Jeff Westphal has been one seriously busy dude. Between racing in different series, testing the world famous GST Motorsports Impreza, and doing his day to day thing, he still finds time to talk to us at Subie-Life.com!
Q: Hi Jeff! It’s been some time since we last spoke to you. What have you been up to? Any cool racing that you’ve been doing?
A: Hey. Since we’ve last spoke I’ve been racing with some clients of mine in an Endurance Race known as the 25 Hoursof Thunderhill, as well as with Insight Racing in their 328i Continental Tire Car.
Q: So on the vast universe known as the internet, we’ve been seeing a lot of images of the GST Impreza L under going a lot of changes. These changes seem significant. What things were done?
A: Wow, where to start. Well, the car has basically been rebuilt minus the mounting points for the fuel cell. Everything else has been modified or refreshed. Some special attention was paid to aero profile, as was weight balance so not only did we shave considerable weight off the car, but it came off all the right places. As many Subaru owners are aware, the cars polar moment of inertia is pretty far forward, which can be like trying to turn a shopping cart with all the goodies up front. One of my requests was to get more of the vehicles mass over the rear of the car to engage the rear tire more since we never seem to hurt those. We also added a proper pedal box setup with dual masters and a bias bar.
Q: How much of your own input did they take into consideration when they modified the GST Impreza L from last season to this season?
A: The direction to take the car has been a collaborative effort since day one, as 2 or 3 minds are better than one. That said, one of the reasons GST called me to drive was for my professional input from other disciplines of motorsports that I’ve competed in, so when i ask for something to make the car better we all work pretty hard to get it done.
Q: Coming up next weekend is the Global Time Attack event at Willowsprings International Raceway and what I’ve heard is that this car will make an appearance. Is this true and if so, what can we expect?
A: Yes it is true we will be attending the GTA event next weekend. The team and I have realistic expectations, we ran a 1.20.7 there in the early stages of development with the car last season and i think the car should be good for a high 19 in last years trim. I’m hoping to challenge for the overall record that Billy Johnson has at a low 1.18. We do need some time to iron out some logistical issues with the new platform we’ve created so I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket if you will.
Q: What other things are in the works for the GST Impreza and yourself this season? We’ve been hearing some rumors that you guys are actually going globally. Is this true?
A: Yes, since it’s been officially released, we were afforded an invitation to the World Time Attack Finals in Eastern Creek, Australia so we will be going abroad to battle the best in the biz if you will. This event I am really looking forward to.
Q: So, let’s get back to you. What have you been doing during the “off season”?
A: I’ve been working on deals to bring with me in 2011, as well as enjoying some off season training. Even though the weather isn’t the best, I love to cycle so i’ve racked up some mileage which feels great.
Q: I ran into you recently at Global Rally Cross a few weeks ago and we talked a bit about your feelings about the event? Can you share what your initial response was and will there be a possibility of you dabbling in Rally Cross?
A: I loved the event, the AWD cars made me seriously consider how to become involved as they are very impressive. I think if someone had an AWD car with high power and a sequential, it wouldn’t be too hard to prep it into a rally cross car…. “wink wink”
Q: You mentioned to me that you have picked up a new partner / sponsor and it’s Kicker Audio. Tell our readers more about this!
A: I am fortunate to be working with such a company like Kicker. We’ve actually been talking for a while, and finally it seems all of our goals were aligned so we are partnering in 2011. I am one of their professional athletes, and I’ll be awarding Kicker Audio gear to fans of mine, motorsports ,and the Kicker brand all year.
Q: Jeff has been kind enough to give us an Kicker iPod docking unit! All our readers have to do is “like” Jeff Westphal Racing’s Facebook Page, “like” this article on our Subie-Life.com page and subscribe to Subie-Life.com’s email notification! If you do all three of these, you have a chance to win this awesome prize! Thanks Jeff for taking your time to talk to us and please take a moment to thank anyone that is helping you out this season!
A: Thanks to all the readers who continue to support this industry, without you guys we wouldn’t be here so this one is for you! Like the pages and sign up, a Kicker Ipod Docking unit will be yours courtesy of Jeff Westphal Racing, Subie-Life.com, and Kicker Audio.
Subie Life: For the Love of Subaru 