How much faster can you get with some schooling from a pro racing driver?
Instead of some traditional hot laps around the IMI Motorsports track, we’re taking a bit of a different approach with this video. How much faster can you get with some instruction from a pro racing driver? In this video, Tommy finds out just how quick he can hammer his classic 1993 Rover Mini around the track. But that’s not all, as Paul Gerrard — Top Gear USA’s former Stig — has Claire as his second student, driving a relatively modern 2014 Subaru Impreza WRX. The idea here isn’t to pitch the two cars (and their drivers) against each other, but to see how quickly they can navigate the track when left to their own devices, and after some insight from the master.
Before the actual hot laps, we naturally took the chance to see how the cars look against one another in a drag race. Now, this generation still packs some serious punch, putting out 265 horsepower from its turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer engine, at least in standard tune. It also has all-wheel drive, which can help get the power down off the line. That said, Tommy managed to leap off the line in his featherweight Mini, making for a fun result you may not expect coming into the video below.
As for the hot laps, Claire managed 1:25.07 on her first lap (without the Stig’s instruction) around the track. Even if you have done some racing, professional tips can take a bit to digest, so she was actually slightly slower on her second lap. At 1:28.56, it was 3.5 seconds behind the original time, but she also worked on refining her driving technique. Over time, smoothness helps make any driver faster.
As for Tommy, the 74 horsepower Mini landed him a 1:27.11 time on the first lap. However, the second time around he achieved a substantially faster 1:20.39. That’s a time that’s only slightly off Paul’s own 1:20.39, so the lessons did clearly net an improvement in Tommy’s run. Check out how he and Claire did below!
