2013 SUBARU Motorsport Activities
Tokyo, January 11, 2013 – Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI) - the maker of Subaru automotbiles and Subaru Tecnica International Inc.*1 (STI) announced an outline of SUBARU Motorsport activities for 2013.
*1: Subaru Tecnica International Inc. (STI), a wholly owned subsidiary of FHI, is based in Mitaka city in Tokyo.
The company manages motorsport activities of Subaru. The company's president is Hiroyuki Karamatsu.
SUPER GT Series
SUBARU, with the "SUBARU BRZ GT300" race car, will participate in the SUPER GT series this year as well, widely regarded as Japan's top motorsports category. The race car has been built by STI under the supervision of
Hideharu Tatsumi, General Manager of STI Motorsport Project Office and employs the same front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout as the production BRZ model. The Subaru BOXER turbo engine is mounted on the front.
As in previous years, the team will be operated in conjunction with "R&D SPORT" led by Director Shinji Motojima, and Tetsuya Yamano and Kouta Sasaki will be driving for the team. SUBARU will further refine the car at an early stage to fight for both class and series wins.
Nürburgring 24-Hour Race
STI will participate in the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race (from 17 to 20 May in Germany) for six consecutive yeas, with a vehicle whose performance has been enhanced from its base car – the Subaru WRX STI four-door model.
STI won the SP3T class in the 24-hour race in 2011 and 2012 and will aim at its third consecutive victory this year. The car has bolstered its competitiveness with further lowered center of gravity and other performance enhancement. It will run in a short race in the VLN series in April at Nürburgring for settings to be made before it goes into the 24-hour final race on 19 and 20 May. Like last year, Hideharu Tatsumi will take the helm of team operations as team manager, in addition to the development of the car. As for team drivers, Toshihiro Yoshida and Kouta Sasaki both from Japan will be listed, adding two more drivers from Europe. As in previous years, service personnel selected from SUBARU dealers in Japan will be dispatched to the race as part of the team crew.
International Rally Series Organized by FIA
At the same level as previous years, SUBARU will continue to support private drivers who will participate in the FIA World Rally Championship 2 (WRC2) and European Rally Championship (ERC) which was integrated with the former Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). Further announcements will be made as soon as detailed plans are confirmed.
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