Subaru Drops Out of FIA World Rally Championship

TOKYO — Subaru's long and successful history of participation in the FIA World Rally Championship has come to an end. Parent company Fuji Heavy Industries announced Tuesday that it would withdraw from the championship series at the end of the 2008 season.

The decision to pull out of the sport is economically driven, both Fuji and its partner, U.K. engineering group Prodrive, said in statements issued today.

In the statement, Fuji said it "has achieved its original target in WRC participation" and wants to focus on an effort to "optimize...management resources" at a time of global economic downturn. The company said it will continue to support teams and drivers using Subarus to participate in P-WRC and Group N rallying.

Subarus had participated in rallying for two decades and had six WRC titles to its credit. The Impreza WRC cars were a familiar presence at world rally events.

Earlier this week, more recent WRC entrant Suzuki also announced it would not participate in the rally series in 2009.

Prodrive issued a statement saying it will reassign "as many of the rally team as possible" to other parts of the company's operations and said it is focusing on alternative-fuel technology now. The company also said it plans to put together a new team to enter the WRC in 2010, a year in which the series will implement a new set of technical regulations.

Inside Line says: Hard to picture rallying with no Subarus in it. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent