by Rob WilkinsSubaru's rally operations director, Paul Howarth has revealed that several outfits are in contention to run a Manufacturer 2 team with the Impreza WRC car in 2007.
Ford took the plunge this year - and have done so, under the
Stobart VK banner, while rumours also suggest that
Citroen may do the same as well next season when they return to the sport in an official capacity with the C4, with Kronos tipped to continue using the Xsara. Although nothing has been confirmed by
Citroen or Subaru as yet, Howarth told
Crash.net Radio that they are doing all they can to ensure they have 'B' team next year.
"We are looking at it - having a M2 squad - through several teams and if they are taking cars from us and services, then it is good to have as many teams out there as possible," he noted. "You may remember here at Prodrive we operated the All-Stars team and we were the real front runners in the customer team, 'B' team set-up idea, a long time ago. The problem with it now is there is only so much financial support available for the manufacturer teams as well as the 'B' teams.
"So you have got to have a very consistent and effective car, which is totally reliable and can deliver good results for a 'B' team and can be cost effective. These teams are looking in detail at it and we are helping them as much as we can. The more Subaru's that are out there the better it is for the championship as well - the more cars competing, it just develops it, so we are working with them. Market forces will decide how many cars you see in the championship though and how many 'B' teams there are."
One of the teams in contention for the Subaru M2 / 'B' team tag is Aimont Racing in Italy. Indeed Aimont may even run a car on the Wales Rally GB in December for Gigi Galli: "We have got quite a lot of customers worldwide and one of the customer teams we are working with is Aimont Racing in Italy," added Howarth, when pressed on the matter. "They are an Italian team obviously and they are quite keen to develop a team into the championship next year and work with an Italian driver. They already have some cars from us, so I am sure if they secure a budget, for Subaru and the team, as well it is always good to see highly competitive drivers in our cars worldwide. So again that is just one of those things you are just going to have to wait and see what happens."
As for how long these teams have to decide if they will actually run in the WRC under the M2 category, Howarth confirmed that the end of December is the deadline set by the FIA: "The nomination for Manufacturer 2 is the end of December. So that is when you have got to put your money where your month is and say if you are in for ten rallies or not. A Manufacturer 1 team is obviously in for all 16 rallies with two cars, where as a M2 can register for ten events. We are working, like all the manufacturers, with all these teams to make sure we see more cars in the championship, because that is the ultimate goal to be honest," he summed-up.
