In the final round, Pastrana was paired against defending rally gold medalist Tanner Foust and seized the lead after Foust sideswiped a safety barrier while exiting the arena. Pastrana held off Foust to win the gold in his Goodrich-equipped Subaru Imprezza WRX STI and dedicated his victory to his friend and mentor McRae.
“I know Colin would be happy for us,” said Pastrana. “I’m really glad how everything worked out, Carolyn was great, our new Subaru ran perfect and the BFG tires kept us going. This type of rally racing is tough because it’s single round elimination. You have to really push because it’s all about going for it. I’m bummed for Ken but I’m also happy for Dave because to win a medal in your first X Games rally event is amazing.”
Mirra’s journey to the semi-finals included an intense qualifying effort where his car caught fire but Mirra charged into the lead and finished the course successfully. Mirra continued to amaze the crowd during and electrifying quarter-final battle with Andrew Comrie-Picard. After sliding into the wall, which caused damage to Mirra’s left front suspension, all appeared lost for the most decorated X Games competitor. Then in a wild turn of events, Picard came up short on the immense 50-foot dirt jump and completely flipped his Mitsubishi. Unknowingly, Mirra continued to push his Subaru Impreza WRX STI through the course and won the round without being able to turn left. After Mirra’s Vermont SportsCar crew repaired the damage, he faced off against Foust in the semi-finals but unfortunately crashed upon landing the dirt jump and was forced out of contention.
The semi-final battle between Block and Pastrana turned out to be more of an exhibition than a race after Block’s Subaru failed to start, thus handing the win to Pastrana who merely had to finish. Block and Mirra would subsequently share the bronze medal as both drivers qualified for the semi-final round but failed to finish. Mirra’s X Games rally accomplishment was his 23rd X Games medal, a seemingly untouchable record for most medals ever won at the X Games. The gold and bronze medals awarded at this year’s X Games rally event also raised the bar for Goodrich as the company now has seven X Games rally medals to its credit, the most of any tire manufacturer in X Games rally competition.
“We are excited to be involved with the X Games because the connection between extreme action sports and motorsports is becoming more popular every year,” said Tom Jupena, Goodrich’s marketing communications manager. “The tremendous effort shown by all our drivers during the X Games is very rewarding and seven medals in three consecutive years of Rally participation is an impressive reflection to what our products can deliver. We congratulate all our drivers and are looking forward to next year’s competition.”
For more information, visit www.bfgoodrichtires.com.
