X Games 18 RallyCross [w/videos] [spoilers]

Drew Phillips — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:57:00 EST

RallyCross is quickly becoming one of the X Games' most exciting events, with many of the most popular athletes flocking to four wheels in the past few years. For X Games 18 this past weekend, the lineup of drivers was the most impressive yet, with eight-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb accepting Travis Pastrana's challenge to take on the rest of the field, not to mention European RallyCross champion Sverre Isachsen and skateboarder Bucky Lasek bolstering team Subaru.

Despite never having raced in X Games, let alone anywhere in North America, Loeb was undoubtedly the favorite going into the event. Yes, his specially built Citroën DS3 has significantly more horsepower than his standard rally car, but Loeb has also proven he is incredibly fast no matter what he is driving. The rest of the X Games field was full of experienced and capable drivers including two-time WRC champion Marcus Grönholm, Tanner Foust, Liam Doran and Rhys Millen. It's also hard to count out Brian Deegan, last year's gold medalist, and the always-entertaining Ken Block.

Could Sebastien Loeb translate his WRC success into inaugural X Games success, or did one of the other RallyCross drivers beat out the venerable Frenchman? Scroll down to find out.

Continue reading X Games 18 RallyCross [w/videos] [spoilers]

X Games 18 RallyCross [w/videos] [spoilers] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RallyCross driver shorts jump in X Games practice

Drew Phillips — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:55:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

The skill displayed by drivers in the RallyCross competition at X Games, particularly with the jump, makes it easy to forget just how dangerous the sport can be. Everyone was reminded of that earlier today, however, when Finnish driver and X Games rookie Toomas Heikkinen shorted the 50-foot gap, crashing into the steel ramp. Heikkinen's Fiesta eventually landed upside down, and fluids leaking from the car caught fire after he exited the car.

While the head-on crash looked devastating, X Games later reported that Heikkinen thankfully only suffered a broken ankle and minor abdominal pain. Needless to say, he isn't expected to participate in Sunday's competition, although Travis Pastrana demonstrated last year that a broken ankle doesn't necessarily have to keep you out of a rally car.

You can view different angles of Heikkinen's unfriendly meeting with the ramp in the embedded videos below.

Continue reading RallyCross driver shorts jump in X Games practice

RallyCross driver shorts jump in X Games practice originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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