Subaru Drive Performance Magazine

DP WRX Journal -- Seventh Drive (Sixth Round Trip)

Travel dates: September 7-13, 2010

Purpose: To attend the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, with the Subaru Road Racing Team

Start/Finish: Drive Performance headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Distance:

• According to mapping services -- 2,900.6 miles round trip
• Actual (with side trips) -- 3,079.1 miles

Major routes to and from Miller Motorsports Park:

• Wisconsin, Iowa: Interstate 94, U.S. 151
• Iowa: U.S. 151, Interstates 380 and 80
• Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah: Interstate 80

Fuel consumption: 114.8 gallons

Mileage: 26.8 mpg

I looked forward to this trip because I was going to drive on a route I had never experienced previously -- Interstate 80 west of Grand Island, Nebraska. I was excited about taking the Drive Performance WRX into some mountains near Tooele.

In the paddock next to Subaru Road Racing Team's trailer, I realized how close Miller Motorsports Park is to the Great Salt Lake. Looking to the northeast, the shining haze is really lake water, not a desert mirage.

You can see mountains at a distance all around the track. On Friday, I climbed one with the DP WRX during some down time at the track. Driving east out of Tooele on Vine Street east, it turns into Middle Canyon Road, which ends near the peak of one of the Oquirrh Mountains.

The top overlooks the Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine (formerly called the Kennecott Copper Mine), which has been named a National Historic Landmark. It stretches 2.75 miles across and is more than .75 miles deep. It's quite a sight between the mountain range and Salt Lake City, which stretches beyond it!

Climbing Middle Canyon Road was a treat, and I'd recommend it to anyone! It changed from pavement to gravel approximately half-way up. Although smooth in some sections, the gravel/dirt/stone road was a washboard most of the way. Large rocks had rolled onto the surface at different points, and outcrops of rock served as the road in a number of places. I used first gear for most of the gravel, both up and down the mountain.

Several corners reminded me of the roads we practiced in rally school. They switched back one after the other, with ditches on the inside to hook into. But the DP WRX isn't set up for rally, so I was careful not to damage anything.

The impressive view from the top not only included the mine and the city, but canyons and mountainsides as well. There were different colors and textures everywhere I turned. It certainly was NOT scenery available in the Midwest.

Notes from the Drive

• My goal for each day of driving was at least half the distance. That was comfortable for me, and it worked out well.
• The first day was windy -- approximately 30 mph, with gusts -- and it was blowing directly into the path of the car most of the way. That didn't help average fuel economy at all!
• U.S. 151 across southwestern Wisconsin passes through rolling hills and sometimes cuts through them. It's a beautiful part of the country, with crops planted in wide swaths alternating with one another to help prevent erosion. The views from the tops of the ridges reach far into the distance. This four-lane road isn't very crowded, and it's quite enjoyable.
• Sign on a construction truck: "If you build it, we will plumb."
• I expected to drive westward with a number of team trucks, since I-80 is a major east-west interstate highway. I only saw two on the way west, and I kept passing one of them. (Really, I'm not a stalker!)
• I had the thought that Sheldon in the TV show Big Bang Theory is like a grown-up version of Dexter in Dexter's Lab.
• I-80 takes you past patches of wind turbines in Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming. I saw a couple in Utah, too.
• Once into western Iowa, farming conservation methods include building plateaus along with the contours.
• West of Lincoln, Nebraska, the land is the kind of flat where you cannot see the edges.
• Near mile-marker 272 in Nebraska, I turned a corner on I-80 westbound and was startled by the Great Platte River Road Archway. This structure crosses the highway and has interesting statues on either side. Unfortunately, it was closed when I passed under it both going west and returning home.
• Approximately halfway across Wyoming, I-80 crosses the Continental Divide. Although the road is almost 7,000 feet above sea level, I didn't think about driving along the divide because there were no large mountains through which to pass.
• Reminder: Fall and winter aren't far away! When I left Tooele to return home, temperatures were in the 50s. Near Park City, Utah, I saw temperatures as low as 28 degrees on the WRX's thermometer. Later in the day -- in Nebraska -- the thermometer climbed to 90 degrees.
• Driving across Wyoming, I could see clouds of smoke rising from mountains in the distance to the south. That area was suffering from wildfires at the time.
• The bugs that splattered the car along the Platte River in Nebraska are among the messiest I've ever encountered -- even worse than Ohio. Those I could do without!

