Subaru takes top two positions at Oregon Trail

Subaru Motorsports drivers David Higgins and Travis Pastrana took the top two positions at this weekend's Oregon Trail Rally, with Higgins earning his first victory of the American Rally Association season with a dominant performance in his WRX STI. Pastrana, making his 2019 rally debut, led early in the weekend but was unable to fend off a relentless push from Higgins on the event's second day.

The rally kicked off Friday night with a pair of 3.2-mile (5.1km) special stages at Portland International Raceway.

Higgins and Pastrana led from the outset and were separated by just a tenth of a second after the first running of the stage, but Higgins clipped a rock on the second round and picked up a tyre puncture that cost him crucial time. With two days of long, fast stages ahead, Pastrana and co-driver Robbie Durant led Higgins and Craig Drew by 12.7 seconds.

Higgins responded immediately at the opening of Saturday's stages, cutting the gap to Pastrana by nearly half on Stage 3. The nine-time national champion stayed true to form throughout the day, keeping the pressure on the rest of the field with fast, consistent drives in his WRX STI.

By the time the dust settled at the end of Day 1, Higgins and Drew had swept all seven of the day's stages and stormed into the rally lead; the gap to Pastrana and Durant was 16.1 seconds, with third place more than two minutes back.

A spin for Pastrana early on Sunday widened the lead, and Higgins and Drew maintained a quick but conservative pace for the rest of the final day to bring home the win.