Chat Transcript

<moderator_kh> In just a few minutes we'll start our chat with Ramana Lagemann, the newest driver of the Subaru Rally Team USA, and Ed Bentley of PRODRIVE to discuss the performance of the team drivers and the WRX after the first rally race of the 2002 season.

<moderator_kh>: Welcome, Ramana and Ed. Ramana, can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in Rally?

<ramana_l>: At about age six I saw some classic rally footage and it stuck in my head... I learned to drive at age six. My first rally was in 1997 in Pennsylvania... and that's basically the way it happened.

<hunter001>: Question for Ed. What kind of differentials do you folks use in Rallys?

<ed_bentley>: In the cars over here they are pretty standard STI... Both cars run group and specification diferentials.

<hunter001>: Does it have torque biasing capabilities?

<ed_bentley>: No hunter it does not...

<moderator_kh>: What were the driver evaluations at Prodrive like?

<ramana_l>: Very difficult actually. We had about 7 people observing us from every angle. There was an interview part, a technical part and obviously a driving part. They had us do a three stage rally, and at the end of that they all got together and deliberated for about 3 hours and came up with their decision.

<ed_bentley>: It's a lot more difficult than what people think. We're testing skils that people might not think we're testing, Like the driver's reaction to the co-drivers instructions...

<moderator_kh>: What is the biggest change since joining the Subaru team?

<ramana_l>: Having the full resources of ProDrive and all the expertise and know how that entails. When it come to tuning the car for example, I tell the tech how the car feels and how i'd like it to feel, and he takes care of it. It really made my job easy... I just have to drive!

<hunter001>: Tuning the car would be a challenge would it not ? Especially due to the tremendous differences in terrain that changes constantly ?

<ramana_l>: Yes hunter001... it was illustrated at the rally this past weekend. The conditions were variable; if you tuned the car to handle on the ice, it wouldn't handle well on the gravel

<ed_bentley>: Tire choice was important this past weekend.

<ateixeira>: Ramana: Mitsubishi is really turning up the heat this year, what's it going to take to bring the cup home again for 2002? PS I wish I had your job! :-)

<ramana_l>: Thanks, but I think our biggest competition is going to come from Hyundai... and Iintend to keep my job! :)

<ed_bentley>: I didn't think you had a job! :)

<moderator_kh>: What do you like to do when you're not racing?

<ramana_l>: At the moment I'm pretty busy as a full time student...

<ateixeira>: What do you do to prepare, physically and mentally, the day before and the morning of a rally? Both you and Ed.

<ramana_l>: For the entire week before I try to get to bed at a reasonable hour and get acclimated to the schedule. Morning of the race I try to keep away from as many people as I can... LOL

<ateixeira>: I understand, avoid distractions, stay focused

<ed_bentley>: I mainly WORRY that we've prepared everything properly... then I stress out during the rally!

<ateixeira>: You follow the entire race with telemetries, right? So you can never really get a break, must be hard work.

<ed_bentley>: Not exactly telemetry... the engineer has the ability to check at the end of the day... the car has to come in ... we can't do it "on the fly"

<mturmel>:> ok, are you guys planning on running any event our side of the border? ie participating in the America rally series

<ed_bentley>: Our priority is the SCCA Pro Rally Manufacturers Championship.

<mturmel>: ok thanks, so there is no plan to participate in the North America Rally Cup yet?

<ed_bentley>: Even though we don't have any plans to go up to Canada right now, Subaru Canada came down to the States last year and they've got a good team.

<mturmel>:> ed: you bet! ;) This week-end is the first event of the serie in Quebec city...

<hunter001>: When driving these cars, do you drive with an understanding of all the systems (both electronic and mechanical) and how they talk to each other, or do you drive instinctively and learn as you go along, and adapt as the car reacts or tune it depending on what you find?

<ateixeira>: Good Q, AH, I bet a follow up question about VTD is coming... :-)

<hunter001>: :-)

<ramana_l>: Good question... It's a bit of both... but when you get down to it, the cars aren't that complex. For myself, I still learn it at every event I go to... continually learning.

<moderator_kh>: Will Subaru be entering any Group N cars?

<ed_bentley>: At this stage no because of the change in the manufacturers points. We took a decision to enter two open class cars. We want them to finish as high as possible.

<moderator_kh>: Tell us your thoughts about the competition, Hyundai ?

<ed_bentley>: Hyundai is commited to building two new cars for the next event. They will be very competitive cars... The rumor has it that they MAY even have some Subaru parts on them! LOL... Joking apart, they have some good drivers and it's going to be a tough competition.

<ateixeira>: LOL, now THAT is hilarious. They may even win if there are enough of them!

<hypov>: juice- if there's enough subie parts, it's a subaru :-D

<ateixeira>: Whats your pick for a WRC event in North America? Charlevoix or Cherokee, and when do you think it will happen?

<ramana_l>: I've done them both, but I know that Charlevoix has been preparing for it a bit longer... they might have a better over all package... although I'd love to have one in the US sooner than later.

