Subaru Exclusive Automotive and Gold Sponsor of ESPN X Games 13

Subaru Exclusive Automotive and Gold Sponsor of ESPN X Games 13

2008 Subaru Impreza WRX to be grand prize awarded by ESPN to the 'Subaru Most Outstanding Athlete of the Games'

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana set to defend X Games gold medal in rally competition

CHERRY HILL, N.J., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru and ESPN today announced that Subaru is the exclusive automotive and gold level sponsor of X Games 13 to be held in Los Angeles, Calif. August 2-5.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050404/PHSUBARULOGO )

Among the standard terms of the sponsorship agreement, Subaru of America, Inc. will provide ESPN with a 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX to be the grand prize awarded by ESPN to the "Subaru Most Outstanding Athlete of the Games." ESPN will solely be responsible for selecting the recipient and administering the giveaway.

"We are very pleased to be an integral sponsor of X Games 13," said Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Subaru of America, Inc. "Last year, we had such tremendous success in the rally competition that we dubbed the event the 'WRX Games' in a celebratory print ad.' It is a perfect fit for our performance enthusiast customers that are always ready for action."

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana will be back in action to defend his X Games gold medal in the rally competition. Last year Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom earned the gold medal in the inaugural X Games Rally event.

Pastrana edged out a win over rally legend and former Subaru World Rally Champion Colin McRae. Pastrana's Subaru teammates Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino took the bronze medal. All three podium finishers drove Open Class Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally cars sponsored by Subaru of America, Inc. and prepared by Vermont SportsCar. Eight of the ten top finishers competed in Subaru-based rally cars.

The addition of Subaru to our roster of sponsors for X Games 13 comes at a great time after the success of last year's debut of Rally Car Racing, said Rick Alessandri, Managing Director, X Games Franchise. "Partnering with Subaru is a terrific fit for the X Games audience, and we look forward to growing the relationship for future action sports events."

For 2007, The Home Depot Center will host an increased number of X Games competitions, while other events will return to STAPLES Center. For a schedule of X Games 13 rally events and for a complete event schedule visit www.expn.com.

The X Games is the definitive annual action sports competition featuring more than 150 of the world's best athletes competing in: BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing 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.

About ESPN, Inc.

ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities. Sports media assets include ESPN on ABC, six domestic cable television networks (ESPN, launched in 1979; ESPN2; ESPN Classic; ESPNEWS; ESPN Deportes; ESPNU), ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD (high-definition simulcast services of ESPN and ESPN2, respectively), ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (31 international networks and syndication), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN360 (Broadband), Mobile ESPN (wireless), ESPN On Demand, ESPN Interactive and ESPN PPV.

Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 600 dealers across the United States. Subaru makes the best-selling All-Wheel Drive car sold in America based on R.L. Polk & Co. new vehicle retail registration statistics. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

   Contact: Lisa Fleming             Katie Moses Swope            Subaru of America, Inc.  ESPN            (856)488-5093            (310)642-1507            lfleming@subaru.com      katie.moses@espn.com  

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050404/PHSUBARULOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Subaru of America, Inc.

CONTACT: Lisa Fleming of Subaru, America, Inc., +1-856-488-5093,
lfleming@subaru.com; or Katie Moses Swope, ESPN, +1-310-642-1507,
katie.moses@espn.com

Web site: http://www.subaru.com/
http://www.expn.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment