√Subaru could return to World Rally Championship, thanks to Toyota

The World Rally Championship could have a fourth manufacturer in the future, with Subaru potentially returning to the sport with Toyota’s help after a 15-year absence.

Subaru hasn’t competed in the World Rally Championship since 2008 – but that could all be about to change, thanks to a helping hand from Toyota.

According to an interview by rally website Dirtfish with Mohammed Ben Sulayen – the president of the FIA, the governing body overseeing the WRC, Formula One and other top global motorsport categories – Subaru could re-enter the WRC in the coming years, potentially running a Toyota engine.

“It’s not a secret I had a good meeting with (Toyota President) Mr Akio Toyoda, and I ask him what we can do [about enticing more manufacturers into the WRC] and I listened to someone who is passionate. And he mentioned Subaru,” Mr Ben Sulayem told Dirtfish.

“[Toyota] own a percentage of Subaru and they are going to support an initiative of Subaru entering. And I feel someone like him, when he speaks, he speaks with confidence,” he added.

It’s understood Subaru doesn’t currently have an engine which would comply with current WRC rules, which is why Subaru may need to borrow an engine from Toyota – which has a 20 per cent stake in Subaru.

Akio Toyoda is known to be a motorsports fan, competing and testing Toyota vehicles in rally under the pseudonym Morizo Kinoshita.

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However, it’s not known what model of Subaru would be used, given the current WRX is significantly larger than the current World Rally Cars in the competition – all based on the Hyundai i20, Ford Puma, and Toyota GR Yaris.

Toyota has previously revealed it has tested a 1.4-litre version of the GR Yaris engine in a special GR86 in the Super Taikyu racing series in Japan.

Last week, former champion Molly Taylor announced she would return to the Australian Rally Championship in a previous-generation Subaru WRX STI.

In August, Subaru Motorsports USA unveiled an all-new WRX rally car. Brandon Semenuk and Travis Pastrana will both be competing in the 2024 American Rally Association championship – with Pastrana winning the 2021 title alongside Australian co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino.

Unconfirmed reports of Subaru’s return to WRC – with the help of Toyota – have been circling from Japanese publications since late 2020.

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