Watch Travis Pastrana Wrangle the 850-HP Subaru Huckster Up the Goodwood Hill
“I just love to get sideways,” Pastrana told us ahead of his rain-soaked run up the famous hill.
Activities at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed were canceled Saturday due to hazardous weather, but the closing stages of Friday produced some incredibly exciting racing. Heavy rain made the already-challenging Goodwood hill climb a real handful for some of the world's best racers, though some drivers seemed to relish the challenge more than others. And by "some" I just mean famous rally driver and all-around motoring daredevil Travis Pastrana.
I caught up with Pastrana ahead of his runs, who seemed pumped to unleash his 850-horsepower Subaru GL Familiy Huckster on the wet tarmac.
"Some of the other racers here love to find the straight lines and try to get the cleanest run up the hill. Not me, I just love to get sideways," Pastrana said. "And this [Subaru] has so much grip from the aero and all-wheel drive that it just goes any way you put it on the track."
The Goodwood Road & Racing YouTube channel shared the video above of Pastrana's rain-soaked run up the hill.
The Gymkhana star's incredible car control allowed him to do what other racers often struggle to do at Goodwood: put on a show for the fans and set a scorching time. Drivers typically sacrifice one for the other. Pastrana and his Subaru racing wagon appear to be exempt, however, as he managed to set the second-fastest time while providing spectators with plenty of drifting action.
"The rear wing pops up under braking and adds a lot of stopping power here," added Pastrana. "Normally that's set up to balance the car in big jumps, but here we mostly tune things to keep the rear from getting light."
Action will resume on Sunday morning at the Duke of Richmond's famed driveway. This will give Pastrana and others like Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher, Emerson Fittipaldi, and many more another chance to wow the crowds.
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