Subaru To Withdraw From Wrc

[The Don]

Subaru to withdraw from World Rally

PA

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

Subaru have withdrawn from the 2009 World Rally Championship due to the global economic downturn.

The news comes just one day after Suzuki also confirmed that they are to quit the WRC, and less than a fortnight after Honda sent shockwaves through motorsport by withdrawing from Formula One.

The Prodrive-run Subaru team emerged as an iconic WRC marque during 20 years in the sport which delivered three constructors titles and three drivers titles from Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg.

"This sudden decision was in response to the widespread economic downturn that is affecting the entire automotive industry, and follows Suzuki's withdrawal announced yesterday," read a statement on official website http://www.swrt.com.

Prodrive chairman David Richards added: "Subaru's departure from the World Rally Championship is a great loss as it is one of the sport's icons.

"The Subaru World Rally Team has created true champions such as Colin McRae and Richard Burns and its absence will be felt by many the world over.

"Although this decision closes a significant chapter in Prodrive's history, our focus now turns to the future."

While once a dominant force in the WRC, Subaru's star has waned in recent years, with the likes of Citroen and Ford having usurped the Japanese manufacturer at the head of the order.

Subaru's last title came with Solberg in 2003, since when the team has finished third in the manufacturers' standings on four occasions.

Prodrive have revealed that they will be looking to redeploy staff assigned to the WRC programme, which accounts for around 20 per cent of the company's turnover.

The team statement confirmed that Prodrive remains in a strong position despite the gloomy economic outlook, and hopes to return to the WRC with a new team in 2010, when a raft of new technical regulations will be implemented.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-r...ly-1135957.html

[miniace]

Yesterday its Suzuki,now Subaru...next??? bad n sad scene

http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.cgi?...UTO_Subaru.html

MINIACE

[Optimus Prime]

That is truly a shame. Was looking forward to seeing what Gronholm would have done with the hatch...

Guess this is a free pass for another championship title for Loeb?

Edited December 16, 2008 by Optimus Prime

[The Don]

Yesterday its Suzuki,now Subaru...next??? bad n sad scene

http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.cgi?...UTO_Subaru.html

MINIACE

Not sure if Ford can justify the expenditure in the current economic climate as well. Their brand is not tied to WRC in the way Subaru is which makes this an even bigger shock !

Probably also means Mitsubishi is unlikely to return soon as well.

We might see the Subaru hatch in the hands of privateers ...... you never know

[Velocity]

SAD !!!!!!

[Devinda_Z]

i'm truly heart broken

hardly the kinda news one wishes to come home to

i'm gonna just latch onto that sliver of hope in the statement of a possible return in 2010 - who knows if its just something they said to pacify the likes of me and other SWRT faithful...

the WRC is going to loose a lot of flavour without SWRT in the line up

As for the possibility of privateers, i don't think even the likes of the Arabs have that much money to throw around these days...

even if they did ,

its not going to be the same as the good ole blue livery blitzing past trees cutting through the gravel followed by a trail of dust...

~sigh~

[GTAm]

Guys what you really need to worry about right now is if Subaru and Mitsubishi will go bust altogether. Their volumes are small and they have not been making money in good times..........

Pulling out of Motorsport is like taking a panadol for a heart attack. The Japanese govt might have to bail them out if they are to survive.

Industry experts are suggesting that the world would sustain only 6 manufacturers once the reccession gets through. Tiny companies like Subaru have little chance unless they are swollowed by Toyota which itself is getting hit hard that I wonder if they'll bother.

[KLM]

The end of an era is slowly approaching. It'll truly end at the end of 2009 when the WRC era ends and the FIA implements Super 2000 regulations for World Rally. SWRT will be missed.

[KLM]

Actually, Dev_Z that statement only suggests that Prodrive will return, and not necessarily Subaru.

S2K rules, if anybody is interested - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_2000

Edited December 16, 2008 by KLM

[Gummybr]

This is sad.

