Subaru Pro-R Time Attack: Ups, downs and trophies at season finale
With enough twists and turns to fill a decent thriller, the recent final round of the Time Attack season proved to be something of an emotional rollercoaster for the Pro-R backed car of Ben Shimmin and Cross Roads garage last weekend. Overcoming true adversity – as well as the great British Weather – the team finished the season in third place overall.
After a promising start to Friday’s test session, Shimmin was clearly getting to grips with the longer Snetterton ‘300’ layout, posting some impressive times that saw the WRX STi punching far above its weight in class. However, after just six laps disaster struck when the cabin filled with smoke, heralding the arrival of a session-ending technical problem. The car was quickly dispatched back on a trailer to its preparation HQ at Cross Roads garage for a full strip down and evaluation whereupon a cracked piston was discovered as the cause of the problem. Following an all-night spannering session by the Cross Roads and TDRacing teams, the car was finished by 8am the next morning ready to be delivered back to the track.
Qualifying on a freshly-rebuilt engine saw Shimmin take things relatively steady, but even under the these restrictions, the talented wheelman was 4th fastest in the Club AWD class. When the lights went out to herald the start of the Final, Ben was clearly aiming to be in contention from the outset. Having tweaked the car since the qualifying session, Ben fought hard to bring the STi home to a creditable third and a podium that nobody could have dreamed of just 24 hours before.
Sunday was to bring a new layout; the faster two mile ‘200’ configuration – and a whole lot of rain. Having taken the decision to go out on a ‘dry’ set-up at the start of the qualifying session, and with the rain soon pouring down, the team were given a lucky break when the session was red-flagged after multiple engine failures from other cars had oiled the track. Capitalising on the stoppages, the Cross Roads team changed the car to a full ‘wet’ set-up to allow Ben to go out in his favourite conditions. The result? A cleanly delivered 2nd in class!
The rain wouldn’t let up for the final, meaning that the whole Pro-R team felt confident about Ben’s chances for a good finish. After some of the most determined driving seen all season – and despite the fact that the STi was giving up a huge power disadvantage to other cars in the class like Richard Marshall’s Nissan GT-R – Ben literally drifted the car home to take the top step and one of the biggest cheers during the awards ceremony. A dazzling set of drives all year and almost faultless reliability meant that the team finished third in class overall. Commenting afterwards, Shimmin was understandably pleased with his first ever season in competitive motorsport. ‘It’s a lot to take in when you think I didn’t even possess a race licence this time last year!’ he joked. ‘The Pro-R team have been fantastic in supporting us this season, and of course, the tireless work from the Cross Roads and TDRacing boys – often working through the night to get me on track – has been the real reason for our success. I would like to thank everybody that has been a part of the Championship this year and would like to dedicate this trophy to all of them.’
Elsewhere on track, thanks to a strong crowd attending the ‘Modified Live element of the show, the Pro-R Roadshow was doing sterling business all weekend. Not only did the September-only £26,995 deal on the new STI tempt at least a couple of guests into actually ordering, but staff from local dealer Hammonds were also on hand with a tantalising array of Pro-R merchandise and accessories to help tempt the impressive crowd of Subarus from various owners clubs that had gathered around the Pro-R area. With Development Engineer Mike Wood also showcasing the capabilities of the STI out on track with repeated VIP for the ‘Help for Heroes’ charity, it proved to be a fabulous day all round for six-star fans.
For more information, visit pro-r.co.uk.
