Subiesport Magazine - November 2008 - (Page 50)

X GAMES 14 SOMETHING RARELY FOUND IN RALLY: THE PAVEMENT SURFACES OFFERED GRIP! got cars in it too, but it’s not like normal cars, it’s like dangerous, flying, rolling cars!’” The weekend would show this to be a prescient observation. Tanner Foust – this year running a Rockstarsponsored 2007 STI – wasn’t too concerned about the surface changes, but did note the presence of a phenomenon not often seen in rally. “The most substantial surface issue is that as we practice more and more, the rubber’s getting laid down, and the rubber is adding quite a bit of traction.” Foust was picking the 2008 STIs as his main competition for the gold, but foresaw setup issues for them. “I think they’re a bit harder against a certain wall than we are, which is to set the car up to be balanced on the pavement turns, but don’t stiffen the rear end so much that you end up doing a front flip on the jump,” he said. FROM THE STRONG SHOWING AT THIS YEARS TANNER FOUST AND CHRISSIE BEAVIS ROCKSTAR RALLY TEAM MADE A X GAMES. “It’s a bit tricky with those cars because they can really kick the back end up in the air with that shorter suspension travel they have back there.” As the weekend approached, with the practice days over and several runs each under their belts, the drivers and co-drivers set about a busy schedule of Los Angeles parties and sponsor events while the teams put the finishing touches to the cars – some even gaining complete new liveries overnight. The power of live TV apparently brings the sponsors out of the woodwork. Sunday morning soon rolled around, though, and with it the teams’ first look at the jump that they’d be attacking later that day – in front of an audience of millions. The atmosphere down on the stadium floor was busy but relaxed. Ken Block was watching the final adjustments being made to the takeoff and landing ramps with interest. “The guy that built this is the same guy that built it last year, and the same guy that built my [Discovery Channel show] Stunt Junkies jump, so he’s very, very good at building this stuff for us,” he said. Block would be the guinea pig for the jump, but he was by no means complacent. “We’re gonna go out and test it before anybody else goes to make sure the speed for this one is the same as the test jump. You never know, the first time going over is always the scariest time, it really is.” The best speed to leave the takeoff ramp seemed to vary by driver and car, but the average was a surprisingly sedate 45mph. For the sake of comparison, even though the jump for the Stunt Junkies show 50 NOVEMBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Subiesport Magazine - November 2008

Subiesport Magazine - November 2008 Contents Editor Letters Readers’ Rides New Products Subaru News 2009 WRX Test Drive Back on Easy Street Brothers in Boost Treasure Island ESPN X Games 14 Subiefest 3 Subie Extravaganza WWJCD WRC Rally Finland WRC Rally Deutschland Rally America: Ojibwe Forest Rally America: Colorado Where to buy Subiesport Orange Invasion - Europe 2007 STI Intake Test Dreadnought Widebody Install p2 Ad Directory Spotted!

Subiesport Magazine - November 2008

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