Subaru to withdraw from rally world championship [MERGED]

[Monseratto]

WAAAAH!!!!

TOKYO (Reuters) – Fuji Heavy Industries is withdrawing its Subaru team from the world rally championship due to the global economic crisis.

Subaru joins fellow Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp, which announced its exit a day earlier.

Their exit leaves just world champions Citroen, owned by PSA Peugeot Citroen, and cash-strapped Ford Motor Co chasing the manufacturers' title next year.

"Our business environment has changed dramatically due to the rapid deterioration of the global economy," Fuji Heavy Chief Executive Ikuo Mori told a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

"In order to optimize the management resources and to strengthen the Subaru brand further, Fuji Heavy decided to withdraw from WRC activities at the earliest time," a tearful Mori said, briefly losing his composure at one point.

Automakers all over the world are under severe pressure to find ways to reduce spending as a sudden downturn in global car demand knocks profitability.

Honda Motor Co, Japan's No.2 automaker, this month quit Formula One racing for similar reasons, saying it needed the cash for its core auto-making business.

Rallying does not have anything like the budgets of Formula One, where a team like Honda can burn through $500 million a year, and the sport also has a long-standing tradition of private entrants.

Subaru team boss David Richards had told Reuters on Monday that Citroen, Ford and Subaru were all assessing their participation in the championship on an ongoing basis and that nothing could be taken for granted in the current climate.

Still, Subaru's decision will deal a blow to fans, and possibly to its brand image, which the automaker said had helped it expand sales around the world.

Established in 1989, the team won manufacturers' titles in 1995, 1996 and 1997 and had boasted some of the best drivers in the sport, including Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae and Richard Burns.

Subaru finished third place of six teams in the manufacturers' championship this year.
.

I'll miss those blue cars!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081216/...announcement_1

[eggman]

This one bad news sa Subaristas!!

Oh well hindi naman sila kumikita at nanalo sa WRC since 2006(or wasn't) kaya puwede na silang mag-backout..

[hajabah]

dang.... I'm a teen and a diehard fan of Subaru... when I get my first car with my own money, its gotta be a Subaru for the rally-esque EDSA.... Now that they're backing out of the WRC.... whaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

call me OA if you want, pero napaluha ako doon ah... and that, personally, is a hard thing to come by.... :crying::crying::crying:

my day is now ruined...... and the week, and the year... not a very good piece of news to hear at the end of the year..... :crying:

This is the last news that I would ever want to hear, family and friend involvements aside.

We Subaristas can only hope FHI goes back into rallying once the turmoil is over.... the new hatch was showing hope, then they back out.... :crying:

[safeorigin]

o_0 this is bad.

/me really smells a toyota conspiracy!

[tidus1203]

Diba kanina lang yung Suzuki and now Subaru also withdraws... TOYOTA seems next. At this day and age luxuries should be avoided...

[CVT]

Whew! Another victim.....

7101:hooray:

[Burai]

dang.... I'm a teen and a diehard fan of Subaru... when I get my first car with my own money, its gotta be a Subaru for the rally-esque EDSA.... Now that they're backing out of the WRC.... whaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

call me OA if you want, pero napaluha ako doon ah... and that, personally, is a hard thing to come by....

my day is now ruined...... and the week, and the year... not a very good piece of news to hear at the end of the year.....

This is the last news that I would ever want to hear, family and friend involvements aside.

We Subaristas can only hope FHI goes back into rallying once the turmoil is over.... the new hatch was showing hope, then they back out....

damn, teen ka lang!? swerte mo naman tapos teen lang XD
well, yeah.. its hard to finish kahit 3rd lang. pero out of 6? ang alam ko 4 lang manufacturer na naglalaban laban dun ngayon. ford citro suzu suba. what was the other team? BTW, i think lugi rin naman kasi subaru kung ang citro's car was producing 320bhp. correct me if im wrong pero ayun talaga ang nabasa ko. pero ayos lang din as long as nahahandle ng ford at suba yun kalabanin.

*testament11
wala po mitsu pati toyota. for the peugeot? i dunno. pero parang hindi kasama yun sa wrc. baka sa ibang division i think? pero nagtataka lang ako bakit sinama sa sega rally 3 yung peugot na blue sa wrc lang mismo? i just played it yesterday and to my surprise, bakit merong peugeot!? pero that's a good idea sir ha! r35 for the WRC! mmm nice!

*roberto_minosa
suzuki quitted wrc yata, not on the jwrc?

