Rookie Year
MY FIRST YEAR ADVENTURE IN RALLY CROSS.
2016 marked my first year competing in SCCA Rally Cross and boy was it one for the books. My first experience was in February as a spectator. I was able to ride along with Mike, a fellow Subaru enthusiast, in his 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. This machine was built for rally cross which made my experience top notch. I knew after that ride along that I wanted to be apart of the action. At the time I was driving a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek, The Hoveroo.
The Hoveroo wasn't just any Crosstrek, it was a high flying, rumble having, 5-speed shifting, want to be STI. Since the car had already taken flight and been slightly damaged, I figured why not rally cross it. My first event behind the wheel took place almost a month later. From that moment on I was absolutely hooked and couldn't get enough.
In the few events I competed in with the Hoveroo, I felt as if I was doing pretty good. It was hard to compare my skills to anything though. My competition in a stock class was an EVO and WRX.... Yeah... But the Crosstrek's life in rally cross was short lived. I traded the car in a few months later and was now without a rally car. I spectated a handful of events but was itching to get back behind the wheel. At this very time, the luckiest of events happened. Mike had just purchased a new 2.5 RS and was selling his old one. The same car that gave me my first personal rally cross experience was now for sale and I was not going to miss the opportunity to purchase it.
After swapping a few JDM pieces over to his new RS I became the new owner of this beautiful beast. The next week was my first rally cross event in the RS. Competing in this car gave me a new found love for the sport. A fellow driver who had been co-driving with Mike continued to drive with me. He is very seasoned so I was glad to be able to take any advice he could give me.
A couple events later, we decided to take the car to the SCCA Rally Cross National Championship in Indianola, IA. This was my first time at an event of this caliber. It was an awesome and eye opening experience. In the end my co-driver finished 4th and I finished 7th out of 14 drivers. Being the fact that I had only competed in the car 3 times now, I felt pretty content with how I did. Another 2.5 RS had taken first in the Prepared All Wheel Drive class (The class we drive in), and having my co-driver finish 4th up against an EVO and STI, really showed me the potential this car has.
Since Nationals, I bought a trailer and a new tow rig. I have been trying to make it to every event within reasonable distance. I even was able to be an Event Master at the NRSCCA's last event of the year. The main benefit of being the EVM was I designed the course. I was able to run the fastest times of the day, but I also had a little extra practice the day before... Currently the RS is sitting in storage waiting for an event to head to. I am very optimistic for next season and cannot wait to get out there.
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