Driving Sports

This weekend marks the start of the 2009 Rally-America season with the only official snow rally on the schedule, Sno*Drift in Atlanta, MI.

On the entry list are many of the usual suspects: Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, Andrew Comrie-Picard and Kyle Sarasin. Tanner Foust is making a return, but in a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon? (Probably safe to assume it's Paul Choinier's old factory Hyndai-suba-bishi.)

Dave Mirra, who ran as a privateer in 2008, winning Rally-America's "Rookie of the Year," is going to return as the third driver in the Subaru Rally Team USA. Does this mean that Pastrana will exit at the end of 2009 and move up to WRC? No official word, but the possibility has been suggested by sources.

From Subaru Rally Team USA:

Mirra's rally program will expand in 2009 with increased support from
Subaru of America, Inc. and Monster Energy that will see him join
Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Ken Block and Travis Pastrana at all
nine rounds of the 2009 Rally America National Championship as well as
X Games 15.   Mirra will compete in the new Super Production class and
will debut a 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI early in the race season.

Photo: Travis Pastrana, Sno*Drift 2008. By: Lars Gange subaru.com/rally