DAVID Higgins and Craig Drew made it three victories on the trot with a thrilling victory on the Susquehannock Trail Rally in Wellsboro.

The STPR is one of the fastest and most dangerous rallies in North America, held primarily on clay and gravel roads.

Drivers travel at speeds exceeding 100mph through densely wooded roads.

With just one round to go, Higgins & Drew are in a strong position to win the North American Rally Championship. They lead chief rival Antoine L'Estage by 10 points.

The Team Subaru USA Impreza got off to a bad start with a spin on the opening stage.

However, second fastest times on stages two and three meant they were lying second.

A gearbox change at first service on day two was not ideal, and Higgins & Drew lost more time on stage eight when the intercom failed, forcing them to do the whole stage with hand signals. That led to one or two hairy moments.

A puncture on stage nine put them 37 seconds behind the leading works Mitsubishi of L'Estage.

Higgins attacked over the next batch of four stages and demolished L'Estage's lead.

Going into the final stage it was L'Estage's turn to go on the offensive as he now trailed by 2.5seconds.

He stormed through the final test but Higgins was not going to be beaten.

Higgins stopped the clocks just 1.2 seconds down on the Canadian, to take a terrific victory against all odds by just 1.3 seconds.

The result means everything hinges on the New England Forest Rally on July 15 and 16.

It should be especially exciting as it's Antoine L'Estage's home event.