Maxwell applies the brakes gingerly on entry and is even more careful with the accelerator. Rain continues to pelt the windshield as we charge towards the first right-hand turn. After wriggling into the GT's surprisingly comfy passenger seat and getting belted in – for the second time that weekend, I was told “If the belts hurt, they're tight enough” – we set off in a flurry of wheelspin as the big Michelin tires struggle to hook up on the wet pavement. Maxwell and I have neither of those things.
The course, which doubles as Goodwood House's driveway, is deceptively tricky in good conditions and with reasonable visibility. From there on, it's forest running again up to the finish line. Up past Goodwood House and the annual statue that pops up each year, the course climbs aggressively following Molecomb, a tight left-hand turn that has claimed more than a few victims. The 1.16-mile hill starts in a tunnel of trees before bursting into daylight, with throngs of people, pavilions, and grandstands lining each side of the track. While the two courses and the cars I'll be riding in them on are as different as, well, a hill climb and a rally course, they're a reminder of just how varied the Festival of Speed is. These two drivers and their cars are going to give me a thorough look at the two biggest parts of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Packing 330 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque into an STI body isn't that crazy, but cutting the weight to a minimum of 2,900 pounds, pairing the flat-four engine with a six-speed sequential gearbox, and then swapping in various items to tighten the body and optimize the suspension for dirt makes it a monster on Goodwood's 1.5-mile rally stage. Prepped by Vermont SportsCar to compete in the Open Class in the American Rally Association's National Rally Championship, the VT19r, as it's called, has arguably less in common with the STI road car than the GT has in common with the GT Mk II.
Solberg’s real talents are on the dirt, though, where he campaigns a monstrous Subaru WRX STI in the brand's iconic blue-and-gold livery.
If you need evidence of just how talented this youth is, check out his run in the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s shootout, where he wowed the crowd while finishing third, behind his father and Romain Dumas (driver of the all-conquering Volkswagen ID.R). And yet this miniature Norwegian – he can't stand more than five-foot, six-inches tall – is one of racing’s up and coming stars. The only child of World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and wife Pernilla – another exceptionally gifted rally driver – Oliver Solberg is a baby-faced 17-year-old, his Scandinavian roots obvious by wavy blonde locks and the kind of pale complexion of which the glaring British sun loves to take advantage.
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