SUBARU

Subaru World Rally Team

Name:Subaru World Rally Team
Based:Banbury, England
Established:1989
Team principal:David Richards
Current car:Subaru Impreza WRC2007
Manufacturers' titles:1995,1996,1997
Current drivers:Petter Solberg, Chris Atkinson
WRC wins at end of 2007:47
Team website:www.swrt.com

The Subaru brand, with its distinctive deep blue and bright yellow colour scheme, is almost synonymous with rallying and enjoys a loyal following from fans the world over. After a disappointing 2007 season, Subaru pushes on with the hopes of turning its recent performances around and reclaiming its championship winning ways.
The Subaru brand is one of the best known in rallying - and for good reason. The sport has helped it evolve into a performance brand that is a match for many of its European rivals. In turn, that popularity on the road has helped evolve the rallying myth and a succession of star drivers, including Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae, Richard Burns and now Petter Solberg further honed the legend.
Prodrive started the ball rolling in 1990 with the Legacy, before switching to the more rally-friendly Impreza in 1993. Double champion Carlos Sainz and rising British star Colin McRae gradually became more and more successful as the car was developed, with McRae taking a first world title for both himself and the team in a dramatic 1995 season. Sainz left at the end of that year, but McRae led the team to second in the standings in 1996 as the focus turned to the new World Rally Car rules that were introduced in 1997.
Subaru was at the forefront as rallying's new rules allowed more dramatic-looking evolutions of road cars to be built, and won the 1997 opener in Monte Carlo with its new Impreza WRC, thanks to asphalt ace Piero Liatti. With Kenneth Eriksson also continuing, Subaru's drivers were quick enough to win eight rallies and the manufacturers' title, but not the drivers' crown. In 1998 McRae once again finished second in the drivers' title chase as Subaru struggled to match Japanese rival Mitsubishi, and the Scot opted to go to Ford for 1999.