Subaru Rally Team USA Driver David Higgins Dominates Oregon Trail Rally for second year in a row

Subaru Rally Team USA Driver David Higgins Dominates Oregon Trail Rally for second year in a row

100 Acre Rally

SUBARU DRIVER DAVID HIGGINS EXTENDS RALLY AMERICA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS LEAD WITH SECOND PLACE FINISH AT THE 2012 RALLY IN THE 100 ACRE WOOD Feb. 24, 2012 – Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins, the defending Rally America National Champion, has significantly extended his 2012 championship points lead with a second place finish at The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. Higgins’ two primary season-long rivals failed to finish the event thus providing even more impact to Higgins’ second place points-haul. The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, round two of the 2012 Rally America National Championship included over 100 miles of extremely fast and flowing gravel roads that traversed the foothills of Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. Higgins, joined by co-driver Craig Drew, competed in a BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2012 Subaru WRX STI rally car. Higgins began the event with a three-way duel with Antoine L’Estage, his archrival in the Rally America Championship, and Ken Block, a five-time winner of the 100 Acre Wood Rally. The trio was separated by just seconds after running the first three stages when L’Estage exited the rally with a mechanical problem, leaving just Block and Higgins in a fierce battle at the front of the field. Dry conditions meant this year’s edition of the 100 Acre Wood Rally was an extremely dusty affair, and Higgins was slowed considerably by hanging dust as the winds dissipated on the evening stages. Higgins ended the first day of competition 18 seconds adrift of Block. With Higgins’ chief championship rival L’Estage out of the event and mindful that Block is not committed to running the full Rally America Championship, Higgins took the measured approach to find a balance between catching Block and driving prudently enough to ensure a solid finish which would net valuable championship points towards retaining the title. Higgins capitalized on a tire puncture that Block suffered on day-two and was able to close the gap to briefly take over the lead. The rival drivers were separated by just over 12 seconds heading into the final two evening stages of the rally. A final push by Higgins wasn’t possible though, as Higgins, running behind Block on the road, encountered Block’s hanging dust and was forced to slow considerably and eventually accepted a solid second place overall finish. “The pace here was just amazing,” explained Higgins. “It was a great battle and ultimately I’d like to have been able to win but Ken [Block] is very fast here, and it simply became a matter of safety to push too much in the dust. However, this result is huge for our championship defense since Antoine [L’Estage] and Leo [Urlichich] didn’t finish. We now have a very good cushion atop the standings and our Subaru will excel on the more technical gravel roads in the upcoming events.” Added James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc., “David and [co-driver] Craig [Drew] confirmed the pace capable from our Subaru WRX STI and drove a smart rally to consolidate our championship points position under very challenging driving conditions. Both David and Ken [Block] put on an incredible performance for spectators this weekend.” Higgins and Subaru Rally Team USA head next to the Oregon Trail Rally, May 4-6, 2012 based in Portland, Oregon. About Subaru Rally Team USA Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Motul, and VP Racing Fuels. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com. Follow the Subaru of America Facebook page and subaru_usa on Twitter.

X Games 17

Higgins medals in his first X Games

Los Angeles, CA., 7/29/2011–Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins conquered the streets of downtown Los Angeles to earn a Bronze medal at Saturday’s ESPN Summer X Games 17 Rally Car Racing event. Higgins piloted his 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Rallycross car to three head-to-head victories on the dirt and tarmac course held on the streets surrounding the Staples Center to claim his first X Games medal.

“Words cannot describe it,” Higgins said of the racing. “The atmosphere, the whole thing. There is no room for error anywhere with the brick walls and cars and everything. It is probably the most wild thing you can do in a car, but it is brilliant.”

One of the highlights of the event, broadcast live on ESPN, was the Quarterfinals where Higgins and his Subaru teammate Dave Mirra went head-to-head driving identical Subaru STI Rallycross cars. Higgins beat Mirra off the start line but Mirra slowly reeled in Higgins and attempted to pass him on the final lap, briefly making contacting with Higgins’ Subaru.

“He got a great start but I saw that I was slowly getting closer to him and then had a great shot at making a pass but wasn’t able to pull it off without risking too much damage,” explained Mirra.

The ESPN Summer X Games Rally Car Racing featured drivers racing production-based cars on street course in downtown Los Angeles. The goal in Rally Car Racing is to accumulate the lowest elapsed driving time while racing in two-car, head-to-head heats. The three-quarter mile long Rally course, alongside the concrete cityscape of Los Angeles, includes two sections of raw dirt. In each heat, drivers complete two laps of the entire course, which must include one traditional Rally Joker lap. The Joker lap forces drivers to launch their car over a 52-foot dirt-to-dirt gap jump.

Higgins wins Tittle

Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins has won the 2011 Rally America National Championship with a 2nd Overall finish at the season finale, the New England Forest Rally, this past weekend. In a hotly contested season Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew piloted their BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car to three victories and two 2nd Overall finishes in the six-event Rally America National Championship. The 2011 driver’s title is the third for Higgins in the USA having won the SCCA ProRally Championship in 2002 and 2003. Higgins also won the British Rally Championship in 2004.

“It’s amazing and hasn’t really sunk in yet,” explained Higgins at the podium celebration. “The level of competition was really fierce all year, and it was a big challenge for me to come back to the USA after seven years away and adjust to new events, a co-driver I had never worked with before as well as new car. But everything meshed really well and our Subaru STI was a joy to drive fast. Driving for Subaru is every rally driver’s dream as the brand is so famous for rallying, so this is something really special for me.”

”Both David and Craig have done a stellar job the entire season extracting the utmost performance from their STI, supported by the solid car preparation by our team,” noted James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc. “With the championship comprised of only six rounds
against defending titleholders Antoine [L’Estage] and Nathalie [Richard] with their experience on those

events makes SRT USA’s successful effort in regaining the championship that much more special.The effort of our team members and supporting sponsors has been exceptional, and the superlative performance of our STI was properly showcased.”

Higgins joined Subaru Rally Team USA at the start of the 2011 season, replacing longtime Subaru team driver Travis Pastrana who had earned the Rally America National Championship from 2006 through 2009. A season-long rivalry quickly ensued between Higgins and Canadian rally ace Antoine L’Estage, the defending Rally America Champion and Canadian Rally Champion. Higgins and L’Estage were at each other’s heels at every rally with the rivalry coming to a dramatic head last month at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally where Higgins came from behind late in the event to beat L’Estage by a mere 1.3 seconds.

The victory last month in Pennsylvania earned Higgins enough of a points lead over L’Estage that Higgins only needed to finish fourth or better at the New England Forest Rally this weekend to secure the driver’s title. A tactical fight ensued in New England with Higgins maintaining a 2nd overall position behind L’Estage while driving just fast enough to keep the chasing pack comfortably behind him.

In addition to three event victories and the driver’s title in the Rally America series, Higgins recently won the re-born Mt. Washington ‘Climb to the Clouds’ Hillclimb. He smashed the course record by over 30 seconds, driving the same Subaru STI he utilized in the Rally America Championship. Higgins has little time to celebrate, earlier this month he was invited to compete at ESPN Summer X Games 17 in Los Angeles. He will compete in both the Rally Car Racing and RallyCross competitions taking place on July 30th and 31st respectively.

About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru TecnicaInternational (STI), Subaru PerformanceTuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul,Exedy, VP Fuels and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on SubaruRally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

Higgins Smashes Mt Washington record

The course record at the Mt. Washington Hillclimb, one of Americas oldest auto races, was smashed today in convincing fashion by professional rally driver David Higgins at the wheel of a Vermont SportsCar prepared 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Higgins, from the Isle of Man, broke the course record, which stood for thirteen years, by over thirty seconds at the revived ‘Climb to the Clouds’, which was last held in 2001. The new time to beat to the summit of the 7.6 mile sinuous asphalt and gravel Mt. Washington Auto Rd. is 6 minutes and 11.54 seconds, nearly thirty seconds faster than the outgoing record. The Climb to the Clouds featured nearly seventy competitors driving an eclectic mix of modern rally cars, purpose built hillclimb cars and a small group of vintage racecars steeped in motorsports history.

Weather conditions had been less than ideal throughout the two practice days on Friday and Saturday, with intermittent rain showers that blanketed the Auto Road in clouds. The weather kept the competitors from having a chance to practice on the upper half of the course thus adding to the challenge. On Sunday however the weather cleared and two full course timed runs were held, although dense fog engulfed the summit for parts of the day.

Higgins was the last driver to launch off the start line which helped to build the anticipation of a possible record breaking run amongst the fans in attendance. Higgins set a blistering pace on his first run, breaking the record by over twenty seconds, but had even more speed on tap on his second run where he lowered his new record by a further eight seconds. The previous record of 6 minutes and 41.99 seconds was set by Mt. Washington Hillclimb ace Frank Sprongl in 1998.

