World Rally Championship Subaru

[Sadie]

TheSubaru World Rally Team (SWRT) was Subaru's World Rally Championship (WRC) team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow colour scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia.[2] 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003,[2] although less prevalent since 1999 due to BAT's participation in Formula One with British American Racing. Subaru's WRC efforts date back to 1980, however, in 1989 British firm Prodrive took over its operations, and its base moved from Japan to Banbury, England.[2][3]

Subaru used the team to showcase its symmetrical all wheel drive technology.[4] It has credited the increased sales of its vehicles, especially the Subaru Impreza, with its success in the World Rally Championship, in addition to popularizing its all-wheel-drive system.[5][6][7]

Its 2008 season drivers were Petter Solberg with co-driver Phil Mills, and Chris Atkinson with co-driver Stphane Prvot. David Richards was the team's Principal, and a founder and chairman of Prodrive.[1]Paul Howarth was the team's operations director and team manager. He replaced David Lapworth in 2006.[1][8][9] Richard Taylor was the team's managing director.[1]

The team was a strong one, competing at the top of the WRC for over a decade. It won the manufacturers' championship three times in 1995, 1996, and 1997, and the drivers' championship three times, in 1995, 2001, and 2003. Its Impreza model won a record 46 rallies.[10] The team withdrew from WRC competition at the end of the 2008 season due to widespread economic downturn.[11]

Although Subaru had participated in the World Rally Championship at various times since 1980, it was not until September 1989, that the Subaru World Rally Team, in its current form, was created.[12] Subaru Tecnica International (STi) president Ryuichiro Kuze forged a partnership with the British firm Prodrive to prepare and enter the recently introduced Legacy RS in the World Rally Championship.[3]

Subaru's initial forays into the World Rally Championship were with the Fuji Heavy Industries entries, these were pretty much confined to endurance events like the Safari (or non World event, the Australian Southern Cross rally) and were with the small front wheel drive FF-1 (1000cc) and then the Subaru GSR coupe (homologation special) as first a 1300cc and then a 1400cc car. These were with the 4 cylinder Boxer engine of the same EA family that later grew to 1800cc and also with a turbo version.

Subaru's next forays into the World Rally Championship were with Subaru Rally Team Japan, run by Noriyuki Koseki, the founder of Subaru Tecnica International.[13] The first Subaru car entered a world rally at the 1980 Safari Rally and since that, the team only participated in a few events per season, driving the Subaru Leone.[14] Drivers in the early years included Ari Vatanen, Per Eklund, Shekhar Mehta, Mike Kirkland, Possum Bourne, and Harald Demuth.[2] The best result and only podium was achieved by Bourne at the 1987 Rally New Zealand by finishing third. With the start of the Prodrive effort, the teams competed in parallel, before being folded into each other.[13]

Subaru entered its first Prodrive developed car, the Group A Subaru Legacy RS in the 1990 season, piloted by Finnish driver Markku Aln.[15] Alen remained with the team through the 1991 season. His successes included 4th place in the 1990 Rally Finland, also known as the 1000 Lakes Rally, and in 1991, a 3rd and two 4th places.[15] For the 1992 season, Subaru only entered seven of the fourteen WRC events, preferring to demonstrate the car's ability on gravel rallies. The drivers for 1992 were Finn Ari Vatanen with co-driver Bruno Berglund and Scotsman Colin McRae with co-driver Derek Ringer.[3] Both drivers were able to achieve second-place finishes.[3] Colin McRae also won the British Rally Championship in 1991 and 1992.

For the 1993 World Rally Championship season, the Subaru team debuted its now distinctive blue and yellow color scheme, along with a new title sponsor, State Express 555.[16] Ari Vatanen and Colin McRae remained the primary drivers, with the season being McRae's first complete year of World Rally Championship competition.[16] Markku Aln, returned part-time to the team after a brief stint at Toyota in 1992, and took 4th for Subaru in Portugal.[15] McRae took the first win for Subaru, at the eighth event of the season, Rally New Zealand, the last outing for the Group A Subaru Legacy rally cars.[16][17]At the next event, Rally Finland, Subaru debuted their new Prodrive developed Group A Impreza rally car, known as the Impreza 555, driven by Vatanen and Aln.[18][19] Aln crashed on the first stage, and did not drive for Subaru again. Vatanen, however, showed the car to be quick, even leading the rally at one point, and managing a second-place finish.[16] At the end of the season, Vatanen took seventh in the Drivers' Championship, and Colin McRae finished in fifth with 50.[16] Subaru finished third in the Manufacturers' Championship.[16] Other drivers also competed for the Subaru team at selected events. New Zealand driver Possum Bourne, veteran of Subaru's early days, joined the team for the Rally New Zealand and Rally Australia.[16] Piero Liatti competed in Rallye Sanremo and Rally Great Britain. Drivers Richard Burns and Alister McRae had competed in the British Championship, which Burns won, and appeared again in Legacies for Rally Great Britain,[16] where Burns finished seventh and McRae tenth. Drivers Per Eklund and Hannu Mikkola drove for the team in Rally Sweden.[16]

