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Vol.17 : 14, October 2005

Tommi Makinen Racing Launches '06 Car
Group N Journal visits the Forests of Finland for the recent TMR (Tommi Makinen Racing) launch event, featuring the latest evolution of the highly successful SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI spec C(=spec C).

Rally Finland is Tommi Makinen Racing's most important sales opportunity of the year - with a huge number of competitors visiting from all over the world. These prospective customers are either taking part themselves (for the thrill of competing in a world championship rally) - or they've come along to see what's competitive.

Rally Finalnd is rather unique in Europe in that it makes the Service Park into more of a theme park, proving very popular with the locals and their long-distance guests. The crowds include lots of families, and roving packs of rally fans.

Booths from many competing teams, including the factory outfits, use this to promote their technologies and competition wares. Right in the heart of this was the Tommi Makinen Racing stand.

The centrepiece of the TMR stand was a 2006 spec C - already fully prepared, and unveiled just prior to the rally start.

Tommi himself was kept busy with TV and radio interviews during the launch. Throughout the weekend, many thousands of people visited the stand.

Among these, dozens of potential customers inquiring about running the machine in various championships for 2006 made for a very succesful weekend for Tommi Makinen Racing.

TMR didn't run any cars on the event itself; though there were a number of TMR-supported machines competing - mostly locally-run top-level privateers in the various Finnish champioships. The very best of the young Finnish drivers were competing in Group N; and while they lasted, the TMR-supported SUBARUs were right at the front of the pack - even shaming quite a few WR cars.

Clients from Russia, Estonia, Poland and other nearby countries use Rally Finland as their benchmark for what's going to be competitive next season. The timing of Rally Finland within the world championship calendar is perfect for planning next season's strategy in terms of equipment etc.

Customers buy cars at the time of the event (August); receiving cars around the end of October. This allows them to run the new machines during the early part of the winter, in preparation for the season ahead.

Tommi's key customers are the grassroots supporters. In Finland, these clients generally purchase a base car, fitted with rollcage and some required competition parts and spares. Outside Finland, in places such as Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia, Tommi sells fully-prepared cars.

Throughout Scandinavia, 'self-build' is the popular option - very few people buy a 'built' product. Tommi supports grassroots competitors with 'self-build' cars, and international clients with fully-prepared product that's ready to be driven away.

Many of the 'self-build' cars are done so to a surprisingly high standard. One of the main differences is that the club-level competitors use their own free labour, which counts for as much as 30% of the cost of fully preparing a car. For those who can do it, 'self-build' is an attractive option - particularly for national-level championship competitors.

Some of the better-prepared Finnish competitors' garages can be quite an eye-opener - fabulously well-equipped, both in terms of tools and personnel.

Tommi Makinen Racing serves both fully-prepared cars for international 'built' clients, and base cars for the homegrown 'self-build' competitors. The common thread is the platform: SUBARU technology and the highly-successful spec C.

Prodrive unveils 2006 IMPREZA Group N

Prodrive has launched its new SUBARU IMPREZA Group N for 2006, the N12. An increase in turbo boost mean engine power and torque output are up; with aerodynamic improvements due to the base car's face lift and changes to the rear spoiler and air diffuser.

In the last three years, the SUBARU IMPREZA has become the most competitive car in the Group N class. Winning the Production Car World Rally Championship in 2003 and 2004, SUBARU IMPREZAs lie first ,second and third in the 2005 PCWRC, as well as occupying seven of the top ten positions.

Customer cars should be delivered in December 2005, with an expected homologation date of January 2006.