Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 40

MOTORSPORT
The origins of rallycross date back to the late-1960s, but
the sport really took off in the mid-1980s. This was when
the infamous FIA Group B rally cars were banned due to
several bad accidents, some involving uncontrolled crowds
of spectators. Gnarly. From that point on, these rally cars
were only allowed to compete in rallycross—often situated
inside stadiums, the tracks provided adequate space for all
that crazy horsepower and wild handling. Patrik Sandell and, as a bit of a last-minute surprise, the final
car was steered by former Formula One World Champion
Jacques Villeneuve.
Rallycross tended to be a European-only discipline until
the late-2000s, when interest picked up in North America.
There were several evolutions of the sport that catered to the
North American palette, including running as an X Games
event for a few years. These competitions featured huge jumps
with crowd-pleasing levels of carnage. Now, we have a stable
and burgeoning Americas Rallycross Championship (ARX)
and a well-established global series, the FIA World Rallycross
Championship. The bodywork is almost entirely made of aerospace-grade
composite. The suspension is both reinforced and simplified
for quick repair and adjustment. A gigantic air duct feeding
the radiator which lives in the trunk. Weird, I know. But it’s
all there for good reason, and boy does it work. Having over
600 horsepower on tap doesn’t hurt either.
These two series ran in tandem over the course of an epic
race weekend in Trois-Rivières, Québec, this past August.
The event was part of the GP3R race festivities, which take
place over two consecutive weekends on one of Canada’s
truly legendary street tracks.
In the age of short news cycles and even shorter attention
spans, rallycross is an ideal form of motorsports. The races
don’t last long, typically between five and eight laps. The
competitors run through four qualification heats, a semi-
final and a final race; the final features the top three from
each semi-final for a total of six cars.
No endurance needed here—rallycross is full intensity
from start to finish.
For yours truly, an absolute rally fanboy, the GP3R weekend
was a fantastic experience. The World Rally Championship
races featured none other than Petter Solberg, the former
World Rally Champion and Subaru team leader, as well as
7-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.
The ARX race featured featured three cars running under
the Subaru of America banner. One of the modded WRX
STIs was piloted by the aforementioned Chris Atkinson,
another belonged to former Junior World Rally Champion
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On the surface of it, the Subaru rallycross car looks a bit
like the WRX STI. And the cars still feature the famous EJ-
based SUBARU BOXER engine and the Subaru Symmetrical
Full-Time AWD that we all know and love. But that’s where
the similarities end.
This Subaru is a rocketship on wheels. By far the most
exciting part of the car is the launch control system; Used
to catapult the car off the start line, it sounds like pure anger
and helps these rally crossers accelerate faster than any other
race car on the planet. You think a stock WRX STI is quick?
This car cuts the 0-100 km/h time in half! Insanity.
But the racing was a bit of a mixed bag for the Subaru of
America team. Strong semi-final results landed Atkinson and
Sandell in the six-car final. For our country’s only F1 champ,
it was no such luck: Despite his natural talent, Villeneuve
had limited practice time and a few mechanical issues. A
combination that kept him out of the final. But two out of
three ain’t bad at this level of competition.
A strong showing in the final landed Sandell in fourth and
Atkinson in fifth. Deteriorating conditions in the dirt section
meant that the teams were struggling to find traction, and the
Subarus were no different. It perhaps wasn’t the result they
were hoping for, but that’s life sometimes. Only one person
gets the cookie—the rest have to fight over the crumbs.
So, we did end up meeting our heroes. Okay, not really. But
we watched them drive, which is good enough for me. Was
it worth it? You bet. The GP3R weekend is now officially on
the annual list of cannot-miss car events for me. If you’re a
gearhead like me—and I suspect you might be if you’ve made
it this far—trust me, this is a good one.