Subaru Rally Team USA have revealed the reason behind their decision to enter Red Bull Global Rallycross Seattle with a new driver lineup.
The Vermont Sports Car-run operation’s regular drivers Sverre Isachsen and Bucky Lasek will sit out the event at Evergreen Speedway, being replaced by Chris Atkinson, who made his début in a third entry last time out in Atlantic City, and the returning Rally America champ David Higgins.
Now Vermont Sports Car owner Lance Smith has shed some light on the decision to rotate their driver line up, saying that switching the drivers around will help the team develop their WRX STI GRC Supercar.
“This season was not going to be a traditional year for us, its a development year,” Smith told The Checkered Flag. “The schedule was unique with us skipping some rounds to instead stay busy testing.”
“We are now entering Seattle with two of our other team drivers (Higgins/Atkinson) as a continuation of this plan,” he added. “Having our other team drivers spend time in the car is something we feel is an important part of the the development process with the car.”
Subaru Rally Team had their most successful event of the year last month in Atlantic City with Isachsen finishing in ninth, and Lasek being classified tenth after suffering a puncture.
Atkinson also had a strong weekend, running consistently in the top six on both Saturday and Sunday before he too got a puncture in the final which saw him just miss out on a top 10 finish.
