If the above is true, then Subaru can no longer use the "rally-breed" as their marketing for the Impreza WRX. It would just be a "Porsche wannabe" with their boxer engine.

However, Solberg leaving doesn't really matters to me since I am into Subaru rather than the driver.

On the positive side, Subaru will still remain in WRC but they will change to BFGoodridge tires! Now then will we see real fighting rather than keep on complaining on the poor tires performance.

http://web78.f-1.com/news_View~t~Solberg-set-to-quit-Subaru-~cid~4~id~130866.htm

- Charles

lies!

Subaru needs to reassess it's commitment to the WRC and to the 4 door sedan market. I'm beginning to believe they are mutually exclusive.

If the above is true, then Subaru can no longer use the "rally-breed" as their marketing for the Impreza WRX. It would just be a "Porsche wannabe" with their boxer engine.

Why not? When was the last time you saw an Audi in the WRC?

If the above is true, then Subaru can no longer use the "rally-breed" as their marketing for the Impreza WRX. It would just be a "Porsche wannabe" with their boxer engine.

However, Solberg leaving doesn't really matters to me since I am into Subaru rather than the driver.

On the positive side, Subaru will still remain in WRC but they will change to BFGoodridge tires! Now then will we see real fighting rather than keep on complaining on the poor tires performance.

http://web78.f-1.com/news_View~t~Solberg-set-to-quit-Subaru-~cid~4~id~130866.htm

- Charles

That article seems to be mostly speculation and putting Solberg's words into a certain context. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Petter did leave, where would he go? Citroen Kronos? BP Ford?

Porsche builds sports cars(for the most part), Subaru builds economy cars, I don't see Subaru trying to imitate Porsche.

All in all, has anyone been able to match Citroen-Loeb-BFG?

It's not just Solberg.

drop Solberg he can't finish. They need a finisher....LOEB & Subaru now that's a deadly combo.

I doubt Subaru will leave WRC!

Matt

I doubt it as-well.

In the near future at-least.

Lets wait to see some new chassi's, that should give us a good hint on how serious they are.

an aside, vis a vis Porsche/Subaru:

The president of our Local Porsche Club of America sent me a note after their AX event last weekend, where a bunch of Team Blew Subiest showed up and "were surprisingly fast," ie. kicked Porsche Butt. There were a few well driven GT3's and 2's. We even had the perhaps only U.S. 959 there for Show & Tell. Otis Chandler's ... which lived in a museum, but was allowed out if they filled a "flight plan" with the gov. agency that deals with these things. It's only got +3K miles on it!

http://public.fotki.com/makofoto/solo_ii/porsche_ax_lot_12/

... and now back to the WRC ...

When you are trying to push a car that is just not up to par with the competition, you are more likely to make mistakes or break parts.

Solberg can't finish? Solberg is a WRC champion that won in an inferior car. Loeb and Subaru would be the same as Solberg and Subaru. Great drivers rarely win with inferior cars at this level of motorsports. Loeb is flat out fast and he has had the best car since he came into the sport, he is'nt going to switch cars unless someone offers him a huge paycheck and or a superior car. Both are unlikely. French driver in a French car is just to much of marketing coup.

Citreon/Pug dominated for years, now Ford apparantly has something to show as well.

Subaru Prodrive is still lagging behind and will continue to do so without a major philosophy overhaul and or more money for the program.

Subaru needs a winner not a finisher. Finishing in WRC does'nt mean jack.

Loeb/Citreon does not finish, they win.

Eh, not so much as a peep from the regular British motorsport press, and they absolutely thrive on speculation.

Petter's times are almost always on par with Loeb (or faster) in gravel. The car isn't holding up. On tarmac, the tires are t3h suck and the car just isn't that fast (and we don't really know how the drivers would do since the car is so slow). Outside of the Skoda Fabia, which is small, I don't see four-door cars doing that well in the WRC when competing with the Citroen and Focus. When the new Citroen comes out next year (along with "full" backing from Citroen) I can only imagine how much terror that will bring with it.

Petter has the worst luck and a (comparitively) crappy car. No titles for him or the team until something major changes. At this point, I wouldn't mind seeing Pirelli go in favor of BFG just to see what effect they would have.

Subaru needs a winner not a finisher. Finishing in WRC does'nt mean jack.

