Isle Of Man Lap Times Are The New Ring Times. Maybe.

If Ring times have joined skidpad numbers and 0-50 times in the trash can of marketing history, what’s next? Subaru thinks they have the answer. A mostly stock United-States-spec STI (hmm, why a US-spec car in Europe, I wonder?) broke the twenty-minute mark around the Isle of Man course to set lap records on two consecutive days.

To see the car that used to hold the record, click the jump.

As with the ‘Ring “record”, the Isle of Man TT “record” had some humble and uncertain beginnings. To be precise, the “record” was set by a fellow running a Rover 827 around. We knew the Rover 827 as the “Sterling 827” in the United States. Basically, it was a first-gen Acura Legend with super-cool wood trim that fell off as you were having it loaded onto the tow truck for another fresh-transmission dealer trip. Here’s an example of one:

You get the idea, right? This was a racer having some fun. By contrast, the new “record” was set by a full factory race effort, complete with photographers and the inevitable video. So, just so we are currently clear on things, I’ve created this chart.

Isle Of Man Lap Times, Ranked

1. Subaru STi, 19:37

I think Trackpedia should use this chart immediately so I can charge royalties.

The fastest motorcycles, by the way, are about two minutes faster. Will IoM TT laptimes become the new hotness? Don’t bet on it. To begin with, the “course” is only periodically available, since most of the time it is used to carry sheep to market. Furthermore, unlike the Ring, people actually live on the course. Cars have much more kinetic energy than motorcycles. The first time somebody puts a GT-R though some innocent pensioner’s front door at 185MPH, the party will be over.