Craigs STPR

What a great event STPR 2011 turned out to be for David and myself, and the Subaru USA Team. Our third win on the trot has put us in a great position going into the sixth and final round of the Championship in New England, but we both know we still need a good final result to secure the Championship.
The week started with a trip to Vermont to catch up with some of the guys at the workshop that we don’t get to see very often. We massively appreciate the effort that has gone into getting both the new rally cars and the rally cross cars ready for this season, and although we can thank the guys who come to the events with us for their hard work, we rarely get a chance to thanks the unsung heroes who stay at team HQ. We also used this time to do some technical familiarization with the new car. It is fair to say that David is very much the mechanically-minded one, but I try to help where I can!
On Wednesday we travelled down to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania which was a 7 hour drive, picking our recce car up en route. The Thursday recce was very tough. Even though it was only a 1-pass recce, it was done in a convoy system which seemed to be stationary more than it was moving. We did 10 stages of recce in 11 hours! Nevertheless, we made some good notes for the stages and finished the day with a short shakedown, just to make sure the car was working properly and get into the groove.
David and I woke up early on Friday to go through our recce in-car video and check and make any alterations to our notes. This is crucial after a 1-pass recce, because it is easy to make a mistake or miss something first time around. It was then off to Wellsboro for Parc Expose and get ready for the event.
The rally started with a very tough stage called Waste management, which is probably the twistiest stage we have done in the Championship this year. Our pace was good but we also had to remember that this was the fourth or fifth time many of our competitors had done virtually all of these stages, and so as this was our first time we would always be at a slight disadvantage. A good run over the next few stages saw us finish day 1 in second place, 14 seconds down on the leaders. Unfortunately this was after Stage 2 times were scrubbed due to a start-marshal error, where we were actually quickest by 5 seconds.
The Saturday stages were much quicker than Friday, and we found a good rhythm straight away and began clawing time back on first place, which we moved in to after SS7. However, on SS8 disaster struck. About half a mile into the stage, the intercom cut out. POP! As the back-up intercom was also part of the same unit, we had no option but to continue down the stage with me shouting and using hand signals! This started as a number-based system, but ended with the more frantically I waved my hand, the tighter the next corner was!
We managed to revert to our transit intercom for SS9 and were having a good stage until we got a rear-left puncture after landing from a jump. This was looking like it was definitely not our event!
With the puncture changed and the intercom fixed, we knew we only had 4 stages left to go. We were 37 seconds behind with only one option – GO FOR IT! I knew I was in for a good ride over the remaining 4 stages after the first corner of SS10 – a slippery 6th gear corner which David didn’t even hesitate on. We were on the attack. Over the next 3 stages, we cut L’Estage’s lead down to 10 seconds with only the long final proper stage to go followed by the short superspecial stage. SS14 was all or nothing, and we put the pedal to the metal to win the stage by 12 seconds and now lead by 2.5 seconds going into the superspecial stage!!
I was extremely nervous heading into the 0.6 mile superspecial, as it is a cruel place to win or lose a rally. After our run, I couldn’t watch as L’Estage attacked the stage. Have we done enough, or had he stole victory from us at the very last moment? Then came through the news – he had beaten our time but only by 1.2 seconds which meant we had won overall by 1.3 seconds!
This was one of my most special wins because it showed true character. We were both bitterly disappointed when we lost all the time with intercom problems and a puncture, but we dug deep and never gave up. It was an honor to sit next to a driver of David’s caliber when he is on full attack mode, and a feeling that I will never get bored of! Onwards to New England!

STPR RALLY

David Higgins Wins Dramatic STPR by a Mere 1.3 seconds!June 6th, 2011

Third victory in a row extends Higgins points lead in Rally America National Championship
(June 6, 2011) Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew have won the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR), round five of the 2011 Rally America National Championship, by a mere 1.3 seconds over rival Antoine L’Estage. Higgins and L’Estage battled back and forth throughout the event with Higgins staging a late rally comeback that saw him take the rally lead on the penultimate stage after overcoming a thirty-seven second deficit midway through the final day of action. The amazingly close finish came after over 120 stage miles spanning two days of competition on high-speed forest roads of north-central Pennsylvania. The win at STPR is Higgins’ third victory in a row in the series and extends his points lead in the Rally America National Championship standings heading into the sixth and final round next month, the New England Forest Rally.

Higgins’ Subaru teammate Dave Mirra with co-driver Marshall Clarke finished 5th overall after staging his own comeback by working his way up the leaderboard from a 12th overall position after giving up nearly eleven minutes due to a pivotal pace notes error. Mirra’s Subaru STI sustained damage from the resulting accident but remained mechanically sound, and Mirra was able to continue and impressively work his way up the field for a valuable points finish.

The battle between Higgins, a winner at STPR in 2002 and 2003, and Antoine L’Estage, the defending Rally America Champion and 2010 STPR winner, was exceptional. L’Estage struck first and grabbed a 14 second lead after a short first day of competition. Higgins then battled back early on day-two and took a slight lead before dropping time when his in-car intercom with co-driver Craig Drew failed while on-stage forcing Higgins to slow down while they used an improvised hand signal system.

“With no intercom it was very challenging, Craig (Drew) would be waving signals to me but it was hard to see his hands and to know what exactly he was trying to tell me,” explained Higgins. “In the end I worked out that when he was waving like crazy I needed to slow down!”

Higgins was then hampered by a tire puncture in-stage that slowed him further, leaving him thirty-seven seconds adrift of L’Estage with just four forest stages and one short Super Special Stage remaining. Higgins then pushed his Subaru STI to the limit and began to catch L’Estage on the final loop of stages. In a nail biting comeback Higgins eventually overtook L’Estage on the penultimate stage and took a 2.5 second lead into the final Super Special Stage where he held off L’Estage’s final charge to win by a mere 1.3 seconds.

“It was a fantastic battle with Antoine and (co-driver) Nathalie (Richard). It’s always great to win a close fight so think I will remember this for some time,” said Higgins at the podium celebration. All of STPR’s competition stages were won by either Higgins or L’Estage, with Higgins fastest on seven stages and L’Estage six.

STPR is round five of the six-round Rally America Championship and is based in Wellsboro, PA. STPR features some of the fastest roads in the series with many technical sections with trees closely lining the roads. Severe dust caused visibility issues until approximately midway on day-two, when heavy rains in the area challenged teams with slippery roads.

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, VP Fuels and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

STPR Rally

Craig and I came out on Monday for STPR rally, we are spending a couple of days at the Vermont Sportcar workshop getting to know more about the car, it is also a great chance to catch up with some of the the team that cant make it to the events.

STPR is looking like it will be a tough event as they have had some very bad storms over the last few weeks, its also getting very hot there now so either way its looking like a good challenge.

I have done the rally twice before and was lucky enough to win both times, some of the stages will be the same although 2003 was the last time so dont think I will remember that much.

Its been great to have two weeks at home to get back into training and spend some time with the family and catch up at the www.higginsrallyschool.com. Its also good fun to have chance to read some of the other drivers press releases after there events, some times wonder if we were on same event.

Will have some news soon on some events later in the year.

West coast Success

The last few weeks have been very mad for me with two west coast events in three weeks and a trip home between them.
The first event was running very well when we had built up a nice lead in the new Subaru VT10, the rally was cut short due to the death of a fellow driver.
After Five days home with the family and some busy times at www.higginsrallyschool .com it was back on the plane to Oregon Trail rally. Although it is an event I have won in 2002/03 the event has moved and all the stages were new to us.
We had a great test on the Tuesday and the new Subaru VT10 ran perfect, we even had time to take the techs for a ride!!.
After the recce it was a long drive to Portland and then a 5.30am visit to the breakfast TV show, and then when that was done we had media day and then a visit to local Subaru dealer.
Friday night was the rally start at Portland race track with a mix of tarmac and gravel, we built up a good lead winning all stages, this car in awesome on tarmac!
Saturday was the start of the forest stages and we were looking forward to trying to build our lead, drama struck about 2 thirds of the way into the stage when we lost a brake line, I took the pipe of at the end and fitted a blank and set off for the next 2 stages with only front brakes. We lost the lead by 1 second so we were all very happy knowing that when the car was sorted in service we would be able to set a good pace.
At the end of the rally we managed to win by over 3 minutes and move to the top of the points.
Massive thanks go out to all at Subaru USA rally team and the guys at Vermont sports car. This new car is just awesome and I know how hard it has been for you guys to get to where we are now

Tough weekend at Olympus Rally

This weekend we lost a great driver when Matt Marker passed away following a crash on Saturday. there are no words that can help that much during these times but from what I saw of him he was a great driver and during the events it always looked like he was living life to the max and enjoying his time rallying.

My thoughts go out all his family and friends that knew him.

I will update my side of the event later in the week but at times like this it does not count for much!

Busy Times at Team Subaru USA

Sorry it’s taken so long to get round to doing this latest blog but to say it’s been busy is not even close to how it has been for the Subaru USA team and Vermont Sports Car.
The guys are all working so hard this year as the Rally X events were added during the rally season and not at the end of the year as we all thought.
This has had a major effect on all in the team as they have had to design and build a rally X car in such a short time, this did mean a delay in me getting the new Impreza VT10 but that will now be out for the next event.
I would love to be doing the Rally X events but until we can get the car sorted fully we are only taking one car and my team mate Dave Mirra is driving it although I do get to do the testing.
The team back at Vermont are working so hard to make all these new cars and along with this we have been busy with some TV shows. It’s not until you go to the States until you get an idea how big and how far the events are apart! We are lucky that we have such a good team who are putting so much time into making this work, there is a lot of travel and when we are on events there is always a team of guys back at Vermont working round the clock.
Below is an idea of what I have been up over the last few weeks:
29th Feb returned home from 100 Acre wood rally (not happy being second)
11th March, left home at 2am to drive to London to get flight to LA for TV show, arrived on site at 5.30pm and started the intros for TV show, left for hotel at 12.45 after over 28 hours from start of trip.
12th March TV filming all day till 11pm
13th March as above then left to get to hotel by LAX airport
14th March Fly home and got to UK at 5am on the 15th March then car trip home.
21st March 2am start again as flying to LA to test for RallyX
22nd Test delayed for Rally X
23rd set up for rally X
24th My sons Matthew birthday and I am testing new Rally X car. Finish test then fly home
25th arrive home.
26th Matthews’s football party.
30th Fly from Manchester to Newark then fly to Seattle for TV shoot with BF Goodrich.
31st Filming all day and having fun doing hot laps driving my STI rally car.
1st April Fly home and return home on the second, drive home pick family up and go and watch round 2 of the British rally championship.

