The Subaru WRX STI to Participate in Nürburgring 24-Hour Race
Tokyo, June 20, 2019 – Subaru Corporation is pleased to announce that its motorsports subsidiary, Subaru Tecnica International (STI), will participate in the 47th Nürburgring 24-Hour Race to be held at the Nürburgring in the Eifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on June 20 to 23, 2019, entering a vehicle based on the Subaru WRX STI. This is Subaru’s 12th Nürburgring 24-Hour Race challenge since the first challenge in 2008.
The Subaru WRX STI NBR CHALLENGE 2019 is going to run in the SP3T class, the class for vehicles powered by turbocharged engines with displacement up to 2.0 liter, and aims for 6th win in the class.
In developing the 2019 race car, STI has made following improvements over the class-winning 2018 car, while maintaining the combination of horizontally-opposed engine and symmetrical AWD layout, to achieve faster and more controllable car at the long and hilly so-called world’s most challenging circuit Nürburgring.
<Measure Improvements of SUBARU WRX STI NBR CHALLENGE 2019>
- Engine performance enhancement with lowered friction
- Faster acceleration with lowered gear ratio and smoother gear shifting with revised step ratio
- Powertrain performance enhancements with employment of lightweight clutch assembly
- Improvement of turning characteristics with optimized chassis geometry
- Improvement of aerodynamics with updated aero parts and shark skin paint
Leading the team as the Team General Manager is Hideharu Tatsumi of STI. As for team driver line-up, Carlo van Dam (Netherlands), Tim Schrick (Germany), Hideki Yamauchi (Japan) and Takuto Iguchi (Japan) will be driving again as the defending SP3T class champion.
In addition, eight service technicians carefully selected from Subaru dealers in Japan will join the team again to support the race. Subaru has had dealer service technicians participate in overseas auto races since 1990, an initiative aimed at delivering the “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” to customers by improving the technical skills of technicians. Through the end of 2018, total of 369 Subaru dealer service technicians had taken part in Safari Rallies, World Rally Championships, and the Nürburgring 24-Hour Races.
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| SUBARU WRX STI NBR CHALLENGE 2019 | |
< Team General Manager >
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| Hideharu Tatsumi |
< Drivers >
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| Carlo van Dam | Tim Schrick | Hideki Yamauchi | Takuto Iguchi |
< Subaru Dealer Service Technicians >
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| Manaki Takahashi Hokkaido Subaru |
Daisuke Urayama Fukushima Subaru |
Yoshitaka Ueda Hokuriku Subaru |
Yusuke Nozawa Shizuoka Subaru |
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| Takeshi Miki Nagoya Subaru |
Yukitoshi Yamakawa Osaka Subaru |
Yoji Imuro Shiga Subaru |
Yoshiki Shimosaki Hiroshima Subaru |
< Race Car Specifications >
| Model name | SUBARU WRX STI NBR CHALLENGE 2019 |
| Overall length | 5,120 mm |
| Overall width | 1,900 mm |
| Overall height | 1,395 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,700mm |
| Engine type | EJ20 Horizontally-Opposed 4-cylinder DOHC 16 valve AVCS single scroll turbo |
| Engine displacement | 1,994 cc |
| Max output | 250kw (340ps) / 5,500rpm |
| Max torque | 461Nm(47kgf.m) / 3,000rpm |
| Air Restrictor | ⌀ 37 |
| Transmission | 6-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifter |
| Clutch | Ogura Clutch Metal quad-plate |
| Suspension | Front: Strut / Rear: Double wishbone |
| Brakes | Front: Brembo 6 pot / Rear: Brembo 4 pot / ENDLESS brake pads |
| Wheel | BBS 18 x 10J |
| Tire | FALKEN |
| Drive system | All-Wheel Drive |
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