~ by Daniel Demaras ~
I’ve been to Race Lab at Millhaven Quarry a couple times now. It’s always fun to venture into the very foreign world of off-road performance driving, where so many of the lessons learned in road racing go out the window. All of a sudden, being sideways is good, and you have to be much more active at the wheel, controlling the car through the gravel and dirt. But after three sessions in a naturally aspirated Subaru Impreza, I was eager to see what this rallycross course felt like going much faster.
Enter ‘Disaster’ the highly customized, rally-prepped 2007 Subaru WRX Sti driven by Crazy Leo. While the overall shape and portions of the interior don’t look too different from my daily driver, a 2003 WRX, this car bears little resemblance from a performance standpoint.
On the outside, the 18″ wheels have been swapped out for 15″ units with high-profile tires to allow for better absorption of bumpy terrains. The STi has a hood scoop, roof scoop and a big wing on the back. On the inside, there’s a massive gear shift and handbrake, and where the “infotainment centre” on a modern car has been replaced with a cluster of switches, dials and buttons. The driver can adjust differential maps and turbocharger anti-lag to fine-tune grip and power application. As I got belted into the passenger-side race seat, it was clear this was a different animal.
On the course, it is clear that Leo is a professional, at one with his vehicle. We absolutely flew into the first corner, and drifted around the outside of the windmill, powering through the corners I took earlier at about half the speed.
Sharp left into the tarmac section, Leo drove hard into the corner, slammed on the brakes, and then used the handbrake to get rotated. Coming down the hill into the quarry we drifted through the off camber turn, before getting back on the power and jumping over the little hill down into the twisty section.
I couldn’t believe the speed he was taking these turns with, and the controlled chaos of his driving. The car constantly felt like it was ready to spin out, but it never did. Leo would slide the Subaru until he didn’t need to anymore, and accelerate away. Through the final part of the course, I saw a tree along the right side of the course, and watched in shock as he drove through it, the rally car just brushing away by the branches at high speed.
I have long believed that in order to compete in rally racing, one has to be a lunatic. I’ve watched WRC videos in awe at the speed they carry through the tight and low-grip courses. However, sitting shotgun with a champion rally driver and actually experiencing the ride took the feeling to another level. Leo confirmed this when he told me that the course we did was “only 30% excitement” compared to the other places he’s driven. It certainly felt more exciting than that!
To anyone planning on taking a Race Lab advanced driving course, I would strongly recommend coughing up the extra money for a ‘shotgun ride’ with Crazy Leo.