The day I became a WRC driver

A little under two weeks ago, I and four other members of the gaming media had the opportunity to visit the Rally School in Como Park to check out a preview of the upcoming DiRT Rally. Now the setting of the preview event was no coincidence as it served as a dual purpose – not only was it to check out Codemasters’ latest offering, but to try our hand at the real thing – real off-road driving in real purpose-built rally vehicles.

It was at this event that I learned two things – one, that I’m going to need some real practice once DiRT Rally releases, but secondly, and perhaps most importantly, that I’m nowhere near as good as a driver as I originally thought I was.

In my defence, I figured that after having driven around Eastern Creek in a V8 Monaro and both tackled a quarter mile and the Wakefield circuit a few times in my own Mazda RX8 that I should be OK behind the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRX STi or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Turns out that hitting the redline through a few gears and muscling your way around a paved track as a means of being ready for rally driving is akin to hitting a punching bag a few times and thinking you can box with Mohammad Ali.

Perhaps enough self-deprecation for the time being and back to the event itself, after 15 minutes of setting up some of the gear for the preview and meeting the staff at the Rally School it was time to get serious about the motorsport that awaited us. The real excitement kicked in as two Imprezas and one Evolution made their way to the start line, with a tractor in the background preparing the course for a few hours of amateur racing ahead.

Things began with a brief tutorial about the basics of first-time rally driving. Keeping hands at 9-and-3 (turns out that the old 10-and-2 is just that folks, old), only opening the throttle once the nose of the car was pointing forward and not just looking at where you were driving but the exit of the corners too, were some of the main points we were given before it was time to tackle the course ourselves. After that, there was a quick indemnity form to sign (you know, in-case one of us got a little too adventurous and died), a pick of either a white or pink hairnet, helmet selection (coincidentally enough, I went with the one with a Mazda sticker on the front) and it was time to get acquainted with the beasts and the dirt that awaited us.

The first car I got into was a blue Subaru. With grace and elegance I weaved past the roll cage and into the passenger’s seat, the rumble of the WRX boxter engine grumping in-front. The car was dusty in-side and out, with no rear seats, no centre console and even a hole or two in the floor behind us allowing for easy access to the dirt beneath, which would be combining with the oxygen in the air in the moments to follow. It was a two-lap tutorial by my co-driver first as a helpful ‘what to do, and not to do in the dirt’, learning the course layout, getting a feel for the track conditions and what kind of situations to try and avoid (e.g. too much power while your still exiting a corner).

Low and beyond we had returned to the start line and it was now time to give it a shot for myself. With the rest of the staff and media to my right and the pressure of not wanting to stall the car and look like a fool, I gave it a little gas and it was onto the track we went. “OK into second now, great. OK, into third. Yup, now into fourth.” Going through the gears, picking up speed, the sound of dirt, rocks and debris hitting the undercarriage of the car, the sight of trees to our right passing quickly and the constant shaking of the steering wheel as the loose ground underneath tries to take control of the vehicle. Put simply, off-road racing is unlike anything else. We approached our first corner, onto the brakes, onto the clutch, from fourth into third. Back on the brakes and back into second, I turned in. I could feel the dust underneath and the tyres pushing through.

It’s was incredibly hot the day before so there wasn’t a drop of moisture about, but even in dry conditions the dust and dirt proved challenging enough. Back up into third and approaching an S-curve, watching to avoid clipping the mounds of rock on either side of the car, I exited the corner and approached the upcoming hill. Shifting up into fourth and tapping the brakes slightly before hitting the crest, over the hill and into the final bend of the course. Down into third, down into fourth. Dammit. I had missed the gear, lost speed and momentum. Left foot down, back into second (properly this time) and exiting the corner. A bit too much throttle as a by-product of my own embarrassment and the arse of the Subaru slightly came out. Nothing significant, but powersliding doesn’t bring good lap times. Back onto the home straight again and time for the next lap.

I had another four laps or so of the circuit, feeling a little more confident each time although still missing second and shifting back into fourth more times than I’d like to admit. I’m constantly wanting to go that bit faster but also having to fight the nerves whenever the car would be pulled off the preferred line as the dirt tried to force us down its own path. Like I said before, I’ve driven on race tracks before, but there it’s fairly simple, the car will grip and it’ll go in the direction you want it to. Off-roading, if you’re not on the hard rock of the track and instead in the loose dirt, the car is always going a little to the left or right, it’s just a whole other experience.

After a short wait it was time to try my hand at the Mitsubishi Evolution and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was my preferred car. It felt a little tighter, I didn’t cock-up with the gears as much and overall just provided for a better drive. Perhaps though it was just due to the fact it was now my second time around the course.

With all of us having tried our hand behind the wheels of both cars it was time to try them each one again on the alternate and tighter course – with even more trees and dirt than the first. In the Subaru again, all those challenging elements of the first session came back. Throttle and steering control and waiting until you’re out of the loose dirt and back onto the harder ground before giving it power were key with making our way around. There was a saying by the late Colin McRae, “when it doubt, flat out”, but there was no doubt in my mind – flat out was most certainly not an option here.

I will share one more embarrassing moment from the day’s driving. Whilst driving around the second track in the Lancer my co-driver kept telling me to take corners without braking (which, keep in mind, is almost impossible for a non-professional when self-preservation tells you that it’s just not possible), and there was one particularly tight corner where he told me to downshift only and keep my steering tight. Well, I did downshift only but turned in too late and had a slight date with the dirt mound on the side of the course. We didn’t crash and I was able to drive out, but needless to say, I downshifted and braked before that corner the next time around.

Approaching the end of the event, each of us were taking for two hot laps around the entire circuit by Australian Rally Championship driver, Molly Taylor. It was, to put it quite simply, the greatest display of finesse and skill that I’ve seen behind a car. There was no hesitation as we tackled each of the corners (often sideways) and snapped through the gears, the sound of wheel spin and debris underneath the chassis. When I was watching Molly take the other writers around you could hear the squeal from the tyres on the course as if it was on a paved road. It was incredible.

I left the event saying that I might be content if that was the last time I ever drive a rally vehicle myself, but to be the passenger while someone of that calibre is behind the wheel, yeah, I’d 100% do that again. Now though, two weeks later, I still stand by the last part of that sentence, but I’m kind of itching to do it again myself. Maybe next time though I’ll won’t miss second.

A very special thanks to the great staff at the Rally School for having us, Molly Taylor for the amazing display of racing and Bandai Namco Australia for putting it all together.