Subaru have announced that they will be sitting out of the opening rounds of the Red Bull Global Rallycross season this weekend while they further develop their new WRX STI GRC Supercar.
The Vermont Sports Car-run operation, which endured a tough 2015 season after introducing the WRX STI, have been working in the off season on a new version of the car, but have elected to take time out to further develop the platform.
“We are taking some important steps this season to increase our technical and engineering efforts,” said Lance Smith, Vermont SportsCar Team Principal. “Vermont SportsCar is working closely with STI in 2016 to take this program to the next level and I’m really looking forward to the future.”
The decision to postpone their 2016 campaign comes after the race winning manufacturer announced a multi-year commitment to Red Bull GRC, along with their highly successful Rally America operation.
Multiple Rally America Champion David Higgins, who has raced in Red Bull GRC sporadically since the series’ inception, has stepped up his involvement with the GRC team by becoming lead test driver.
The team will join the Red Bull GRC field in Dallas with a single car for Norwegian Sverre Isachsen, with Bucky Lasek missing the event due to X Games commitments. The pair will next race together at The Base on Independence Day Weekend.