Subaru off the track
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 17, 2008 00:00
TOKYO - The World Rally Championship lost one-third of its teams within 24 hours when Subaru announced yesterday it was following Suzuki out of the competition.
Both Japanese automakers cited concerns about the global economic crisis for quitting the sport. It leaves Citroen and Ford as the only manufacturers in the FIA WRC competition for next season and it followed the shock decision of Honda to withdraw from Formula One.
"We will not contest the 2009 FIA World Rally championship due to the pressures of the global economic crisis that spread from the U.S. financial crisis that began this Autumn," Kyoji Takenaka the President of Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company, told a news conference.
Subaru has been involved in the WRC together with Prodrive, a British-based auto sports group. "Subaru's departure is a great loss as it is one of the sport's icons," Prodrive chairman David Richards said in a statement. "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."
"We will not contest the 2009 FIA World Rally championship due to the pressures of the global economic crisis that spread from the U.S. financial crisis that began this Autumn," Kyoji Takenaka the President of Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company, told a news conference.
Subaru has been involved in the WRC together with Prodrive, a British-based auto sports group. "Subaru's departure is a great loss as it is one of the sport's icons," Prodrive chairman David Richards said in a statement. "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."