As you can see there is a lot of travel, as well as the above I have been doing rally school on the days between these dates and doing all my training.
The best way I can think to pay all the team for all the work they have been doing is to go out and give the VT10 its first win on the next rally. Before then though I travel to Seattle for a test in the new Rally X car on the 12th, more air miles !!!

Subaru TT 2011

Manx rally star, and official 2011 Subaru Rally Team USA driver, David Higgins, will be the driver on the closed road car lap. He is a two-time US Rally Champion, as well as 2004 British Rally Champion.

Commenting on the closed road demonstration lap he said:

“Having grown up on the Isle of Man I understand that the TT Races has a mythical status and an incredible heritage and I am looking forward to adding another chapter to its history.”

“The Mountain Course represents a stunning drive, but for once I’m not going to have much chance to take in the views.”

As part of the deal, Subaru will also receive full trackside branding throughout the TT, programme and race guide advertising plus promotion and banners on the official TT website.

Economic Development Minister Allan Bell said:

“This is a really strong commercial deal for the TT Races that will also open up some excellent promotional opportunities for the event and the Isle of Man and highlights how strong the TT now is as a global sporting property.”

“I am delighted that we have attracted a sponsor as prestigious as Subaru and we look forward to building a long-term partnership with the company.”

Isle of Man Tourism political member Geoff Corkish added:

“The name Subaru has become synonymous with rally success on the Isle of Man and we look forward to welcoming them in such an integral role in the TT Races.”

Subaru TT 2011

Subaru has been appointed Official Car Partner of the Isle of Man TT, fuelled by Monster Energy, in a major coup for the Isle of Man Government’s Department of Economic Development.

The three-year deal will see the car giant provide its latest models for use by the TT organisation to help manage the running of the event, including the course inspection and roads open and closed duties.

The popular Subaru range includes the Legacy sedan, Outback, Forester and Impreza models, and the marquee has a rich rally heritage. Subaru enjoys massive global sales – setting a new sales record in 2010 – and an outstanding reputation for performance, safety, practicality and reliability, as well as world-beating technology such as the Boxer engine and all-wheel-drive system.

As part of the sponsorship, Subaru will also be involved in a closed road demonstration lap around the iconic 37¾ mile Mountain Course at this year’s TT.

Rally legend Tony Pond was the last driver to drive a closed road car lap of the course, in 1990.



Watch a clip of Tony Pond’s TT Mountain course lap

100 Acre wood

The dust has settled on the 100 Acre Wood Rally, and I for one am happy to get our first proper points on the board!

The Missouri stages were probably the most enjoyable stages I have ever been on. Fast, smooth and flowing, they were everything a gravel rally should be. Competing on such stages with a driver of David’s caliber was also a first for me, and in many ways subjected me to a new level of rally speed. After the first proper stage of the rally, my comment to David of “Well, you are certainly no slouch on gravel!” summed up my initial feelings!

The Friday night stages proved to be a tough start, with brake problems slowing us and although we were close to Antoine L’Estage, we couldn’t quite match him. The Superspecial stages were short but fun, and, due to torrential rain on the previous day, Stages 2 & 4 had to be replaced with Stage 11 because part of the transit section was flooded.

Our Subaru Rally Team USA mechanics – Shaun, Brando and John – did a fantastic job as usual during the service halt and changed our gearbox and rear-diff with minimum fuss, and with the car feeling much more driveable, we were looking forward to the Saturday stages.

Saturday morning started with a very busy Parc Expose in Salem, with plenty of Subaru fans on hand asking for autographs and photo’s with David and Dave Mirra!

We decided to have a good push on the first loop of Saturday’s stages, although unfortunately all did not go to plan. On the first stage of the day, we went off the road at the end of a very fast straight after a communication error, and were very lucky not to incur any damage after landing on top of a tree stump. Fortinately the car reversed off the stump with no damage but we dropped about 18 seconds. We also experienced a drowned car after a watersplash which dropped us more valuable time.

The rest of the day saw David and myself gel more and more with each stage, and although we charged hard after Antoine, we couldn’t do quite enough to catch him, although we did halve his lead by the time we finished in Salem.

Overall it was a very good weekend for the Subaru USA Rally Team, with our team-mates Dave Mirra and Marshall Clarke following us onto the podium in 3rd Overall. I can honestly say that 2011, so far, has been my most enjoyable year in rallying. And the best thing? We are only a third of the way through the season!!

Testing Times

Well we got here ok although I had to leave home at 1am on Tuesday morning to get to London for 1st flight, all went well and we were in our hotel 25 hours after leaving home!, it’s not all fun being a rally driver for Subaru USA.

I have been training twice a day for the last month 6 times a week but after all the hard work before the event I now find myself with a bad cold.

This morning we had our 1st gravel test of the year and after a few runs we tweaked the set-up a little and everything felt very good, the stage was a bit slower than the events stages so we have a second test planned on Friday morning.

The biggest problem we had today was the noise of stones coming through the intercom so we have had to make some changes to the helmets but all is good now.

Big day or Reece tomorrow so trying to get some rest and hope I feel better tomorrow!

Craig Drew 100 Acre Wood Rally

My final pre-rally checks are done, and it’s time to head to the 100 Acre Wood Rally, round 2 of the American Rally Championship. As a co-driver, paperwork is my life! But the more pre-event preparation I can do before an event, the easier the coming week will be, particularly when competing abroad.

The Subaru USA team are a great bunch of guys to work with. Everything is meticulously planned, making both mine and David’s job a lot easier. Although we have only done one event with the team so far, their professionalism and passion for the sport is clear to see. This makes me even more confident and optimistic of the season ahead!

Unfortunately our season didn’t get off to the best start with a DNF on round 1, the Sno*Drift Rally, but we aim to put that right this week. Although we only completed 5 stages, David and myself gelled well together, and can only get better together as the season goes on. It is important to quickly learn how a new team-mate works, how they like their notes delivered and generally how they like to work in testing and on the recce. I was impressed with David’s calm nature in the car and his excellent car control, and know that we have a good year ahead of us.

So onwards to Missouri, a very picturesque part of the States with fast gravel roads and lots of crests, which are sure to provide some spectacular action next week. I’ll be sure to keep you all informed with how we are doing.

The Other side!

Well the new season is under way and and all is new for me for this year, I should also have a new site up and running by the end of the week.

Not only I am I competing on the other side of the world but I have a new Co-driver on the other side. Craig Drew will be with me this year and after the tests last week all went very well.

We are now in the hotel after 24 hours traveling waiting to meet with the rest of the Subaru USA team so we can all travel down to team hotel.

The team are great and it feels like I have never been away from them, they were the same team that ran me in 2003 when we won the Championship.

The 1st rally this weekend will be very tough as it is a snow and ice event and no studs, The Subaru felt very good last week in testing but it is so easy to make a mistake so getting points will be the aim this week.

We have small test on Wednesday then recce on Thursday.

Will keep you posted.

David joins Subaru USA

Accomplished Rally Driver David Higgins Joins Subaru Rally Team USA
CHERRY HILL , N.J. , Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc. announced today that it would be returning to the Rally America National Championship in the Open class with a 2-car program in 2011. Led by current Subaru Rally Team USA (SRT USA) driver Dave Mirra and joined by British seasoned rally driver David Higgins; each driver will be piloting a Subaru Impreza WRX STI prepared and fielded by technical partner Vermont SportsCar.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101208/PH14294 )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080325/SUBARULOGO )

Higgins brings extensive rallying experience to SRT USA, most recently competing in the Chinese Rally Championship having gone on to help his team secure championship titles in 2004, 2007 and 2009. No stranger to the American rally circuit, Higgins claimed consecutive SCCA ProRally titles in 2002 and 2003 before returning to the UK and winning the 2004 British Rally National Championship. Notably, the 38 year-old driver has also won the Group N British Rally National title in 1997, 1999, and 2002. As a testament of his passion for the sport, Higgins and his family also operate a UK-based training facility, The Forest Experience Rally School .

"The first impression of any car is always very important and I felt at home in the 2011 Subaru STI from the very first mile," said Higgins. "Everyone thinks of Subaru when you talk about rally and to be racing for SRT USA is a great honor; I won my first USA SCCA ProRally Championship in 2002 with an STI. I cannot wait for the 2011 season, Rally America has a great program, and it is going to be incredibly fun and competitive."

Mirra is back and proving that he is a force to be reckoned with; earning rookie of the year honors in 2008 from Rally America , he is poised to have a breakout season with SRT USA . This year he achieved two podium finishes in three rounds of the inaugural RallyCar Rallycross series as well as a podium finish in the Rally America Olympus rally. Widely known as a pioneer in BMX Freestyle and the winningest X Games athlete in history, Mirra now has his sights on being successful rally competitor with Subaru.

