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Up close and personal with David Higgins' 2012 Subaru WRX STI Rally Car [w/video]

Zach Bowman — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Performance, Videos, Hatchback, Subaru, Racing

Riding Shotgun With The Four-Time Rally America Champ

There's nothing quite like the sound of a high-strung boxer engine in full rage. Each dip of the throttle sends the opposed four-pot barking and popping like some sort of caffeinated prehistoric beast as David Higgins shoots his very unique 2012 Subaru WRX STI through a tight section of chicanes on the back side of the DirtFish Rally School's 315-acre playground. He's traveling at the approximate speed of a Japanese bullet train, if bullet trains spent the majority of their time sideways and on ball bearings.

An hour ago, this car was cleaner than a sundress on Sunday.

The cacophony can likely be heard all the way from Snoqualmie Valley to the hipster bars in downtown Seattle, but situated as I am in the passenger side of the car, all I hear is the rush of gravel pelting the machine's underbelly and my own laughter. Higgins has just sent his hyperactive triceratops pirouetting around a teardrop-shaped hairpin, pivoting the nose on a group of photographers at the apex. He took time to give the group a friendly thumbs-up before grabbing another gear and leaving them all in a cloud of Washington State silt.

An hour ago, this car was cleaner than a sundress on Sunday, meticulously prepared by the guys at Vermont SportsCar. We caught up with the team who built the machine that Higgins drove to his fifth Rally America Championship win last month for a look at what makes this car so damn fast.

Continue reading Up close and personal with David Higgins' 2012 Subaru WRX STI Rally Car [w/video]

Up close and personal with David Higgins' 2012 Subaru WRX STI Rally Car [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ken Block revisits Twin Peaks to test his Fiesta on gravel

Noah Joseph — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Ford, Celebrities

You know you want another one of Ken Block's trademark hoonage videos, don't you? Of course you do. And so we're glad to oblige. But, Ken Block being Ken Block, "just another" video wouldn't do. No, he and his crew at the Monster World Rally Team have to make each episode count. And that requires a certain measure of creativity.

For this latest three-minute clip, Block and company headed to the Dirtfish Rally School in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington. That may not mean anything to you now, but do you remember Twin Peaks? Dirtfish is based in the very same location where the popular early-90s TV show was shot. Block and his team headed there to test out the new Ford Fiesta HFHV on gravel for the first time, and were kind enough to bring along a video crew to, um... "document" the process. Follow the jump to go fire walking with Block and crew.

Continue reading Ken Block revisits Twin Peaks to test his Fiesta on gravel

Ken Block revisits Twin Peaks to test his Fiesta on gravel originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DirtFish Rally School draws the ire of neighbors

Zach Bowman — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Government/Legal

Unless you suffer from the kind of neurological defect that causes you to turn into a grinning fool every time you hear an engine bounce off of its limiter, you might not be entirely happy to have a rally school set up shop next door. DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Washington has made a name for itself as one of the best venues in the country to learn your way around a steering wheel, but according to The Sno Valley Star, not everyone's thrilled with the institution's success.

Local residents have complained of noise from both cars and the school's PA system after DirtFish recently hosted the Global RallyCross for ESPN. The school obtained a special two-day permit from local authorities for the event.

DirtFish president Ross Bentley said that the event was within the county's noise limits, and that all operations had ceased by 6 p.m. the evening of the RallyCross. Most days, events wrap up at 5 p.m. or earlier. Legitimate problem or much ado about nothing? Feel free to sound off (pun sadly intended...) in the Comments.

[Source: Sno Valley Star]

DirtFish Rally School draws the ire of neighbors originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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