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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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Team O'Neil offering two-day women's only rally class [w/video]

Zach Bowman — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Off-Road, Racing

Team O'Neil has something special lined up for next month. The home of perfecting the art of rally driving on the East Coast will offer a special women's two-day school August 18-19. The class will feature all of the standard classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel training with the school's regular instructors, as well as input from a couple of special guests who know more than a little bit about competing as a woman. Verena Mei, a former Formula D and Redline Time Attack driver and Christy Carlson, a National SCCA Solo champion, will both be on hand to instruct, encourage and answer any questions.

Carlson first crossed paths with Team O'Neil back in 2008, when she won a three-day course from the school while competing in SCCA. When she's not working on her dissertation in a quest to complete her PhD in Meteorology and Climatology, she's been busy in the SCCA rally world. She's also the first and only woman to walk away with a trophy at the SCCA Rallycross National Championships and was the quickest female at both Sno*Drift and the 100 Acre Woods events this year.

"There are lots of women who would love to take the course just as it is," Carlson said, "but with a women's only course, it gives women the opportunity to not feel like they have to compete."

The school will cover basics like left foot braking, using the throttle to steer the vehicle, accident avoidance, types of skids and the basics of weight transfer and pendulum turns.

"Both myself and Verena Mei will be there to help sit with the drivers and provide additional insight on techniques as female competitors."

The whole package will cost $1,897, and will include vehicles, safety equipment and lunch on Saturday. Head over to Team O'Neil site for more information. Watch Carlson lay waste to the 100 Acre Wood in her 2002 Subaru WRX by scrolling below.

While Team O'Neil is technically the first rally school in the country to offer an exclusively female curriculum, word has it other rally schools are set to do the same. Both Rally Ready in Austin, Texas and DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Washington are reportedly working on similar programs. Stay tuned.

Continue reading Team O'Neil offering two-day women's only rally class [w/video]

Team O'Neil offering two-day women's only rally class [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:57:00 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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