The U.S. rally world finally learned that 2011 American Rally champion David Higgins will be back to defend his title in 2012. That wasn’t a foregone conclusion as little as two weeks ago.

The announcement wasn’t made until Wednesday and Tech House & Speed had Higgins on the webcast Wednesday night to talk about the new decision from Subaru Rally Team USA.

Higgins talked about why the announcement took so long and what it might mean to any rallycross plans he might have later in the season. Higgins ran in two rallycross events last year including X Games in Los Angeles. more...

Subaru Rally Team USA (SRT USA) announced today that David Higgins, the 2011 Rally America National Champion, will continue as factory driver for the team in 2012 in a bid to defend his title.

Higgins and SRT USA begin the 2012 Rally America National Championship at the season opener Sno*Drift Rally in northern Michigan, Jan. 27 and 28 against a stacked field of over 70 entries.

Co-driver Craig Drew will once again join Higgins; the duo will pilot a Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2012 Subaru WRX STI in all six rounds of the 2012 Rally America National Championship. more...

The 2012 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season kicks off this evening with the start of the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the series.

Making a welcome return to the WRC, this famous rally has attracted an entry of 85 crews, including the registered FIA Super 2000 and Production Car World Rally Championship contenders, and looks set to provide spectacular action over the coming five days. more...

Stéphane Peterhansel’s resume shows ten Dakar victories over his impressive career in motorsports. What gave the Frenchman the winning edge in this year’s edition of the world’s toughest rally?

Following his his Dakar victory last Sunday (Jan 15), he disclosed that he had experienced certain thoughts about his success during the event.

"I was starting to doubt myself, to think I was growing too old for this, that I'd lost it or that I wasn't made for South America," Peterhansel divulged after the finish. "And in the end everything turned out fine." more...

Stéphane Peterhansel of the X-raid Team has won the 2012 Dakar Rally piloting his MINI ALL4 Racing to victory in Peru. This marks the Frenchman's tenth overall victory at the toughest rally in the world.

Peterhansel knows the Dakar Rally and knows that the winner is not crowned until the final stage is really over. The route is too tricky and the competitors just too good to celebrate prematurely. more...

Today's stage was an eventful one for the leaders of the car category, with Nani Roma getting stuck and Robby Gordon's car doing a somersault. Once again, rally leader Stéphane Peterhansel thrived in difficult conditions - the Frenchman took his third stage win of 2012. He now holds an overall lead of 42'57". more...

Over the last couple of days during the 2012 Dakar Rally, Team SPEED and Robby Gordon have had to defend themselves after being accused of having an air inflation system that gives them an advantage.

To prove a point, Gordon took it upon himself to show the media his entire system and how it worked last night in the bivouac in Arequipa, Peru. He even went so far as cutting the line that was in question and plugging it.

He will run the rest of the rally without a vacuum system placed on his car. more...

The FIA has introduced a number of regulation changes for the 2012 World Rally Championship season with the aim of helping to reduce costs while raising the sporting challenge and increasing media coverage. The following is a summary of the changes enacted: more...

American Robby Gordon picked up the gauntlet in the car category by winning his second stage of 2012 as rival Stephane Peterhansel struggled with dunes. Peterhansel, who still has a significant advantage in the general standings, spent several minutes stuck in the sand before finally conceding only 2'49” to teammate Nani Roma, who he still leads by 20 minutes overall. more...

Robby Gordon and Team SPEED are shocked and disappointed by the interim decision made by the race organizers of the 2012 Dakar Rally to exclude Gordon from the event.

This decision has now been appealed to the governing body. The appeal will be decided several weeks from now, so Robby Gordon and the Team will continue to participate in the event pending final determination of the appeal.

The issue centers on the tire inflation system used on the Hummers. more...