Pro R, the official tuning arm of Subaru UK, wowed crowds and stole the show at the season opener at Japfest recently.
The Castle Combe show, which is now in its eleventh year, is traditionally one of the busiest and best-attended events in the Japanese enthusiast’s calendar – and the Pro-R team turned out in style to ensure that everybody knew they had arrived!
On track, a fully Pro-R prepared STI 340R, complete with Toyo R888 semi-slick tyres, was proving to be one of the quickest cars around the challenging circuit. Piloted by Pro-R test driver Jason Sharpe, and fitted with a plethora of Pro-R tuning parts, the STI put on an amazing – and occasionally sideways – display of car control that left many owners of much more powerful machinery wondering what just went past.
With the passenger seat being offered out to those wishing to make a donation to Subaru’s chosen charity of the Household Cavalry Foundation, the team racked up an impressive £1100 over the course of the day. With two soldiers in full dress uniform on hand in the afternoon, many more generous donations were offered by showgoers as the day went on.
On the Pro-R stand itself, technicians Paul and Adam showed the 18,000 strong crowd the benefits of fitting warranty-approved parts by setting about a standard ’03 model STi and fitting it with just about everything from the Pro-R catalogue, including springs, bushes, anti-roll bars, panel filter, exhaust and dress-up accessories. Managing to complete all of this work in one day truly demonstrated the virtues of OEM upgrades!
Rising rally star Sara Williams was also present, not only meeting and greeting her fans, but showcasing the Pro-R backed car that she had just skilfully pedalled to outright victory at the recent Swansea Bay Rally.
A wide range of Pro-R products, merchandise and apparel was also available on the capacious stand, with ‘Show Special’ offers tempting many of the thousands of Subaru fans present to treat themselves – or their cars – to something special. Everything from Autoglym car-care through to mugs and tax disk holders were snapped up, meaning the team had much less to pack up on their return!
A video booth also played continuous Subaru films, adverts and virals, meaning that the Pro-R stand proved to be one of the busiest and most popular attractions at the show. Pro R also used the unstoppable prowess of its sister brand Isuzu to offer charity passenger rides in the new Isuzu D-Max on Castle Combe’s demanding off-road course. This too, turned out to be a great success and raised a considerable amount for the Household Cavalry Foundation.
The next outing for Team Pro-R will be Sunday 7th July at Japfest 2, Castle Donington.
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