Imagine attending an event where you are handed the keys to the newest turbocharged, all-wheel-drive sports sedan and turned loose for one lap on a road course. Then imagine after thoroughly flogging that car you then get the chance to ride with a professional driver while he slides a car across asphalt, dirt, and water. But before you ask, this was not just a dream – these were the main attractions of a ride and drive event put on by Subaru on August 1st called the Subaru WRX Games.
Ride and drive events are a great way to get acquainted with a car manufacturer’s vehicles, but these events are usually fairly dry. You show up, drive the vehicles, and go home. You usually also never get a chance to experience the full capabilities of the cars because of speed limits imposed by the organizer. But Subaru’s event proved that these events can be more than just parking lot test drives.
The second you arrived to the venue you got the feeling this wasn’t just another boring driving event. As you entered the Pomona Fairplex lot you were given a goodie bag with a t-shirt depicting Ken Block’s Gymkhana car as well as a sign, foam finger, and “rally” bell to help cheer on your favorite Subaru driver at the next day’s X-Games Rally competition. After you entered the actual event you were presented with all sorts of different activities in addition to the driving portion.
There were venders from local Subaru dealerships showcasing some of their tricked-out cars and Subaru merchandise, a display of Subaru race cars, a rally-themed RC car racing track complete with jumps and hairpin drift turns, and an air-conditioned tent with Subaru racing video games. But the activities weren’t just limited to inside of the show area. In the parking lot there was a Subaru car show, a free car wash, and a paint booth where you could use water-soluble spray paints to decorate your car with the graphics from your favorite Subaru rally driver.
Of course there was also the main attraction of the ride and drive, which was…well…the riding and driving. For the driving portion, patrons were given the chance to experience the all new 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT around a 1-mile road course laid out in the parking lot. However the event organizers didn’t want to limit you to just a leisurely cruise through some cones – they wanted you to experience the performance that the foremost purveyor of all-wheel-drive is known for. Not only were you required don a helmet prior to hopping in the car, but you even had an instructor riding with you to help you to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the car possible as you executed emergency lane changes, apexed numerous corners, and experienced the traction and stability from Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system as you negotiated a soaking wet chicane.
If piloting the Legacy through the turns hadn’t gotten your adrenaline going enough, then the Gymkhana ride-along was exactly where you needed to go next. After you again strapped on a helmet, you climbed in the passenger seat of the refreshed 2009 Subaru WRX tweaked by Subaru Performance Tuning. In control of those vehicles were 2 pro Subaru drivers whose job it was to elicit screams from every one of their passengers. Powerslides, 4-wheel drifts, and J-turns were the weapons they used to distort your view of the world as the car slid across asphalt and through dirt and water.
Attendees were also treated to some awesome displays of driving skill from the same drivers that had just punished them in the Gymkhana ride-along. Crawford Performance brought out their drift car to wow the crowd with gross displays of tire-obliterating power and their time attack car to tear up the road course. But perhaps the biggest treat of all came at the end of the day when Ken Block showed up to put his Gymkhana car through its paces – wowing the crowd with his patented 4-wheel smoke-screen drifts. After annihilating an entire set of tires, Block finished the day off with an autograph session where he signed posters, t-shirts, hats, and backpacks and posed for pictures with his fans.
This was easily the best and most entertaining ride-and-drive event around and proved that Subaru really knows their customer base. Not only did they provide attendees with a day packed full of fun activities, but they also really went above and beyond in the way they took care of everyone. A delicious free lunch was catered by Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, there were coolers with water bottles everywhere to keep everyone hydrated, as well as people walking around with other coolers full of ice-water soaked Subaru towels to help keep everyone cool. Hopefully other manufacturers will take notice of this event and start modeling future ride-and-drive events off of this one as the WRX Games was definitely a game-changer.
- Jon Barrett