The engines revved and the exhaust cracked like gun fire as the rally cars were set to do battle on this years X-Games rally course – and we got to cover it all (of course). If you’ve never seen these races before…well, you’re missing a good part of your life. From dirt to cement to hairpin turns to 75ft gaps, there’s never a dull moment…especially with the upsets that took place this year at the X-Games 15 rally car race.
In one of several huge upsets, Brian Degan surpassed the favored Ken Block. The suprise stunned everyone as Block came around the corner toward the 75 foot jump and was forced to go around it with not enough speed to clear it. The official ruling was given and Block was disqualified, sending Degan to the semis in his first X-Games rally appearance.
In the first round of the semis it was the persistant Foust up against Kenny Brack and his intense desire for the Gold in his first year of the X-Games rally car race. The race was neck and neck until after the second crossing when Foust spun out on the asphalt, leaving him no chance to catch the speedy Brack.
Brack just floatin' away.
In the second round it was a battle between the FMX legends Degan and Pastrana: This time on four wheels instead of two. However, in much the same style as Block, Degan came around the corner too slow and was unable to hit the jump, being forced to bypass it and earning him an unfortunate disqualification. Degan’s DQ ended up giving the bronze to Foust who lost in the previous semis to Brack.
Kenny Brack cruising to victory, but leaving behind some extra baggage.
So in the finals it was the heavy favorite Pestrana vs. the X-Games rally rookie ( although an IRL champion and winner of the Indy 500) Kenny Brack. As the cars took off, Pastrana had the early lead on the dirt but outside the stadium, but Brack started to close in on him on the asphalt. Then suddenly, the race was over before it felt it had started when Pestrana pinned his car against the wall on the way back in to the stadium, red flagging the course, giving the gold to Brack and the silver to Pestrana. Brack, in his first X-Games rally car competition, comes away with gold against the heavy favorite, Travis Pestrana.
All in all the day was perfect, sitting in the beautiful SoCal weather watching rally cars hitting 75 ft jumps and drifting around hairpins, what more could you possibly ask for? We really aren’t sure…
Here are some more sick pictures to enjoy….
The Epicology team behind the scenes as the rally cars get ready for battle
Emptyin' out the trunk over the 75 footer.
Just short of the monster gap....crunch time.
We are huge proponents of cheerleaders in every sport. Why not?
Tags: kenny brack, rally car, x-games 15
This entry was posted
on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 5:44 pm and is filed under EVENT COVERAGE, X-GAMES 15 COVERAGE.
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