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