As part of SRT USA 's acclimatization program last week, Mirra joined new teammate Higgins for his first shakedown run of the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car at the team's proving grounds in upstate New York . Testing footage can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacAGUj43LU

Subaru of America has claimed titles as well, sales gains in 2010 resulted in breaking their overall sales record in November and follow successive sales growth in 2008 and 2009 which were driven by increases across the board with strong sales for Outback, Forester, and Legacy Sedan and Impreza. Sales for the brand have grown by close to 50% in just over three years and company officials expect full-year sales for 2010 to exceed 250,000 units. Also, at the 2010 LA auto show Subaru was rated the 2011 Best Retail Brand by Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com and bestowed with four residual value awards from ALG. On and off the track Subaru is on the path to success.

About Subaru Rally Team USA

Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), DC Shoes, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, VP Fuels and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA , as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit subaru.com/rally or follow the team at Twitter.com/SRTUSA.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan . Headquartered in Cherry Hill , N.J. , the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States . All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

Contact:


Name Dominick Infante


Subaru of America, Inc.


Phone (856) 488-8615


email dinfante@subaru.com

Podium finish for David on the Longyou Rally

David Higgins has taken third place on the penultimate round of the Chinese Rally Championship, the Longyou Rally.

David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas narrowly missed out on second place after suffering technical difficulties on their WY Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9.

“The Longyou is a tough event but we had won it before in an Evo9, so we switched back back to it from the EvoX we had been using this year, to ensure we had the best chance possible,” said David. “But unfortunately the diff pump broke for the last two stages on Saturday.”

The breakage caused David to lose 40 seconds, after they had initially led the rally after the opening super special.

“We had also been given the wrong start time for one stage, which meant we ran further down the field than we should have and got caught behind some slower cars,” said David. “That, added with the damage, meant we lost out on second place to Patrik Sandell.”

David's brother Mark Higgins won the event, with Sandell 20.9 seconds behind and David missing out on second by only 4.9 seconds.

There is one round of the Chinese Rally Championship left this year in December.

Longyou Rally Update: End of Saturday

After the first full day of the event in China, David and Ieuan lie second on the Longyou Rally.

The crew had been leading the event until a problem with their start time meant they ended up running further back than planned. As a result they got stuck behind some cars and caught in dust on the final two stages of the day, losing around 50 seconds.

They now lie second, 40 seconds down on Mark Higgins.

More news at the end of the rally tomorrow.

David wins the super special at the Longyou Rally

After the super special stage of the Longyou Rally, David and Ieuan are at the top of the time sheets.

The rally continues tomorrow. More news then.

Back to the top of the Chinese podium!

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas have overcome mechanical gremlins at the start and finish of the Xuecheng Rally to take yet another outright victory on a round of the Chinese Rally Championship.

The event got off to a bad start when their WY Team Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX suffered a broken gearbox and rear diff in the first stage, leaving them with first, third and fourth gear.

"We couldn't change the box until the end of the day," says David. "And the team did a great job, it was changed in 27 minutes and the car was back to full health for day two. By that point we were lying third behind my brother Mark."

It was then announced that Mark had been given a 29 minute penalty for missing a control, which moved the boys up to second overnight.

"From there we knew we had a good chance as we were 29 seconds up on Patrik Flodin in third and 22 seconds behind the leader, so we pushed and had a trouble free day to pace ourselves to the end.

"Then the drama started! Instead of being able to celebrate with the team, the oil return pipe from the turbo broke on the way back to service after the final stage so we lost all the engine oil. It was then a mad rush to fix the car to get over the finish ramp and secure our place.

"Luck was definitely on our side because we made it. If I could have bought a lottery ticket at the same time I would have, such a lucky day!"

David wins in China again!

Early reports from the team confirm that David and Ieuan have won the rally!

More news about how it happened later.

Xuecheng Rally update: After day one

It was a trying start to the day for David and Ieuan when the gearbox and rear diff of their WY Rally team Mitsubishi broke one mile into the opening stage.

The duo spent the day with only first, third and fourth gear, and made it back to the end of day service where the team changed the gearbox in 27 minutes.

David ended the day lying third, and closing in on second.

More news tomorrow.

Xuecheng Rally update: After super special

After the opening super special stage of the Xuecheng Rally, David and Ieuan are lying joint first with Jussi Valimaki.

Patrik Sandell is third, with Patrik Flodin fourth and Mark Higgins fifth.

David says it was over 34 degrees at the rally today and more hot temperatures are due tomorrow, so it could be a hard day ahead.

More news tomorrow.

Health scare for Higgins en route to China

Leading Chinese Rally Championship competitor David Higgins suffered a health scare on his way to the Xuecheng Rally this weekend.

After being repeatedly ill on the plane after leaving the UK, David was met by an ambulance and taken to hospital for treatment before being allowed to continue his journey to the event.

David has now completed his journey and is feeling back to full strength and preparing for the rally this coming weekend, four months since their last event in the country.

Based in the Shandong region of China, the Xuecheng Rally is a new event for the Chinese Rally Championship calendar.

"It's always good going to a brand new event nobody has experience of," says David. "It puts us all on a level playing field and is a really good test for everyone's pacenotes and team work.

"It's been a long time since my last rally in China, back in May, and I've not rallied since so I'm hoping it doesn't take too long to get back into the swing of it all. It does not help that Patrik Sandell and Patrik Flodin have both had good results on the German round of the World Rally Championship, they will be match fit after that."

Despite not being behind the wheel of a rally car competitively in four months, David has continued his work teaching others rally skills at the Forest Experience Rally School and been participating in a karting championship.

"I have always said that I believe karting helps hone your skills for rallying," says David. "Throughout my time rallying I have always kept karting to stay sharp. I have built up a good lead in the Glan-Y-Gors Formula Blue championship with quite a few wins, and have been karting during the holidays."

David, Ieuan and the WY Rally Team will all be glad to get back to business this weekend on the Xuecheng Rally, and keen to take another podium finish to follow up the one they took last time out on the Jiangning Rally, despite a terrible build up to their event where they were forced to miss testing due to the Icelandic ash cloud delaying their flights.

"I can't wait to get back behind the wheel of the Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX in anger again," says David. "Hopefully this time we will manage a really good test beforehand as well. This is going to be our first time on asphalt in the EvoX and the team has got a new suspension deal with Exe-Tc, so testing will be crucial."

The Xuecheng Rally takes place on from September 17th to 19th. As usual, we'll keep you up-to-date with all the latest news from David and Ieuan here.

Podium finish for David Higgins despite problems in China

David Higgins has decided to remain in China after the Jiangning Rally to take part in tests of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with the WY Rally Team, after being forced to contest the event without testing on gravel beforehand.

David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas took third place points for the team on the event, despite their testing problems which began a month ago when David was unable to travel to China to take part in an essential testing in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X due to the volcanic ash cloud canceling their flights.

"That was going to be the first gravel test we've ever done in the car," said David. "When it didn't work out, we thought we could try to overcome the situation by trying to fit in a gravel test when we arrived for the rally last week, but we only managed to fit in 7km before the fuel tank split. Then any time we got in the car after that was to check the fuel tank was okay, not to set up for gravel, so we went into the event blind as to how the car would react in comparison to the Evo9 we had last year."

During the opening superspecial stage the crew set a good time but the car ran wide, and the main stages on Saturday got off to a good start, despite David feeling the car set up was still too soft.

"We were lying second overall when a damper broke and the car went wide on the next bend, hitting a rock and pushing the body of the car onto the tyre," explained David. "We lost about one and a half minutes and dropped to fifth. We pushed back up to fourth overnight, then on the opening stage on Sunday the rear diff broke on the car so we did the first two stages in front wheel drive.

"However, once we got sorted we did set the fastest time on the final two stages, showing the car can do what it needs to if we have the right preparation for an event. If we had been able to test beforehand, we know we would have had the best set up possible, and taken a much better result. Us staying on in China to do more testing will give us a better chance on the next event - and hopefully the ash cloud will be long gone by then too!"

The Jiangning Rally was won by Mark Higgins, with Jussi Valimaki second.

Jiangning Rally Update: Sunday, end of event

After a disappointing start to their day when the rear diff on their Mitsubishi broke on the first stage, David and Ieuan have finished third overall on the Jiangning Rally.

After doing the first two stages in front wheel drive, they went on to set fastest times on the final two stages of the event.

Mark Higgins won the event, with Jussi Valimaki second.

Jiangning Rally Update: Saturday

News just in from David in China reports a bad day at the office.

The first two stages ran smoothly enough despite the car set up being too soft, leaving David and Ieuan lying second behind David's brother Mark.

But in stage four a damper broke on their Mitsubishi and the car went wide on the next bend, hitting a rock and pushing the body of the car onto the tyre, losing the crew 1m30s and dropping them down to fifth overall.

Over the last two stages David and Ieuan fought back in their usual style, moving up to fourth. Third was in sight, but unfortunately the boys missed out on the position after they gained 20s of road penalty time when they were working on the car.

Mark Higgins leads overnight, with Jussi Valimaki second and Patrik Sandell third.

There are four stages left to run tomorrow, more news after the finish.

Jiangning Rally update: Superspecial

News just in from China that the superspecial opening stage of the Jiangning Rally is over.

Patrik Flodin currently leads the event, with David and Ieuan joint second with Jussi Valimaki, and David's brother Mark fourth. David says the car felt good, but ran very wide on the first bend.

More news after Saturday's six stages tomorrow.

Jiangning Rally update: Recce

After a rather trying start to their current Chinese adventure, David and Ieuan have managed to squeeze in a brief gravel test in their Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX ahead of the opening superspecial stage tomorrow night.