<mturmel>: Charlevoix was following FIA restrictions/rules last year...

<ed_bentley>: For me, 7 out of the 10 events in the US are good quality... it's just a case of giving them more resources to build up the events. If there was ONE event i'd choose inthe US it would be Los Angeles.

<moderator_kh>: Go ahead, juice.

<ateixeira>: I'm curious to know what vehicles you use as support vehicles. The Subaru WRT uses Foresters, really cool, decked out in Rally Blue and with turbos, to pre-run. What about you guys? Are the rallies still being run blind (no course notes)?

<ed_bentley>: Only one event out of the ten allows you to run a recon. Given the insurance and safety issues, we'll just use normal rental cars..

<ateixeira>: 1/10? So you running blind 90% of the time? You got guts...

<ed_bentley>: Did you know that the world rally team have devices on the roof of the car that if they go over 40 MPH they get time penalties? There's no need for a fast recon car anymore...

<ateixeira>: Did not know that, very interesting. You'd think they'd let you pre-run all the courses.

<ramana_l>: One of the new things for me this year is that in the car we use maps. The codriver has a magnifying glass with a light. He gives directions as best he can, but they can't be relied on 100%!

<hunter001>: Ed, Wanted to know a bit about the torque-splitting options on these cars and how important is it, to have an ability to manually adjust various torque splitting options between the axles ? What kind of splitting options are available ? How do you accomplish that ?

<ed_bentley>: I've got a feeling that this is one of our competitors...LOL

<hunter001>: :-)

<ateixeira>: No, AH is a legit WRX owner and a regular on our boards, but you made me ROFL

<ed_bentley>: The regulations don't allow you to split between... Ask an engineer!

<mturmel>: How about television coverage? Any chance of improvements on the SCCA coverage? Did you see what speedvision did with the WRC? It's awesome! more than 4 hours total coverage per event.

<ed_bentley>: We're excited about the expansion of the coverage. Subaru is a sponsor of that, and you can expect to see changes in the SCCA coverage. Developing the personalities of the drivers, better story lines... it should be a very good show.

<mturmel>: that sounds great! Can't wait to see that... thanks

<twrx>: think we asked Mark L. this one last fall but... Do you think the rally in Tennessee will go WRC?

<ed_bentley>: I think the organizers of the rally in Tenn have done a very good job... I think any US rally is still 2 to 3 years away.

<twrx>: Love to see a WRC event

<ed_bentley>: It fair to say that any of them could go WRC. Do you agree Ramana?

<ramana_l>: Yes I do!

<mturmel>: would you say this applies to any rally in North America?

<hunter001>: Basically, we have been having a lot of discussions in Edmunds forums about the trans flexibilities that allow torque-splitting to occur and what enables it. And yes, I do own an Auto-WRX :-) It has both a planetary gear center differential and also transfer clutches.

<hypov>: boy did we :-D

<ed_bentley>: It's better to say that the transmission in our rally cars is a japanese transmission which has electronic center differential...do your cars have the Japanese box?

<hunter001>: Yes ! Electronically controlled center diff

<hypov>: ramana, going back your mentioned your co-driver reads and guides you from a plain map. Why, with all the advance equipment available?

<ramana_l>: Because the route books we get in SCCA have directions that are sporadic... with a map you can get a level of consistency which lets you drive quicker...

<ed_bentley>: ... until you read the map incorrectly! It would be nice to have a high tech system, but you're not even allowed write on the maps!

<hypov>: hehe that's what i mean - until you read it incorrectly.

<hypov>: has that happen?

<ramana_l>: My codriver has NOT read the map incorrectly! He's good! I'd like to blame my "incident" last week on the map reader, but I can't!

<twrx>: Ed, without telling anything you can't, how different is Makinens car from the US rally one?

<ed_bentley>: About $400,000 worth!

<twrx>: cool answer!

<ed_bentley>: It's fair to say that the US rally cars are based around a stock WRX... the car that Makinen drives is engineered from the ground up. I think the only stock item on it is the windshield wiper stalk!

<twrx>: Wow just like NASCAR

<mturmel>: has Prodrivre thought about offering its products to the subaru masses? So there is no more need to know someone that knows someone... ;)

<ed_bentley>: LOL

<mturmel>: hehe

<ed_bentley>: I think ProDrive will offer all the products through the right channels... all parts products are sold all over the world. The problem occurs when people want to buy stock items... there's a public liability issue... we can offer rally parts to anyone... but some of the street components are only offered through the importers.

<mturmel>: The shipping costs from UK are killing us... good news! I'll take your word for it... ;)

<hypov>: right channels...but who are the right channels?

<moderator_kh>: street parts or rally parts, <hypov>?

<hypov>: both

<ed_bentley>: The rally parts can come directly from ProDrive... that's an email away... and the street parts can come through TireRack in the US.

<moderator_kh>: juice, you're up.

<ateixeira>: We love to talk about the AWD. When you said you use the electronic clutch, is that for Group N cars or Open? And is it manually adjustable or fully automated in Group N and/or Open class WRXs?

