Subaru & Suzuki out of WRC

[GTTpower]

Heard about it this morning. Very sad news with all the Japanese manufacturers out. . Now would be a perfect time for Toyota to pull out of F1 and return to WRC to fill the void

[Leon]

God knows they suck enough at F1 .... plus, they had the best cheat ever back in WRC days with the "magic" turbo restrictors

[IH8TEC]

God knows they suck enough at F1 .... plus, they had the best cheat ever back in WRC days with the "magic" turbo restrictors

umm wasn't that toyota?

[Mr.Phreak]

Now would be a perfect time for Toyota to pull out of F1 and return to WRC to fill the void

God knows they suck enough at F1 .... plus, they had the best cheat ever back in WRC days with the "magic" turbo restrictors

umm wasn't that toyota?

Yes......yes it was

I hear reading helps comprehension

[repowered]

hehe

sad that subys out...yea Corolla back in WRC ftw! that one is aussie did pretty well.

[Stinger]

Celica Carlos Sainz ftw

[Adamal]

How come they're out? Suzuki only just got in!!!

[mr30%jr]

yay make a new gtfour mad keen for new gen 3sgte

[rolla_fxgt]

I think the economic down term is just being used as an excuse to pull out, since both Suzuki & Subaru aren't happy at all with the s2000 rules for 2010.

I think this may well be good bye rallying from Subaru, and Suzuki won't touch it again till they're guaranteed at least 3-4 years worth of similar regs, to make it worth their while developing a car. They got royally screwed by the FIA on this one.

Maybe after the crowds & viewer numbers shrink, the FIA will realise they made a big mistake in trying to make top level motorsport both in F1 & WRC, a standard car type spectacle, heck why don't they just go the whole hog, and run it like NASCAR, with slightly different bodies for each manufacturer?

Sad to see Subaru drop out

[mr30%jr]

thats crap

back to production cars, and piss all restrictions. if you loose its either cause you were going to fast or too slow.

spectators dont care who wins i dont think they ever have. rallys fun seeing some noisey ass grubby car getting completly sideways and then going down a bank

wrc now = cotton wool boring and too safe

wrc 90s = crazy drivers, crazy cars and good rally

only my opinion anyways

[IH8TEC]

whats the new rule?

[GTTpower]

FIA specifications include the following:[8] [9]

Derived from production model, of which 2500 have been produced in the past year
Maximum of 2 liter (2000 cc) displacement
Normal Aspiration, 8500 rpm maximum for 4 cylinders, 8750 rpm maximum for 5 cylinders, 9000 rpm maximum for 6 cylinders.
All wheel drive is permitted in rally cars, but not in touring cars.
6-speed sequential gearbox (Control specification), or 5-speed MT gearbox retaining original gear ratios.
Front and rear McPherson suspension
No electronic driver aids
Must be for sale at a maximum price of €168,000

WRC cars get a few extra things on top, turbo kits, wings etc..

[1I1]

WRC cars get a few extra things on top, turbo kits, wings etc..

few.. thought for a second they were going to ban turbo's

[FST4RD]

Bring back Group B!!!
That would draw the crowds again....

[repowered]

thats crap

wrc 90s = crazy drivers, crazy cars and good rally

only my opinion anyways

yea 90's were some of the best WRC years aye

yea suzuki have only been in WRC this year, not sure if they even did all rallies this year? they had the swift in S1600 a bit before that...i wonder if they will keep that going.

yea group B was awsome.

[TRD Man]

If you're going to discuss rallying, perhaps you could at least make an attempt to get the facts right.

David Richards has released a lot of media over the past 12 hours and has confirmed that the economic downturn and resultant drop in sales is the reason for Subaru's withdrawal. FHI is laying off 10% of it's workforce and it is deemed inappropriate to continue with a sporting programme whilst that many workers are losing their livelihood.

Nobody has screwed Suzuki over. There have been 3 previous significant changes in formula, since the World Rally Championship began, and each time the timing hasn't suited some teams. That's life. It's not as if Suzuki didn't have any warning of upcoming changes or that they can't adapt their car to suit the new regulations.

GrpB aside, rallying has always been a production based formula with the GrpA cars of the late 80's & 90's most resembling showroom specification. The World Rally Cars used presently are a deviation from GrpA that most teams and rally commentators believe have gone too far technologically.

The S2000 plus formula is a step in the right direction in my view.
There are already 8 or 10 manufacturers with S2000 cars and there is a reasonable expectation that most of these will enter the fray with an upgraded S2000+ car.
These cars will add variety, noise and excitement that has been missing from the WRC for too long.

[Zitchu]

Does this mean that they can stop making ugly hatches and make the Impreza a sedan again

[GTTpower]

Agreed.
I imagine wouldnt be too much of a stretch for Toyota to enter that Corolla in WRC, built to the same S2000 regs.

[repowered]

uea +1!

[snwtoy]

I like the idea that the cars have to be production models.

I don't like the idea that they're allowed to add a turbo kit. I reckon they should have to sell the production turbo models