Next trip: To the second RallyCar Rallycross at New Jersey Motorsports Park October 2 and 3.

-- Ric Hawthorne

 

  

DP WRX Journal -- Sixth Drive (Fifth Round Trip)

Travel dates: August 23-30, 2010

Purpose:

Part One -- to test-drive a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan in the Detroit, Michigan, area

Part Two -- to attend the inaugural RallyCar Rallycross event at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Millville, New Jersey, with Subaru Rally Team USA

Start/Finish: Drive Performance headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Distance:

• According to mapping services -- 1,873 miles round trip
• Actual (with side trips and "commute" from hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to NJMP) -- 2,302.5 miles

Major routes to Troy, Michigan, then to Cherry Hill and Millville, New Jersey, then Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan: Interstates 94, 294, 75
• Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey: Interstates 80, 76
• New Jersey: Routes 42, 55

Fuel consumption: 84.9 gallons

Mileage: 27.1 mpg

Notes from the Drive

I did a quick turnaround for this trip, leaving for Troy, Michigan, within 24 hours of returning from the last trip to Lafayette, Indiana. This first leg of the journey was to take me to Detroit to drive the new 2011 WRX STI Sedan.

When starting out, the DP WRX had 8,109 miles on it. With that many miles, I've learned what I like about the car. Probably I'll continue to use the word nimble in describing it forever. It is quick and easy to drive, and it handles like a much smaller vehicle.

As I drove across Michigan, I became all the more excited about the time I was going to have with the STI and having a chance to compare it to the magazine's WRX. Find the results of the drive in the next issue of Drive Performance -- Version 7.3 -- which mails and is posted online mid-November.

Then on to New Jersey, where the inaugural RallyCar Rallycross was to be run. You can find reactions to that event in previous blogs.

I was offered a ride as a passenger in one of the competing rallycross cars driven by Ramana Lagemann. Of course, I accepted. It was over in a flash. Strapping in seemed to take longer than the ride itself, and I don't remember going over the jump (although I'm sure that we did). I was impressed by a few things, but two that stand out are the acceleration of the car and the amount of work the driver does.

This was my second powerful ride in a one-week period, and I was more prepared for this one. Still, the acceleration voided any conversation. Plus, after years of watching racers on tracks and admiring how smoothly they drive, I saw Lagemann work the steering wheel and other controls as we slid from corner to corner. It seemed as if there was only one straight part to the course, and that didn't last long. The rest of the time, we were going sideways on both tarmac and dirt. Lagemann never had a chance to rest. The more contact I have with racers, the more respect I gain for what they do!

Later during the weekend, I had the opportunity to drive the track in a Subaru parade, along with blog contributor Erik Mathisen. (Blog contributor Melissa Carlson snapped photographs -- left and below.) Although tamer, a track drive always opens eyes as to what the driver sees and cannot see when circling a road course.

The third and final leg of the round trip was from Cherry Hill, New Jersey (across the Delaware River from Philadelphia), to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Travel across Pennsylvania is always a delight, and I looked forward to this part of the journey as well. 

Random thoughts along the way:

• I have a problem with the sound-barrier walls being built along the roads. I used to commute between Milwaukee and Chicago, and many of the landmarks that I had to measure where I was on my route now are obscured by walls. It detracts significantly from the beauty that could be found on an otherwise monotonous straight, flat drive. I wonder if a study has been done to see if the walls contribute to "highway hypnosis" or fatigue.
• Towns and rivers along the route have names that are fun to pronounce: Monongahela, Cuyahoga, Maumee, Cheektowaga, Chautauqua, Canandaigua, and many others.
• One aspect of the WRX that takes time to learn is how much faster it can accelerate relative to other vehicles. Out of toll booths, I've learned to wait before passing because other drivers don't expect another vehicle to be nearby.
• The WRX also makes an admirable cruiser. It's comfortable and controllable, and so far it has handled all type of weather.
• On the Ohio Turnpike, a wildlife preserve between mile markers 18 and 19 has captured my attention the last few trips east, but I never get all the information from the sign facing the road. I know Ducks Unlimited is involved, though.

