George Donaldson talks about `his` drivers
Subaru won the Production World Rally Championship with Toshi Arai this year. However, the Japanese team`s success was not limited to Arai`s superb performance. Subaru clinched the top three positions in the championship and won all the races, except for Rally New Zealand.
Such a great performance is a remarkable tribute to the Subaru Impreza WRX STi but also to the drivers that got the most out of this potent machine.
STI Group N Project General Manager George Donaldson talks about the drivers that helped Subaru get such outstanding results this year.

Toshi Arai
"Toshi has looked absolutely like the best driver all year. However, we are all only too well aware that the best driver doesn`t always win. He has also proven to be super reliable. Really, for me the clinching moment of the championship was Turkey. Toshi absolutely pulled a flanker on the last day, taking all the chances on that last afternoon, and scoring big time with a wonderful result. On that very drama-filed rally, it was a fantastic victory."

Mark Higgins
"Mark Higgins has set the pace all year, though by his own admission, he`s never demonstrated the consistency of pace that Toshi`s shown. Mark has done an incredible job, demonstrating that the TopRun car has the measure of everyone in the series. They came here (Rally Australia) with just one car, and Mark has shown how good it is with his solid run to second place even after that earlier delay."

Gabriele Pozzo
"Gabriele Pozzo is absolutely a top, top driver. He really started to show his pedigree on this event (Rally Australia) - one of the toughest of the year and the guy has demonstrated the pace from the outset. It is great to see the Barattero car getting the result that they`ve worked very hard for - and I think they deserved."

Nasser Al Attiyah
"Nasser Al Attiyah for me has been a fantastic revelation this year because he stepped straight into the top pace of the PCWRC. He`s done an incredible job all year."

Marcos Ligato / Sebastian Beltran
"Marcos Ligato and Sebastian Beltran also showed extremely good pace in the superbly well-prepared Barattero cars. Along with Gabriele Pozzo, the team made a huge contribution to the championship with their three Argentinean entrants, keeping the other competitors honest with their consistency and pace throughout the year."

Fabio Frisiero
"Fabio Frisiero has had a very, very interesting year - with a great start in Sweden and then some tough times. We`re hoping to have him back again next year in some capacity, running a Subaru in the PCWRC."

Natalie Barratt
"Natalie Barratt switched to a Subaru from the RAC Rally, and immediately showed a very big increase in pace. She is really getting very serious with her programme, having also brought on new co-driver Kaj Lindstrom."

A very satisfying season for Subaru
"It`s an incredible end to a wonderful season for STI,” added George Donaldson. “Although we haven`t always dominated in terms of performance, our teams have been the most professional that the PCWRC has ever had in its existence.

"We`ve got teams here focused on winning the championship, with drivers capable of consistently setting top-end performances. Even if they were put in a World Rally car, these guys we know are the measure of everyone in the world," concluded Donaldson.


Tags: pcwrc, subaru, impreza, wrx, sti, arai,