Subaru Changes Drivers For Red Bull Global Rallycross Seattle

Subaru Rally Team USA has announced that they’ll field another new driver for this weekend’s Red Bull Global Rallycross event in Seattle.

Subaru’s driver lineup for Red Bull Global Rallycross has changed over the 2016 season, and the team revealed on Monday that it will change again for this Saturday’s penultimate stop in Seattle.

Per a press release, neither Bucky Lasek nor Sverre Isachsen will compete for Subaru Rally Team USA at Evergreen Speedway.

They’ll be replaced by Chris Atkinson – who made his GRC debut last month in Atlantic City – and David Higgins.

Atkinson finished third in the first Atlantic City semi-final to earn himself a spot in the finals, but was the first of three cars to record a DNF in the final round thanks to a punctured tire. He was ultimately scored in 11th place.

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Higgins hasn’t competed in GRC since 2012, when he ran a single race for Subaru. He finished seventh in the Los Angeles event. More recently, he and co-driver Craig Drew won the 2015 Rally America championship, also for Subaru.

His entry at GRC Seattle is being made possible with support from DirtFish Rally School, which is a partner of Subaru and operates out of Snoqualmie, WA – which is about 25 miles east of Seattle. That makes this something of a hometown race for Higgins.

“It’s been a busy rally season and so I haven’t had much time in the GRC car,” Higgins said in the press release. “The Subaru team has been working very hard all season developing the car and there is nothing I would like more than to repay them with a good result, especially in Seattle where the team has so many fans.

“Huge thanks to Dirtfish for helping to make it happen,” he added. “They have been a sponsor of mine and of the team for some time, and to be able to race nearby their school will be great fun.”

As for Atkinson, he’s just looking to overcome the bad luck that befell his debut.

“It was great fun in Atlantic City and I felt at home in the car pretty quickly,” he said. “We had a good result beside the tire puncture, so I’m really looking forward to taking it another step in Seattle.”

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No doubt it’s frustrating for fans that Subaru hasn’t been able to field a consistent team; they didn’t even field cars until Round 6 at MCAS New River. Lasek and Isachsen thus only got four GRC starts, with Atkinson joining them in Atlantic City. It’s not known if Lasek and Isachsen could return for the double-header season finale in Los Angeles or if their seasons are simply over.

But it would be fantastic for both Global Rallycross audiences and the team if Subaru could put together a pair of drivers to run the entire 2017 GRC season, so perhaps Atkinson and Higgins can show what they’re made of now and parlay it into the future.

Red Bull Global Rallycross Seattle takes place Saturday, Sept. 17 at Evergreen Speedway in Seattle, WA.