-- Ric Hawthorne

 

DP WRX Journal -- Fifth Drive (Fourth Round Trip)

Travel dates: August 20-22, 2010

Purpose: To attend the 2010 Subaru Challenge at Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) in Lafayette, Indiana

Start/Finish: Drive Performance headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Distance:

• According to mapping services -- 470 miles round trip
• Actual (with side trips -- 528.7 miles

Major routes to and from SIA:

• Wisconsin, Illinois: Interstates 94, 90, Chicago Skyway
• Indiana: Interstate 65

Fuel consumption: 21.4 gallons

Mileage: 24.7 mpg

Before setting out, we fitted the DP WRX with a Drive Performance front license plate to help identify it. The plate will remain on display until we wrap the car. The car also has WRX frames around the front and rear plates. 

Notes from the Drive

My wife and son along with my son's friend made the trip to SIA in the DP WRX with me. They managed a booth, handing out Drive Performance T-shirts and magazines, and they talked with attendees about the Subaru Badge of Ownership and encouraged them to vote for the wrap for the DP WRX.

Not only did the car carry our luggage for two days, video games and other teenage diversions, snacks, and a cooler full of water bottles, but also boxes of Drive Performance and Drive magazines, a half-dozen laminated posters, and umbrellas. With careful packing, the WRX Sedan handled it all.

Even though Saturday's autocross started in heavy mist and rain, clear skies and a dry track prevailed later in the day. Having both wet and dry track conditions made the participants' runs all the more interesting. A full image gallery of the day is available on SIA's website. Drive Performance magazine will follow up in Version 7.3, which will be released in mid-November.

Personally, the most exciting part of the day was the exhibition run by Tony Wiesenhahn driving the TurninConcepts time attack car. It wasn't so much the run itself -- although that was impressive to anyone watching -- but that I was a passenger in the car.

This car has evolved from the One Lap of America^TM WRX shown in Version 6.2's Bits & Pieces and Version 6.3's Reverse to the approximately 650-horsepower (at the wheels) beast that it is today.

The weather was working against the run's impressiveness. When we pulled up to the start line, moisture from the sky changed over from a light mist to rain -- with wind. The track was soaked, which is not a good condition for an autocross run with slick tires. Even so, from my point of view in the passenger seat, we took off so fast just fine. It seemed as if Wiesenhahn's car could have launched into flight with the kind of acceleration we experienced. I believe that it's as fast as I've ever taken off from a standing start.

Except for taking out a number of cones, cornering impressions were lost to the overwhelming sensation of acceleration. We were pressed against the seats to the extent that conversation was impossible.

We did two runs, and on the second the car lost an axle shaft. According to the team, they knew the shaft was weak and probably would fail.

The course was short, and the two runs were brief. Too bad we didn't have a clock on it!

-- Ric Hawthorne

   

 

Rallycross -- From the Sidelines

A little more than a month ago, I attended my first road race. I loved it. When I was asked if I wanted to go to New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Millville, New Jersey, for the first-ever sanctioned rallycross in the United States, not only did I say “YES!” but I also started playing "Dirt 2" daily in case I needed to step in for any of the drivers.

 

What is Rally Cross?

 

RallyCar Rallycross consists of several rally-style cars negotiating a road course of roughly 70 percent pavement and 30 percent dirt/gravel. Drivers line up for a standing start and race wheel to wheel over a short course (1.3 miles at NJMP) that features a variety of turns, elevation changes, and transitions between pavement and dirt. Also, each competitor must take a “joker” lap during the race. A joker lap is a small detour (usually includes a jump) that adds a level of unpredictability to the race. Most importantly, drivers must strategize about the best time to take their joker lap.

 

Race Format

 

Quickly, here’s how the races were formatted:

Qualifying races: Three laps, with the fastest lap determining heat race grouping.

Heat races: Three (four lap) races, in which participants were grouped by qualifying time

Drivers then were assigned points based on completed race time in a heat (the better they did, the fewer points they received – like golf).

 

The sum of the driver’s two best (numerically lowest) scores determined their main event placement. Drivers with the lowest scores advanced to the main event, and from there – may the fastest car win.

 

For this particular rallycross we saw two classes: 2WD and AWD. It seemed to me that a few studs in the 2WD class dominated the other drivers – Team O’Neil driver Wyatt Knox and 2007 Rookie of the Year Josh Wimpey. I don’t know if they were just more talented or their cars were better. Regardless, the 2WD races did enough to keep my interest. The real show came from the AWD competitors, who seemed faster and better equipped to handle dirt.

