Travis Pastrana Returns To Subaru For 2020 Rally Season; Joined By Teammate Brandon Semenuk

CAMDEN, N.J., March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru Motorsports USA today announced a revamped driver lineup for the 2020 American Rally Association (ARA) season, highlighted by the full-time return of American rally icon and action sports star Travis Pastrana. A five-time national rally champion with Subaru and one of the world's best-known action sports athletes, Pastrana will look to capture his sixth U.S. title in his first full season since 2017. He will be joined by Canadian rally driver and freeride mountain bike legend Brandon Semenuk, who moves to Subaru Motorsports USA for his first full season of U.S. rally competition.

"I'm stoked to be back in a Subaru again!" said Pastrana. "The last couple of years I've been itching to get back in a rally car full-time and compete for a championship, and Subaru is where it all began for me in rally. I'm also really excited to have Brandon as my teammate. He's got a ton of talent and I know he'll be fast once he gets a feel for the car, so I'm expecting some great competition between the two of us."

"This season is going to be a blast," Semenuk said. "I've been rallying for the last few years, but the STI is a big step up in performance. Travis knows the STI really well, so I'm going to take it one event at a time to learn as much as I can and get my pace up. The car is really exciting to drive and I'm getting more confident with it in testing. I can't wait to put in some stage miles and see how we measure up."

Travis Pastrana debuted in a Subaru rally car in 2005 having already made his mark in motocross and supercross competition, and immediately established himself as a force on four wheels. At the 2006 X Games, Pastrana landed the first double backflip ever attempted in freestyle motocross competition and the next day took home the Games' inaugural Rally Car gold medal, making him an instant two-sport star and helping to raise the profile of rally for a generation of young action sports fans. Pastrana would go on to win his first U.S. rally championship that year with Subaru Rally Team USA and repeat as champion three more times through 2009.

After moving on to other projects in 2010—including racing in rallycross and NASCAR, and co-founding the Nitro Circus action sports franchise—Pastrana returned to a WRX STI rally car for the 2016-2017 seasons, winning the inaugural American Rally Association title in 2017 and setting a blistering record of 5 minutes 44 seconds at the Mt. Washington Hill Climb. In 2018 and 2019 Pastrana joined Subaru on a part-time basis for rally events and the annual Nitro Rallycross (NRX) event, while also designing the outrageous NRX track layout with its NASCAR-style banked corners and signature tri-level jump complex, including a massive 90-foot gap jump. He will be joined by longtime co-driver Robbie Durant for the 2020 ARA season.

British Columbia native Brandon Semenuk has been putting his mark on rally in the U.S. and Canada since 2010. Competing first in a production WRX and then in a Subaru Canada-supported Crosstrek rally car, Semenuk has racked up five overall Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) event wins and a pair of North American Rally Cup (NARC) titles in the last three years. His achievements in U.S. events include an impressive 4^th overall at Idaho Rally in 2018 – competing in a UTV against bigger, more powerful Open 4WD Class cars – and another 4^th place finish in a privateer car at 2019's Oregon Trail Rally with co-driver John Hall.

Like Pastrana, Semenuk's rally career hasn't meant slowing down on two wheels. His freeride mountain bike highlights include three FMB World Tour Gold Medals, three Red Bull Rampage victories—most recently in 2019—and five Red Bull Joyride titles, making him one of the most decorated freeride MTB athletes in history. He also stars in the Raw100 video series produced by Red Bull and his production house Revel Co., performing groundbreaking MTB stunts.

2020 SUBARU MOTORSPORTS USA RALLY CALENDAR

100 Acre Wood Rally                                   
March 20-21

DirtFish Olympus Rally                                
April 25-26

DirtFish Oregon Trail Rally                       
May 29-31

Southern Ohio Forest Rally                       
June 19-20

New England Forest Rally                          
July 31-August 1

Muscatell Ojibwe Forests Rally                 
August 28-29

Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally  
September 18-19

Lake Superior Performance Rally            
October 16-17

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

Follow Subaru Motorsports USA on Facebook, on Instagram @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 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. 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 $165 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 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.

William Stokes
Motorsports Manager
Subaru of America, Inc.
(856) 488-8578
[email protected]

Dominick Infante
Director, Corporate Communications
Subaru of America, Inc.
(856) 488-8615
[email protected]

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.

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