Subaru registers for 2010 IRC
In association with Sunday, December 6th 2009, 12:10 GMT
Subaru has become the eighth registered manufacturer to join the Intercontinental Rally Challenge next year, alongside Fiat, Honda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Proton, Skoda and Volkswagen.
The Japanese manufacturer, which pulled out of the World Rally Championship at the end of last year, will not run a factory team but will instead rely on private entrants to score manufacturer points in the IRC series.
Subaru's motorsport director Shigeo Sugaya commented: "We are very happy to join the IRC, a series that we have been watching closely since its creation three years ago.
"The IRC provides an ideal arena to develop our customer competition activities. With approximately 1,000 Subaru cars rallying around the world, this is a great opportunity for our customers."
A Subaru Impreza actually won the very first round of the IRC: the 2007 Safari, which was claimed by Conrad Rautenbach. However, as Subaru was previously not registered, he did not score championship points.
While conventional Group N cars have struggled against their Super 2000 counterparts recently, Subaru is hoping that the new 2010 rules - which allow turbocharged Group N machines a bigger restrictor - will redress the balance.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80451
In association with Sunday, December 6th 2009, 12:10 GMT
Subaru has become the eighth registered manufacturer to join the Intercontinental Rally Challenge next year, alongside Fiat, Honda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Proton, Skoda and Volkswagen.
The Japanese manufacturer, which pulled out of the World Rally Championship at the end of last year, will not run a factory team but will instead rely on private entrants to score manufacturer points in the IRC series.
Subaru's motorsport director Shigeo Sugaya commented: "We are very happy to join the IRC, a series that we have been watching closely since its creation three years ago.
"The IRC provides an ideal arena to develop our customer competition activities. With approximately 1,000 Subaru cars rallying around the world, this is a great opportunity for our customers."
A Subaru Impreza actually won the very first round of the IRC: the 2007 Safari, which was claimed by Conrad Rautenbach. However, as Subaru was previously not registered, he did not score championship points.
While conventional Group N cars have struggled against their Super 2000 counterparts recently, Subaru is hoping that the new 2010 rules - which allow turbocharged Group N machines a bigger restrictor - will redress the balance.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80451