 

Spectating the Race

 

Visibility was limited to a small section of track. The only way we spectators could “see” the entire race was to listen to commentators, engines, and screeching tires and imagine what was happening out of sight. You never really knew which driver jumped into the lead from lap to lap until they came into view.

 

Some drivers approached turns and transitions at such unbelievable speeds that many times I nudged the stranger next to me and yelled, “There is NO WAY this guy is making this turn!” Most of the time, the driver would drift sideways and correct just in time to prove me wrong. Some were not so lucky, and we witnessed spectacular mistakes and close calls. We showered the aggressive drivers with adoration – they were clearly fan favorites – and we waited patiently for the next lap.

 

The Realization

 

I can’t think of any event I’ve seen that could replicate the excitement I felt during the minutes leading up to the AWD A Main Final. I wouldn’t admit it to my friends, but I actually had butterflies in my stomach.

 

 

I certainly wasn’t expecting the race that came next:

Tanner Foust looked so fast all weekend, but I had faith that Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra could push him into making a mistake. On the first lap, Pastrana trailed Foust as they approached the final dirt transition. Pastrana came in too hot and almost flipped his car while slamming into the tire barriers! Dirt flew and the crowd gasped. The race was red-flagged, and we all thought Pastrana’s day was done. Although it was unbelievably exciting, I was devastated.

 

 

But after a quick discussion and damage check of his #199 WRX STI, race officials agreed to let Pastrana race. I couldn’t believe it! The crowd couldn’t believe it! I was on an adrenaline roller coaster.

 

Although Pastrana had new life, he was penalized and restarted in last place. As if catching Foust weren’t enough of a challenge from 2nd place, now he would need to do it from 6th. Pastrana took chances at every opportunity and pushed his car to the limit. Mirra was locked in position battles the entire race. There were moments when I thought both drivers were on the verge of losing control! Pastrana was catching up fast, and Mirra was holding on tight. No one sat down for the final lap. The commentators were yelling, fans were fist pumping, and I think I was jumping up and down with excitement.

 

In the end, a 1st-place finish was not in the books for Pastrana or Mirra. Foust came away with the victory. It was still an amazing race to witness: Mirra ran his race for five laps and pulled out a 3rd-place finish. Pastrana showed his fearlessness and talent by making his way all the way up to 2nd and pushing Foust toward the finish line.

 

There was seemingly nothing left to do but clap for the athletes as they took their cool-down lap, when something special happened. As they coasted in front of the grandstand, the top three drivers decided to break out into a celebration of burnouts and doughnuts. The crowd went crazy.

 

The event made me realize that this race wasn’t about who took 1st, but rather about witnessing this awesome racing genre called rallycross. In the end, the fans won.

 

This was one of the most incredible sporting events I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait for the next round in October, and I hope to see some of you there!

 

  –Erik Mathisen

Rallycross -- Through the Lens

The inaugural RallyCar Rallycross event at New Jersey Motorsports Park August 28 - 29 was filled with plenty of thrills and excitement. The side-by-side racing was a must-see.

Inspection of the initial course was a little disappointing. I expected more dirt sections; instead I saw two little paths off the track and a jump … I thought that was what it was. How wrong those impressions would be.

I spent the first day photographing turn 1 through the second dirt section. Turn 1 appeared that it would be full of action. I was still not clear on how the heats would be run and how drivers would advance, but I knew that a number of drivers trying to get the right line in 1 and going straight into the first dirt section would provide intense action. Well, I saw three-wide racing through that dirt chicane, lines run through tires, 180s and 360s, and unintended off-road racing.

Even with all that action, I was anxious to view the racing through the jump. At first, I thought, jump? That looks like a small incline that won’t prove difficult for any driver to maneuver. Well … after viewing many cars landing front heavy and on back wheels, often there were parts left on the course.

The jump was the perfect spot for watching the finals unfold. Although I could not see the approaching cars, I could follow their course in the dirt clouds that rose above each section they drove. I could hear them speed down the straightway under the Subaru bridge, followed by screeching tires as drivers maneuvered the corner, often in a drift form, and headed for the final dirt section – the jump.

It was amazing watching as two and even three cars tried to maneuver over the jump. The joker section added an extra charge, allowing strategies to be battled on that jump. As the activities heated up, the speed at which the cars took the jump increased and many cars could be viewed with all four wheels in the air; so much for first impressions of this small jump.

I look forward to returning to see the action in November!

 

-- Melissa Carlson