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I haven't kept you all updated on this, but Carlos (RenMaxi) has been granted the fantastic opportunity of driving my dealership's 2008 WRB WRX hatch as a rally car to compete in regional and national SCCA-sanctioned rally events.

He obviously has Sport Subaru as a sponsor, but he has also managed to acquire Rally Armor mudflaps and Total-Elf lubricants as sponsors as well, as you can see from the decals on the car.

He actually already rallied the car at a regional event in Tampa last month, but I wasn't able to attend, so I didn't get any pictures.

But I was able to go to this one, and I was actually his pit crew as well, so I have a full report.

Here is the car getting teched before the event:


Unfortunately, the Homestead rally takes place on a gravel lot, which looks like this:


It is absolute MURDER on the car and tires, so we made sure to tape the car up very well before running the rally:



The car basically escaped unscathed, but consider that we entered the rally with a brand-new set of tires, and here's what they looked like afterwards:


Yet we prevailed, and took 1st in class (which was stock all-wheel-drive), and got 6th overall.


Now... I have a little confession to make. I've talked a lot of crap about the new generation of Impreza, and while a lot of things still don't sit right with me (I'm sure you all know what they are), I must vouch for the car's performance and durability. This event was a 3½ hour drive away from Orlando, and the car made it down to the rally, competed formidably, and returned back to Orlando without missing a beat. No shakes, no shimmies, nothing broken, not even a Check Engine Light.

I was thoroughly impressed, and can't help but recommend the car to someone looking for a competitive vehicle for amateur motorsport.

The car will also be competing in the next Tampa event, which is this coming weekend. I will be there competing myself in my Legacy, although I know I don't stand a chance against Carlos

Judging by the prep level of the car (no cage), and the cones, I'm guessing you mean rally cross.

Car looks good, and you didn't seem to break anything!

Congratulations on the 1st. in Class.

Yeah, sorry, I meant rallycross. It wasn't a staged rally.

Actually, after all the tape came off the car, there weren't any significant scratches or dents or dings, so everything worked out well.

I'll report back after the Tampa rallycross tomorrow.

I guess the softer suspension all the car magazines are yelling about doesn't both you too much on the gravel

Just curious, what was the competition?

There was a guy with an 08 at the rallyx I went to last weekend. Apparently he really didn't like how it handled and said the rear was just kind of floating around.

Well, Carlos has absolutely zero complaints about the handling. And with his experience, I take his word for it.

Anyway, I ran my Legacy at the event in Tampa Sunday as promised. Although it was actually a rather complex course (not only very tight and technical sections, but we even ran on an oval dirt course!), I was getting the hang of it...

... until the car started overheating!

I damn near shat myself, but I was basically just pushing the car too hard. I actually had put 2 gallons of 100-oct race gas in for the event, and I guess the car had adjusted well to it because it was running really strong... too strong for the original 182k-mile radiator I guess. I just put some water in it and drove it home nice and easy without a problem. So I'm probably just gonna put a new radiator in it and see how that works.

Nonetheless, despite a puncture on his first run (how ironic that we got through Homestead, the tire-destroyer, with no punctures), it appears as though Carlos has won the event, in class and overall. The numbers haven't officially been punched yet, but it appears that way at least at this point.

No pictures of my car are up yet, but this one is of Carlos:



I'll post again as I get more info and pics.

Sorry for the delay in updating...

Carlos did indeed win the rally overall.

Here's a few choice pictures from the event, of both him and me:









Oh yes... there was drifting. If my dumb-ass can drift on the small oval as you see in the last picture, then anyone can do it. The facility is absolutely amazing. I've never had that much fun at a rallycross.

Carlos also wants to make clear to the Subaru community how capable this new car is. Remember, this car that he's running is stock. The only mod, if you can call it that, is the removal of the rear muffler. It's still on street tires even. He loves the response from the engine thanks to the lower boost, and he has no complaints about the handling whatsoever. He even said after this rally that it is his favorite car that he's ever driven in his entire career.

The entire gallery of pictures can be seen here: http://www.floridaracing.org/auto-x/eastbayrally030208/

Had another event at Tampa today. I didn't run, but Carlos did... and won again

Here's some pics...



This is one of our own members actually, although he said he doesn't post much...



And a couple of Carlos:

That was me in the white legacy... I cracked a plastic endtank on my radiator on my 5th run, so i had to leave early. But I had a blast and my times were decent for being my first event! Powersliding in the wet was amazing Did you upload your pics anywhere? I'd like to see the ones you took!

Oh, and I don't have any contact info for Carlos, but if you see him, tell him I'll just get my helmet back at the ERS event in May, and to hold it for me until then I completely forgot he had it when I left to fix my radiator. My bad...