2014 Subaru WRX STI sets new Isle of Man TT lap record

The new Subaru WRX STI set a new Isle of Man TT record lap

Last month we reported that rally driver Mark Higgins was heading back to the Isle of Man in an almost standard Subaru WRX STI to have a crack at breaking the record he set on the TT course in 2011 in the last WRX STI. The 2011 lap record Higgins set was the first time the record had been broken in 21 years, a record set by Tony Pond in 1990 in a Rover 827 Vitesse in a stunning drive in a less than ideal car for the task.

Mark Higgins, perhaps unsurprisingly, blitzed Tony Pond’s 100mph average speed round the TT course and turned in a time of 19:56.7 at an average speed of 113mph. But breaking his own record was a bigger ask.

However, Mark Higgins, and the new Subaru WRX STI, were up to the task putting in an incredible time of 19:26s – a clear 30 seconds better than in 2011 – at an average speed 116mph round the challenging 37.8 mile course, at times hitting speeds of over 160mph.

Higgins’ WRX STI was also an almost bog-standard production version of the US version of the Subaru, with just tweaks to the springs and dampers, a set of Dunlop Derezza tyres and safety equipment.

Mark Higgins said:

It was quite a lap we did today and I am really happy to have another record in the bank. The chassis of the new car is so much better it really allowed me to pick up time in each sector in the more technical parts of the course.

There is nothing like the TT course in all racing. Not just because of its length but the elevation changes, constant surface variations as you shift from town to country roads and the fact we run from 30mph and then up to 160mph plus for much of the race.

It’s a long way short of the two-wheel record for a lap of the TT circuit – 17:11.6s set by John McGuinness on a Honda CBR1000RR ‘Fireblade’ in 2013 at an average speed of 131.7mph - but it’s an incredible time for a production car.

And it won’t do sales of the new Subaru WRX STI – which arrives this summer costing just from £28,995 – any harm at all.

By Cars UK