David Higgins Wins 2021 New England Forest Rally - Speedway Digest

10-time United States rallying champion David Higgins has won the 2021 edition of the New England Forest Rally on his return to the sport after a nearly two-year absence. Teamed up once again with his longtime co-driver Craig Drew, with whom he won eight championships in nine years from 2011 to 2019, Higgins and Drew took the #75 McKenna Motorsport Ford Fiesta S2000 to the top step of the podium with four victories in 14 stages over the weekend.

“This is absolutely amazing, honestly!” said Higgins. “To get back here again after two years out, to get back into the fight early like we did yesterday, I didn’t think we would be able to do that. But once we started matching their times and getting with it, I thought there was a chance. We’re not 100% familiar with the car, so we had to drive hard but not take crazy risks. This is one of those rallies where it’s very hard to drive 100% the whole rally and not have a problem. But it’s been an amazing feeling to come back.

“I’m so thankful to Barry (McKenna), Dom Buckley, and the guys for giving us a chance to come out and do it again. This one probably means more than lots of the other ones, because when you don’t know it’s coming and you come on short notice to do it, it’s pretty cool!”

Through the first day of the rally, five drivers were all within 30 seconds of one another, with Higgins closing out Friday’s five stages at third overall. The first pass at Aziscohos on Saturday would begin to reshape the weekend, with Higgins taking his first stage win as a puncture for teammate Barry McKenna and a drivetrain failure for Ken Block removed both crews from contention. Higgins would continue to drive a consistent pace, winning the first pass at Morton Cutoff and sweeping Aziscohos, to be just nine seconds out of the lead with two stages remaining.

The second pass at Morton Cutoff was where everything changed. Overall leader Travis Pastrana would suffer a rollover not far from the end of the stage, with the crew walking away unhurt but nonetheless giving up the top spot. Higgins would then finish up the event with a final stage victory at North Road, and the comeback win was complete.

Notably, the rally was Higgins’ first event since suffering a major leg injury. It also gave him six victories and 11 podiums at NEFR since the rally made its summer debut in 1994, including wins in the past three instances of the event. Higgins took his fourth and fifth NEFR titles in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.