The Prodrive / Xtrac designed gearbox used on the Subaru World Rally Teams WRC2008 Impreza has been shortlisted for the Professional Motorsport World Expo Powertrain Innovation of the Year award.
Jari Ketomaa and Subaru Win Last Round in Finland
From Subaru Group-N: Ketomma win’s the last round in Finland, however due to previous commitments earlier in the season, they were not able to clinch the season win (PDF) — which goes to Juha Salo (Mitsubishi Lancer).
In seventh and final round of the 2008 Finnish Rally Championship season, SM Vaakuna-Ralli was held around Mikkeli, there was three car entry for Subaru Dealer Team Finland. Jari Ketomaa was defending his victory from last year and this time his only target was to get another victory from his home town’s rally event. With team regular drivers Ketomaa and Teemu Arminen there was also entry for team test driver Juuso Pykalisto, who has run many tests with Tommi Makinen Racing during this autumn.
Subaru Trying it’s Hand at WTCC
According to Motorsport Aktuell, Subaru is planning to not only run in the WRC (World Rally Championship) but also in the WTCC
Currently Atkinson and Solberg are hanging out in 4th and 6th place in the championship–and not scoring a win this year–Subaru is visiting the WTCC in Japan to evaluate the possibility of running. The TouringCarTimes points out that this isn’t the first time a manufacturer has attempted to run both rally and touring car circuits–however these attempts failed:
Previously engagements in the rally championship have excluded engagements in the touring car championships. Ford introduced the Focus in the ETCC, but that program came to a halt due to their rally program needing more focus and money.