Riding shotgun with these pro rally car drivers was terrifyingly fun
I got to go on a ride-along with Ken Block and Brendan Reeves ahead of the New England Forest Rally.
Boston.com was among a small group of media outlets invited to the Team O’Neil Rally School in northern New Hampshire to get a preview of two cars making their debuts at the New England Forest Rally (NEFR) the weekend of July 17-18. If you’re not familiar with rally racing, it’s a high-speed race through a dirt road in a forest. Cars used in the race must be street legal in order to participate.
Ride-Along
What’s it like to drive shotgun with professional drivers Ken Block and Brendan Reeves?
The opportunity feels a lot like getting the chance to throw a football with Tom Brady. Except you ARE the football.
Block and his company Hoonigan Racing partnered with Ford and UK-based racing company M-Sport to debut two new Ford Fiestas ahead of this weekend’s rally race.
But first, Block and his fellow driver Reeves needed to get in a little practice time with the racers. They allowed me to sit in.
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I first got to ride with Reeves, who took the wheel of a Fiesta R2 with a three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. Reeves is an Australian native who came in first place at NEFR in the 2WD class back in 2013.
“I love speed,’’ said Reeves as I get in the R2 passenger seat. “In a rally car you can really feel the road through your seat. That’s what I love about it.’’
Reeves is right about that. As he released the clutch, the R2 jolted forward around the winding dirt course. The course has plenty of sharp turns and lots of dips. As we cruised through the course at what felt like 100 mph, I felt the car hit every sharp rock, every exposed tree root, and every bump in the road. Each object struck the cabin with a metallic sound that left me rattled.
British racing company M-Sport debuted a Ford Fiesta R2 that comes with a 1-litre 1000cc three-cylinder EcoBoost turbocharged engine and a five-speed transmission. It gets 180 PS (or roughly 177 horsepower) and 6,200 rpm. It is valued at roughly $78,000.
Meanwhile, Reeves appeared completely unfazed by the noises. In retrospect, it’s very comforting to know he was calm while I was wondering if that tree hurtling towards us would be last thing I ever saw.
Our ride in the R2 only lasted about four minutes, and when we wrapped up, I found I was surprisingly disappointed it was over.
Fortunately, I had a second ride with Block, in a Fiesta R5 with nearly twice the horsepower of the R2, to look forward to. I’d seen some of Block’s antics on YouTube so I had a vague (and frightening) idea of what to expect as I settled in to the passenger seat.
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Even to a rally newcomer like myself, the difference between the R2 and the R5 is noticeable. The rattling in the car’s cabin (and my ribcage) was stronger than before and I felt my body turning with the car as we spun around corners.
Block was extremely comfortable behind wheel of the R5, even as he made a sharp turn to leave us suddenly driving sideways. The trees hurtled towards me again, but this time they were coming at me much faster and I had a much clearer view. I had no idea how fast we were traveling, so I asked Block.
“I’m not going to tell you,’’ he chuckled. I realize now I was probably happier not knowing.
As we came to the end of our ride, I asked, “Has anyone ever lost it in your car while driving with you?’’
“No, not yet,’’ he said. Fortunately, this ride was not a first for either of us.
Also making its debut was a Ford Fiesta R5 with a 2.0-litre turbo engine with direct injection powerplant and a five-speed transmission. It gets 334 PS or about 329 horsepower and 4750 rpm. It is valued at roughly $344,000.
After our ride I asked Block what he gets out of rally driving.
“It’s fun to drive cars, just flat out anywhere,’’ he said. “I started driving in forest rallies and it’s still fun to see how the cars handle on dirt and gravel.’’
He also thinks this style of racing is much more interesting than other racing events because the tracks can be so unpredictable.
“I get bored watching NASCAR,’’ said Block. “I’m just watching the same thing over and over again.’’
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Learning for myself
The Team O’Neil Rally School is located on about 600 private acres in northern New Hampshire, with the highest point about 1,900 feet above sea level. Team O’Neil offers consumers a range of driving courses, including winter safety lessons, personal security training, and rally school techniques. Tuition ranges from $499 to about $6,000 depending on the courses.
Tim O’Neil (left), founder of the O’Neil Rally School stood with rally driver Ken Block before the ride-alongs began.
Rally drivers like Block and Reeves use the school as practice grounds before big races like NEFR. School founder Tim O’Neil, a North American rally champion, said he was drawn to rally as a sport because he is a “challenge junkie.’’
“I got into it because it’s the hardest thing I ever tried to do,’’ said O’Neil. “It draws adventurers, and people who enjoy outdoor sports and challenges.’’
After our ride-alongs with Block and Reeves, our group spent two hours with instructors from Team O’Neil learning a few rally techniques (including left-footed braking) in a fleet of standard Ford Fiestas. O’Neil warned us that the toughest part would be unlearning what many of us already know about driving – like using our right foot for both gas and brakes.
Team O’Neil instructors showed participating media a few rally racing tricks, including the “pendulum turn.’’
As someone who has never driven stick before (I know, I know…I hang my head in shame), I did pretty well as we took the Fiestas through a few maneuvers, including the “slalom.’’
But the more difficult technique was the “pendulum turn,’’ which involves turning the car at a 90-degree angle to the direction of travel. In a nutshell, we were taught to turn right in order to turn left.
While I may not be a full convert to rally racing as a sport, a sense of sadness greeted me when the day wrapped up and I got in my automatic Nissan Altima to head back to Massachusetts. After an exhilarating ride around dirt roads with Block and Reeves, there is nothing more unpleasant than the thought of getting stuck in Boston’s gridlock traffic again.
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