Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall/Winter 2019 | Page 6

SUBARU 360°
SUBARU 360°
EXTREME
CROSSTREK RACER
CONQUERS TOUGH TERRAIN
PHOTO: BY ART EUGENIO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
T
wo years ago, within the pages of this very magazine,
we featured a story on three different Subaru
Crosstreks that had been modified for off-road racing
and rallying. Earlier this year, the Subaru Crosstrek
Desert Racer earned its first-ever class win at the Baja
500, pushing through difficult conditions to dominate
Class 5.
Any form of motorsport is all about the search
for an “unfair advantage”—this is what it means when
manufacturers, teams and drivers look for every possible
angle to gain an edge on the competition, all while staying
within the confines of the appropriate rules and regulations.
In the world of rallying and off-road racing, all-wheel drive
quickly established itself as an unfair advantage—and
Subaru Symmetrical Full-Time AWD may just be the most
unfair advantage of all.
Desert racing is known for being an incredibly grueling
form of motorsport and this year’s Baja 500 highlighted the
reasons why that’s the case. A punishing, 830-kilometre
route that starts and finishes in downtown Ensenada, the
Baja 500 is renowned for taking its toll on competitors and
equipment alike—a test probably never imagined by the
majority of Crosstrek owners in Canada.
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Partnering with Southern California-based racecar
builder Crawford Performance and Grabowski Brothers
Racing (GBR), Subaru of America commissioned the Subaru
Crosstrek Desert Racer to compete in the Baja 500 back in
2017. A year later, the team enjoyed success at the 2018
“Vegas to Reno,” the longest off-road race in America.
This victory gave the father-son pairing of Neal and Dusty
Grabowski the confidence needed to compete at the Baja
500 with their sights set high.
By the midway point of the event, the team had built
a substantial lead over the other Class 5 competitors,
but drama was on the horizon. Just 25 kilometres from
the finish, the Grabowskis took a wrong turn and found
themselves in a ravine, but they were able to power out and
preserve the win after 16 hours of hard racing.
“Winning at Baja is a dream for anyone who races in the
desert,” said Dusty Grabowski. “This was a tough one—the
conditions were a major challenge, especially getting
caught in the ravine so close to the finish and wondering
if we’d be able to get out.” The Grabowskis plan to return
to Mexico for the Baja 1000 eventually, the first time the
Subaru Crosstrek Desert Racer would compete in one of
the most notorious off-road races in history.