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The podium sweep brings BFGoodrich Tires' X Games rally medal count to 11 in four years
LOS ANGeLeS
BFGoodrich Tires swept the podium at the X Games 15 Rally Super Special this past weekend in Los Angeles after Kenny Brack (Ford/BFGoodrich) took home his first X Games gold medal. Last year's gold medallist Travis Pastrana (Subaru/BFGoodrich) earned a silver medal after leading in the finals, but clipped a wall and ended his shot at gold. Tanner Foust (Ford/BFGoodrich) earned the bronze medal over ROCKSTAR/Ford Fiesta teammate Brian Deegan (Ford/BFGoodrich). The BFGoodrich Tires' podium sweep brings its medal earning to 11 in four years of X Games rally competition.
"The extreme asphalt and gravel racing course at X Games, highlighted by the 70-foot jump, proved no match for our tires today," said Roberts Kukainis, Motorsports Manager of BFGoodrich Tires. "Rally has been in X Games for four years and BFGoodrich has 11 medals. Congratulations to both the Ford and Subaru teams who pushed their cars to the limits and put on a tremendous show for the fans."
The Ford and Subaru showdown turned out to be as amplified as anticipated. Brack with his Olsbergs MSe 2009 Ford Fiesta and Pastrana with his Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI (Subaru Rally Team USA) were within one second of each other in X Games 15 Rally Super Special final before Pastrana made contact with the wall and ended his shot at back-to-back gold medals.
"It's always sweet to win," said a smiling Brack. "I've never been on a course anything like that in my whole life, the jump and the stadium, it was crazy. There are a lot of different tire choices you can make and we chose BFGoodrich because they are very durable. Having a gravel tire on tarmac is always going to be a challenge, but the g-Force Rally tires performed really well. It goes to show that BFGoodrich is the best tire out there right now and we have a great relationship."
Brack put his crew to work immediately after he overshot the 70-foot jump in his practice run. After a few adjustments, Brack defeated BMX legend Dave Mirra (Subaru/BFGoodrich) in the quarter-finals. In a close semi-final battle with Foust, Brack was less than one second behind last year's X Games rally silver medallist after completing the first lap. Foust spun out around a tight turn and had no chance to catch Brack in his flawless performance. Brack's Fiesta equipped with BFGoodrich g-Force Rally tires did not disappoint in the finals. After again landing hard on the jump, Brack's bumper dragged behind his car for the remainder of the race, adding to the excitement.
Brack's gold medal performance and Foust's bronze medal earned the Olsbergs MSe/ROCKSTAR energy Ford Fiesta Team its first two medals in X Games rally competition.
Pastrana's road to the finals was not as drama filled as Brack's, as his Subaru Rally Team USA Impreza WRX STI performed well all day. Pastrana posted the fastest time of the day (3:25:342) beating Andrew Comrie-Picard by more than eight seconds in the quarter-finals. Pastrana then defeated Brian Deegan in the semi-finals after Deegan was disqualified for avoiding the 70-foot jump because of problems with his turbo.
Pastrana earned Subaru Rally Team USA and Vermont SportsCar their ninth medal in four years of X Games rally competition, all which have come on BFGoodrich tires.
Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block (Subaru/BFGoodrich) had a rough start to his morning after hitting a curb and rolling his 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI during the morning practice run. The challenges continued from there as his driver's-side door opened mid-race in the quarter-finals against Brian Deegan. Still, Block was well in the lead against Deegan when he clipped a cement barrier with his rear wheel just prior to the jump. With his car slowed from the damaged Ken made a split second decision to drive around the jump rather than risk not achieving enough speed to clear the gap. Block was disqualified for avoiding the jump awarding Deegan with the victory.
Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 30 years, BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drifting, drag, desert, dirt, rally, and extreme rock crawling. BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high performance tire for every type of vehicle.
About BFGoodrich
BFGoodrich Tires is dedicated to providing high performance tires for those who have a passion for driving in virtually any environment. Combining technical expertise with 50 years of motorsports experience, BFGoodrich delivers tires for a full range of driving experiences from ultra-high performance street to off-road terrain with one common theme – extreme performance. Come upgrade your performance with BFGoodrich and see where our tires can take you at BFGoodrichTires.com, BFGoodrichRacing.com, as well as on Facebook and Instagram at @BFGoodrichTires and TikTok at @BFGoodrich.