However, this was just enough time to ensure the new fuel tank was good to go, and the team did not have time to make any set up changes to the car.

With the recce complete, David says the stages are extremely rough and it is sure to be a hard rally ahead.

More news after the superspecial stage tomorrow.

Jiangning Rally update: Testing - not good!

As you will recall, David recently missed out on the chance to go and test his Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX on gravel in China because of the volcanic ash cloud causing his flights to be cancelled.

So it has been a day day for the team in China today, with reports coming in from David to say they only managed to do a 7km test in the car before the fuel tank split.

Now David's first decent mileage on gravel in the car will be during the superspecial stagge of the rally on Friday.

Testing times ahead for David in China

David Higgins returns to China this week for round two of the Chinese Rally Championship, the Jiangning Rally.

The event takes competitors to the Nanjing district of China, and gives them their first taste of gravel in the 2010 season. Having already missed one testing opportunity in China due to the volcanic ash clouds, David may be forced to hit the Chinese gravel for the first time on the first stage.

"Even though we did the rally last year, it will be new ground for us this year because it's our first gravel rally in the Evo X," says David. "And we may not get to have a good test before the rally because our test was supposed to happen last month and I was unable to travel to China to do it because of the UK airports being shut due to the volcanic ash clouds."

Last year David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas finished second on the event after suffering a burst damper on their WY Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 they drove last season.

"Jiangning is a really tough rally with a mixture of twisty sections and very high speed stretches," says David. "The roads are narrow with lots of hazards and dangers at the side of the road so being neat on the stages is a must. These are the kind of stages I love driving on. But competition will be as tough as ever with PWRC leader Patrik Flodin, Patrik Sandell, and my brother Mark all out to show what they can do on Chinese gravel."

Last year's event winner Jussi Valimaki will be competing as David's team mate with the WY Rally Team this year, but will not be scoring team points as he is only hiring the car.

The event takes place from 14th to 16th May. David will be updating his
website as usual throughout the event.

Ash clouds David's plans for China

David Higgins' Chinese Rally Championship plans have been dealt a worrying blow after he has been unable to fly to China recently for essential tests.

Like thousands of Britons, David's travel plans were ruined due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull closing UK air space.

"Not being able to get out to China this week is a disaster for us," said David. "The whole point of me flying out there was to do crucial tyre testing work. The testing was going to form the basis of figuring out which tyres the team would use for the rest of the season, so this could have a huge impact on our championship year. Our engineers and representatives from the tyre company were all sat in China awaiting our arrival. Chinese air space was not effected by the volcano, so they had hoped I would get a flight out if the ash cloud changed direction, and remained on standby to work for me right up until the last minute my flight cancellation was confirmed."

David had been due to spend three days in China, but after his flight was cancelled he was unable to get another set of flights which would have taken him to the country before he is due to fly out there for the next championship event, the Jiangning Rally.

"Myself and my co-driver Ieuan Thomas will fly out to China for the rally on 9th May," explained David. "And the next flight I could have got on was that day anyway. As it stands we will have to try to squeeze in a test when we arrive in the country, but even if we manage to do that there may not be enough of the tyre we choose available for us to use them throughout the event. This could literally make the difference between us winning and losing the teams title again for the WY Rally Team."

The Jiangning Rally takes place in the Nanjing district of China from 14th - 16th May.

More Rally Update: End of event

At the end of a testing event for David and Ieuan, they have finished fourth overall in China.

Having been plagued with overheating difficulties throughout the event in their Evo X, the team are just happy to have finished so high up the leader board and get some good team points under their belt for the WY Rally Team.

Patrik Flodin won the event with Patrik Sandell second and Mark Higgins third.

Mohe Rally update: Day One

It's been a frustrating day for David and Ieuan in China, suffering with overheating problems on their Evo X.

With one day to go, they lie fourth overall behind leader Patrik Flodin, Patrik Sandell in second and third placed Mark Higgins.

More news from the end of the rally tomorrow.

Mohe Rally update: Super Special

With the opening super special stage of the Mohe Rally complete, David and Ieuan lie third overall.

David reported a good recce, and despite the late arrival of his snow tyres, he managed to get a short test under his belt which went well in the new Evo X.

As the team had predicted, the rally is taking place in deep snow and low temperatures.

Patrik Flodin currently leads with Mark Higgins second.

China 2010 begins!

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas are back in China this weekend to begin their defence of the teams title for the WY Rally Team at the opening round of the Chinese Rally Championship, the Mohe Rally.

When the event last ran in 2008 it had to be cancelled due to the high speeds the drivers were achieving on the stages. But as David explains, things could not be more different this year.

"We are told the Hei Longjiang region where the rally is held is under a blanket of snow at the moment," said David. "It's in quite a remote area of China so it will probably take us a long time to get there, and when we do arrive, the temperature is said to be around minus 25. I have won two snow rallies before, but this will be my first on studded tyres. I'm expecting it to be a very difficult event for us."

Regardless of the conditions, David is excited at the prospect of competing in anger in his new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X for the first time and working with a new engineer, and there are other changes afoot in China this year too.

"We think we are the only foreign team which has been retained for the 2010 China season," said David. "There will be a few new faces taking part, but they are people we have met before on the stages, so we hope we can beat them. PWRC driver Patrik Flodin joins the Honghe team, former JWRC champion Patrik Sandell joins the Subaru China team, and my brother Mark joins KST."

The event, which takes place on 12 - 14 March, features a super special on the Friday night, four stages on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Shaowu Rally: End of event update

David and Ieuan have finished second overall in the Shaowu Rally - but it is enough to secure the teams title for 2009 for the WY Rally Team.

David reported that they had endured quite a hard day, driving to keep second place to win the teams points race. They had a turbo problem for one stage which lost them power and cost them time.

The boys now face another race - to get home in time for Christmas. Having switched flights already after the rumoured BA strike action, the boys had to drive for 11 hours to get to the airport, only to find the alternative flight they were scheduled on had been cancelled.

They are now en route back to the UK via Germany.

Shaowu Rally: End of leg one

At the end of the first full day's rallying on the Shaowu Rally, David and Ieuan lie second overall, 41 seconds behind Jari Ketoma.

After being just one second off the leader in the first stage, the boys suffered a misfire on their Mitsubishi Lancer E9 in the second stage and lost 15 seconds.

KST driver Juha Salo then crashed in the third stage. He was one of the five drivers competing for the teams' title in China this weekend.

Jussi Valimaki is third, 45 seconds behind David and Ieuan, with Dean Herridge fourth.

Shaowu Rally: Super Special update

The Super Special is over in China, and David and Ieuan are lying in second place behind Jari Ketoma. Jussi Valimaki is in third place with Dean Herridge fourth.

David says the team are all set for tomorrow, and think it could be icy in places as the temperature in China (like the UK) has dropped.

More news after the stages tomorrow.

Shaowu Rally: Recce update

The news from China this morning is that the recce for the Shaowu Rally has gone well. The stages are reported to be very fast and may suit the Finnish drivers well.

David also reports that his ankle is on the mend, and he hopes it will be around 80% back to normal by Saturday's stages.

China testing update

David has reported that their pre-event test has gone well. It began raining halfway through the test which made it difficult to decide if they have got the tyre set-up right, but the car felt good.

The team have also completed a good test in the Evo X, and may test it again before the rally this weekend.

Sadly David's ankle is not doing so well, it is now fully black in colour - and the proposed British Airways strike may cause the boys a problem getting home!

David injured training in China

News has come in this morning that David has sustained minor injuries while training ahead of the Shaowu Rally in China.

While he was out running a lorry pulled out, and a motorbike which swerved to avoid the lorry managed to knock David to the ground.

David is in good spirits, having escaped with only a sprained left ankle and a very painful right shoulder - but this is not the way he wanted to start his rallying week.

The rally begins on Friday, but David is hoping to do some testing of both the Evo 9 he will use this weekend, and an Evo X ahead of the event.

Five-way fight for Higgins in China

David Higgins goes back to China this week to take part in a five-way title fight for team honours in the Chinese Rally Championship on the Shaowu Rally.

The WY Rally Team, which David drives for, currently lead the points table, but the rival KST team are only one point behind. The Honghe, FCACA and Subaru China teams are all also still in with a shot at the title.

“We could have wrapped up the title on the last event,” said Higgins. “But the protest which was put in against us stood, so we lost our points. So we’re heading back to China with a vengeance. I don’t feel we have a point to prove, because we have won out there more than anyone else, but we are determined to take the title for the team because it should have been ours last time out.”

This is the second time the gravel event has run, last year it was a round of the IRC but Higgins and Thomas were forced to miss it so they could attend Rally GB.

“Our stand in Jarkko Miettinen won it last year,” said Higgins. “But Juha Salo from KST will most likely be our biggest rival out there, he is as determined as us to pick up the team title and had led the event last year before he crashed out. But as usual, with it being the final round of the season, everyone will be pushing hard to ensure they impress all the teams to get a good seat for the 2010 season.

“Weather wise this one will be a shock to the system though. On some of the events this year we’ve had drivers retiring from heat stroke, but we’re told it will be around 15 degrees centigrade in Shaowu and last year they had ice on some of the early morning stages, so who knows what lies ahead.”

The Shaowu Rally takes place in South Eastern China from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th December 2009, so the boys will just make it back to Britain just in time for Christmas.

David gives Paul O'Neill a driving lesson

In this week's Motorsport News, their test driver Paul O'Neill visits the Forest Experience Rally School for a taste of night rallying with David.

