Heikkinen victorious at Global Rallycross X Games L.A. ~ Garage74

After becoming the first Global Rallycross driver to win three consecutive events at Bristol, Toomas Heikkinen did one better at X Games Los Angeles by winning his fourth straight main event. Tanner Foust and Sverre Isachsen completed the podium.

HEAT RECAPS: Isachsen, Liam Doran, Heikkinen, and Ken Block won the four heat races, while Brian Deegan, Patrik Sandell, Travis Pastrana, and Foust advanced by finishing in second. Rhys Millen and Scott Speed managed to advance via the last chance qualifier, which shrunk from 10 cars to five after a major incident at the start involving Anton Marklund and David Sterckx.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: Sverre Isachsen led the field into the first corner, but received a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start and thus yielded the lead on the second lap. From there, Heikkinen inherited the lead and paced the field for the duration, pulling away from Foust a win of over four seconds.

Only two cars—those of Scott Speed and Liam Doran—failed to finish the race, while Ken Block completed the race with a blown tire and Brian Deegan and Patrik Sandell finished with significant front-end damage. Travis Pastrana held fourth place for most of the final before Rhys Millen made his way past in the late stages of the main event.

RESULTS: The results of Sunday’s Global Rallycross event at X Games Los Angeles:

Toomas Heikkinen, #57 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST
Tanner Foust, #34 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST
Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team WRX STI
Rhys Millen, #67 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster
Travis Pastrana, #199 Pastrana Racing Dodge Dart
Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST
Brian Deegan, #38 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST
Patrik Sandell, #18 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST
Scott Speed, #77 OMSE2 Ford Fiesta

10.Liam Doran, #33 LD Motorsports MINI Countryman

11.Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team WRX STI

12.Stephan Verdier, #12 Verdier Racing Subaru WRX STI

Bryce Menzies, #99 Pastrana Racing Dodge Dart

14.Steve Arpin, #32 OMSE2 Ford Fiesta

15.Dave Mirra, #40 Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team WRX STI

David Sterckx, #14 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster

17.Anton Marklund, #92 Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo

18.Timur Timerzyanov, #29 Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo

QUOTES: A collection of quotes from Sunday’s Global Rallycross event at X Games Los Angeles:

Toomas Heikkinen, Driver, #57 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST: It’s cool! It’s cool to have a lot of points. Still we’re leading, and now we have a little bit less pressure, but the next race is in six days, and we have work to do. I think the gap opened a little bit, because Tanner didn’t win his heat and I got the one extra point, plus three points more in the final. (Since last year) I just made my own work, what I had to do. I exercised at home and the gym to get myself ready for this season. Everything is good right now, and I’m not doing anything else than smiling.

Tanner Foust, Driver, #34 OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta ST: It was a pretty productive weekend. It would have been nice to double gold, obviously, but I can’t complain, especially where I started in the final. It was not a good spot—I was outside of the second row, and I just watched the mayhem happen. I was thinking “oh, 10^thplace, okay,” and then all of a sudden, Ken spins, tires are flying everywhere, so I just took the outside line and ended up, I thought, in third, but I guess it was second. And I just followed Topi’s dust.

Sverre Isachsen, Driver, #11 Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team WRX STI: It was awesome! I had a good start. They said it was a jump start, but anyway, we sat in the penalty box, took our punishment, and then went back in the race. It was a perfect race the whole way. Third place today is like winning for us at Subaru. Of course we’ll go for it in Atlanta as well. We’re taking the car small steps at a time and hopefully can try to get to the top.

Rhys Millen, Driver, #67 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster: I’m really, really happy—to not have driven the car for eight months, to do a shake down for literally a couple of hours, fly out of town and fly back in, (then) to win the LCQ and finish fourth from the back of the row. It’s just a testament to how strong and reliable that car is, and for me how much fun it is to drive.

Travis Pastrana, Driver, #199 Pastrana Racing Dodge Dart: Irwindale is awesome! We had our first NASCAR race out here, with the East-West shootout, and had a sixth there. (We were) fifth, so maybe if we keep coming back we’ll keep moving up the ladder! The guys worked real hard on the Discount Tire Dodge Dart. We avoided some carnage on the first lap, but we had an overheating issue. We’re working with a lot of stuff—we’ve just got to test, go with Bryce (Menzies). Every race we’ve struggled a bit to get going, but we’ve always been close at the end.

FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Sunday’s Global Rallycross event at X Games Los Angeles:

This is Toomas Heikkinen’s fourth career Global Rallycross victory, and his fourth in a row. He is the first driver in Global Rallycross history to win four consecutive main events. He is also the first driver in GRC history to score six consecutive podium finishes, and his 117 points through six races is an all-time record.
Ford clinched the 2013 Global Rallycross Manufacturer’s Championship by scoring 38 points. With 224 points, they have mathematically eliminated Subaru (81 points) and Dodge (75 points) from winning the title.
Tanner Foust scored his best finish of the year by placing second. It was his first podium finish since the second X Games Munich race and the 12^th podium finish of his Global Rallycross career. He was also the only driver to score two X Games medals in Los Angeles, taking gold in Saturday’s gymkhana event.
Sverre Isachsen scored the second podium finish of his Global Rallycross career by finishing third. It equaled a career best set at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September 2012. He also scored his second heat victory of the 2013 season and second consecutive heat victory at X Games Los Angeles.
Rhys Millen finished fourth in his first race of the 2013 season. Millen has finished in the top six in each of his past eight Global Rallycross starts.
Travis Pastrana finished a season-high fifth at X Games Los Angeles. In three starts this season, Pastrana has not failed to make it to a main event, and has finished seventh or better each time.
Anton Marklund was taken away from his vehicle by ambulance after an incident in the last chance qualifier. He noted a loss of breath and pain in his left leg in the immediate aftermath, but suffered no serious injuries and returned to the paddock for the post-race autograph session.