Now there will be only two manufacturers fighting it out, unless Peugeot makes a come back.

Wondering whether it'll be the same with other forms of motor racing like F1, MotoGP and etc....

If so it will be bad.

[mazdaspeed]

This is very disturbing news – 1st it was Honda puling out of F1 & Now my next favourite Subaru pulling out.

The whole world is in a financial soup – looks like other (Mitsubishi and Ford etc ) will also pull out – what’s the use if there’s no competition to compete against- besides sponsors will think twice .

[xXx]

As for the possibility of privateers, i don't think even the likes of the Arabs have that much money to throw around these days...

even if they did ,

its not going to be the same as the good ole blue livery blitzing past trees cutting through the gravel followed by a trail of dust...

I won’t rule out the Arabs just yet. DIC (Dubai International Capital) has already entered in to the negotiating table with the Honda F1 team. If you have liquidity in your cash flow this is the best time to make some long term investments. Big tech giants in Silicon Valley have already started their shopping spree. The way I see it, we are witnessing a new shift of power in the financial world. ‘Old money’ of the west is being out performed and shifted towards the ‘new money’ of the middle and far east.

Guys what you really need to worry about right now is if Subaru and Mitsubishi will go bust altogether. Their volumes are small and they have not been making money in good times..........

Pulling out of Motorsport is like taking a panadol for a heart attack. The Japanese govt might have to bail them out if they are to survive.

Industry experts are suggesting that the world would sustain only 6 manufacturers once the reccession gets through. Tiny companies like Subaru have little chance unless they are swollowed by Toyota which itself is getting hit hard that I wonder if they'll bother.

Survival of the fittest huh. Any idea who will occupy the list?

IMO this is inevitable. Global recession simply fast tracked the process. On your panadol comment guess every little helps. Read an interesting article that pin down Honda’s decision to pull out of F1, on their sponsorship free earth car concept that was implemented in the last two seasons.

[KLM]

Honda got it wrong big-time by using their marketing department to sponsor the F1 car so that they could promote the 'my earth dream' concept. The moment sales dropped, Honda's marketing budget was cut and therefore the team suddenly found itself without a major sponsor, with no relief in sight.

In Honda's case it was a flawed business model that didn't survive the crisis but with the others, the prohibitive cost of competing is what did them in. The FIA really needs to reign in spending across all forms of racing because at the end of the day the extra dollars weren't really adding to the spectacle. $400 million to race 2 cars 18 weekends a year is a stupid amount, if you think about it. The new emergency regs for '09 are a step in the right direction, and over the next few years they'll have to trim their collective waistlines even further. F1 has always been, and must remain, about technical innovation but $800,000 for light-weight lug-nuts (per year), $100,000 in helmets per driver (per year), allowing Vijay Mallya to take over Force India etc etc is just stupid and wasteful.

Max Mosley keeps saying that another F1 team will crash and burn soon and if that happens we'll most likely see 8 3-car teams, putting 24 cars on the grid. Economies of scale mean that adding a third car will cost teams very little and it'll be nice to see an occasional Ferrari 1-2-3.

[xXx]

Honda got it wrong big-time by using their marketing department to sponsor the F1 car so that they could promote the 'my earth dream' concept. The moment sales dropped, Honda's marketing budget was cut and therefore the team suddenly found itself without a major sponsor, with no relief in sight.

In Honda's case it was a flawed business model that didn't survive the crisis but with the others, the prohibitive cost of competing is what did them in. The FIA really needs to reign in spending across all forms of racing because at the end of the day the extra dollars weren't really adding to the spectacle. $400 million to race 2 cars 18 weekends a year is a stupid amount, if you think about it. The new emergency regs for '09 are a step in the right direction, and over the next few years they'll have to trim their collective waistlines even further. F1 has always been, and must remain, about technical innovation but $800,000 for light-weight lug-nuts (per year), $100,000 in helmets per driver (per year), allowing Vijay Mallya to take over Force India etc etc is just stupid and wasteful.

