Brian Deegan races to victory in RallyCross final – X Games 17 Update
Metal Mulisha founder and Ford driver, Brian Deegan, clinched his first X Games gold medal on four wheels after defeating an all-star line-up in RallyCross final that went down at Lot 7 outside STAPLES Centre in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday afternoon, July 31.
Defending champion Tanner Foust finished right behind Deegan to secure silver medal, while two-time world champion, Finland’s Marcus Gronholm, got past the chequered flag next to clinch bronze, leading to a Ford Fiesta podium sweep.
The 37-year-old Deegan remained simply outstanding throughout the course of the event, earning the top score in the qualifiers to get a guaranteed shot at the gold; his 13th X Games medal.
However, the road to victory was expected to be a tough one for Deegan, especially with the likes of Foust, Gronholm, Dave Mirra, Ryhs Millen, David Higgins, Liam Doran and the legendary Travis Pastrana in contention for the gold.
Despite a nasty crash during the Moto X Best Trick contest a couple of days back, Pastrana was back in action on Sunday, driving his Subaru WRX STi using hand throttled controls due to his broken right leg.
As the eight-man final kicked off, Foust and Doran made an early charge, with Deegan right at their heels. However, in an attempt to make a quick first turn, both Foust and Doran braked late and ended up colliding, allowing Deegan to cut them easily. While Foust immediately recovered from the collision, Doran went hard into the inside wall and pretty much lost his chances at gold.
A near-flawless driving by Deegan allowed him to hold on to his lead throughout the course of the race and eventually carried him off to his first X Games gold after a hiatus of eight years.
During his post-final interview, Deegan said, “Locking in the Gold was a great way to end X Games 17. I thought about last year's second place finish all year, my goal was to come in and win this year. This is a big win for me and for the FORD racing, Rockstar and Metal Mulisha team.”
The 38-year-old defending champion, Foust, did well to make a quick recovery from a collision on the first turn. Despite a flat tire with almost three laps left, he still managed to make it across the chequered flag in time to take silver medal.
Despite not being 100 percent fit, Pastrana proved to everyone that he had what it required to take on the best cars and racers in the world. Driving with hand controls that resembled a game joystick, he was well on his way to win the bronze till he crashed into a wall late in the race.
Pastrana’s crash allowed the pre-race favourite, 43-year-old Gronholm, to get past him and claim the bronze medal. Pastrana eventually finished in seventh place.
After showing his magic on the dirt-bike for quite some time now, Deegan managed to make a strong statement in RallyCross as well. One can only expect the action to be extreme when he returns next year to defend his throne against the world’s best drivers.
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