Subaru WRX STI smashes Man TT lap record
Former British rally champ sets a new production-car benchmark at a circuit best known for its annual bike racing festivalSubaru has set a new lap record for a production car at the daunting Isle of Man TT circuit with its Subaru WRX STI sedan, smashing the record set 21 years ago by Tony Pond in a Rover 827 Vitesse.
The new benchmark of 19min 56.7sec was set with former British rally champion Mark Higgins at the wheel of the Subie, slashing more than two minutes off the time set by Pond in 1990.
The lap time equates to an average speed of 182km/h with a peak speed of 261km/h; and what makes the feat all the more remarkable is that the TT event organisers allowed Higgins no practice runs, which meant he had only one crack at nailing it.
What's more, the WRX STI was equipped with a showroom-spec 221kW boxer engine, standard brakes and road-legal Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tyres.
In fact, the only modifications made to the car were allegedly minor adjustments to the springs and dampers to enable it to negotiate the several jumps and surface irregularities throughout the course.
Going flat-strap at the unforgiving Man TT circuit – which affords zero in the way of run-off areas – seems pure lunacy on a 300km/h-plus superbike, but it was no cakewalk in the STI either, with Higgins pulling off a miraculous 240km/h save that he describes as "the biggest moment of my life".
It's hair-raising stuff, with the action captured in this video posted by America's Road & Track magazine (watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jSYiU-JdRw).
After completing the record attempt, Higgins said, "Setting the record was both the most exhilarating and the most frightening thing I have ever done."
The Snaefell Mountain Course – over which the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy motorcycle races are run – measures 60.7km in length and throws up over 200 perilous bends while climbing from sea level to an altitude of over 1300 feet (396m).
The circuit has been described as the "epitome of the natural road course", as all the roads used are ordinary public highways closed for the racing and practice sessions.
Traditionally held in the last week of May and the first week of June, the TT races have a carnival atmosphere, with picnicking crowds flanking the circuit reminiscent of the Tour de France cycle race.
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