Loeb/Citreon does not finish, they win.

No. If anything we have learned this year, to win, you must finish. That has always been the mantra of rallying.

Why not? When was the last time you saw an Audi in the WRC?

Why? Seems like only yesterday when Mikkola and Michele Mouton (sp.?) tore up the WRC circuit.

No. If anything we have learned this year, to win, you must finish. That has always been the mantra of rallying.

i think when you say you need a winner, its assumed he must finish. Wanting only a finisher does nothing, unless of course he finishes in 2nd everytime and the faster cars have trouble finishing (ie Richard Burns vs Marcus Gronholm)

ok, I read the article but haven't read every post. Where does it say that Subaru is leaving the WRC? The last sentence of the article implies that Pirelli is leaving.

right, who knows what going to happen till next season. We are going to have to wait and find out. Subaru is not going to leave the WRC at all

ok, I read the article but haven't read every post. Where does it say that Subaru is leaving the WRC? The last sentence of the article implies that Pirelli is leaving.

+1 Reading comprehension for you fools :lol:

Why not? When was the last time you saw an Audi in the WRC?

almost every rally. They run under the skoda brand name. skoda=VW=audi

+1 Reading comprehension for you fools :lol:

What he said....I will be glad to see pirelli go. Hell, maybe Goodyear can give it a go at this point or steal some of the BFG's...everyone else has them!!!

If the above is true, then Subaru can no longer use the "rally-breed" as their marketing for the Impreza WRX. It would just be a "Porsche wannabe" with their boxer engine.



As others have stated you have to really read into this and take some leaps of faith to believe that.

Also I doubt Subaru would drop the "rally heritage" idea. It would still go back to rally because thats what they did and furthermore there are many many people that buy the car just because of what it is not because it has been in rally's. I'd actually prefer a car with a bit more road racing built into it's design but that's because I'm too much of a sissy to rally.

I think Petter will leave Subaru... but I doubt he'll leave WRC if he can find another drive. I think he is too passionate about the sport to leave.

If the above is true, then Subaru can no longer use the "rally-breed" as their marketing for the Impreza WRX. It would just be a "Porsche wannabe" with their boxer engine.
Why not? I no longer live with my parents, but I'm still Kuhner bred... :D

I can't believe this :eek:

I can't believe this :eek:

It's speculation. Don't worry for now.

Well, his contract is up at the end of the season. No supprise that he might move.

I think Solberg in WRC is equilivant to Jacques Villeneuve in Formula1. Jacques won the 1997 Championship but so what? Look where he is now. Solberg won in 2003 but in 2004 and 2005, his points difference between Solberg and Loeb is so far apart and he is no match to Loeb's package.

This year, no difference. In fact worst!! Loeb and Gronholm is more like competing with their package. Loeb is supposed to be a tarmac expert but obviously getting very good on gravel. Gronholm Ford seems to be an excellent car also being able to match Loeb's pace on gravel and tarmac. Solberg? err.. i don't know. More driver's error and the car... sucks compared to others i guess

- Charles

They need get out all those cubic dollors for what?They have been spanked for the past 3 years.I would like to see them in a different series the WRC is not what is once was.Brad

If the above is true, then Subaru can no longer use the "rally-breed" as their marketing for the Impreza WRX. It would just be a "Porsche wannabe" with their boxer engine.
Except that there are plenty of rally events that aren't WRC. Some of which involve cars that more closely resemble street cars :)

grpN is where it's at anyways...

If you go into a subaru dealership and look over the sales brochures and banners, the adverts look more like clippings out of an LL Bean catalog rather than stills from any rally series. If you photoshopped a Lexus SUV in place of the Legacy, Impreza or whatever, it'd have the exact same theme of rugged outdoorseyness intimately linked to a quiet, comfortable ride with a fuel efficient powerplant and drivetrain.

Where exactly is the benefit of the "rally heritage" theme needed to sell cars? Any US rally is pretty much a big Subie meet anyway but your average American consumer doesn't look at a Subaru and think of double caution over crests and left foot braking, they think of hauling camping gear out to the middle of the woods or groceries and children home from school without the cost of owning an Explorer.

