Higgins’s flying lap record attempt in a Subaru WRX STI is a recently-established tradition. Historically, the TT is a bikes-only event. But Subaru is a major sponsor of the annual two-week racing festival, and Higgins, born and raised on the Isle of Man, is deeply respected in the Manx motorsports world.
This is a significant quote of the article if you’ve been hearing that these attempts are nothing because Isle of Man people only care about motorcycling. I’m pretty sure they care about Higgins just as well as the event itself and history of the event. People that think that the time was slow need to understand that if the time was related to a motorcycle, it would’ve been a qualifying time (ie, it’s running as fast as many of the motorcycles that attend the events). Trivializing the feats is just ridiculous. IMO, the only people that can legitimately criticize the runs are people that have driven their cars at an equal or faster pace at the Isle of Man while also using a 4-wheeled vehicle. And just because other car makers haven’t run their cars in the event, doesn’t make the feats any less significant. Nothing is stopping other car manufacturers from attempting the same, right?
As well, I’ve heard such comments as, “A Z06 or Ferrari 458 Italia can equal the feat”. I highly doubt that, as neither of those will have the AWD advantage to go balls-out like Higgins has been doing. There is no run-off, the streets are bumpy and not designed with speed in mind, yet the Higgins has no problem running the Subaru quickly and without mishap on those streets. Another AWD car (probably of similar genre) would be the better choice. I’ve actually love to see other manufacturers run the Isle of Man!