The BTCC driver thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the new night driving course at the school and his 1-2-1 tuition with David, and left saying he is tempted to do a rally now!

For more information on 1-2-1 tuition with David and the rally school, click here.

Photo attached, courtesy of Motorsport News and Gary Jones.

David targets Asia Cup drive

David Higgins is aiming to build on his success in the Chinese Rally Championship by putting together a deal to contest the Asia Cup alongside it in 2010.

Higgins has already committed to the 2010 Chinese Rally Championship, continuing to drive a Mitsubishi for the WY Rally Team. Adding the challenge for the Asia Cup to his calendar would only mean two or three extra events.

"The Asia Cup is made up of three rounds of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship," said Higgins. "That already includes the Longyou Rally which we do as part of the Chinese series, so I am looking into finding the funds to contest events in Malaysia, Indonesia or Japan so we can go for the Cup."

In recent years Higgins has taken a record breaking number of wins in China, and proved himself a worthy adversary for competitors in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

"It's always very competitive on the events in China," said Higgins. "But when the APRC drivers join in the fray, it gets even more competitive. And that's the event we all love, because it gives you the chance to show what you can really do. We have always had great success on those events, mainly battling with multiple APRC champion Cody Crocker who we have beaten in the past, so it makes sense to build on that with the Asia Cup."

The 2010 Asia Cup kicks off with the Malaysian Rally on April 24/25.

Disappointment for Higgins in China

Chinese Rally Championship frontrunner David Higgins was left devastated today when he was stripped of his Longyou Rally points win.

Although Higgins and co-driver Ieuan Thomas finished the event second overall behind APRC driver Cody Crocker, they picked up top points in the Chinese Rally Championship section - but on the way back to service they encountered problems.

"We had lost 45 seconds with a spin on the first day, so to take top points was great," said Higgins. "But then we encountered fuel pressure problems on the way back to service. A crew car came out to try to help us thinking we were out of the rally, but our car slowed down as the crew car got near us, and the crew car ran into the back of us very hard. We were only about 500 metres away from the service park when it happened."

A rival team then put in a protest because a crew car had been seen so close to Higgins and Thomas. As a result of the protest the pair were excluded from the rally.

Had David's win stood, he would have won the team championship title for the WY rally team. Now the team title will go down to the wire on the final round in China in December.

Longyou Rally China update after Saturday's stages

At the end of the first full day's rallying in China, David and Ieuan are leading the Chinese Rally Championship runners by 43 seconds ahead of Dean Herridge, despite losing 43 seconds with a spin in the penultimate stage of the day.

Overall, the crew are lying second in the rally behind Asia Pacific Rally Championship contender Cody Crocker.

David reports a very good day - but a very long one, having rallied for over two hours in one day.

More news tomorrow.

Longyou Rally China update after super special

After the opening super special stage, David and Ieuan are leading the race for victory in the Chinese Rally Championship section of the event, and are lying third overall.

David says they are running further back on the road than usual, due to the event also being a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. They are running behind that championship's lead drivers, so the roads are badly cut up by the time they go through in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9.

More news tomorrow.

Longyou Rally China day two recce update

David says their second recce day went very well today - but it was an early start with proceedings kicking off at 5am. Although it went well, he reports that the stages are not in great condition, left very muddy or with some surface washed away following the hard rain which has fallen in the region over the last two days.

The crew had another small test after the recce finished and are pleased they have sorted any outstanding issues with their Mitsubishi Lancer E9 ahead of the rally start.

There is a shakedown today, which actually takes place on what will be the first stage of the rally tomorrow, but David and Ieuan are forced to miss it because of the test they did yesterday. This may put them at a slight disadvantage through the opening stage tomorrow.

Either way, David thinks the event will be so tough that someone could win it without setting any top times, so it sounds like it will be a testing weekend for the boys in China.

Longyou Rally China day one recce update

News has just come in that the team have finished the first of their two day recce for the event. David has said that the stages are very narrow and the fog was thick during their runs through the stages.

They will recce again tomorrow.

Longyou Rally China testing update

David and Ieuan spent yesterday testing their Mitsubishi Lancer E9 amid huge downpours in China.

The crew say they had a great test, but the rain made it hard to get the tyres working properly. Trying new dampers, the WY rally team managed to get the car working well towards the end of the test before the road was washed away with heavy rain. This left the team with no option but to find a new venue and start again - making it a very long day.

With this being David's first gravel event since April, he used the test car to get in as much mileage as possible ahead of this weekend's rally.

The team have now gone to start the first day's recce.

Higgins withdraws BFG application

David Higgins has been forced to withdraw his application for the coveted BFGoodrich drive on Rally of Scotland, due to commitments in China.

Although he cannot win the title because he is not from China, David has taken a record breaking amount of wins in the championship over the last few years to bring huge success to the WY Rally Team he drives for in the teams' championship.

"It is disappointing to have to withdraw from the selection, because we won a round of the IRC held in China a few years ago so it would be fantastic to get the opportunity to do that on home turf," said Higgins. "But the Chinese championship must remain our priority. Although our next rally is the weekend before Scotland, I have now agreed to stay in China to test an Evo X afterwards, so Scotland is out of the question."

The news comes as Higgins confirms that he has signed a contract to stay with the WY Rally Team in China to contest the 2010 series with them.

"The competition out in China is fantastic," said Higgins. "We have won a lot of events over the last few years, but none of those wins have come easy, the competition just keeps getting better, and that's the type of championship we want to stay involved with."

The next round of the Chinese Rally Championship is Rally China on 14-15 November, which is also a counting round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

Another win for Higgins in China!

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas have taken yet another win in the Chinese Rally Championship on this weekend's Fogang Rally.

The event took place in the Guangdong region where David battled high temperatures and a few more familiar faces than usual as they were joined on the entry list by his brother Mark and Northern Ireland's Nial McShea.

“We had a fantastic trouble free rally from start to finish,” said David. “We pushed really hard throughout the first day to build up a good lead, despite having to sweep the sandy roads for all of the following cars. We took some big risks, but ended the day with a lead of over a minute ahead of Mark.”

“On the second day we took it a bit easier, ensuring we kept our lead to take another win for the WY Rally Team. We actually backed off a bit because it would have been easy to get punctures on the type of roads we were competing on, and then it rained on the final stage which made it tricky for everyone. We all also battled the heat on this event, the temperature was in the mid 40s throughout which made it extremely hot and uncomfortable.”

Nial McShea was one of several visiting crews who suffered in the high temperatures when he was forced to retire on the first day due to problems with the heat. He had been lying second overall when he retired.

David's brother Mark finished second, 36 seconds back, with round one winner Jussi Valimaki taking third.

Newsflash - Higgins wins the Fogang Rally!

David and Ieuan are just waiting to go over the finish ramp in China having won the Fogang Rally.

The crew say they backed off today knowing it would be easy to get a puncture on the type of roads they were competing on, and added that rain had made the last stage quite tricky too.

David's brother Mark finished second, with Jussi Valimaki third.

Fogang Rally Saturday update

After the first full day of competition on the Fogang Rally, David and Ieuan lead the event by 1m02s.

David's brother Mark and Nicky Grist lie second, following an off earlier in the day. Nial McShea had been running second, but he and his co-driver have had to retire due to problems with the heat as temperatures continue to stay around the 44 degree mark in the country.

Jussi Valimaki lies third, with Dean Herridge fourth.

More news when the rally finishes tomorrow.

Fogang Rally super special update

David and Ieuan have been fastest through today's opening super special stage of the Fogang Rally in China.

The team reported that conditions were extremely uncomfortable as crews struggled to stay cool while they waited for their run through the stage.

Thousands of people attended the event which was recorded and also broadcast live on the main station in China.

David completed the stage in 1m06.9s, Jussi Valimaki was second through at 1m07.3s, and Mark Higgins was third at 1m08.4s. There is a possibility that David's team boss FanFan may have taken third place from Mark by 0.4s, but times are still coming in. Nial McShea cleared the stage in 1m10s.

David and Ieuan are still at the stage, waiting to pick up their winners trophy.

More news tomorrow.

Fogang Rally recce update

David and Ieuan have successfully completed an extremely hot recce for the Fogang Rally, where temperatures continue to soar. Recce days started early to finish by mid morning and try to avoid the warmest parts of the day.

There are reports of a lot of sand on the stages which David will be left to sweep, being first car on the road.

The action begins with a super special tomorrow.

Updates will be posted when possible.

Fogang Rally testing update

While people in the UK are struggling with temperatures in the late 20s, David and Ieuan are building up to the Fogang Rally in a 44 degree, very humid China!

The crew tested their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 this morning and say it went extremely well, with new Tein dampers and tyres improving the car a lot.

The recce takes place tomorrow and Thursday.

Read David's latest column on Crash.net

As David and Ieuan begin their preparations for the Fogang Rally in China, David's latest column has gone live on Crash.net

Click here to read it.

More new mileage for Higgins in China

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas set off on their travels again this week for the third round of the Chinese Rally Championship, the Fogang Rally.

The event is based in the Guangdong region and is yet another completely new event for the 2009 season.

“From what we have heard it will be a tough rally,” said David. “The stages are either fast, wide and bumpy, or narrow with drops on the side of the road. The plan is to get a good base set-up from the asphalt events we have done before and modify that for the different stages.

“There have been a lot of emails going back and forth between us and the engineers in China, but it's always hard when you've not actually seen the roads. We've always done well before on new events though, and you have to remember that it's a new event for the whole field, not just us.”

