Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall/Winter 2019 | Page 37

everything from supercar tours of Italian wine regions to test days for top rally teams in remote parts of Scandinavia. What they’ve done in their first major venture on this side of the Atlantic is an experience like no other. First, they journey to a lake in Northern Wisconsin. Then, they wait for the lake to ice over. Once the ice is thick enough, they fly in a Swedish chef, set up facilities to stay warm and dry, gather together the fastest Subaru vehicles in the lineup—the WRX, STI and BRZ—and fit them with special Swedish studded tires. Once the track has been designed and plowed to the perfect snow-depth-to-ice ratio, the driving instructors from DirtFish ride shotgun to teach you the techniques and methods to maximize speed (and fun) on the ice. From time to time, special guest instructors make the occasional appearance, including the Subaru Motorsports USA team drivers. One of those drivers is Patrik Sandell. In fact, when he’s not catching serious airtime and spoiling the paintwork of a modified Subaru WRX STI in the ARX Rallycross Championship, he runs FlatOut Sweden alongside his partner, Linnea Sivertsson. We caught up with Patrik to find out about the Subaru Winter Experience. “As I grew up in Northern Sweden and I learned how to drive on frozen lakes, I wanted more people to get the chance to drive flat-out sideways on an ice track,” he says. “So we created FlatOut Sweden, an event company that focuses on winter driving experiences all over the world. In 2018, it was the first year for the Subaru Winter Experience in North America and it’s been a success so far!” six star magazine 35