i used to have an STi so i know by looking at this video that it was STi "operator error".

that "beep beep beep" noise you hear in the background is an optional shift indicator alarm on the STi you can set to "remind" you to shift (along with a red flashing shift light front and center in the IP). anyone who needs to be "reminded" by an audible alarm to shift and not by throttle position, turbo spooling or engine rpm noise certainly has no business to be drag racing anyone.

in the hands of a proper driver who knows how to launch an awd turbocharged car, a stock STi can whoop almost anything on the road, stock or otherwise. and let's not forget these cars (sti, evo, s4) are not about straight lines either. a chimp with a steady hand can go fast in a straight line