MOTORSPORT: Subaru on the touring car wagon

Subaru is going touring car racing – in Britain, with its new Levorg wagon, which will be launched in Australia mid-year -- but there are no plans to race it here.

Subaru’s competition connection in Britain traditionally has been with David Richards’ Prodrive, which ran its World Rally Championship team until it folded during the global financial crisis late last decade, but the Japanese manufacturer is hooking up with Team BMR for its tilt at the British Touring Car Championship.

The Levorg is four-wheel-drive in its road-going state, but it will be converted to rear-wheel drive for the BTCC. Its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine will be developed by Montune Race Engines.

Team BMR has raced in the BTCC since 2013 and last season fielded Volkswagen CCs. The drivers in the Levorgs will be Jason Plato and Colin Turkington, both dual BTCC champions.

Plato said the Levorg would be “almost the perfect car” for the series. Although wagons – or estates as they are known in Britain – have been seen in touring car racing before, Plato reckoned “this is going to be something very different.”

“Subaru is an iconic name with a successful motorsport heritage – and we want to write the next chapter with it.”

Team BMR boss Warren Scott said that the factory deal with Subaru would take his outfit “to the next level”.

“Subaru has really engaged with this program already,” Scott said. “They are very fired up about it and this is the start of a great new chapter.

“The Levorg is Subaru’s newest car and that is the one they want to promote, which is why it has been chosen.

“Although it is an estate (wagon) car, it has a very strong drag coefficient and also the dynamics of the boxer engine mean that the weight is lower down in the unit, which will help with the weight distribution of the car.

“If you looked at all of the cars available that could have fitted into the BTCC regulations, the Levorg would be very high up on that list.”

Block full-on for World RX

Extreme motorsport cult figure Ken Block has committed to the full World Rallycross Championship this year – in a factory Ford Fiesta ST.

American Block is understood to have a multi-year agreement to drive Ford machinery prepared by M-Sport but run by his own Hoonigan Racing Division.

He was third in a round of the first World RX in 2014 in Norway and has competed quite regularly in the Global Rallycross series predominantly in America.

“I’ve never really had the time or the budget to focus on one championship, so to be able to do this with Ford is just the best,” Block told Britain’s Autosport this week.

“It really means a lot to be competing for an FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) world title – there’s a lot of prestige in there.

“Accomplishing something like that would be huge for me.

“When I switched from Subaru six years ago, Ford was a sponsor. They gave me some money and told me to go and do what I wanted to do, but this year it’s different.

“This time we’re getting so much more technical support – they’re really working alongside us on this one.

“There’s a lot of competition in World RX ... obviously Petter Solberg is the guy with the most success.”

Norwegian Solberg has won the rallycross world title both years as a privateer in a Citroen DS3 after having been the 2003 world rally champion in a Subaru Impreza.

“I know Petter really well, we come from a similar background of rallying, and I’m really looking forward to taking him and the rest of those guys on,” Block said.

“There's not the budget for me to do stage rallying as well as this.

“I’ll certainly come back to it in the future, but for now I’m stoked to have Ford with me for World RX.”

Block will continue his video work, with his latest Ford Escort Mk II likely to feature in the next Gymkhana film.

McLaren turns to VW ‘captain’ for revival

The man who has headed Volkswagen’s rally team to a hat-trick of world titles, Jost Capito, has been poached to run the McLaren Formula 1 team.

However, VW says the 57-year-old German will only leave it “during the course of the year” and will continue as its motorsport director until it appoints his successor.

Capito will become chief executive of McLaren Racing, with Ron Dennis executive chairman and chief executive of the parent McLaren Technology Group but a keen interest in the F1 team’s performance, and Frenchman Eric Boullier entering his third season as the team’s racing director.

The second most successful team in F1 history, behind only Ferrari, McLaren had its worst season last year, finishing ninth of 10 teams in the constructors’ world championship, and has not won a grand prix since 2012.

Capito will have the task of reviving its fortunes in its second season with Honda’s hybrid V6 power unit.

Under Capito’s leadership VW has won 34 of 39 WRC rallies the past three years, as well as the manufacturers’ championships while its Frenchman Sebastien Ogier has been the world champion rally driver.

Capito also has worked for Ford in world rallying, BMW and Swiss F1 team Sauber.

Meanwhile, today is the deadline for car manufacturers involved in F1 – Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda – to finalise proposals regarding engines from 2017.

The motorsport director of high-tech component maker Magnetti Marelli, Roberto Dalla, has said that the Formula E electric open-wheeler championship could help F1 meet the wishes of those wanting a return to 1000hp F1 cars.

Mercedes, the world champion constructor the past two years, will miss a pre-season F1 wet-tyre test at France’s Paul Ricard circuit.

The Ferrari, Renault-powered Red Bull and Honda-powered McLaren teams will test Pirelli’s latest wet-weather rubber – but on last year’s cars – on January 25-26.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo will drive for Red Bull on the first day, handing over to Russian teammate Daniil Kyvat for the second.

The track will be watered for the two days but no more than three cars will be on track at any time.

Testing of this year’s cars – before Melbourne’s season-opening GP on March 18-20 – will be at Barcelona’s circuit on February 22-25 and March 1-4.

Reports are circulating that Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado could be replaced in the team that has been Lotus but has been reacquired by Renault.

Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen, who was third in his F1 debut at the 2014 Australian GP and promoted to third after Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification, is the man touted for the Renault seat.

McLaren dropped 23-year-old Magnussen after it re-hired Fernando Alonso for last year and retained Jenson Button.

Maldonado, who won the 2012 Spanish GP with the Williams team but is crash-prone, brings massive sponsorship from Venezuelan oil and gas company PDVSA, but payments to Lotus-Renault are reported – by the BBC’s authorative Andrew Benson – to be behind schedule.

Benson also reported that Magnussen had recently been given a tour of the Renault team’s headquarters in Britain.