David finished second in the opening round of the championship and won round two, which has helped to put the WY Rally Team at the top of the points tables going into round three, joint on points with the KST team.

With crews from all over the globe contesting the Chinese series this year, David and Ieuan will be joined by some more familiar faces on the Fogang.

“My brother Mark is doing the rally for the KST team,” said David. “He's one of the best asphalt drivers in the world, but we will need to take more points than him. There is also a rumour that Nial McShea will be doing the rally for another team in a new Subaru.”

The Fogang Rally takes place on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of August.

Another Higgins takes to the race track!

Just one week after David announced his intentions to contest the Super One kart championship next year, his four year old son Matthew has taken to the track too!

Matthew made his karting debut at the Glan Y Gors circuit in Wales today, under the watchful supervision of his father who was also testing at the venue.

"Matthew was driving a bambino class Arrow kart," said David. "And did really well, he showed a lot of promise for the future. I was testing my own kart in between Matthew's runs and had a great day too, lapping the circuit much faster than I ever have before."

Matthew's debut brings the number of karters in David's household up to three as his seven year old daughter Alicia has also taken to the track recently, and is awaiting the arrival of an Arrow cadet kart.

Photo: Alicia Higgins

Higgins to contest Super One in 2010

Rally star David Higgins is aiming to contest a full year in the Super One kart championship in 2010 as he continues to develop the talents of his karting protege Luke Hughes.

Higgins has always been a firm believer in the benefits of karting to any motorsport career, and is already contesting multiple kart events this year alongside a full time attack on the Chinese Rally Championship.

"I mainly do it for fun and as a good way to keep your skills sharp between rallies, but I still like to win and be on the best kart possible," said David. "Luke and myself have done a deal to drive the new Arrow X1 kart this year, with the help of Walker Racing. The kart is not commonly used in the UK yet, but we have direct contact with the factory for support."

David has worked with Luke for a few years now, seeing him through multiple Cadet championships before he made the step up to MiniMax last year.

"Luke is using the new kart to good effect in the Formula Kart Stars championship this year, where he is lying fourth in the MiniMax class," said David. "I used it for the first time at Whilton Mill recently. With very little time on it we were on the same pace as the frontrunners. We're very impressed with both the kart's performance and the factory input."

David and Luke are planning to do the O Plate event at Shenington in September, and to do the full Super One championship next year if it fits around the Chinese Rally Championship calendar which David has already committed to.

The boys are sponsored by the Forest Experience Rally School, Global Tiles, Facum, Cobra and Neo Oils.

Photo: www.pixelero.co.uk

Higgins provides thrilling finale to the Huairou Rally in China

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas overcame food poisoning to provide a thrilling finale to the Huairou Rally in China on Thursday and Friday.

This is the crew's first Chinese win of the year, after they narrowly missed out on the top podium position on the Jiangning Rally last month.

"It's not been easy this weekend," said David. "But that was nothing to do with the stages. Myself and Ieuan have both been ill all through the event with food poisoning. We did a great test of our Mitsubishi Evo9 at a kart track, and a good recce, then of course we got sick for the main event, and it was 40 degree heat which didn't help.

“But once we got in the rally car, the rally head takes over and you put your foot down. We were fastest on the first three stages and led until the rear diff seized in the fourth stage. The team changed it to a spare gravel spec diff in service, and we were fastest again on the next test – despite it being an asphalt rally. That left us 2.5 seconds ahead going into the last stage of day one, but an overshoot on a fast downhill section cost us the lead.”

Overnight the crew lay second by 2.3 seconds. The WY Rally Team were kept busy as they had to rebuild the asphalt spec diff so it could be fitted for day two. Meanwhile, David and Ieuan were ill throughout the night, but kept up the pace on day two.

Showing the determination the crew have become known for in China, they were confident they could win going into the final stage – even though they were 6.7 seconds behind leader Jarkko Miettinen going into it.

“We had been 9.1 seconds faster through the stage being used as the final stage when it had run earlier in the day, so we knew a win was possible,” said David. “This time round we beat him through by 10.3 seconds, so we took the win by 3.6 seconds.

"I would like to dedicate my win in China to my family. The day I travelled to China my son Matthew was taken to hospital with pneumonia. Thankfully he has recovered, but were it not for my wife Kara's support I would not have been able to compete last week at all."

David and Ieuan's win puts the WY Rally Team at the top of the points table for the teams championship in China joint on points with the KST team. The next round of the championship is the Fogang Rally in August.

Later in the weekend the celebrations continued for the Higgins family on Rally Isle of Man where David's brother Mark won, and his cousin Andy finished tenth.

David and Ieuan win again in China!

The news just in from China is that David and Ieuan have won the Huairou Rally and helped the WY Rally Team take the lead in the teams championship in China.

Despite both suffering from food poisoning and not having much sleep the night before the final day of the rally, they won by three seconds.

The crew went into the final stage seven seconds behind Jarkko Miettinen, and pushed hard in the stage to take the win. Round one winner Jussi Valimaki finished third.

Huairou Rally update: End of day one

At the end of the first day of the Huairou Rally David and Ieuan lie second overall by 2.3 seconds.

The crew were leading the event until the rear diff seized on their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9.

The overnight leader is Jarkko Miettinen, while Jiangning Rally winner Jussi Valimaki lies third.

As if rallying in the 40 degree heat in China is not enough of a challenge, David and Ieuan have both struggled through the day suffering from food poisoning.

More news tomorrow.

Huairou Rally update: testing

David and Ieuan have reported a successful test session in China. The test took place at a kart track due to the lack of asphalt roads the team are able to close in the area of the rally.

After the test David went for an 8km run in 44 degree heat.

The ceremonial start of the event takes place tomorrow.

Read David's latest column on crash.net

In his latest column David comments on his year to date and the second round of the Chinese rally championship, which takes place this weekend.

Click here to read it on Crash.net

Huairou Rally preview

Just one month on from the opening round of the Chinese Rally Championship,
David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas are back in China for round two, the Huairou
Rally in Beijing.

Last time out the boys finished second, narrowly missing out on the win
when they suffered damper problems on the Jiangning Rally.

“This event is a full asphalt rally which looks quite similar to the 2007
event which we won,” explained David. “The stages are very twisty, but
smooth too. I remember that in 2007 there wasn't much grip so it was easy
to overheat the tyres if you weren't careful – and this year's event
looks set to be even harder because the temperature could be up in the
40s.”

As usual, David and Ieuan have travelled out to China before the event to
test their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 with the WY Rally Team, but this time
their test will take place on a kart track because of a lack of closable
asphalt roads available in the area.

Unfortunately a change in the initial calendar released for the Chinese
championship now means the Huairou Rally takes place on the same weekend as
David's home round of the British Rally Championship, Rally Isle of Man.

“Even though we are not doing the BRC any more, it would have been great
to have been able to contest Rally Isle of Man which we always enjoy,”
said David. “We did make initial sponsorship enquiries to try to put a
deal together, but then the Huairou got put back a week to the same
weekend.

“I hope we can get back to our winning ways in China now after the damper
problems we had last time out. And even though we will be about 5,000 miles
away from Rally Isle of Man, we will be keeping an eye on the results to
see how my brother Mark and my cousin Andy Leece are getting on.”

The Huairou Rally takes place from July 10th to 12th.

Jiangning Rally report

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas have narrowly missed out on victory in the opening round of the 2009 Chinese Rally Championship, the Jiangning Rally.

The crew thrilled spectators by fighting with event winner, Jussi Valimaki from Finland, from the start, until David hit problems on Saturday.

“We finished second by 36 seconds, but we lost 45 seconds on Saturday with a problem otherwise things could have been different,” said David at the finish. “We broke a rear shock absorber and lost the time over the next three rough stages. The roads on the event were quite rough with big rocks throughout.”

It had been seven months since the last round of the Chinese Rally Championship in 2008.

“It was great to get back onto the stages and out with the team again,” said David. “And there's not much time before the next round, we're back in three weeks for the Huairou Rally at the start of July.”

Although David does not qualify for the overall drivers' championship, he has picked up second place points for the WY Rally Team in the teams' championship.

The Huairou Rally takes place from 3rd to 5th July.

Jiangning Rally Update: Sunday finish

David and Ieuan finished second overall on the Jiangning Rally in China this morning.

The crew missed out on winning by 36 seconds after losing 45 seconds with a damper problem yesterday.

After prize giving, it's back to the UK for the team for a brief stay before the Huairou Rally on July 3-5.

Jiangning Rally Update: Saturday

With the super special and six stages of the Jiangning Rally completed, David and Ieuan lie second overall behind Jussi Valimaki overnight.

David and Jussi provided spectators with a thrilling fight until David and Ieuan broke a rear shock absorber on their Mitsubishi Lancer E9, and lost 45 seconds over the following three rough stages.

The boys are one minute ahead of third placed driver Juha Salo.

The rally finishes with four stages tomorrow.

Jiangning Rally update: Friday

With the super special behind them, David and Ieuan lie second on the Jiangning Rally, 1.4 seconds behind Jussi Valamaki from Finland.

David and Ieuan were running 30 cars behind Valimaki on the rough road which was cutting up badly after each car.

Jiangning Rally update: testing

David and Ieuan have been in China for a few days now and have completed their pre-event test for the Jiangning Rally.

David has reported back to say they have had a good test of the Mitsubishi Evo 9 with the WY team, but says the roads were wet during the test and the weather is expected to be very dry during the rally.

