Subaru Impreza WRC2006 cars adapted to run well on tarmac

Subaru’s director of engineering, Steve Farrell has revealed that the Banbury based squad are feeling ‘optimistic’ ahead of the Rally Catalunya this weekend.

Speaking in the count-down to the first proper asphalt event of the season, Farrell added that since last year, they have been pulling out all the stops to adapt the Impreza WRC so that it runs well on tarmac and so they can compete with the Citroen Xsara WRC, which has been the dominant car in recent years on seal-surface events.

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“Most of the differences concern the brakes and the tyres, however we’ve also introduced a suspension package with completely new uprights and geometry. Clearly the regulation changes mean we’re also having to evaluate the performance of mechanical differentials. We looked at the car’s set-up in a four day asphalt test in Italy two weeks ago in addition to an intensive tyre testing programme. It was very productive – Pirelli has done a fantastic job and come up with some tyres that look very promising, so we’re optimistic about the rally. We feel we’ve got a good all-round package.”