Ford Focus RS - Plan B - Road Trip

Sunday, 9 a.m.
Trek to Sonoma: Groggily making their way to Sears Point

Us: Contemplating drag racing a toilet
Just getting to the track was a miracle. The drive from Lodi to Sonoma is an hour. That's about 45 minutes longer than either of us has been off the porcelain all night. It takes nearly an hour of false starts before we can coordinate our clenching long enough to get into the car at the same time. When we arrive, we register for the race, pay our $30, and then realize neither of us can handle driving. Unless there's a Port-o-san at the end of the strip, there's no way I can sit in that staging line. Desperate, we ask Joe Morgan, who is here driving his 8-second Focus wagon, if he wants to drive.

His car is rear drive and has an automatic, but Joe is no dummy, and he jumps at the chance. I didn't see any of it, but from my stall, I could hear the announcer, and it sounded like he said 16.056 at 89.22 mph. Did we forget to tell Joe it has a turbo?

"Bad clutch" is the official report. That's exactly what I thought when I first drove the car, but later I decided the pedal just engaged too high. His second run is slightly better at 15.945 at 89.61, but better isn't better in bracket racing. We're out.

Relieved, we finally park the car with the rest of the recently arrived Trek cars and watch the reaction from the comfort of the bathroom. The car is a hit, there's always a crowd around it talking about the damn steering wheel. Even here, nobody has any idea what a Focus RS is. If it weren't for the hastily applied "turbo by Garrett" stickers, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything but the wheel.

Sunday, 3 p.m.
Trek to Sonoma: Peacefully dispersing

Us: Trying to escape
Procedure for leaving the track:
1.Evacuate bowels.
2. Walk 40 feet to car.
3. Drive back to bathroom and repeat step 1.
4. Drive three feet.
5. Return to step 1.

Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Trek to Sonoma: A foggy memory

Us: Finally testing the RS
The thick air of L.A. is kind to the Focus. Our dyno registers a shocking 240 lb-ft of torque, but a soggy top-end peaks at only 200 hp. Those wacky Brits love small turbos. Still, it's laughably underrated at 212 hp and 227 lb-ft of torque at the flywheel. Near sea level, there's no lag at all, just torque steer. Lots of torque steer. Nursing the clutch, we manage a 14.8 at 95.1 mph at the dragstrip at California Speedway. Still not as fast as it feels, but given the wacky torque curve, it would probably be faster short shifting.

That feeling of relentless grip is confirmed on the skidpad, with an impressive .93g of grip. Even more impressive is the slalom speed, which, at 72.6 mph, is a hair faster than the EVO VIII. With the virus finally purged from my system, I'm eager to take the RS back to Buffum's backroads, but there's no time. Cletus finally limped his truck into town and it's time to drag the Focus home.

Hey, Cletus, we've got a great seafood stop for you in Colorado.

One Big HugWe thank all the sponsors that made the Trek to Sonoma possible.

Also, a special thanks to: Timmy Reyes, Jye Townend, Pete Townend, Cody Ages from Moondoggie's Skate Shop, Casey Landaker, Corey Ryan, Brendan Lueng, Brett Eymard from Bill's Wheels in Santa Cruz, Colin Radach, Josh Dalogh, Karl Smudskr from Skateworks in Santa Cruz and the skate team from Pacific Wave in Santa Cruz