The Jiangning is a new event on the Chinese calendar for 2009, and the conditions on the stages are said to be difficult - very tight with large rocks throughout.

The rally begins on Friday.

The 2009 Chinese Rally Championship begins

After a seven month break between Chinese Rally Championships, David Higgins returns to the far east this week to prepare for the season opening Jiangning Rally.

It has been three months since David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas competed together, on the Bulldog Historic Rally in a Ford Escort Mk1 after a pre-event accident where a piece of metal pierced through David’s hand, and work commitments at the family rally school, ruled them out of the Pirelli Historic.

“It will be great to get back into a rally car after so long and fantastic to finally get back out on the stages in China after the huge break between championships out there,” said David. “As usual with China, we will have a hefty test of the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 before the rally when we get out there with the team, and we are with the WY rally team again this year so we all know each other and work together well.”

David and Ieuan remain a force to be reckoned with in the championship having won a record number of events over the last two seasons. Such was their success that they were awarded with the Honour of China last year for their impact on the country. This month the Jiangning Rally will be a new test for everyone involved.

“The Jiangning Rally is a new event for all of us in the Chinese championship,” added David. “That’s always a good leveller across the field, we have no idea what it will be like apart from knowing there will be a super special on Friday, six stages on Saturday and four stages on Sunday. I like the challenges doing a totally new event in a championship bring with it and that’s important to the competitors to keep the championship refreshed and more interesting. One challenge that I’m not looking forward to though is the heat, it’s already 38 degrees out in that area of China and could get even hotter. That could make things very difficult – especially for two guys who are more used to the weather we get on Rally GB in Wales.”

Although David has not been competing in a rally car recently, he has completed a few kart races, having always been a promoter of kart racing as a way to hone your skills for rallying between events and an enthusiast kart competitor since his early childhood on the Isle of Man.

The Jingnang Rally takes place from Friday 12th June until Sunday 14th June, based in Jiangsu.

Dates for the Bulldog Historic to be show on TV

For a chance to see David and Ieuan on the stages in their Ford Escort Mk1 on the Bulldog Historic, tune in to Motors TV on Friday 24th April, or FIVE on Wednesday 29th April for coverage. It will be shown as part of the Race and Rally UK series.

Motors TV: Friday 24 April at 9.30pm
Five: Weds 29 April at 2.05am

Please check your local TV listings for the latest information.

David to miss the Pirelli Historic

David Higgins has announced that he will sadly have to sit out the second round of the Dunlop Gambia British Historic Rally Championship, the Pirelli Historic.

"It's not been an easy decision to miss a round," said David. "But it's due to commitments at the family rally school, and my hand not being fully healed after it was pierced by a piece of metal last month. The Chinese championship begins soon, and I cannot risk damaging my hand any further before that."

Alongside his co-driver Ieuan Thomas, David won the Category 2 section of the opening round, the Bulldog Historic, on his debut in the series.

David commits to two more years in the Chinese championship

David Higgins has signed a deal to continue competing with the Wan You rally team for the next two years in the Chinese Rally Championship.

The team have celebrated multiple successes with David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas since they joined forces three years ago. And with his success in the championship, it was not only one team which was vying for David's services this year.

“As well as an offer from Wan You, I was approached by the Hongee rally team over the winter with an equally good offer,” said David. “Hongee have supported a Dakar team so it was hard not to look seriously at their offer. But after a winter of negotiations I have decided to stay with Wan You until the end of 2010.”

Going into his fourth season with the Wan You team, David's aim will be to continue the success they have shared in previous years.

“The team have an Evo 10 and the trusty Evo 9,” said David. “We had a good test a few weeks ago in China and have decided to stick with the Evo 9 for at least the first two events until we are fully happy with the new car.

“I've spent the last two years in the British championship developing new cars driving the Toyota S2000 car and then the new Subaru Impreza N14. I don't want to compromise my results by doing the same thing again.”

David will run with backing from Hankook tyres in the Chinese championship, which starts with the Shanghai Rally on 30/31 May.

David and Ieuan win on their Historics debut

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas have taken victory in Category 2 on their debut in the Dunlop Gambia British Historic Rally Championship.

The crew led the Category from start to finish, in their Historic Rally Sport-prepared Ford Escort Mk1.

The result is made all the more impressive by the fact that David almost did not start the event after damaging his hand.

“I was at work doing some welding when a piece of metal pierced my hand two days before the rally,” said David. “Thankfully it did not go the whole way through, but most of the way, leaving my fingers swollen and hard to move. When I was sitting in Accident and Emergency, the possibility of even starting the rally seemed far fetched.”

Having competed with broken ribs and a broken wrist in the past, the damage to David's hand proved to be yet another injury which would not stop him driving on the stages.

“We decided to start the rally and see how it went,” said David. “The pain was excruciating but once I start a rally few things can stop me. We had to cut a finger off my glove so I could get it on over the swelling, but that was it.

“The Escort was faultless and fantastic to drive, and the atmosphere and competition in the Historics field was fantastic. Our only problem was that we found it hard getting used to using route notes rather than personalised pacenotes we had written ourselves during a recce. I think that contributed to our off in one of the stages where we got stuck in a ditch and lost around two minutes.

“But all in all, we've made a great move switching to this championship, and we can't wait to get out on the next round.”

The championship continues on the Pirelli Historic Rally on April 17/18.

Bulldog Update: Final result

After their fourth and final stage of the day, Dyfnant, provisional results show David and Ieuan as the winners of Category 2 on their Historics debut.

With David driving with a damaged hand, and the crew suffering from an off in their third stage, it's a great result. They have won Category 2 by 15.6 seconds, ahead of Rupert Lomax and David Alcock.

Full report from David later.

Bulldog Update: Big Ray shakes things up!

Although all of the results for the Big Ray 1 stage are not in yet, David and Ieuan are still shown to lead Category 2 by 4 seconds, despite going off in the stage.

Their Category rivals, David Stokes and Guy Weaver have retired in the stage, which has also put an end to David's former BRC rival Gwyndaf Evans' rally. Results report Evans, who was competing in another Category, as off in a ditch.

Bulldog Update: After three stages

David and Ieuan put in a storming performance in their second stage of the day, Gartheiniog 1, to push their lead up to 42.2 seconds over David Stokes and Guy Weaver.

However, the team have hit trouble in their third stage, Big Ray 1, where an off has resulted in them losing an estimated two minutes. They have cleared the stage, but it is not yet clear how this off will effect their placing in Category 2.

Bulldog Update: The boys start the rally!

David and Ieuan have started the Bulldog Historic Rally this morning.

Five cars in their category have completed the first stage so far and, despite the damage to his hand, David was fastest through the stage by 9.1 seconds.

Concerns over David starting the Bulldog tomorrow

There are concerns this morning that David and Ieuan may not get to start the Bulldog Historic Rally tomorrow.

The news follows an incident yesterday during which a piece of metal pierced through David's hand at work.

We will post more information when we get it.

Follow David and Ieuan's progress on their Historics debut

The preview for the opening round of this year's British Historic Rally Championship highlights David and Ieuan as a team who 'should really fly' in their Mark Solloway-prepared Escort in the Category 2 class for post historic cars.

The crew have had a successful pre-event test and are raring to get back on the stages on Saturday.

To follow their progress online click here

Leading off the Escort field, David and Ieuan are seeded at number 220.

See the Historic championship on Channel 5 this year

Organisers of the British Historic Rally Champioship have announced that AMG TV will film five gravel rounds and broadcast them on Channel 5 and the Motors TV channel.

Coverage starts with the Bulldog Rally, transmission times to be confirmed.

The switch to Historics begins!

David Higgins says one of his biggest challenges switching to the Dunlop Gambia British Historic Rally Championship this year will be to restrain himself from having too much fun.

As the 2004 British rally champion prepares to switch from a Subaru Impreza N14 to a Ford Escort Mk1 next week, the temptation to enjoy rear wheel drive action could prove too much.

“It would be easy to go sideways and really enjoy the car rather than thinking about the championship, in such a fun car,” said David. “If you go sideways you lose too much time, I need to remember that in the Mk1. The other main differences will be that I'll have to try to find more traction, the gear changes will be slower, and I won't have any power steering. I can't wait.”

David will test the Mark Solloway Historic Rally Sport Escort on Monday, less than a week before the championship starts on the Bulldog Historic. “I'll take one of our Forest Experience Rally School Escorts out for a blast around before the rally,” said David. “Then it will be straight into the rally, my co-driver Ieuan Thomas and I won't even get to do a recce because the Historics do not have a recce on gravel events. That could be a big problem for us as we are used to going over the stages and writing our own notes. Organisers notes are quite different to ours so we'll have to go through them thoroughly while we watch the DVD of the stages to make sure we get it exactly right.”

After a year running his own team in the British championship, David is looking forward to concentrating on the driving alone this year. “It was pretty hard to drive properly while running a team last year,” said David. “On the stages I would have been thinking about what the team needed to do in service, how long any damage was going to take to repair after the rally, that type of thing, but now I can concentrate solely on driving again.”

This will be David's Historic Rally Championship debut, and as always he is planning to give the regulars a run for their money on the stages. He said, “Any rally I enter, I aim to win, but I'm not thinking this is going to be any easier than the BRC. The pace I've built up in the BRC has got to help, but people like Gwyndaf [Evans] who is in the same boat as me switching from the BRC, and regulars will certainly be piling on the pressure. The entry is huge, and we can't wait to get started.”

The Bulldog Historic rally takes place in Llangollen in Wales on Saturday 28 March.