X Games: 24-year-old Liam Doran wins Rally Car Racing gold in upset

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On the streets of downtown Los Angeles, X Games rookie Liam Doran, 24, upset legendary European driver Marcus ‘Bosse’ Gronholm, 43, to win the gold medal in the Rally Car Racing final Saturday.

Doran, from Kent, England, faced Gronholm, who hails from Inkoo, Finland, in a best-of-three final with each driver taking two laps around the 3,100-feet, six-turn course that also features a 52-foot jump.

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Doran won the first race, which was fairly close, and then won second, which wasn’t so close, to take the gold medal.

Doran’s biggest hurdle was upsetting Capistrano Beach native Tanner Foust in the semifinals.

Foust, one of only four drivers who have competed in every Rally Car event at the X Games, came up short in the bronze-medal race against David Higgins when his car broke down shortly after the start.

Foust, who won gold medals in both Rally Car events last year, is expected to compete in Sunday’s RallyCross final, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

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-- Baxter Holmes