Posted Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 10:00pm

Subaru’s new performance arm boss eyes a return to world rally – report

DriveThe new head of Subaru’s performance division is planning a return to the World Rally Championship – if he can get the company’s board of directors over the line.

In an interview with Subaru Motorsport Magazine, the new president of Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Hiromi Tamou said he wanted to contribute to improving the Subaru brand through rallying.

“It is a great possibility,” Mr Tamou said in a translated interview when asked about a possible return of Subaru to the World Rally Championship.

“[In my mind it is part of] my future plans for STI brand. It is very important to Subaru and fans around the world.”

Subaru shocked the motorsport world when it announced it was withdrawing from the World Rally Championship (WRC) in late 2008, having won the constructors’ title three times over two decades – blaming the Global Financial Crisis at the time.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the head of the global motorsports organisation, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), told media in September 2023 that Subaru’s return to WRC was on the cards.