Max Mosley keeps saying that another F1 team will crash and burn soon and if that happens we'll most likely see 8 3-car teams, putting 24 cars on the grid. Economies of scale mean that adding a third car will cost teams very little and it'll be nice to see an occasional Ferrari 1-2-3.

machang mind if i ask what's wrong with Vijay Mallya's take over of Force India?

[KLM]

machang mind if i ask what's wrong with Vijay Mallya's take over of Force India?

Absolutely nothing. It was (an attempt at) a joke. Mallya is quite the showman, but I'm a big fan of what he has achieved.

[xXx]

Absolutely nothing. It was (an attempt at) a joke. Mallya is quite the showman, but I'm a big fan of what he has achieved.

the way i see it he'll be another Alex Shnaider. he'll add no value for the sport but will end up pocketing a nice sum when he decide to part with the team.

[KLM]

I disagree. I think that Vijay Mallya is a genuine enthusiast, unlike Schnaider, and surely no-one can begrudge him a profit if he cashes out in a few years. He is a businessman after all, but a motorsports enthusiast also - he has owned and raced thoroughbred grand prix cars in the past and has recently taken over the Indian version of SLAS, and now runs motorsport in India. The McLaren drivetrain deal also immediately moves them up from the back of the grid to the midfield (at least) and his smart management moves have definitely increased the team's value AND competitiveness. It'll be interesting to see how he fares while running the day to day operations of the team next year, but either way, he has been a positive influence. Also, it has been great to see the Kingfisher Airline pit/grid girls instead of the usual whitebread.

Now if he'd only get rid of that silly ear-ring.........

[The Don]

This is sad.

Now there will be only two manufacturers fighting it out, unless Peugeot makes a come back.

Wondering whether it'll be the same with other forms of motor racing like F1, MotoGP and etc....

If so it will be bad.

Gummy Peugeot is unlikely to return as long as Citroen is around as they are both the same company, Peogeot Citroen PSA

I do fear for the survival of car firms like Subaru, Mitsubishi and Mazda which ford relinquished a lot of its stake of the company.

All GM backed teams are in hot water as well and I'm not sure if Ford can afford to compete in the WRC next year

[Devinda_Z]

although they're withdrawing from the WRC , business seems to be going on...

this new 2010 Legacy is due to debut at the Detroit motor show on the 11th of January - next month

[Devinda_Z]

how's this for a Subaru Concept !

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/530be...?p=090528_11:14

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/933b2...?p=090528_11:14

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/492d0...?p=090528_11:14

Source : http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/martensso...wrx_sti_concept

open the images - turst me its worth it - the only reason i can't get the images up is cuz of those dynamic image tags or whatever

[K3Z]

how's this for a Subaru Concept !

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/530be...?p=090528_11:14

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/933b2...?p=090528_11:14

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/492d0...?p=090528_11:14

Source : http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/martensso...wrx_sti_concept

open the images - turst me its worth it - the only reason i can't get the images up is cuz of those dynamic image tags or whatever

Did they hired an ex-lamborghini designer or did they just copied the design from them because of the economic crisis...?

[Pericles]

how's this for a Subaru Concept !

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/530be...?p=090528_11:14

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/933b2...?p=090528_11:14

http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/492d0...?p=090528_11:14

Source : http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/martensso...wrx_sti_concept

open the images - turst me its worth it - the only reason i can't get the images up is cuz of those dynamic image tags or whatever

Seems to be some kinda tuner model

[Devinda_Z]

Seems to be some kinda tuner model

Did they hired an ex-lamborghini designer or did they just copied the design from them because of the economic crisis...?

well neither actually - its been drawn up by some bloke called Lars Martensson who according to Top Gear is "an independent 3D designer who spends his weekdays creating rendering for video games"

This is another of his concepts supposedly

http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2007...-Martensson.htm

and here's a link to what i think is his website

http://www.3dluvr.com