STPR ProRally | Saturday, June 7th, 2003
8 hours down, 4 hours to go, Higgins remains coolly determined to remain in the lead in spite of slippery conditions.
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Returning STPR Champion David Higgins smoothly negotiates a rain-soaked hairpin deep in the Tioga National Forest on the way to his third consecutive season victory.
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Surrounded by rally fans prior to the start of STPR, Lauchlin O'Sullivan and codriver Christian Edstrom remove tape on their cockpit airflow vent.
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The Lancer Evo's superior traction enabled it to explode out of slippery corners, leaving only a shower of slippery rocks in its wake.
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Technicians begin to chip away at accumulated mud in the rear wheel wells of the Lancer Evolution.
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Race Day
Saturday, June 7th, 2003
Team Mitsubishi Motor Sports America
2003 SCCA STPR ProRally: Race Day News & Notes
David Higgins clinches third victory of the season in as many races: widening his already impressive lead in the championship.
Team Mitsubishi Motor Sports Americas' Lancer Evolutions arrived in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania this week for STPR with one simple mission; continue to build on their season successes and once again prove their worth as a new force on the SCCA ProRally tour.
It didn't take long for this season's pattern to repeat.
Early on, David Higgins took the lead on slippery roads and never looked back. More than twelve hours and 130 stage miles later, David had taken his third win in as many races.
Three wins yes, but it wasn't easy. During the midday break, David and co-driver Daniel Barritt talked of high speeds on the smooth stage roads, despite wet and slippery conditions. "It's very very fast, with trees close to the road and little margin for error," explained Higgins. "Fortunately my Lancer Evolution is extremely comfortable to drive in these situations. Throughout this season I couldn't ask more from a race car."
The teammates Lauchlin O'Sullivan and Christian Edstrom also started strong. After both Subaru's retired early in the day, Higgins and O'Sullivan were running one-two, and giving the fans a real show. The silver and red Lancer Evolutions gleamed equally at service as on the Green in Wellsboro, drawing huge crowds and much deserved respect. Throughout the day, the Lancer Evolutions fresh Michelin rally tires never failed to give the cars exceptional traction and control in these adverse conditions.
Little did Lauchlin know how adverse it would become...
A rally driver never knows what's around the next turn, and Lauchlin O'Sullivan learned this lesson first hand today. While steering his number two Lancer Evolution in the fading Saturday light, he had an incident while coming over a crest. Team Manager John Kennard added, "O'Sullivan went off the road trying to avoid some wildlife crossing his path. A natural thing for a driver to do, not good, but that sort of thing happens when a driver is trying to save his car."
O'Sullivan and Edstrom were forced out of the race on the spot. As avid rally fans know, it is just this factor of unpredictability that makes the sport so compelling, and keeps them coming back for more.
Team Mitsubishi Motor Sports America has begun to build their legacy on US soil just as Mitsubishi has excelled in the World Rally Championship over the last decade. Now, with the street legal Lancer Evolution rapidly gaining stronger than expected sales momentum and the ProRally Lancer Evolutions growing points lead in the SCCA ProRally Championship, Mitsubishi enthusiasts have a double dose of true Evolution performance.
Quotes:
Team Manager John Kennard describing Lauchlin O'Sullivan's incident: "O'Sullivan went off the road trying to avoid some wildlife crossing his path. A natural thing for a driver to do, not good, but that sort of thing happens when a driver is trying to save his car."
David Higgins explains how his Lancer Evolution handled the smooth and fast stage roads; "It's very very fast, with trees close to the road and little margin for error. Fortunately my Lancer Evolution is extremely comfortable to drive in these situations. Throughout this season I couldn't ask more from a race car."
