For thirty years, Subaru has been synonymous with the Canadian rally scene. The partnership made perfect sense: what better way to showcase the off-road features of an all-wheel-drive grip-based company than to have Pat “Rocket” Richard fly over gravel and unleash his ITS in the lowlands. orbit? Even after Mitsubishi ceded the field, Subaru remained unwavering in rallying, either as title sponsor of the Canadian Rally Championship and providing emergency prizes to participants driving a Subaru. But as of March 31 of this year, those days are over.
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An official press release from Canadian Rally Sports Association (CARS) President Chris Kremer highlighted that the replacement would be a challenge for the rally network going forward. The CARS board of directors is calling for new sponsorships to make up for the shortfall, especially since CRC tv exhibition will not be funded after the Perce-Neige Rally in Quebec City. But Kremer took the time to acknowledge Subaru’s longstanding support.
“I would like to take the time to sincerely thank Subaru Canada for their many years and 30 years of partnership as a sponsor of the Canadian Rally Championship,” Kremer wrote.
As for why Subaru is no longer investing cash in rallying, Subaru Canada leader Tomohiro Kubota said the company is taking a new direction in marketing its cars. “As our business moves towards electrification, we want to reimagine how we market our vehicles. It is because of this explanation and no other explanation that we are making this change.
The news was met with dismay in the protest network as a whole, but perhaps not all that surprising. Rallying is a very popular motorsport in North America, and perhaps specifically in Canada. There has also long been something of a dichotomy within Subaru itself. : How do you combine a symbol of nature and lightness with WRX that traverse the landscape?Not only that, but the top-spec STI edition is also on hiatus.
Having said that, this is just marketing department stuff, not what’s happening in the Subaru enthusiast community itself. Rally has long been a sport where organizers and entrants make do with tiny budgets, volunteers, and plenty of baling wire and zip-ties. And the WRX still sells strongly, with a large fan-base.
The partnership between Subaru and Rally has officially crossed the finish line. But when it comes to the rallies themselves, you can still expect most of the assistant cars to wear the blue Pleiades star badge on the front and leave a four-plane rumble. in its wake.
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