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Subaru's withdrawal from the World Rally Championship (WRC) should not have local drivers racing to their local Citroen or Ford dealership, and with 2009 being a gap year for Rally NZ it may also escape relatively unscathed.
Subaru owners Fuji Heavy Industries announced overnight in Japan that the global economic downturn had forced it to cut spending outside its core businesses.
Subaru joins the likes of Suzuki which pulled out from the WRC two days ago and Honda which recently ended its involvement with Formula 1.
The exits leave just two manufacturers, Ford and Citroen, to battle for WRC supremacy.
Rally NZ chairman Chris Carr said today the announcement was cause for concern but it was not time to panic.
"Subaru is a significant loss, no matter how you look at it. But we've gone through this kind of thing before.
"Back in the 90s there were only a couple of significant players in rallying. There was a time when Lancia and Toyota were the only players."
He said with world markets in such a bad way it was a logical step for Subaru.
"Given that a large percentage of their market is in the US ... they've got some serious issues."
The WRC will not visit New Zealand next year as hosting rights for a down under rally are now shared with Australia.
"We had the ability to sit down and choose between 2009 and 2010 and we said we'd be happy taking 2010," Carr said.
"In hindsight it was a very good decision. (Although one) we certainly didn't make with this in mind."
New rules and regulations, announced two days ago, will be introduced in 2010, which it was hoped would draw new manufacturers to the WRC, bringing with them cash, sponsors and fans.
Carr said Subaru had not ruled out a return to the WRC and the new rules in 2010 could mark an opportune time to rejoin the competition.
"That may well be a positive thing for Subaru to work back into because they would have had to develop a new car in any event."
A Subaru New Zealand spokesman said the lack of a WRC team would not impact the availability of parts and support for local teams, but could prompt a review of the company's involvement with Rally NZ - a relationship which has lasted nearly 20 years.
"The parts will still be there, it's just whether we support the leading teams and to what extent. But I think there's probably more emphasis on our continuing involvement with Rally NZ.
"It's purely a New Zealand marketing decision. If there are no works rally cars here in 2010 it perhaps would look slightly odd that we are still supplying all the official vehicles and safety cars."
Rally drivers Emma Gilmour and Richard Mason, who both run Subarus, said WRC cars bore little resemblance to those used in production racing (Group N) which were essentially road cars with go-fast parts bolted on.
"There will still be production car racing with Subarus so they will still have a presence on the world scene, just not on the top level," Gilmour said.
Mason said if Subaru opted to pull back its support of rallying it could hurt his team financially, but ultimately all local competitors were privateers who paid for their own upkeep.
- NZPA
