Subaru And Travis Pastrana Secure Second Overall At Goodwood Festival Of Speed Hillclimb Shootout

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Jul 12, 2021, 11:39 ET

CHICHESTER, United Kingdom, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru Motorsports USA driver Travis Pastrana took second place overall in a tightly contested Hillclimb Shootout at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Driving the Airslayer STI—the 862-horsepower carbon-bodied machine first introduced to the world in Gymkhana 2020— in its competition debut, the Maryland native and current American Rally Association points leader was first in qualifying on Saturday afternoon and wrapped up a podium finish with a super-committed drive on Shootout Sunday.

SUBARU AND TRAVIS PASTRANA SECURE SECOND OVERALL AT GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED HILLCLIMB SHOOTOUT

"What a week here at Goodwood!" said Pastrana after the final run. "The car has gotten faster and faster all weekend with setup tweaks in practice and we knew it was going to be a fight to have a chance at the win. Would have liked to have P1 but it was still a blast to finally put the Airslayer STI through its paces! Now it's on to Mt. Washington where we'll really be able to let the car stretch its legs and go for the record."

The four-day format of the Festival of Speed, the world's largest automotive festival, draws all eyes to the Shootout over the weekend. Qualifying ramps up on Saturday to set the running order for Sunday, and the final occupies the prime slot on the afternoon of the Festival's last day. Light rains on Saturday meant a damp course for the qualifying round. The Airslayer STI's rally roots and all-wheel drive showed through, with Pastrana's :48.10 delivering the top slot overnight against a field of racing prototypes and the latest GT-class machines.

Pastrana's final run on Sunday provided plenty of drama to match the moment. After a hard launch, in signature style, Pastrana threw a quick thumbs-up to the crowd on the main straight while in full attack mode. Sliding the car sideways through the corner named "The Wall" in honor of the flint barrier on the inside, Pastrana could be seen on the in-car video feed egging his machine on through the finish. The final time of :46.20 was his fastest run of the weekend.

The Airslayer STI will return to competition August 12-15 at the Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb, where Pastrana aims to break his overall record of 5:44.72 up the treacherous 7.6-mile Auto Road. The tallest mountain on the East Coast of the United States, Mt. Washington is famed for its unforgiving and unpredictable weather and the narrow, twisting and uneven road surface that combines tarmac and an unpaved gravel section, making it the ultimate all-conditions test of driver and car.

Subaru Motorsports USA will return to the rally stages July 30-31 at New England Forest Rally, with Pastrana and co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino aiming for a fourth win of the season to extend their championship lead.

About Subaru Motorsports USA
Subaru Motorsports USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., MOTUL, Yokohama Tires, DirtFish Rally School, KÜHL, RECARO and weBoost. Follow the team online at www.subaru.com/motorsports.

Follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, on TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa, and on Twitter @subarums_usa.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $200 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 63,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.