Subaru Announces 2023 Motorsport Activities

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13 January 2023, 5:50 AM

Subaru Corporation and Subaru Technica International (STI) announced their 2023 motorsport programmes at Tokyo Auto Salon.

In the world of sports car racing, these programmes will be led by Subaru’s factory-supported efforts in the Autobacs SUPER GT Series GT300 class with R&D Sport and the second-generation Subaru BRZ GT300.

The driver line up remains unchanged as 2021 GT300 co-champions Takuto Iguchi and Hideki Yamauchi, the duo that won Subaru their first SUPER GT championships, will return for their ninth season as team mates at R&D Sport. They finished a close second in the 2022 GT300 championship standings, taking a victory in the Fuji GT 100 Lap Race in August.

General Manager Masahiro Ozawa will continue to lead the team alongside Team Manager Minoru Sawada from R&D Sport. Dunlop will return as the team’s tyre supplier, continuing another long-term partnership.

2023 will also see Subaru and STI contest the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race once again. This year, the company will debut the new Subaru WRX NBR Challenge, based on the latest second-generation (VB) WRX.

The new WRX, with its 2.4 litre turbocharged flat-four engine, will mark the team’s step up to the SP4T category after years of success in the SP3T class. Naoki Shibuya will lead the development of the new race car as Project Leader, working with General Manager Hideharu Tatsumi, Team Manager Takuya Sawada, and eight service technicians selected from Subaru dealerships across Japan.

Iguchi, Yamauchi, fellow SUPER GT alumnus Carlo van Dam, and Tim Schrick of Germany will drive the new WRX at the famous 24-hour race.

Finally, Subaru will continue their carbon neutral racing developments in the Super Taikyu Series through Team SDA Engineering. In its second season, the #61 Subaru BRZ CNF Concept will once again be driven by Iguchi and Yamauchi, joined by Subaru engineer Koichi Hirota. Masahito Motoi is the Team Manager, who will work alongside employees from the Subaru Engineering Division.