First Showing for New Subaru Rally Team USA Nets Podium

--Team Subaru Scores Impressive Second and Fourth Places in Season Opener--

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Feb. 1 -- Subaru Rally Team USA debuted its new 2006 Impreza WRX STI Open Class rally cars for the very first time at Round 1 of the Rally America Championship, the Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, MI. Team drivers Travis Pastrana and Ken Block placed an impressive second and fourth place and netted five fastest stage times each in the debut rally, with Pastrana narrowly missing victory after stopping to help his teammate.

Team Subaru rolled out the new Impreza WRX STI rally cars for the first time during Thursday Practice. The cars were immediately quick in both practice and Friday's Shakedown session. The newly branded SRT USA (Subaru Rally Team USA) WRX STIs are based on 2006 MY Impreza WRX STI road cars.

The Sno*Drift rally is traditionally a cold weather event with high snow banks lining icy, snow-covered roads. This year participants encountered unseasonably warm temperatures with both event days in the high 40s combined with sunny weather and light to moderate wind gusts. The conditions meant inconsistent road conditions with melting slush in certain corners and slick icy patches in others.

Attrition in Leg 1 was high due to a number of competitors running off- stage suffering from a lack of grip. With the bulk of competitive stage miles to be encountered on the following day (Leg 2), both Pastrana and Block drove a conservative race on day one. They completed the eight special stages of Leg 1 in second and first places overall, respectively.

Leg 2 of the rally proved more dramatic for SRT USA as Block lost the lead in SS9 and then hit a snow bank on SS10, high-siding his Subaru and losing valuable time to the lead pack. Fortunately, Pastrana came upon the #43 car of Block and with co-driver Gelsomino was able to pull the #43 car out with a tow rope. The unscheduled stop added approximately 6 minutes to their cumulative times and dropped Pastrana and Block to fifth and sixth, respectively, costing Pastrana a potential victory.

In a determined drive, both Subaru Rally Team drivers closed the gap on the leaders. By the end of the rally, Pastrana had vaulted to an impressive second spot with Block finishing fourth. Pastrana and Block finished the Sno*Drift rally with the highest number of fast stage times (5 by each driver) after 17 stages, earning valuable Championship points to start the season. Veteran rally driver Andrew Comrie-Picard (Mitsubishi Evolution) set consistent stage times to win the event with Tanner Foust (Subaru Impreza WRX) finishing third overall.

The 2006 Sno*Drift rally attracted competitors from across the nation and as far away as Colorado with over 53 registered entries. Fan favorites Travis Pastrana and Ken Block signed posters and hats at the service areas and during down time between stages. Full event summary, results, and gallery of images are available at
http://rally.subaru.com/rally/rally_index.jsp.

The next Rally America Championship round: 100 Acre Wood in Salem, MO, on February 24-25.