Former World Rally Championship star Alister McRae has praised last week’s Velocity Invitational event in America.
Based at California’s Laguna Seca circuit, DirtFish provided rally action to sit alongside a fleet of Formula 1 cars driven by star names like Mario Andretti and Mika Häkkinen.
Joined by his son Max and Danish-born Seattle racer Benjamin Pedersen in six of DirtFish owner Steve Rimmer’s cars, McRae admitted he was impressed with what he saw from the Velocity organizers.
“It was a great event,” said the Scot. “Some of the cars around the place were sensational – not least the six Steve took down there!
“It was well organized with some really big names. It’s always nice when you have the opportunity to show what a rally car can do – and I think the number of tires Max went through would certainly demonstrate that he did that!”
Steve was happy with the weekend. He added: “I think we all had a great weekend. The content of the event is really strong and I think we’ve laid some great foundations for the rally aspect. It was great to work with the Velocity organizers and I hope this is a partnership we can pursue into the coming years.
“There was a lot of enthusiasm down there for DirtFish and that’s always an absolute pleasure to see.”
Predictably, Max had a ball.
“Ah mate, I absolutely loved it!” said McRae Jr. “Driving an ex-Travis Pastrana Subaru and smoking those tires at Laguna Seca was something I’m not going to forget for a very, very long time.
“The whole Velocity thing was awesome. To be right up there walking between the cars and seeing some of the people who were there was incredible. I was pretty fortunate to go to Goodwood Festival of Speed for the first time in the summer and the vibe was similar to that. It was just cool.
“And, coming off the back of a few days at DirtFish, where we got the chance to take some guests and most of the team over there for a ride in some of Steve’s cars was great.
“That was my first taste of America – it’s fair to say I think it’s a pretty decent place!”
McRae Jr is now focused on his penultimate Australian Rally Championship outing of the season, this weekend’s Adelaide Hills Rally (October 21-23).
