Subaru Impreza STI to contest Nurburgring 24-hour race

Subaru Impreza STI in action on Nurburgring shakedown

STI team will run the WRX STI Impreza in the 24-hour endurance race next month, an event it has participated in since 2005

Subaru is throwing its hat in the ring again for the Nurburgring 24-hour race this year in the form of an Impreza WRX STI.

The Impreza STI (Subaru Tecnica International) will run in the SP3T class of the 37th ADAC Zurich 24 Hour Race, as it is officially called. Subaru's STI unit has used the Nordschleife run at Nurburgring, sometimes referred to as the Old Course, to test many of its vehicles including this latest Impreza STI, which will set out to prove its endurance mettle in the long-distance race, an event in which Subaru has participated since 2005.

To run in an endurance race, the WRX STI has undergone some changes to the chassis, with a stiffening of the body and other components, as well as the addition of a Flexible Tower Bar. The STI team that will run the race is headed by Hideharu Tatsumi, who also serves as the manager of STI's Vehicle Experiment Division.

The WRX STI comes with a 4-cylinder, horizontally opposed, 2.0 liter DOHC turbo driving the symmetrical AWD system. The car will be raced by 4 Japanese drivers.

The 37th ADAC Zurich 24 Hour Race at the Nordschleife/Nurburgring takes place from the 21st to the 24th of May. The Subaru team can be followed at their dedicated STI NBR CHALLENGE web site: www.subaru-sti.co.jp/e/nbr24h2009/

Source: Subaru

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Apr 17, 2009 8:21 am By Alex Ricciuti

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STI, Impreza to contest Nurburgring 24-hour race

This May, SUBARU Tecnica International (STI) heads to the Nurburgring circuit for the "37th ADAC Zurich 24 Hour Race" (24 Hours of the Nurburgring) with an originally tuned version of the Impreza WRX STI aiming for a class victory.

The ADAC Zurich 24-hour race takes place at the course of 25.378km in total, and is the largest endurance event in the world, with more than 200 cars participating, familiarized by European manufacturers who enter every year. STI particularly and practically uses 20.832kms "Nordschleife" (also called "Old Course"), known as intensively severe course, as a proofing ground for STI developed vehicles. STI's objective to participate this event is to collect data and verify technical know-how, and also to learn out of this race for future STI vehicle development. STI's vehicle development is focused on further enhancing the unique ride quality which can be characterized by the theme, "Strength and nimbleness".

The participating car is Impreza WRX STI built and tuned exclusively by STI, adopting "Flexible Tower Bar", along with a variety of original chassis and body stiffener and components. Modifications also include weight-reduction and safety equipment installation.

The car will participate in the SP3T class (for turbo-equipped machines with an engine displacement of 2.0litter). STI will conduct the team management for this race, supervised by Hideharu Tatsumi (STI's General Manager of Vehicle Experiment Division), while racing the car are four highly experienced professional Japanese drivers.

Entrant name	:	SUBARU TECNICA INTERNATIONAL(STI)
Participating car	:	SUBARU Impreza WRX STI(GRB type)
Participating car	:	Horizontally opposed 4-cylinder EJ20 2.0litter DOHC turbo / SYMMETRICAL AWD
Suspension	:	Front - strut, rear - double wishbone
Vehicle manufacturer	:	STI
Team director	:	Hideharu Tatsumi (STI General Manager of Vehicle Experiment Division)
Drivers	:	Kazuo Shimizu, Toshihiro Yoshida Naoki Hattori, Koji Matsuda