On Saturday, rally driver and Isle of Man TT veteran Mark Higgins demolished his record on the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course with a 17-minute 49-second lap. On Monday, he went all out and broke the record once again.
I won’t be beating around the bush, so here are the numbers: 17 minutes, 35 seconds, and 139 milliseconds, 128.73 miles per hour (207.17 km/h) on average. In other words, Mark Higgins outdid himself by more than 14 seconds and 1.75 miles per hour (2.83 km/h) on average.
“It was an amazing run today considering we were running in very hot conditions and the tarmac was quite soft. With lower temperatures we would be making more horsepower, so I still believe we have more left in terms of speed, but it is great to have another record in the bank,” declared Higgins. “The chassis on this new car is fantastic to drive. It makes a difference driving a car custom designed for this course. It really allowed me to pick up time in each sector in the more technical parts of the course.”
This is the second of three attempts the rally driver is scheduled to make on the Snaefell Mountain Course. The third is slated to take place on Friday. We’re keeping our fingers crossed Higgins will break the Isle of Man TT lap record once again, the third time in less than a week. When all is said and done, the second most important element in breaking the record after the driver’s raw talent and bravery is, of course, his modified Subaru WRX STI.
The car you’re looking at has been jointly developed by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International, and Prodrive. As one would expect, this is far from the road-legal WRX STI you can buy from your nearest Subaru dealership. The Subaru WRX STI Time Attack, as it was christened, wears BTCC-spec slicks. Better still, the car is motivated by a WRC-spec 2.0-liter boxer that pushes between 500 and 600 horsepower and roughly 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of grunt.
Because much of the Isle of Man TT course is spent at full throttle, the car boasts a drag reduction system that’s operated by pressing a button on the dashboard. In the twisties, the rear wing is in full attack mode for better traction in and out the corner. Taken as a whole, the modded Scooby is a serious bit of kit.
Look forward to more news on Mark Higgins and his Subaru WRX STI Time Attack on Friday.
UPDATE: Here's a clip from Prodrive with the best moments from the flat-out run.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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