Subaru calls for SUV racing competition
February 2, 2011
Brand renowned for going rallying wants to see Foresters, Rav4s, X-Trails and CR-Vs battle it out on the race track.
Subaru has just launched the new Forester S-Edition - now it wants to take it to the track.

The brand's local boss Nick Senior told Drive at the launch of the new Forester S-Edition that the number of buyers looking at compact SUVs has never been so high - so they should be able to watch them race, too.

The S-Edition builds on Subaru's reputation for offering hardcore machinery for the masses, building on the credentials of the iconic WRX and WRX STI, as well as a strong lineage of motorsport success - and this is something that, according to Senior, offers a real incentive for the brand to get involved in a compact SUV motorsport segment.

"The one frustration I have with such an adrenaline charged lineup is our ability to demonstrate these performance credentials through any viable form of motorsport," Senior says.

Compact SUVs now account for more than one in 10 new-car sales, with many brands offering higher performance models. As well as Subaru's new S-Edition, Toyota has a V6-powered Rav4, Mazda a turbocharged CX-7 and Mitsubishi a V6-powered Outlander.

"The ARC (Australian Rally Championship) is a pale imitation of the series that Subaru dominated between 1996 and 2005. V8 Supercars obviously largely disenfranchises the majority of automotive companies in this country - and let's not forget the V8 Supercars no longer showcases the third largest segment of the automotive industry in Australia," he says. "It's one of the little reported facts that at the end of 2010, the compact SUV category is now bigger than the large car category for the first time in automotive history.

"The compact SUV segment, at 11.1 per cent of the total industry surpasses the large car category, which has slipped from 10.9 per cent to 9.3 per cent of the total market - so a compact SUV motorsport competition would resonate with more new car buyers than V8s for the first time in our history," Senior claims.

"Unfortunately there are no other formula, categories or motorsport competitions in Australia at the moment that would warrant our interest in the sense of providing a reasonable return on investment or mobilising the 'Blue Army' - our Subaru fans and customers," he says. "We're not unique - many other automotive companies in Australia, both Japanese and European, that have a rich motorsport heritage yet have no real outlet for their motorsport ambitions in this country.

"In my humble opinion, the irony of all this is that while we're riding on Mark Webber's wave of success, motorsport in this country is at its lowest ebb in regards to manufacturer participation - and that's a real shame, because motorsport as a cottage industry has some real benefits for this country," Senior states. "It is labour intensive, it encourages and rewards innovation with success, and can play its role in taking "at risk" kids off our roads.

"We need a broad-based motor sport competition in Australia that encourages a wide manufacturer participation rate, that is embraced by fans, especially younger audiences, and attracts both new and old media interest.

"I would call on CAMS (the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport) to play a leading role in developing a formula with the appeal that I have outlined and they should do it by chairing a forum of interested manufacturers," Senior says.

"It's very hard to believe that currently there is not one Japanese, Korean or Chinese manufacturer involved in either F1 or the WRC," he says. "Remembering Asia is emerging as the biggest market in the world, that is a really sad indictment."

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Funny looking German Subaru