Isle of Man Record Broken by Subaru WRX STI and Mark Higgins

The Isle of Man is the automotive equivalent of heaven, little to no taxes for that really expensive supercar that your budget can afford but only just and a more ‘liberal’ approach to speeding. However, most avid motorsports fans will be quick to state that the Isle of Man is usually only associated with motorcycle racing and especially the sidecar type.

However, a car lap record has been in place for 21 years on the Isle of Man and that record has now been beaten by a Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Former rally ace Mark Higgins grabbed this tarmac eater by the scruff of the neck and took the WRX STI sedan around the road course in just under 20 minutes, beating the old record by more than two minutes in the process.

Think the Nurburgring is long and has a lot of corners? Think again, as Higgins negotiated over 200 corners at an impressive average speed of excess of 180km/h (112 mph). The lap record also involved going through a number long straights with slight bends.

Subaru of America organized the lap attack as a part of its new campaign which is sponsoring the 2011 Isle of Man TT, currently underway. The previous lap record in a car was held by rally champ Tony Pond in a Rover 827 Vitesse in 1990.

The Japanese carmaker recently signed a three-year deal as the official car sponsor for the TT, providing the latest Subaru models for use by the TT organisation to help manage the running of the event, including the course inspection and roads open and roads closed duties.