Higgins gets Global Rallycross drive

Rallycross debut and Mount Washington outing for British rally star.

British rally driver David Higgins will compete in Rallycross for the first time when he starts in the third and final round of the Global Rallycross Championship at Pikes Peak International Raceway next week.

Subaru Rally Team USA will enter it’s Rallycross-spec Impreza WRX STi in the event and, while Rallycross is new for Higgins he has already racked up a lot of seat time in the Rallycross car, used in the first two rounds of the championship by Dave Mirra, in which he has done the development testing. Higgins hopes that the race craft he has learned in karting will stand him in good stead when it comes to Rallycross.

“I have won eight karting championships with the latest one being just last year,” said Higgins, “I love the race craft needed and the buzz of all starting together and fighting for the first turn. Rallycross will be new to me but I hope what I have learnt from karting as well as my  rally experience, along with all the testing I have done in the team’s Rallycross STI should serve me well.”

Higgins will also see some hillclimb action with SRT USA, the team moving on from the Pikes Peak Rallycross to compete at the Mount Washington Hillclimb on June 24-26. Higgins will drive a lightened and more powerful version of his Impreza rally car in the event which, first run in 1904, is among the oldest motor sport events in the USA – predating the Indy 500 and Pikes Peak Hillclimb. The team is expecting a strong showing in the event after Travis Pastrana used one of its cars to knock more than 20-seconds off the previous course record in a test session last autumn.

“After looking at the video from Pastrana’s impressive run there I know this road is going to be a mega challenge. With notes and a co-driver it would be just like a rally for me, but doing it on my own with such a light and powerful car is going to be one of the biggest challenges I have ever encountered. It would be really cool to have that record though, and I plan on going for it!  This is likely to be one of the best roads I have ever competed on and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Higgins.

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