2015 Subaru WRX STI dominates white knuckle snow event

It would have been a great battle if Ken Block would have shown up for the Rally at the 100 Acre Wood 2015. The elements would have posed a great challenge for the aggressive Block who loves the ultra fast gravel course at the Missouri rally. It fits his racing style perfectly and he had won the event seven times out of the last eight attempts. Higgins and Drew still had plenty of challenges in the new 2015 Subaru WRX STI to win the rally race going away.

Before the race on Thursday, Higgins reported, “Road conditions here are a driver's worst nightmare as there is such a mix of conditions, some stages are 80% gravel and some are 80% ice. The biggest problem we face is the ice tire will wear very fast on gravel and gravel tire has no grip on ice.”

Rally at the 100 Acre Wood turns into white knuckle snow event

Rally at the 100 Acre Wood is usually offers mild, fast and dusty conditions for the drivers, but the snow and single digit temperatures had transformed this year’s second rally race into a white knuckle snow event. At the Parc Expose in Potosi, Missouri the day before, Higgins and Drew put on happy smiles but underneath, they were concerned about the treacherous road conditions they were about to come across.

Higgins and Drew dominate

Higgins dominated the race from the beginning and was able to navigate the course that turned into a true snow event. Ice covered 50 percent of the roads and some turns would switch from gravel to ice making it extremely challenging for all the drivers. Higgins and Drew were able to successfully navigate the slick conditions and ended day one in first place with a three minute lead over fellow Subaru Driver David Sterckx and Stephen Quin. Day two saw steady snowfall from the winter storm that hit the Midwest and 6-inches plus of accumulation.

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The all-new 2015 Subaru WRX STI rally car with its symmetrical all-wheel drive system handled the treacherous conditions with ease and performed flawlessly all day. The snow storm caused significant delays, eventually forcing race organizers into canceling the final three stages, as medical crew vehicles were unable to move into position.

The battle was not with Block

The battle this year was not with Ken Block, but with the extreme conditions on the roads at Rally at the 100 Acre Wood. After the race, David Higgins said, "These were some of the toughest conditions I've ever driven on. We had gravel, frozen gravel, icy gravel and everything in between to go with the snow. Then when it began to snow late in the event the fresh snow hid the icy parts from view. Our new 2015 Subaru WRX STI was perfect again and Craig Drew did a fantastic job, this was a huge challenge."

Two other Subaru STIs finished second and third place and were on the podium with the 2015 WRX STI at the white knuckle Rally at the 100 Acre Wood rally event. SRT USA wins its second Rally America Championship 2015 race. The series continues on the West Coast at the scenic Oregon Trail Rally on April 24-26.