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When competing for a perfect season, it’s the cumulative efforts of the entire team that makes it possible. Subaru Rally Team comes correct with an amazing crew of talented individuals that make sure nothing gets overlooked during routine services, and that repairs are done flawlessly in the least amount of time possible. Kudos to these unsung heroes!
The late start on Friday meant that most of the day’s stages would be run at night, which always makes for tough spectating since you typically can only see the oncoming headlights and the outgoing taillights with a glowing catalytic converter in the exhaust tip. By luck I managed to accidentally capture someone else’s camera flash as Piotr Fetela came through on stage five.
All eyes were focused on Higgins and Drew to see if they would get their perfect season. After powering through 123 miles of muddy roads in scenic northern Michigan they would take first on every stage and get their final event win with a final time of 1:35:50.7. A big congratulations goes out to David, Craig, and the entire Subaru Rally Team, way to go guys!
Yeoman was hot on the heels of Higgins throughout the day on Friday, finishing in second overall only a 1:16 behind the leader. The pressure was on for Higgins and Drew. Were they to misread a note, enter a corner too quickly, or suffer a puncture then FY Racing would be ready to capitalize on the misstep and seize the win. Although there was no mechanical failure, the FA20 engine was pulled out of the #425 Subaru of Yeoman after Friday’s stages to replace it with a fresh spare so they could confidently turn up the boost and put it all on the table for Saturday.
Arek Gruszka and Lukasz Wronski did well without suffering any significant offs, finishing fifth in class and sixth overall with a time of 1:52:25.8. They would finish stage one in third overall, but would drop down to eighth for much of the event until Brenten Kelly and Cameron Steeley would DNF on Saturday. Its nice to see something different among the sea of Subarus, I really hope this car continues to compete and that further development pushes them closer to the front of the pack.
