SUBARU TEAM UP WITH PRODRIVE TO TARGET NEW MOUNTAIN COURSE RECORD AT ISLE OF MAN TT RACES
Photo credit www.iomtt.com
Subaru of America, Inc. is teaming up with Subaru Tecnica International (STI) and UK based motorsport and technology company Prodrive with the ambition of breaking its own TT Mountain Course record during this year’s Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.
Three-time British Rally Champion Mark Higgins, who has established the two previous TT Mountain Course records driving cars on behalf of Official TT Car Partner Subaru will again tackle the iconic 37¾ mile (60k) course.
Prodrive are well known for running Subaru’s World Rally Championship programme from 1990 to 2008, so the partnership will give the effort a significant boost as they look to break the fastest lap time for the third time.
Prodrive has a long established history of giving UK-specification customer cars more power, along with creating a one-off, Subaru-based P2 sports car to showcase their engineering skills and close ties with the Japanese manufacturer.
Subaru will again have the chance to do practice runs before their record attempt, which will take place on a closed road on Friday 10th June during this year’s TT Races meeting.
Manxman Mark Higgins is confident that he can break his own record of 19 minutes and fifteen seconds, which he set in 2014, breaking his own previous best of 19:56.7, which he set in 2011. Mark’s original lap record time was over two minutes inside Tony Pond’s previous best time established 21 years earlier.
Commenting on the lap Mark Higgins said:
“It’s always a great honour to return to the Isle of Man and to have the privilege of driving on a closed road on the TT Course. We’ve already made great strides in demonstrating Subaru’s technical excellence and ability on the TT Course, which is one of the most demanding tracks for a number of different reasons, but in teaming up with Prodrive I believe that we can take things up a notch again.”
David Cretney, Isle of Man Government representative for Tourism and Motorsport commented:
“Subaru are a valued partner for the Isle of Man TT Races and their financial support continues to allow us to invest in the growth and development of the races. It is always a pleasure to welcome Mark Higgins back to the Isle of Man and he is a great ambassador not only for Subaru but for the Island and the TT Races.”
