Travis Pastrana crashes out, Sebastien Loeb clinches gold in RallyCross at X Games
Switzerland’s Sebastien Loeb claimed gold medal in X Games RallyCross Final that went down at Gilbert Lindsay Plaza in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 1.
America’s Ken Block finished in runner-up place to secure silver medal, while his fellow countryperson Brian Deegan rounded out the podium to clinch bronze medal.
Driving a Citroen, Loeb qualified for the final after an excellent performance in Round 1. He kicked-off the battle for the gold with a Holeshot and made no mistakes whatsoever during the six-Lap race to eventually claim victory.
The 44-year-old Block had a bit of bad luck in the race as he got a flat rear tire. He did, however, manage to finish in second place, just over 12 seconds behind Loeb, consequently getting hold of a silver medal.
Deegan secured the last remaining spot on the podium after finishing 0.42 seconds behind his Ford Fiesta teammate Block.
There had been a lot of talk about this year’s RallyCross event. The decision of America’s legendary action sports athlete Travis Pastrana, two-time Rally Car Racing gold medallist, to skip motocross events this year in order to fully commit to the race
on Sunday further added to the hype that surrounded the event.
Despite putting in a lot of effort to prepare to have a shot at the gold medal at this year’s RallyCross event, Pastrana took a hard blow in the qualifying heats. Taking the Holeshot, he braked after reaching the first turn. Scotland’s Andy Scott, a 58-year-old
X Games rookie, rammed his car into Pastrana’s, leaving the latter’s Dodge Dart severely damaged.
The X Games rules kept him from unseating his teammate Bryce Menzies, compelling him to finish the day in the same car that he started with.
“This is our big event, and to have someone take it from me is devastating,” said Pastrana. “I always say create your own luck, but when you're on the inside and you get the Holeshot, you brake at the point where everyone has braked all day for the corner
and someone decides to come in and not brake, that's a devastating way to end what could've been a fantastic week for the team.”
At last year’s Rally Car Racing event, Pastrana had T-boned the wall during the final and missed out on the bronze medal. It would be interesting to see if the action sports superstar returns next year to go all the way.
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