WRC – Subaru happy with BFGoodrich.

Subaru World Rally Team managing director, Richard Taylor has stated that his WRC team is ‘pleased’ with how their new partnership with tyremaker BFGoodrich is progressing. Subaru were required to change to BFGoodrich this season after Pirelli decided to end their involvement with the FIA World Rally Championship.

After the first event of the season, the Rallye Monte Carlo, things looked promising for both the team and tyremaker. Driver Chris Atkinson finished first in three stages before taking fourth place a mere 0.2 seconds behind the third-placed vehicle.

“It’s a positive start to the season,” commented Taylor. “We’re very pleased with the way our new partnership with BFGoodrich has worked. For the entire team it has been all about getting a better understanding of the tyres and how our car works on them, and what we’ve seen gives us a lot of confidence that we can continue to improve the performance of the car as the season progresses.”

Equally positive sentiments were voiced by BFGoodrich rally manager, Matthieu Bonardel, who commented that he was surprised at how quickly the Impreza had matched the performance of the Fords, given it was less than four weeks since their first test using BFGoodrich tyres.