*Horsepower
pano nyo po nasabi yan sir? wasn't ford a force to deal with? kasi ang nangyayari na was ford at citroen na lang ang parang naglalaban laban eh (which sucks) kasi silang dalawa lang agawan sa mga trono while habang ang suba eh hirap makapasok sa 1st place uli

sayang ang future ng hatch. di man lang din nasubukan ng todo abuso just like the previous units. well kung magbabalik man sila, sana eh yung newer model na agad *grin smile*

[Monseratto]

Ito yung standing this 2008 Season

1. Citroen- 191 points
2. Ford- 173 pts.
3. Subaru- 98 pts.
4. Stobart Ford (privateer)- 67 pts.
5. Suzuki- 34 pts.
6. Munchi's Ford (privateer)- 22 pts.

http://www.wrc.com/index.jsp

[hajabah]

damn, teen ka lang!? swerte mo naman tapos teen lang XD
well, yeah.. its hard to finish kahit 3rd lang. pero out of 6? ang alam ko 4 lang manufacturer na naglalaban laban dun ngayon. ford citro suzu suba. what was the other team? BTW, i think lugi rin naman kasi subaru kung ang citro's car was producing 320bhp. correct me if im wrong pero ayun talaga ang nabasa ko. pero ayos lang din as long as nahahandle ng ford at suba yun kalabanin.

Yes, teen lang ako... should be getting license soon (not in the near near future, but soon enough)

Anyway, back to the topic, may mga privateer pa eh.

320 bhp yung Citroen? diba capped at 300 bhp mga WR cars? o de lugi talaga Subaru, pati Ford. 20 bhp, from what I can comprehend, a lot of power when in a sport as precise as WRC with all the sliding and climbing.

[pup2]

I guess, WRC is now a Euro league.

APRC will be the asian league where subaru is gunning for a 4-peat against the japs and koreans.

Paano na ford?

[yuichi]

dang.... I'm a teen and a diehard fan of Subaru... when I get my first car with my own money, its gotta be a Subaru for the rally-esque EDSA.... Now that they're backing out of the WRC.... whaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

call me OA if you want, pero napaluha ako doon ah... and that, personally, is a hard thing to come by.... :crying:

my day is now ruined...... and the week, and the year... not a very good piece of news to hear at the end of the year.....

This is the last news that I would ever want to hear, family and friend involvements aside.

We Subaristas can only hope FHI goes back into rallying once the turmoil is over.... the new hatch was showing hope, then they back out.... :crying:

dude i want that smile back!

http://www.rally-america.com
http://www.fiaaprc.com/

or buy your dad to buy you an STI.

[pup2]

Motorsports never die! They just ... become more affordable.

[drey]

Blame GM?!

[hajabah]

Really now.... I made sure this wasn't just a hoax by someone from Mitsubishi, Citroen, Ford, etc. etc. Fellow Subaristas, I don't know about you, but this is just.... sad. No better way to put it. I hope they go back into the championship after the turmoil has ceased...... Links after this.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081216/...announcement_1

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/12/16/...ion=cnn_latest

http://www.sportsline.com/autoracing/story/11174867/rss

:crying:

[Burai]

well you could always visit swrt.com for more info about the team's standings and whatsoever. pwede rin po sa scoobyblog. miski ako nagulat sa balitang yan e. damn it! what's a rally pa para sakin kung wala naman dun ang paborito kong manufacturer na subaru.. subaru was right. they lost an icon on the WRC

damn crisis naman kasi.. dami naaapektuhan..

teka! diba sabi sa ibang thread na si david richards ang bibili ng F1 team ng honda? kung ganon eh edi ibig sabihin may pera, so bakit kailangang magback out ng suba?

[uls]

kahit may pera, nagtitipid ang mga mayaman at corporations

kasi walang nakakaalam kung gaano katagal ang crisis na ito

kelangan may nakatabi ka pera

the last thing you want is to fund a racing team (money waster)

madami mga mayaman nabawasan ang kayamanan nila

all motorsports are dependent on funding by rich individuals and big companies

rich individuals no longer feel rich

many companies are either losing money or just breaking even

very few are profitable now

[hajabah]

well you could always visit swrt.com for more info about the team's standings and whatsoever. pwede rin po sa scoobyblog. miski ako nagulat sa balitang yan e. damn it! what's a rally pa para sakin kung wala naman dun ang paborito kong manufacturer na subaru.. subaru was right. they lost an icon on the WRC

damn crisis naman kasi.. dami naaapektuhan..

teka! diba sabi sa ibang thread na si david richards ang bibili ng F1 team ng honda? kung ganon eh edi ibig sabihin may pera, so bakit kailangang magback out ng suba?

may site pa rin sila kahit nag back out na? cool man... But yeah... the first thing that drew me to Subbie was rallying. Even if they were medyo palpak, just being able to finish third out of 6 (?) in the manufacturers was hard. They deserve a pat on the back for the hirap they went through to finish the rally.

WORD.

Oh? I haven't heard of that... Why can't he just stick to WRC and Prodrive? He's planning to go back to the WRC daw in 2010.... which car kaya? the Prodrive P2? hmmm .... Hopefully for us Subaristas.... he'll be using a Subaru again by then... so one season lang mami-miss ng Subbie....

*uls: That's true... that's true.... there was a glimmer of hope with the new STI hatch, but i supppose play safe lang talaga mga racers ngayon.... And racing is never a waste of money if the owner has a burning love for it.

"Love. It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."- - - I love that line.... :D