Perfect Pacific Northwest Saturday? How does yours look? This week, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. How does some of Seattle’s finest food, one of the world’s rarest rally cars and a thrill ride in a Subaru BRZ sound?
See. Told you. This time of the year, the perfect Saturday in Snoqualmie is known by one word: SummerFest. If you’re in town, you simply can’t miss it. Out of town? Seriously, re-think your weekend.
We’ve lined up some groundbreaking, history-making rally cars, pivotal in their generation of our sport. I mean, when did you last see a factory Audi quattro E2 this side of the Great Lakes? This was the German manufacturer’s final hurrah in Group B. Having changed our world, Audi struggled to keep pace with rival Peugeot as the ‘supercar’ years rolled by. The big-winged E2 was the answer. Generating insane levels of power and downforce, this quattro became an iconic symbol of the sport’s mid-80s excesses.
And the example sitting before you is one of the absolute best and most storied. Sold by Audi to a certain Hannu Mikkola, the Finn sold it to his countryman (and fellow world champion) Juha Kankkunen. DirtFish owner Steve Rimmer bought it off Kankkunen.
Steve Rimmer's stunning ex-Hannu Mikkola Audi quattro E2 will sit front and center at SummerFest on Saturday
Just look at it. Look at those angles, those air-intakes, scoops and skirts. Sitting still outside DirtFish, it’s a beast. Between the trees, it was wild.
Alongside, there’s the sport’s first turbocharged and supercharged rally car in the shape of the stunning Lancia 037 – Audi’s two-wheel drive nemesis in the 1983 world championship.
For Subaru fans, there’s arguably the ultimate Impreza, the WRC2002 (codenamed the S8 by Prodrive). Tommi Mäkinen drove this very car towards the end of his career at the pinnacle of world rallying.
While those cars would have supplied a symphonic combo of whistling blowers, bellowing five-pots and the perfect boxer beat, Saturday is delivered to tunes laid down by one of Seattle’s best DJs. And the food? We’ve got everything for you, with trucks standing by to create the perfect SummerFest fare. After that, it’s time to enjoy the products on offer from our local vendors.
Having taken all of that in, the time’s about right to slide yourself in alongside one of our professional instructors for a thrill ride aboard one of our super-sideways Subaru BRZ.
It’s all here. It’s all waiting for you from 11am, Saturday. All you have to do is turn up.
“We’re ready,” said DirtFish head of strategy Josie Rimmer. “SummerFest is genuinely one of the most exciting days of the whole year for us here at DirtFish – it’s fantastic. Everybody has the best time, meeting old friends, making new ones and loving everything about our sport. There’s such a cool, community vibe going on and the sun always shines! We’re looking forward to seeing you all there.”
Josie will be present through SummerFest in her capacity as DirtFish Women in Motorsport coordinator. In just three years, Josie has built a globally recognized and world-renowned WiM program right here in Snoqualmie. She’s brought the most successful and influential women in motorsport from around the world to DirtFish’s WiM Summit and on Saturday she’ll be running the WiM booth at SummerFest. Go and catch up on her trailblazing work.
Further details of SummerFest 2024 are available here.
