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Petter's trip to Japan
Letter from SWRT
4 July 2006
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| Copyright © STI |
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| Copyright © STI |
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| Copyright © STI |
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| Copyright © STI |
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It might be the WRC's summer break, but Petter Solberg's still been busy. From 28 June until 2 July, the Norwegian spent four days in Japan test driving and promoting the latest Subaru road cars.
First on the agenda was a photo shoot with Japanese magazines in Tokyo and then a trip to Tochigi, Subaru's proving ground three hours drive north of the Japanese capital. At the circuit Petter tried out the new Legacy model, presently only available in Japan, and the new Impreza, that is currently not even on sale in Japanese dealerships. After testing both cars he gave his feedback to Subaru engineers.
Petter became involved in the road car development in 2003, his championship-winning year. "I believe it's essential to get a cross-over between the motorsport and road car programmes," Petter said. "After all, we drive a higher specification version of the cars in some of the most extreme conditions in the world. We can feedback how to get the most out of the car."
Subaru engineers believe Petter's involvement and comments are crucial to improving the performance of Subaru road cars. "Petter's driving style is very smooth, similar to the standard road car user's style, so his observations can be incorporated directly into the design. His comments will have a direct bearing on the road car," Subaru manufacturer principal Toshi Azuma explained. "Petter gives accurate and valuable feedback on the base car to the engineers, which helps, in turn, to improve the handling of the models."
Petter was very impressed with the performance of the new cars. "The chassis balance, driveability and comfort have all improved," he said, "I spent a long time talking with engine and transmission engineers about some of the finer details of the cars and meeting people behind the scenes. The future plans look very good. There are lots of new features we can look forward to."
On 1 July Petter demonstrated the new Subaru models and his own Impreza WRC2005 to the Japanese media and the following day to more than 3,000 Subaru fans. At the latter event two Subaru technicians set up a replica of the Subaru World Rally Team service area to demonstrate how the World Rally Car is serviced on events. "It was very busy, but I enjoyed it. It's always good to speak to people who use the cars and love the sport," Petter added.
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2006
2005