David Higgins makes a return to American rallying as he joins Subaru Rally Team USA for the 2011 season. The Isle Of Man native will contest RallyCar’s Rally America National Championship alongside SRT USA driver Dave Mirra, maintaining a two-car effort for the Subaru marque. David’s factory drive was revealed by Motorsport News UK in their Wednesday, November 24th issue, although Subaru of America has yet to make a formal announcement.

The search to fill the open seat was prompted by Travis Pastrana’s departure from the team earlier this month and was surrounded with much speculation as to who the replacement would be. Names including Mark Higgins (David’s brother), Niall McShea, and Ramana Lagemann were supposedly all tossed in the mix as viable candidates, but Subaru elected David after passing over a high-profile Canadian driver who had a very successful 2010 season on both sides of the border. Although North American talent was considered for the drive before finally deciding on Higgins, this is not the first time Subaru of America has enlisted European drivers for its rallying program.

David Higgins is a seasoned competitor and boasts numerous accomplishments including the 2002 and 2003 SCCA Pro Rally Championship titles (USA), the 2004 British Rally Championship title, and several years of World Rally Championship experience behind the wheel of a Group N car. The Higgins family also runs “The Forest Experience Rally School” and David has done testing and development for various manufacturers. Higgins has competed all over the world, most recently placing third overall in a Mitsubishi Evo IX on China Rally Longyou, the final round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship.

WorldRallySport.com will keep you posted with further developments.