<ed_bentley>: Both <ateixeira>... legal for Group N and we use it in the Open car. Manually adjustable in Group N on a small rotary switch.

<ateixeira>: Oh man, you just made AH's day. Year, maybe.

<hunter001>: YUP !!!!!

<ateixeira>: He loves his auto-WRX especially for the VTD system, sounds like yours is very similar.

<moderator_kh>: Do you have any superstitious habits before a race?

<ramana_l>: Well... My Mom gave me a necklace about 5 years ago It turns out that every rally I've finished, i've had it on... and every one I didn't finish, I forgot to wear it...

<ed_bentley>: And you WILL wear it all year!

<ramana_l>: I don't remember that in my contract!

<ed_bentley>: We can amend that anytime!

<moderator_kh>: drifter, go ahead.

<drifter2>: Youve done so well so far, this is only your 3rd season of rallying right? how did you do it? or are you just super talented? haha.

<ramana_l>: I think there are a lot of young drivers out there who have the ability. I was just lucky to get noticed by the right beople. Lance Smith convinced me I need to be in a Subaru... Thankfully I was inthe right place at the right time.

<moderator_kh>: What's the scariest accident you have had in your career as a rally driver?

<ramana_l>: Thankfully none have been that scary. At Prescott I realized afterwards that I was hanging off a precipice... afterwards it was scary!

<ed_bentley>: Luckily it was inthe dark!

<ateixeira>: Ever hit any wild animals? Oops it's not my turn :-)

<ed_bentley>: With a car not a shotgun Ramana!

<ramana_l>: A few rabbits actually

<moderator_kh>: mturmel, go ahead.

<mturmel>: Ramana, what's your favorite surface to race on? gravel, snow, tarmac?

<ramana_l>: mturmel... I'd have to say gravel... it's the one I have the most experience on and I feel the most confident on.

<mturmel>: true, I guess we don't really have a tarmac events over here...

<moderator_kh>: Give us your thoughts for the 2002 Rally season.

<ed_bentley>: The pressure is on because we are the returning champions. I feel we will win again because we have the right cars and drivers and a good team behind us. It will be more difficult than last year though.

<moderator_kh>: Is the STi coming to the U.S. ? When ?

<mturmel>: good one...

<hypov>: forget the STi.

<ed_bentley>: STi is coming to the US... sometime next year.

<mturmel>: can we quote you? ;)

<ed_bentley>: Just sometime next year...LOL

<mturmel>: metimegot to compete with that EVO VII....

<ateixeira>:What do each of you drive daily? Do you both live in the US (I know Ed is from the UK)?

<ed_bentley>:I'm fortunate enough to have a tricked out WRX 5 door wagon

<ateixeira>:That's what I would buy for myself today, I bought a Forester back in 1998

<ramana_l>: I'm pikcing up a silver WRX... and I have an email in to Ed about getting some tricked up parts for it! :)

<mturmel>: see, you;ve got to know someone.... ;)

<ateixeira>: Have you guys got a peek at the new Forester? 2003?

<ed_bentley>: No... That car will officially be introduced at the Chicago auto show.

<ateixeira>: Sedan?

<ateixeira>: What, no spilling secrets? C'mon, we won't tell anyone! ;-)

<jimmyj1945>: Good try Juice!!!

<ed_bentley>: Right...

<ateixeira>: LOL

<ramana_l>: LOL ROTFL

<ateixeira>: I bet Ed helped tune the suspension! With Ramana's input!

<ramana_l>: I wouldn't WANT Ed to fiddle with my suspension...LOL

<moderator_kh>: Ramana, has this career made you a millionaire yet?

<ramana_l>: Well I don't think the sport is at a professional enough level yet to warrant high driver salaries. On the flip side, I'm fortunate enough to drive at someone else's expense!

<mdisaacs>: Ed - Prodrive is in Dearborn MI? Where in Dearborn?

<ed_bentley>: At the moment we're at a temporary location near the Telegraph and Michigan junction.... but we're palnining to move to a location in the suburbs within 6 months.

<moderator_kh>: Final question for Subaru Rally Team USA -- What are your PERSONAL goals this season?

<ramana_l>: For myself, it's to help Subaru win the manufacturers championship again!

<ed_bentley>: Same goal for me... from a different perspective.

<mturmel>: best of luck, hope to see you at Charlevoix!

<ramana_l>: Thanks mturmel.

<hunter001>: ramana, wish you the very best in all future races. We Subaru owners will cheer you on ! Remember to take your mother's necklace along !!!

<ateixeira>: Never take the necklace off! Best of luck. Be safe but fast.

<ramana_l>: LOL... thanks at.. hope to see you all at the rallies!

<ramana_l>: Come up and say hi!

<hypov>: ed put the necklace wearing in the contract ;-)

<ed_bentley>: LOL... it's being amended as we speak!

<moderator_kh>: Thanks, Ramana and Ed, for taking the time to chat with us tonight about Subaru Rally Team USA. And thanks to all of our members for your great questions. Goodnight everyone, and drive safely.