From: Michael McHale Date: December 16, 2008 Re: FHI Withdrawing from the 2009 World Rally Championship (WRC) As you may have become aware, FHI has announced that it is withdrawing from the 2009 World Rally Championship (WRC) citing cost reasons. The announcement follows Suzuki Motor Corp's withdrawal the previous day and Honda's recent announcement that it will no longer compete in Formula One. We at SOA are saddened by this announcement but understand the costs involved in maintaining a WRC team and that it has become increasingly difficult to secure TV viewership for the series. We also note the newly announced 2010 'S2000' rules, which along with extra certification costs, will require all manufacturers to run their cars with common drivetrain and gearboxes, and therefore will affect each team's ability to showcase its own technologies. At SOA, we have no plans to discontinue our support of the Rally America National Championship, where our Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Travis Pastrana and Ken Block finished 1-2 respectively in the 2008 season, driving 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI-based rally cars.
