2008 SEMA Show -- Day 4, November 7
Three of the cars in the Subaru exhibit have been prepared for racing. The #111 Legacy 2.5GT spec.B competes in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series; the #199 Red Bull(R) STI competes in the Rally America National Championship; and the Crawford Performance STI competes in time attack.
#111 Legacy 2.5GT spec.B The #111 was prepared for road racing by the team that fields the car in the KONI Challenge Series Street Tuner class –- ICY Racing/Phoenix Performance, which is co-owned by seasoned veterans Dave Rosenblum and Joe Aquilante. Upon delivery to their race shops, the spec.B was stripped to bare metal and prepared for competition. Provisions include roll cage, safety harnesses, fire-extinguisher system, and racing fuel cell. Many underhood components are foil-wrapped to ward off heat. Engines for the car are essentially stock, but with turbocharger boost limited by the Grand-Am sanctioning body to help equalize the competition in the series. At the track, the #111 stands out for its lack of exhaust sound when it passes because it runs with a stock muffler and tailpipe. This is due to the same attempts at parity. (In addition, weight has been added to the car.) Other modifications were made as well, and you'll find a complete list in the next issue of Drive Performance. The body is stock, with headlight assemblies that have to function because the cars must be able to race at night. #111 is equipped with racing dampers, wheels, and tires (dry and rain). Most of the season, this Subaru Road Racing Team KONI Challenge Series entry was driven by Chuck Hemmingson and Kristian Skavnes. Two drivers are required in each car in KONI Challenge races. Andrew Aquilante teamed with Skavnes for a couple races when Hemmingson had scheduling conflicts. Competition is keen within the series, and a number of car-and-driver combinations were in position to take the championship entering the last race of the season at VIRginia International Raceway. The #111 car was one of them, as was Kristian Skavnes for the drivers’ championship. Unfortunate contact with only 90 minutes remaining of the six-hour race relegated both the car and Skavnes to 5th for the season. Throughout the year, this car has been banged, bounced, and punted into the air. Its success speaks to the durability, reliability, and capabilities of the Legacy platform. #199 Red Bull STI
Prepared and fielded by Lance Smith’s Vermont SportsCar rally team, #199 is co-driven by Travis Pastrana and Derek Ringer as part of Subaru Rally Team USA. This car, too, was stripped down to metal and rebuilt as a rally car. Safety equipment and rally instrumentation were added, and the engine was built for Open Class competition.
The Rally America sanctioning body restricts intake airflow in Open Class cars. They also must maintain street-legal noise levels because rally cars operate on public roads. Engine management was changed to a MoTeC unit. The drivetrain has been prepared for the rigors of rally. Modifications include heavy-duty rally dampers, which are fully adjustable. The clutch, transmission, and front and rear differentials have been changed out to racing components. The #199 Pastrana/Ringer car has distinctive graphics, introduced on the 2008 car for the Susquehannock Trail Rally in June. Crawford Performance Time Attack STI Painted to stand out in a crowd, the Crawford STI was built in partnership with Subaru to demonstrate the potential of the 2008 WRX STI. When Crawford Performance began work on the car early in the year, there were no available aftermarket components, so the team at Crawford put together their own. While you'll be able to find a detailed list of modifications in the next issue of Drive Performance, here's a brief list: In a few days, check out your issue of Drive Performance or return to the www.driveperformance.subaru.com Web site for a story about the preparation of the SEMA Show vehicles, complete with detailed spec sheets on most of them.
This year's SEMA Show is now over. Looking back, it's apparent that the effort by Subaru to prepare the show's vehicles was without precedent. Diverse and unique, they showed the potential that Subaru builds into each of its models.
