The shooting of the movie Gymkhana 2022 was going on with great difficulty.
"Gymkhana 2022" was a worthy addition to the popular Gymkhana viral video series started by Ken Block, full of insane stunts performed by Travis Pastrana in a 1983 Subaru GL wagon called the "Family Haulster." However, nearly all of the stunts featured in the video almost never materialized.
Subaru of America's YouTube show "Launch Control" offers a three-part behind-the-scenes look titled "Road to Gymkhana 2022." (This second installment was filmed before the death of Ken Block, the creator of the series.)
The problem began when Pastrana was injured while attempting to base jump from a building in Fort Lauderdale for a video. A parachute malfunction resulted in a hard landing, Pastrana was hospitalized, and filming was suspended for six months. Despite being bedridden, Pastrana was remarkably cheerful.
"Travis' experience with injuries is unusual," Subaru of America motorsports manager William Stokes says in the video. So he had no problem getting behind the wheel after his recovery.
When filming resumed, problems arose with the drag race filming of Pastrana and YouTube star Cleetus McFarland driving the 3,000-horsepower Chevrolet El Camino. The Chevrolet's engine mapping was faulty and refused to launch hard. This was especially problematic because the race was filmed on a closed public road and there was limited filming time.
Another time constraint was daylight hours. By the time everything was ready to shoot the pastorana performing stunts in conjunction with the monster truck, the sun was setting and the clock was ticking. This meant multiple takes to find the right camera angles, and mechanical problems could easily eat up the time.
In that pressure situation, Pastrana hit a concrete barrier, damaging his suspension and rear axle. Switching to rally pit crew mode, Subaru mechanics got into the damaged car and got it up and running again in time for the shoot.
If you've seen Gymkhana 2022, Subaru's behind-the-scenes video is definitely worth watching to get an idea of how much effort goes into making something as dangerous and unpredictable as a gymkhana video.