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The “Influential Subie Freaks” Series highlights some prominent figures in the Subaru community and reveals some great information about them. As our first influential Subie Freak, we are honored to interview rally driver(and much more!) extraordinaire, Jamie Thomas(Subie Gal on NASIOC) to start the series. From her humble beginnings in the Subaru world, to where she is now, find out why she’s a stand out Subie Freak! (All images are from subiegal.com. All rights are reserved.)

The Interview

Let’s start off with telling a little about yourself and you have been currently up to.
Jamie Thomas… Subie Gal… rally driver, Subaru employee of Subarugenuineparts.com

Recently I’ve taken some “time off” for a well deserved rest and renovation of the rally car….
we’re gearing up to hit a few rally events again in 2008

Why was it, after purchasing your first Subaru in ‘99, you started to be fond of rallying?
I was at the “Historic Races” in Portland Oregon at PIR,
On display was the COOLEST Subaru I had ever seen! It had some kind of roll cage in it… I had no idea what it was?
I picked up a flier off of the hood of this car for some “rally” racing event….
I decided to attend and see what this was all about

the car? Paul Eklunds (www.get-primitive.com)
the rally? Wild West 1999

The first car came flying by, and I was hooked!
That literally was all it took……
coolest thing I’d ever seen…..

How car/racing/rallying-illiterate were you before getting into rallying?
Hell, in 1999 I didn’t even know how to change a tire. I was working for Microsoft, not Subaru…..
But that’s one thing about me,
When I get passionate about something, I consume it and it consumes me.

You have an impressive rally career. What were some of the major things that helped you in the learning process?
Great Question…. (*Editor’s Note* Insightful responses too!)

Key things:
1) I was a rally volunteer and worker
this allowed me to know the ins and outs of the rally - how it worked - how it flowed - what could happen…..

2) I spent a full year co-driving in both regional and national rallies
I rode with slower drivers, skilled drivers and super quick drivers
I learned something from each one of them.
The do’s and the don’ts - what works, what does not….
what breaks and how to handle it on stage
Great experience

3) My first rally car was dog slow
Excellent way to learn not just how rally flows….
But if you can learn to drive a slow car fast, you will be hell on wheels in a good/quick car!

Any favorite rally event(s) you participated in
Crazy as it sounds, Oregon Trail will always be my favorite rally (*Editor’s Note* Formidable course!)

The roads are soooo very technical, so tricky, you really have to DRIVE the car

HP means very little at this rally
There is no real open spot to get into high speeds

This is a drivers rally and I love the challenge of it!

What skills/techniques do you think you’re best at?
I’m a smooth, boring, left foot braking, non car sliding driver
And I pride myself on that….
smooth, quick, let the diff’s do the work, drive a good line…..

And things would you want to improve on?
High speed sections.
Yikes.
I’m just not a drag racer ya know?
I didn’t come out into the woods to do 120+mph on the dirt and I still dont like that feeling
If I’m going to get faster, I really need to get over it and just trust the car…..

When you first started out, what were some newbie mistakes you did?
Oh Good Lord! What did I do right???
Okay here’s one….
Rookie year, Rim of the world. and I’d never seen a jump before in my life….

I did it all wrong. way wrong. so wrong!!!

Came into what then was probably the biggest jump of that rally…..

Nice approach, good line, but when I saw the height of the jump???? I LIFTED!!!

Huge mistake.
When I lifted off throttle, all weight transferred back to the front of the car…

We hit the jump, skied 4-5 feet into the air and came down hard on the nose!

No major damage (busted fog light and busted skid plate)

But we were very lucky not to have flipped end over end… it was that close.

Never again has this happened to me
I learned the hard way how to jump the car and do it right……

Any memorable stories from rally events?
There are so many, I wouldn’t know where to start.
Although, one of my “hahahaa” stories… real quick….

In his Rookie year, I pulled Ken Block out the ditch he’d shoved his car into at Oregon Trail… (*Editor’s Note* Wow! Silly Ken. :D)

Other subaru’s had tried to yank him out - and failed…

Took Burnsie the Rally Wagon to get it done!!! (*Editor’s Note* Go Burnsie!)

You are an instructor for the Primitive Performance Driving Rally School along with other accomplished teachers. It is a great way for beginners to learn about rally driving and obtain valuable knowledge in the art of driving. How’s that experience been?
Oh the Primitive school is great!

Excellent for any beginner or anyone craving some certified rally action!

And it’s rewarding to see the students “get it!”
The first time a student controls the car while sliding sideways in the dirt…. I giggle… can’t help it….

Primitive’s Rally School is a blast!

What’s your dream car?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911
911 Turbo or GT3….
car is a kick in the arse and would be a blast on the track.

someday

What do you think of the 2008 WRX STi?
I like the overall design
But wish Subaru would have really made it ridiculous….

I mean HUGE fender flares, HUGE spoiler….
I imagined the car to be “bigger and bolder” in real life.

The STi is a good, solid car, but does not differ enough from the WRX to make me want to buy it for that kind of $…

You’re involved with the NASIOC forums (and you’re an active moderator). What are some of the things you like most about the community?
My absolute favorite thing about NASIOC….
Is the ability to help enthusiasts learn about their car and find what they need to attain their goals.
If I can answer one question per day and help someone learn something or find a part, then I feel I’m contributing to the community

and overall this community really does love their cars
and they are all about working on them and learning more every day….

Any favorite members?
Too many to list - I have a lot of very close friends on NASIOC

I have to stick with some of the old school Crew…
Nick, Fishguy, Leonardo, North Ursalia - just a lot of folks I’ve spent a lot of time with over the years
not just on Nasioc, but in person as well… (*Editor’s Note* Now the people you left out are going to complain! :D)

Can you provide any insight/advice from your infinite rally wisdom?
Best advice I can offer…
If you dream of “someday” getting involved in rally….

“Someday” having a car, competing, crewing….

Don’t wait for someday.
Get motivated, find a way, make it happen.
Dreams don’t have to exist just in your mind! (*Editor’s Note* Great advice.)

Thanks again for your participation Jamie!
No problem.

*03/06/2008 UPDATE* Celtain asks what are some things you can do to get into being a navigator. Jamie responds:
“The best way to get into navigating is to get into the scene, get involved with the rally teams/groups (volunteer) and express your interest in being a novice navvie. Primitive rally school also offers extensive navigator training. There are options out there” - Jamie

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