In 1994, former World Rally Drivers' Champion Carlos Sainz joined the team with co-driver Luis Moya, and took the Impreza 555 to its first win at the Acropolis Rally in Greece.[20][21] It later took wins in New Zealand and Great Britain with McRae at the wheel.[16][17] In the Championship for Manufacturers, they achieved a second-place finish, behind Toyota, with Sainz placing second in the driver's championship, and McRae placing fourth.[21] Other drivers for the Subaru team in 1994 included Patrick Njiru, competing in the Safari Rally, Richard Burns in the Safari Rally and Rally Great Britain, Possum Bourne in New Zealand, and Piero Liatti at Rallye Sanremo.[16][21]

For 1997, McRae again led the team, however his co-driver Derek Ringer was replaced by Welshman Nicky Grist.[41] Secondary driver/co-driver teams included Piero Liatti/Fabrizia Pons (first in Monte Carlo), Olivier Burri/Christophe Hofmann and Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander (first in Sweden and New Zealand).[41] Once again the team successfully defended its Constructors Championship, winning eight victories out of the fourteen rallies, but McRae again lost the Driver's Championship to Tommi Makinen, this time by just one point.[17][41]

In 1998 the team had an almost unchanged line-up, although Jahu Kangas/Pentti Kuukkala and Jarno Kytlehto/Arto Kapanen participated in one round each.[41] McRae took wins in Portugal, Corsica and Greece. However, bad weather and mechanical failures hurt the team, and Subaru and McRae finished third in their respective championships.[41] At the end of the season, McRae left the team to join Ford, with the tantalizing prospect of driving their brand-new car, the Ford Focus WRC.[17]

Burns and Kankkunen continued to drive for Subaru for the 2000 season, with Petter Solberg joining the team halfway through the season, driving in the Rallye de France.[45][46][47][48] The team finished third in the championship, and Burns took second in the Drivers' Championship for the second year in a row.[47]

Burns and Solberg composed Subaru's nominated line-up for the 2001 season with Markko Mrtin/Michael Park and Toshi Arai/Tony Sircombe competing in selected events.[47] Subaru again won the Driver's Championships in 2001 with Richard Burns and co-driver Robert Reid. Burns left Subaru for Peugeot at the end of the 2001 season.[47]

For the 2002 season, Burns was replaced by Tommi Mkinen and co-driver Kaj Lindstrm. Petter Solberg continued with the team, and Pasi Hagstrom was the team's test driver.[49][50] Following the October 2001 signing of four time driver's Championship winner Mkinen, expectations for the team ran high.[50] However, after a season opening win in Monte Carlo, he was only able to finish five more events during the entire season.[50][51][52] His teammate, Solberg fared much better, finishing nine events, five of which were podium finishes, including his first ever WRC win, at Rally Great Britain, the season's last round.[50] The win propelled him past Ford's Carlos Sainz into second in the Drivers' Championship.[50]

For the 2003 season, the driver line-up remained unchanged from the previous year. Solberg drove the #7 car, Mkinen the #8 car. The season got off to a poor start, with neither driver finishing the Rallye Monte Carlo.[53] Solberg then scored four outright wins, in Cyprus, Australia, France, and finished the season with his second straight win in Britain, securing him the Driver's Championship for himself and co-driver Phil Mills, narrowly beating Sbastien Loeb by one point.[54][53][55] The team only managed to achieve third place in the manufacturers' championship, beaten by Citron and Peugeot.[53][56] At the end of the season, Tommi Mkinen retired from the WRC.[51]

For the 2004 season, it was originally planned that Solberg would be partnered with the returning Richard Burns. However the Englishman would never get to return to the team because of a brain tumour he developed in late 2003, and would eventually pass away because of cancer in November 2005. Guy Wilks was also approached to join the team for the 2004 season, but missed out on this opportunity as he was under contract to Suzuki. Solberg was therefore joined by Finnish driver Mikko Hirvonen and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen.[57] Subaru managed to consolidate third place in the Manufacturer's Championship again, while Solberg was second in the Driver's Championship, winning five of the season's rallies: New Zealand, Greece, Japan, Italy and a third consecutive win at Rally Wales.[46] Hirvonen ended the season in seventh place, failing to impress the Subaru team management.[57] He was not re-signed for the 2005 season.[58]

3a8082e126