After purchasing a Skoda Fabia R5, Jackson Long has enjoyed his first taste of the top-spec car after completing a test session in Western Australia with Maximum Motorsport.
With regular co-driver and father Damian Long alongside him, Long completed a full day of testing behind the wheel of the Skoda, familiarising himself with the new machinery.
Despite having only completed one season in the EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC), Long has shown lots of positive signs at the top level in Australia, having taken out the Junior Cup title and two victories in the Subaru WRX Challenge.
Starting out with his Subaru RS before being given the Subaru Challenge Car, Long purchased the Skoda Fabia R5 last month, with the car having previously belonged to Eli Evans, who guided it to the 2018 ARC title.
His maiden test in the Skoda proved highly successful as Long received plenty of coaching and guidance under the watchful eye of Maximum Motorsport, as well as impressing many from the highly experienced outfit.
“It’s pretty impressive how approachable the Skoda is. It’s very capable and easy to understand” Long said.
“I was feeling good straight away and just feel there’s actually a lot of capability to come. It was really good to wrap my head around how it drives and I am already feeling quite comfortable,
“Obviously there’s a big power difference between a Subaru Impreza RS, a standard Subaru WRX out of the showroom and a factory-built Skoda, so that was a big surprise, but I knew it was going to be fast.
“The main thing that I was amazed by is the ability for the car to just basically change directions as soon as you turn the steering wheel and just how little steering you really have to use – you can just turn it with the brakes and the car is highly receptive to your inputs.
“As this was a test, I just really wanted to become a bit more comfortable with the Skoda and to see how it felt, while also having a bit of fun. Overall, it’s pretty amazing to be able to drive this car.”
