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Subaru of America has confirmed that Toomas "Topi" Heikkinen will drive Subaru Rally Team USA’s third 2018 Subaru WRX STI Supercar at the Americas Rallycross (ARX) season finale. Subaru did not say if Heikkinen will be joining the team of Subaru drivers Patrik Sandell and Chris Atkinson next season. For the ARX finale, Subaru now has three non-American ARX drivers as Sandell is from Sweden, Atkinson hales from Australia and Heikkinen from Finland.
Heikkinen is an accomplished Rallycross driver and won the 2010 Finnish Rallycross Championship in his first season. In 2013 he dominated the Global Rallycross Championship winning five of nine rounds and the driver’s championship. He then moved to the World Rallycross Championship wherein 2014 he finished as runner-up in the driver’s championship. In 2016 he joined EKS Racing, teamed with Mattias Ekstrom, where he helped his team earn the 2016 FIA World RX Team’s Championship while Ekstrom went on to win the World RX Drivers’ Championship.
Subaru has rotated drivers through the team’s third car, including Stage Rally Champion David Higgins, Travis Pastrana, and Jacques Villeneuve thus far, while Atkinson and Sandell focus on the full ARX Championship schedule. Sandell currently sits 3rd overall in the ARX driver’s standings while Atkinson is tied with Ken Block for the 4th overall position.
Speaking to Subaru Motorsports, Heikkinen told them, “It will be great to be back in the USA, in fact, the last time I raced in the USA was in Austin in 2014 at the X Games rallycross! However, the track layout is much different now, so it will be all new to me. I have recently had a visit to Vermont where I had a test in the Subaru WRX STI Supercar and the feeling was good straight away and the team is very focused, so I’m really looking forward to this.”
Heikkinen will drive one of Subaru Rally Team’s 600hp 2018 Subaru WRX STI Supercars at the ARX season finale in Austin, Texas as Sandell, Atkinson, and Heikkinen close out the inaugural #ARX season and try to get on the podium for the first time. Americas Rallycross season finale will be held during World RX USA at the Circuit of the Americas September 29-30. Maybe Finnish-born "Topi" Heikkinen can bring a spark and ignite a podium finish in the third Subaru WRX STI. Stay tuned.
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Photo credit: Subaru Rally Team
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