Yes competition improves the breed, or however it’s said, but I don’t think it’s completely necessary. Carmakers for some time now have been softening up and watering down their performance cars for the US market. Buying a specific make or model because a car is desired that will make its owner feel as close to the track or the stages as possible, is disappointing here because there’s no STI RA or GT3 RS. According to those calling the shots, the only Americans interested in a beautifully performing car out of the box are the ones that import JDM ITRs or Skyline GTRs. Sad.

Subaru can back out of WRC and still sell cars because look at the platform which pretty much put Subaru on the American market, a 2.0L turbo awd 5 speed sedan for ~$25k. Younger generations and/or those who want a car with some kick to it fell in love instantly, many not even knowing or caring much about motorsports. Subarus will still sell, regardless of a WRC presence. Evos are disappearing from showrooms pretty quickly, despite Mitsu's previous less than successful WRC seasons. When I toss my GC off the side of a cliff at Rim of the World, I’ll buy another and rebuild the rally car, but not to WRC Group A specs.

After watching Petter on the Eurosport coverage from Sardinia, I really REALLY feel bad for him. I was clutching the bottom of my chair and yelling at the computer screen through all 3 episodes. He’s trying soooo hard and at the end of what was the most disappointing (for both Petter and Subaru) round yet in the season, he goes “I won’t give up, I’ll be back.” Gotta love the guy. As said before, he's won the championship and through the 06 season he's been delivering fastest stage times here and there. He is perfectly capable of winning. IMO Pirelli needs to go and Petter needs to find a team (factory or privateer) that will provide him with a car reliable enough to finish so then he can concentrate on putting Loeb and Gronholm behind him. I don't care much what Subaru does cause their decisions don't affect me or my Impreza. I’ll still watch the WRC with as much enthusiasm as I do now.

Droping out of the wrc would be the biggest marketing mistake ever made! Its like ferarri droping out of F1! WRC is the second biggest motorsport in the world ..... only other place they could go would be F1? Why would they since.. suzuki, hyundia and mabey mitsu plan to enter back into wrc by 2007

No way would Subaru leave the WRC. They have been in it for so long, a dominant team for so long, and their entire history is tied in with the WRC. As for the Subaru granola bar image, that is clearly changing since the WRX was introduced a few years back. The WRC/WRX connection is much more strongly advertised now in the US, and that link is critical to the success of this vehicle in America. Subaru knows the importance of rally car racing, just as Porsche knows it's critical to its own image. The average WRX buyer in the US has gone to the dealership because of rally dominance by Subaru I would suspect.

As for Petter not being a finisher, that's just bs crap. Let's get the Impreza on some decent tires and then see what happens. It's purely obvious that the majority of the problems that SWRT has been having have to do with their clearly inferior Pirelli tires.

I think Solberg in WRC is equilivant to Jacques Villeneuve in Formula1. Jacques won the 1997 Championship but so what? Look where he is now. Solberg won in 2003 but in 2004 and 2005, his points difference between Solberg and Loeb is so far apart and he is no match to Loeb's package.

This year, no difference. In fact worst!! Loeb and Gronholm is more like competing with their package. Loeb is supposed to be a tarmac expert but obviously getting very good on gravel. Gronholm Ford seems to be an excellent car also being able to match Loeb's pace on gravel and tarmac. Solberg? err.. i don't know. More driver's error and the car... sucks compared to others i guess

- Charles

I don't think I quite agree with you here. Jacques Villeneuve, despite what his fans might think, is a washed-up driver. His skills and talent have become inferior to the current drivers on the track compared to his 1997 rivals.

Petter's skill is not inferior. If you can bring an inferior car with inferior tires to podium, that means your skill is pretty damn good. He did it throughout 2004 and 2005 and even once in 2006. I don't think its driver error at all. I have to admit, despite being a big fan of Subaru, their car has got to step it up. It's totally not as commited as the Citreons and the Ford. I think you'll take your words back when Petter comes back as a champion in a different car.

1. It's the tires.
2. It's the tires.

Ok, some fuel to the fire. When I first heard of Prodrives F1 programme, the "oh crap" thought did pop in my mind. Why? F1 takes a LOT of money if you want to win, so;

3. Prodrive to F1 in '08 = bye bye WRC?

almost every rally. They run under the skoda brand name. skoda=VW=audi

No, VW owns Skoda and Audi. Skoda and Audi are separate subsidiaries. There's nothing Audi in a Skoda.