Italian Luigi Ferrara will race a Subaru STi for Top Run Motorsport in the season opener of the 2016 TCR International Series in Bahrain.
Ferrara, who has competed in recent seasons at the wheel of GT machinery, will race the Japanese car in Sakhir as the team continue to work on the development of their car.
“I’m so excited to race in the TCR International Series which is a top-level championship,” said 33-year-old Ferrara. “I’m also pleased to get back to sprint races, which is where I claimed by best results.
“It is true that I don’t have experience with front-wheel drive cars, but I’m used to adapting myself quickly to any new cars. And I’m not like a fish out of water, because I know the team and I know the track, where I claimed a fourth place in the 2009 Porsche Supercup.
“My only regret is not to have time to test the Subaru before, but I am optimist and my goal is to finish in the points.”
Top Run Motorsport have not yet confirmed how many of their planned 20 Subaru cars they have sold, and how many will be running in the various TCR championships in 2016.
Despite this, Team Manager Renato Russo insists that the outfit are pressing ahead with their plans to develop the car.
“Bahrain will be another important test on the way to develop the Subaru TCR,” added Russo. “In this respect we are happy that Ferrara agreed to drive, because we have worked very well with him in the past.”
Ferrara has an impressive racing CV, and was previously a champion in Italian F3 in 2005, before switching to GT racing in 2008.
His relationship with Top Run Motorsport goes back several years, as he has previously raced a Mercedes AMG for the outfit in the now defunct Superstars Series.