINISHES AND PULLS OFF HIS BEST STAGE PLACEMENT TO DATE.

May 30, 2011, Cordoba, Argentina – Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino headed to South America for their first visit to WRC Argentina and came away with their best-ever WRC stage finish this past weekend. Over the course of the rally, Block and Gelsomino attacked the notoriously difficult stage roads of the Argentinean country side at a promising pace, showing consistent top 10 stage finishes, until a broken driveshaft stunted their effort. Still the two pressed on, and upped the pace, eventually laying down speed on WRC Argentina’s SS17 that placed them 5th fastest, the team’s best-ever stage finish in a WRC rally.

“I’ve loved being down here for WRC Argentina. If it wasn’t for suffering yet another mechanical issue on Saturday, I would have been on pace to score my first points of the season. So, missing out on that sucks. It wasn’t all bad though, on Sunday I took 5th on-stage for SS17, which is a personal best for me in the WRC. I’m definitely stoked about that. Plus the fans are absolutely wild and the stages have been incredible.”

Following a win in the heads up format of Thursday’s opening SuperSpecial SS1, Block and Gelsomino headed out on Friday in good shape and with the intention to run a conservative, steady pace. Block’s overall goal for the rally was simply to keep it clean, have fun and cross the finish line. By the end of Leg 1 on Friday, that goal was being realized as Block found himself sitting in 9th place overnight. Saturday however, would be less kind. After Friday’s reserved pace, Block decided to step things up as he gained back his in-car confidence following an eight-week hiatus from racing. Unfortunately, on the second stage of the day, SS9, Block suffered a broken driveshaft, which eventually forced a retirement on SS11.

However, Sunday morning brought a fresh chance to restart for Block under SuperRally rules. Unfortunately, on the first stage of the day, a slight off, which caused a tire puncture, cost the two 16 minutes. Despite this though, Block went on to lay down his best WRC stage finish to date on the next stage, placing 5th, while being about 3 seconds off of stage winner, and fellow Ford teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala.

“To have Ken driving at this level after being out of the car for eight weeks and pull off a personal best for a stage finish on these roads is massive,” said team manager Derek Dauncey. “He showed great poise on some very difficult stages and demonstrated great future potential for next year here in Argentina.”

The next WRC stop for MWRT will be ADAC Rally Deutschland, August 18-21. Until then, follow the team at monsterworldrallyteam.com, facebook.com/KenBlockRacing and facebook.com/MonsterWorldRallyTeam.