The Real Deal

Posted on 21. Nov, 2008 by Dean in Tall Pines 2008

Each year, we look forward to Tall Pines. As media, we each get a chance to sit down in the right seat of a rally car as part of the media rides program. This year, Erik Ockwell and I got to ride with some of the best. I hopped in with Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, while Erik hopped in his brother's seat alongside Subaru Rally Team Canada driver and current Canadian Rally Champion, Pat Richard. Ever wanted to know what it's like to ride in a top flight car? Read on.

“I've only had four hours of sleep,
and I was feeling like crap yesterday, so this isn't exactly the best
conditions for this.” These are the words out of Ken Block as we're
on our way for a ride on the shakedown stage. It's about ten degrees
below zero, and we're riding on gravel tires. It's not very
confidence inspiring.

Last year, Alan Ockwell sat in with Ken
Block to help guide him through the shakedown stage, and told me that
Ken was perhaps the most committed driver he'd ever co-driven with
before. This was going to be a treat. Despite the conditions, the
tires were actually a good choice, as the surface of the stage was
like sandpaper. As the marshal counted us down at the start line, the
car bounced off the launch control, ready to go.

We pounced forward from the line,
diving into the first corner. Ken, who'd said he was only going to
drive at about seven tenths, was already driving hard, and his
commitment was plain to see. We launched over the first jump, totally
airborne, and practically catapulted over the second. We barreled
towards a left three at the end of the straight, Ken with the car
sideways, just waiting for the corner to catch up.

We got to the end of the stage almost
before I knew it, and the ride was done. It was easily one of the
most exhilarating rides on that stage I'd ever had, and the list
includes rides with Frank Sprongl and Tom McGeer. For Rally Radio
host Erik Ockwell, it was his first ride in a fully prepped, top end
car.

Here are Erik's thoughts on a ride with
2008 Canadian Rally Champion, Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Pat
Richard.

Despite my 25 years of rally
experience, I've never ridden in a top spec rally car. That's right,
I'm a noob. Never caught air, never heard anti-lag from the inside,
rarely witnessed proper left foot braking. Vanos is pretty good, so
he's excluded, but nothing else compares.

After getting my belts adjusted, (Alan
may be a bit smaller than me, who knew?), we rolled out of service.
Chatting on the way, Pat mentioned that he was on gravel tires, not
the ice tires that were the correct ones for the conditions, so the
experience would be lame. I can tell you, it was not lame. It was
awesome.

As we were about to take off, Pat
showed me how to start the timer on the Coralba rally computer/tons
of buttons that make no sense. He said to start it when we took off,
and stop it at the finish. I figured I'd be too terrified to hit the
stop button at the end, but I kept that to myself. Start button
pressed, we were off. I wish I could tell you about his expertise in
weight transfer, correct damper settings and diff mapping, but it
was over before I knew it. And who'd of thought, I actually hit the
stop button.

We slid, we locked up the tires (gravel
tires suck on frozen surfaces, remember), we drifted, we accelerated.
And we jumped. After hearing me exhale on the landing of a jump that
was a good 3 feet off the ground, he said “Are you okay?” I said
“Yeah man, I wanna go higher”.

I have a new respect for how much my
brother has to cope with in that car. All we see on TV is him
talking, as trees blur by, but you don't realize the forces acting
upon him as he tries to read the pace notes. Think of it as trying to
read your favorite book while on a roller coaster. Alan is my hero.
And Pat is awe-inspiring. To control that beast on the wrong tires,
on frozen roads, in the dark takes a pretty amazing skill. And I
leave impressed, not terrified. These dudes know what's up.