Subaru TT 2011

Manx rally star, and official 2011 Subaru Rally Team USA driver, David Higgins, will be the driver on the closed road car lap. He is a two-time US Rally Champion, as well as 2004 British Rally Champion.

Commenting on the closed road demonstration lap he said:

“Having grown up on the Isle of Man I understand that the TT Races has a mythical status and an incredible heritage and I am looking forward to adding another chapter to its history.”

“The Mountain Course represents a stunning drive, but for once I’m not going to have much chance to take in the views.”

As part of the deal, Subaru will also receive full trackside branding throughout the TT, programme and race guide advertising plus promotion and banners on the official TT website.

Economic Development Minister Allan Bell said:

“This is a really strong commercial deal for the TT Races that will also open up some excellent promotional opportunities for the event and the Isle of Man and highlights how strong the TT now is as a global sporting property.”

“I am delighted that we have attracted a sponsor as prestigious as Subaru and we look forward to building a long-term partnership with the company.”

Isle of Man Tourism political member Geoff Corkish added:

“The name Subaru has become synonymous with rally success on the Isle of Man and we look forward to welcoming them in such an integral role in the TT Races.”

Subaru TT 2011

Subaru has been appointed Official Car Partner of the Isle of Man TT, fuelled by Monster Energy, in a major coup for the Isle of Man Government’s Department of Economic Development.

The three-year deal will see the car giant provide its latest models for use by the TT organisation to help manage the running of the event, including the course inspection and roads open and closed duties.

The popular Subaru range includes the Legacy sedan, Outback, Forester and Impreza models, and the marquee has a rich rally heritage. Subaru enjoys massive global sales – setting a new sales record in 2010 – and an outstanding reputation for performance, safety, practicality and reliability, as well as world-beating technology such as the Boxer engine and all-wheel-drive system.

As part of the sponsorship, Subaru will also be involved in a closed road demonstration lap around the iconic 37¾ mile Mountain Course at this year’s TT.

Rally legend Tony Pond was the last driver to drive a closed road car lap of the course, in 1990.



Watch a clip of Tony Pond’s TT Mountain course lap

100 Acre wood

The dust has settled on the 100 Acre Wood Rally, and I for one am happy to get our first proper points on the board!

The Missouri stages were probably the most enjoyable stages I have ever been on. Fast, smooth and flowing, they were everything a gravel rally should be. Competing on such stages with a driver of David’s caliber was also a first for me, and in many ways subjected me to a new level of rally speed. After the first proper stage of the rally, my comment to David of “Well, you are certainly no slouch on gravel!” summed up my initial feelings!

The Friday night stages proved to be a tough start, with brake problems slowing us and although we were close to Antoine L’Estage, we couldn’t quite match him. The Superspecial stages were short but fun, and, due to torrential rain on the previous day, Stages 2 & 4 had to be replaced with Stage 11 because part of the transit section was flooded.

Our Subaru Rally Team USA mechanics – Shaun, Brando and John – did a fantastic job as usual during the service halt and changed our gearbox and rear-diff with minimum fuss, and with the car feeling much more driveable, we were looking forward to the Saturday stages.

Saturday morning started with a very busy Parc Expose in Salem, with plenty of Subaru fans on hand asking for autographs and photo’s with David and Dave Mirra!

We decided to have a good push on the first loop of Saturday’s stages, although unfortunately all did not go to plan. On the first stage of the day, we went off the road at the end of a very fast straight after a communication error, and were very lucky not to incur any damage after landing on top of a tree stump. Fortinately the car reversed off the stump with no damage but we dropped about 18 seconds. We also experienced a drowned car after a watersplash which dropped us more valuable time.

The rest of the day saw David and myself gel more and more with each stage, and although we charged hard after Antoine, we couldn’t do quite enough to catch him, although we did halve his lead by the time we finished in Salem.

Overall it was a very good weekend for the Subaru USA Rally Team, with our team-mates Dave Mirra and Marshall Clarke following us onto the podium in 3rd Overall. I can honestly say that 2011, so far, has been my most enjoyable year in rallying. And the best thing? We are only a third of the way through the season!!