My Diaries

A Lurid Tale of Obsession, Depravity, Wits and Attempted Wit

Wednesday August 25, 1999

Impreza Rally Edition Shatters Its Old Record at the Grand Valley 300

Continuing in the Impreza theme, I had been sweeping the GT-I Cup for a couple of days with the Impreza Rally Edition, in preparation for allowing it to set an even better time than previously at Grand Valley 300.

It finished 47 seconds faster than the Impreza Wagon the other day and almost 15 seconds faster than my first attempt with a race-modded GTO'95MR. This was over 4 minutes faster than my first attempt with this car.

Results:

I led right from the start, right off the finish line, and right through a clean first lap.

I lapped my first car at lap 8, and the first 3 by lap 12 (dropping back with the pit stop). I had lapped the field for the first time by lap 15.

One peculiar thing was I never passed the GT-R on the road! (It was always in the pits). One time I was coming up to pass it, entering the main straight, and it ducked into the pits right then!

Most laps were 1:33's and 1:34's, shifting to more 1:35's towards the end. My slowest laps were thanks to our new kitten who decided it might be fun to play with my wiggling fingers which I was holding at a convenient height, resting my elbows on my thighs while seated.

I used 4 pit stops (every 12 laps). Laps 9, 10 and 11 of a shift seemed slightly slower than others, but I still did not exceed 1:36 very often.

The 1:38.530 slowest lap was actually the last, so tires might have contributed as well as the kitten (as well as that "safely cruising in" feeling you get on the last lap of GV300; the crowd cheering, and all that).

Note that there was no AI Impreza competing.

I won Cr300,000, and a black/green Castrol Supra GT.