The R&D Sport-bustle manufacturing facility Subaru crew enjoyed one in every of its most aggressive campaigns in years in 2020, which turned out to be the supreme 365 days for the mature ZC6 abilities BRZ that change into once first campaigned in SUPER GT the total manner back in 2012.
There were no victories, nevertheless there change into once a pole scrape, two podium finishes and a handiest drivers’ championship produce for the squad (fifth) for the BRZ in six years, boosted by the determined step forward made by tyre seller Dunlop and a broader revival for the sequence’ dwelling-grown JAF GT300 machines relative to their FIA GT3 competitors.
But with the open of the 2nd-abilities ZC8 BRZ toll road car final 365 days, Subaru took the possibility to introduce the unique-explore mannequin on the racetrack as wisely, giving the machine its lumber debut in the season opener at Okayama.
That lumber didn’t disappear in step with thought – Takuto Iguchi and Hideki Yamauchi qualified 19th and executed 15th, losing time in a crowded pitlane – nevertheless next day out at Fuji Speedway the unique BRZ confirmed its capacity as Iguchi and Yamauchi took pole and executed a solid 2nd.
There’s balance on the driver front this 365 days, with Iguchi and Yamauchi staying together on the wheel of the BRZ for a seventh consecutive season, nevertheless there’s been a alternate on the tip with Makoto Shibuya being replaced as general supervisor by Masahiro Ozawa – a feeble Subaru WRC engineer who later moved to the marque’s Nurburgring 24 Hours project.
Emboldened by final 365 days’s performance, Ozawa feels there’s no causes why Subaru can’t disappear for the tip prize this 365 days with a car he admits isn’t a radical departure from its predecessor.
“Our competitors are solid, and anything else can happen, nevertheless we’re repeatedly aiming for the title,” he told Motorsport.com. “In actual fact, our aim is to engage it with this unique car this 365 days.
“Closing 365 days’s car change into once already wonderful hasty, so this 365 days we tried no longer to get any huge adjustments, actual the same old trend. And after we modified from the Legacy to the BRZ [in 2012], that change into once a mammoth alternate, and it didn’t disappear so wisely before every thing. So, to e book determined of a repeat of that, and on memoir of I’m the unique crew director, I didn’t deserve to produce anything else too dramatic.
“We did a sort of testing over the winter to get a consistent car. The pass of the automobile has modified and we’re very overjoyed with the aero performance.”
Explaining in more detail one of the most most adjustments that were made to the unique car, moreover the frightful visual adjustments, Ozawa (pictured above, centre) continues: “The front dampers were a cramped bit off to the facet, so we introduced them into the centre, and the oil tank change into once excessive of the driver, so we introduced that into the engine bay to get the bottom possible centre of gravity.
“Also, when making the frame, where we wished more ballast, we added that. It change into once in fact a case of ravishing-tuning in contrast with the old car.
“The engine is kind of the identical. Closing 365 days we improved loads the settings of the anti-mosey arrangement, which in fact helped to toughen traction. We’re unexcited working on the driveability, the small small print, so as that is in fact where we’re concentrated and it’s working great better.”
All which draw that the unique BRZ – powered by the identical family of turbocharged, four-cylinder two-litre boxer engines that took Subaru’s Imprezas to WRC glory all those years ago – is awfully great unexcited a ‘cornering’ car that can relish to excel on SUPER GT’s twistier circuits.
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But effort has additionally gone into to making particular the automobile is stronger in a mammoth replacement of prerequisites after a disappointing bustle to eighth in the supreme round of the 2020 season at Fuji.
“Our car is strongest in cornering, so Suzuka, Sugo, Autopolis are all correct tracks where we in fact deserve to level to our capacity,” says Ozawa.
“Closing 365 days, after we had correct results, it change into once partly thanks to COVID-19 and a sort of races being concentrated in the summertime months, and when it’s sizzling Dunlop is awfully solid. But in chilly prerequisites, adore in the supreme lumber of final 365 days, the performance wasn’t so correct.
“For that motive, we concentrated on chilly weather and long runs with our testing. With the facts we bought from the reliable Fuji take a look at [in March], we were ready to alter the space-up and I specialise in it has labored wisely. From the starting up of the season, we’ve had a correct feeling.”
At Fuji in Might perhaps perchance, the Subaru executed 2nd at faculty in the back of the LM Corsa Toyota GR Supra GT300, one in every of six JAF GT300-guidelines autos in the class this 365 days and one in every of three Supras.
The automobile change into once equipped to LM Corsa by fellow Toyota crew Saitama Toyopet Inexperienced Intrepid, and Ozawa admits that Subaru would be attracted to supplying the unique BRZ to assorted teams in future, assuming that the interest is there.
“We’d rob to explore more [JAF GT300 cars] on the grid,” he says. “For Eastern motorsports it’s crucial to explore more autos made in Japan. It’s no longer straightforward to swap [from a GT3 car], nevertheless if it change into once possible to provide autos to assorted teams, it’s something we’d like to produce.”
For some years now, Subaru’s manufacturing facility circuit racing actions relish in fact been shrimp to SUPER GT and a sequence of 1-off outings in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, which relish yielded six SP3T class wins between 2011 and 2019. But since final 365 days, the COVID-19 pandemic has place that project on withhold, leaving the marque actual with its flagship BRZ project.
And while six class wins on the ‘Inexperienced Hell’ are nothing to be scoffed at, it must be said they’ve approach against very shrimp opposition in a category that can even count most productive eight autos in 2019 (and actual four the 365 days sooner than that), mostly that contains novice drivers.
It draw Subaru’s final actual major success in motorsport is the 2003 WRC title taken by Petter Solberg – which came, incidentally, the 365 days sooner than Ozawa joined the crew. After 2008, Subaru would withdraw from the sequence sooner than embarking on its fresh tie-up with R&D Sport in SUPER GT in 2009.
Since then, there relish been occasional lumber wins, nevertheless the project – neither with the Legacy nor primarily the predominant-abilities BRZ – has never yielded the next championship scrape than fourth in 12 seasons of attempting.
Whereas Ozawa wouldn’t be drawn on comparing the train of winning the WRC title to coming out on top in SUPER GT’s GT300 division, he did relate that championship victory in the latter can even convince the firm to amplify its motorsport horizons in future.
“In GT300 the tip 15 autos are all battling onerous for the title, so it’s wonderful complex to engage it,” said Ozawa. “In actual fact, I deserve to produce another mammoth global championship, nevertheless it absolutely’s complex on the moment. That said, if we can engage the title here, it would be a huge incentive for Subaru and aid them to get inquisitive about assorted championships.”
Whereas a manufacturing facility return to the WRC anytime soon is onerous to envisage, a principal SUPER GT title after so a few years of attempting can even very wisely be a principal step on the path in the direction of the next motorsport footprint for Subaru in the years yet to approach.
