Red Bull GRC Washington DC: 3 Things We Learned

Scott Speed drove to victory at Red Bull GRC Washington DC, maintaining Andretti’s GRC dominance. Here are our three takeaways from Saturday’s race.

What’s in a name? A lot if you’re Scott Speed, who won his second Red Bull Global Rallycross race of 2016 in convincing fashion in Red Bull GRC Washington DC.

Speed put himself in prime position to defend his 2015 GRC championship on Saturday, when he swept every phase of the event that he participated in.

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But the No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle’s strong showing was just one of several talking points from GRC Washington.

Saturday’s race at RFK Stadium was a fine return to form for GRC after the weather-induced disappointment that was GRC MCAS New River.

And what about Tanner Foust?

Here are the three things we learned from 2016 Red Bull GRC Washington DC:

1. Volkswagen is the new number one team in Global Rallycross

For years Red Bull GRC was dominated by the Fords of Olsbergs MSE. Up until 2015 every GRC champion had driven for Olsbergs. But that seems like a distant memory with how well the VARX team has come together in a very short period of time.

Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross is only in its third season, but the squad already has one GRC championship and GRC Washington showed that it may very well soon claim another. The preliminary victories by Speed and Foust left VARX undefeated in 2016 when it comes to heats and semifinals.

And of the seven completed finals this year, five of them have been won by a Volkswagen driver. Only Patrik Sandell (Dallas) and Steve Arpin (Daytona) have beaten VW, and one could argue that if not for the freakish situations at Daytona, Speed or Foust would’ve won that race too.

VARX is to GRC what Team Penske is to the Verizon IndyCar Series. (Which begs the question: is there anything the Rallycross team can pass on to Andretti’s struggling IndyCar roster?)

2. Tanner Foust is not afraid to give you the bumper

Speed’s teammate Foust has made a living on the edge, whether it’s crazy challenges as a co-host on History’s Top Gear or setting world records with Hot Wheels. And Saturday at GRC Washington he reminded us that he’s not bothered by getting into a car fight with anyone either.

Foust got a rough start in the GRC Washington final and was shuffled back behind Brian Deegan but spent the ten laps making Deegan’s life miserable. Foust’s No. 43 and Deegan’s No. 38 Chip Ganassi Racing entry made contact multiple times, until on the final lap Foust took advantage of Deegan going wide.

His VW Beetle hip-checked Deegan’s Ford Fiesta ST, ensuring that Deegan stayed offline and bumped into a tire barrier. That enabled Foust to bolt past Deegan and claim a valuable third place spot – a podium finish he definitely needed as the GRC championship fight got even closer by the end of GRC Washington.

So the lesson here is not to mess with Tanner Foust – he definitely doesn’t mind getting physical with anybody.

For the full Foust experience, check out his recent on board video from GRC Daytona:

3. Subaru still has awhile to go before it’s GRC competitive

Subaru Rally Team USA has hung around GRC for awhile but the team continues to lag behind VW, Ford and even the new Honda Civics.

At GRC Washington, Sverre Isachsen did not even get out of his semifinal and teammate Bucky Lasek started dead last in the final. Lasek wound up second to last on Saturday – ahead of just Sebastian Eriksson, whose car had mechanical problems and wound up three laps down. If not for that, Lasek could’ve finished last too.

Lasek and Isachsen are 11th and 12th in the GRC drivers’ championship. The only people behind them are the three part-time drivers in the series.

So while they bring plenty of experience to the table (Lasek is an extreme sports veteran and Isachsen is in his sixth GRC season), it’s clear that Subaru is missing something that is keeping the manufacturer well behind in the battle for a championship. What can the team do to improve its chances? At this point, that’s a question for 2017.

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