The high point of SUBARU's WRC career, 1995 started with a change in regulations. To restrain vehicle power, the regulation diameter of the restrictor (attached to the turbo's air feeding mechanism) was reduced from 38 to 36 mm. Engines would now receive less air, drastically reducing the performance of turbo vehicles. Each manufacturer struggled to come up with ways of extracting more power from their engines. SUBARU's approach was to redesign Impreza's engine, giving it a new camshaft design and compression ratio. The new engine proved to have outstanding performance, bringing Sainz a victory in the season's opening round of Monte Carlo, where engine power plays a vital role.
But SUBARU's elation was short lived. In Round 2 (the Swedish Rally), the engines blew out on all three Imprezas SUBARU had entered. SUBARU immediately set about determining the cause of the problem, anxious that it might greatly affect the season's remaining rallies. As it turned out, the wait for a solution wasn't long. The problem was neatly resolved in about a month, and Sainz went on to his second consecutive victory of the season in Portugal.
The Impreza dominated the WRC, with subsequent consecutive victories at New Zealand and Catalunya. Especially on Sainz's home ground of Catalunya, Sainz and McRae's 1-2 position followed the team ranking, and it was thought they would maintain those positions. However, on the final day McRae excelled himself and at one point recaptured the top position. But finally, in accordance with the team ranking, the pace slowed in the final section and he finished second. Piero Liatti, in the third Impreza, placed third, allowing SUBARU to achieve a magnificent 1-2-3 win. In the last rally of the year (RAC), in addition to McRae and Sainz, British champion and star Richard Burns drove a Legacy similar to McRae's to achieve a consecutive 1-2-3 victory. McRae became the first Briton to win the Drivers' Title, and in this its sixth year of competition, SUBARU took out the coveted Manufacturer' Title.
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Carlos Sainz
