Subaru’s David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew once again set a record, this time for the course at the legendary Mt. Washington Hillclimb. The previous record, also held by Higgins, was a full two seconds slower than his new one. Teammates Travis Pastrana and Chrissie Beavis took second on the course, just three seconds behind Higgins.
Craig Drew (left) and David Higgins (right) with their WRX STI on Mt. Washington
Higgins and Pastrana also finished one-two in the Rally America Championship portion of the event, which scored drivers based on their cumulative time across the four half-course practice runs and two full course runs. The victory, Higgins’ fourth this season, extends his lead in the 2014 Rally America Championship where he is aiming for his fourth consecutive Driver’s Title.
“It was a great event and we put in a big effort for those few seconds,” explained Higgins. “There is so much history here and it’s great to be a part of it again for Subaru. This was a big challenge this weekend as we had Pastrana and our old record staring us down. But Craig (Drew) was perfect on the notes and Subaru gave me a car that was perfect.”
The record breaking comes after Higgins had said, before the event, that he doubted beating his own record was possible due to changes in course rules for the Rally America Open Class compared to the Hillclimb’s Open, which he’d entered when he broke the record originally in 2011.
The win was made in a 2014 Subaru WRX STI that weighed 500 pounds more than his 2011 car and had 100 less horsepower due to the rules. Higgins credits the difference for his win this year with having a co-driver to navigate, allowing him to concentrate on going all-out rather than running the course from memory as he did in 2011.
