Press Release
Subaru of America, Inc., and ESPN have announced that Subaru will be the exclusive automotive sponsor of X Games 14 to be held in Los Angeles, Calif. July 31-August 3.
As part of the tie-in, Subaru will provide ESPN with a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX for the "Subaru Most Outstanding Athlete of the Games" grand prize award.
Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Ken Block and Travis Pastrana will be targeting this year's Gold medal after earning Silver and Bronze respectively, at the 2007 X Games competition. The team will be piloting all-new rally cars based on the 2008 Subaru WRX STI model. In 2007, Tanner Foust, driving for an independent team, took the Gold in a Subaru WRX STI.
New to X Games 14 will be Skateboard and BMX SuperPark, BMX Street and Women's Moto X Racing. The SuperPark discipline incorporates a variety of terrain and obstacles into one seamless course. Action sports fans can anticipate the world's best transition skaters and BMX riders highlighting their all-around abilities in these events. In addition, the Women's Moto X Racing competition will include the world's top 10 women motocross racers competing for the gold medal in the first-time event.
More than 150 athletes annually participate in the premier action sports competition featuring BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard and Rally Car Racing. X Games Los Angeles-based venues include STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. and The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
ESPN developed its X Games franchise in 1995. Part of ESPN Original Entertainment, X Games, Winter X Games and All Access are among the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2. In addition to the two U.S.-based events, ESPN has held X Games competitions and demonstration events around the world, including in Dubai, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Malaysia and Spain.