The first-ever Nitro World Rallycross “Hell Track for cars” lived up to its name. All three Subaru WRX STI Supercars finish DNF.
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Travis Pastrana, one the Subaru WRX STI Supercar teammates, created the first-ever Nitro World Rallycross (NRX) and called it the “Hell Track for cars.” It lived up to the name as top rallycross drivers Scott Speed, Steve Arpin, Tanner Foust, Mattias Ekstrom, and Timmy Hansen along with Subaru’s three WRX STI teammates Chris Atkinson, Patrik Sandell and creator Travis Pastrana doing battle.
The first-ever Nitro World Rallycross was held at the Utah Motorsports Campus and it shaped up to be as crazy an event as expected. There were lots of jumps with big air and plenty of banging and crashing that characterized the weekend rallycross race. The "Hell Track for cars" sent half the field, including Pastrana, to the pits before the dust settled in the Final.
The Final was banging, impacts and sheer mayhem that saw all three Subaru WRX STI Supercars finish with a DNF. Atkinson, who had produced fast times all weekend and was in a good start position, got a flat early on and was forced to retire. Pastrana got tangled with another competitor in turn one and was immediately taken out of the event, while Sandell was running 4th and fighting for position when he was hit and taken out.
Atkinson told Subaru Motorsports, “I’ve never been so disappointed in a race finish I think ever. Just all the hard work everyone has put in, to come away with basically nothing apart from knowing we’ve got a fast car.”
After two hard-fought days of rally racing, Two Swedish drivers finished one-two as Timmy Hansen in a Peugeot emerged as the first-ever Nitro Rallycross champion. Mattias Ekstrom driving an Audi finished second and Tanner Foust in the Volkswagen Beetle rounded out the podium. Top ARX champ Scott Speed also finished DNF after getting hit hard in the Final.
Subaru Rally Team doesn’t have time to lick their wounds, as three Subaru WRX STIs along with Finnish Rallycross Ace Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen joining the team heads to Circuit of The Americas for the final event of the 2018 Americas Rallycross Championship next weekend.
Watch Nitro Rallycross Final Highlights - Nitro World Games 2018 video.
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Photo credit: Subaru Motorsports
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