Subaru Driver Sverre Isachsen Wins Bronze Medal at X Games Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Former European RallyCross Champion Sverre Isachsen achieved his first X Games medal this weekend at X Games Los Angeles, the Global RallyCross Championship's most high-profile event, piloting his 2013 Subaru WRX STI Rallycross car.  The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team driver expertly won his heat race and then overcame a false start penalty in the Final to finish 3^rd overall in the hotly contested Global RallyCross event at the Irwindale Event Center.  The podium finish is the team's best finish of the season thus far after Isachsen achieved a  4^th and 6^th overall finish respectively at the previous two rounds. 

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130805/PH59092)

The Global RallyCross event at X Games Los Angeles is the pinnacle of Rallycross in the North America and features the deepest field of rallycross superstars in front of a Worldwide X Games television audience.  The event was held on a purpose built gravel and tarmac race course at the Irwindale Event Center in Los Angeles, California.  The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team entered Sverre Isachsen, Dave Mirra and Bucky Lasek in identical Vermont SportsCar prepared 2013 Subaru WRX STI Rallycross cars featuring Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive.  Damage from an on-track incident prevented Mirra from making a run to the Final while Lasek finished  3^rd Overall in the Last Chance Qualifier heat, just missing one of the two transfer spots to the Final.

Team leader Isachsen however had a fantastic run by first triumphing over 2011 X Games Los Angeles Rallycross Gold medal winner Brian Deegan in the first Heat race.  With the Heat race victory Isachsen advanced straight to Final and would start from the coveted front row of the grid.  Isachsen mistakenly launched his Subaru just a moment too soon in the Final as the green start lights flashed and although he held an early lead he would need to perform a stop-and-go penalty due to the jump start.  The stop-and-go penalty dropped Isachsen from 1^st Overall to 4^th Overall but he was able to make a clean pass on Travis Pastrana mid-way through the race to take 3^rd Overall.  The only scare came in the final two laps when Isachsen's left rear tire was punctured slowing his challenge toward 2^nd Overall. He was able to hold on to 3^rd Overall easily however and earned his first X Games medal in the process.

"I'm so glad right now," said Isachsen at the medal ceremony. "This is like a victory for us. I want to thank all my crew and team in the Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team. We deserved this one!  My Subaru was really good today and I was really happy with beating Deegan in the heat race as well.  I'm very happy to earn a Bronze for Subaru today!"

There won't be much time for celebration as the team's trucks are already en-route to the next round of the Global RallyCross Championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday, August 10^th.  The Atlanta round will be televised live on ESPN2, August 10^th at 6:30pm ET.

For related video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr908GKNf-g&feature=youtu.be

About Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team USA

The Subaru PUMA RallyCross Team is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), PUMA, Method Race Wheels, BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Race Proven Inc., and MOTUL. For more information on the team, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally. For the latest news follow the team on Twitter: @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.

Rob Weir
Subaru of America, Inc.
630-250-3453 
[email protected]

Dominick Infante
Subaru of America, Inc.
856-488-8615 
[email protected]

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.