Toshi Arai
Toshihiro " Toshi " Arai (Japanese新 井 敏 弘, Toshihiro Arai, born December 25, 1966 in Isesaki ) is a Japanese rally and race car driver.
He drove both as a works driver as well as privateer Subaru Imprezas always different stages of development. Unlike with his loyalty to the Impreza Arai kept it with his co-drivers. Since the Intercontinental Rally Challenge 2011 Arai starts with the Australian Dale Moscatt and so with the already seventh passenger at his side. In the years 2005 and 2007 he won the title in the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship.
- 2.1 Title
- 2.2 WRC results
- 2.3 IRC results
Career
First experience in rallying collected Arai in Japanese Rally Championship. In it, he won the 1992 Class B. In 1994, he finished sixth in the overall standings. After two third championship courses in the following two years he was 1997 Japanese Rally Champion. In this year he also took part in the Dakar Rally.
WRC and PWRC
Arai was, with his Japanese co-driver Toshio Omizo, at the Rally Australia 1997, his debut in the World Rally Championship (WRC ) in a Subaru Group N
1998 Arai was reported in three world rallies. From the Rally New Zealand, he was and his newly registered passenger Hiroshi Suzuki excluded. With the British Roger Freeman at his side, he did not reach the target in the Rally Australia and Rally GB. In four rallies in the 1999 season, he started to get into the points in a World Rally Car (then class A8) without. Three other rallies this season, he played again in the group N, where him in, through many failures in memory lasting, Rally China managed a seventh place overall and his first class victory.
2000 Arai took part in eight rounds of the World Cup. In the Safari Rally and the Rally Greece, he scored a sixth and fourth place his first World Championship points. He also won the, discharged once this season, FIA Teams ' Cup. Arai drove in the next season, with his new co-driver, the Australian Glenn MacNeal the first nine rallies of the year. There he competed in the WRC from 2001 to 2002 for the Subaru factory team at twelve WRC rallies. In the discharged as end of season 2001 Rally of Great Britain, the New Zealander Tony Sircombe was his new co-pilot. During these two years in the works Subaru he reached five times the goal and finishing fourth in the Rally of Cyprus 2001, three World Championship points. In addition, he started in 2002 with five rallies in the PWRC class, where he won a class victory and 22 points.
From the World Rally Championship 2004, Arai has focused on the PWRC title. He founded his own Subaru Team Arai and launched his Subaru Impreza WRX STi in seven World Rally Championship races. With second place in its class in Australia and the Rally Mexico, he finished the season end the second place in the PWRC. In 2005 he was master of the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship for Drivers ( PWRC ). With four class victories - at the Rally Sweden, Rally of Turkey, Rally Japan and Australia - a second place in its class in New Zealand and Square PWRC Rally Cyprus the seventh, he won superior to the title. In the 2006 season he won in six PWRC rally attended the rally Mexico. The rest of the season, he scored rather average results and was sixth in its class. In his home rally, he started for the Subaru works team Impreza WRC and scored the sixth overall.
In the World Rally Championship in 2007 Arai took part in six rallies. He started with his team exclusively in the PWRC class and won in this ranking, the rallies in Greece and New Zealand. Since he was second class to sixth season beginning in Sweden, Mexico and at the Rally Argentina, gave him a tenth - place finish at the PWRC Rally Japan to secure his second title in the PWRC.
The next year, Arai moved back to his former co-driver Glenn MacNeal. As a sixth in the PWRC class in Sweden and PWRC third in Japan in 2008, he finished twelfth in this class, since he had not reached the goal in Argentina, Greece, Turkey and New Zealand.
For its first participation of next year, he retired from the Rally Norway. In addition, he was in the PWRC standings of the 2009 season fourth in Cyprus, third in Argentina and Greece. After failing in Australia, he was after finishing second in its class in Britain fifth in the Production World Rally Championship in 2009.
Also in World Cup year 2010 he was in the PWRC at the end of the season in fifth place. This season, he read the Briton Daniel Barritt ago from the prayer book. After he had in his class reached the second place in Mexico, the fourth place in New Zealand and the sixth place in the Rally of Germany, he was parted in Japan, achieved a third place at the Rallye de France and finished ninth the PWRC standings in the UK.
IRC
In 2010 started Arai, as with all international rallies, with a Subaru Impreza at a run of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge ( IRC). However, he did not reach the 2010 goal in Belgium Geko Ypres Rally. In the 2011 season, he took part with the new constructed according R4 Regulations Subaru Impreza on selected IRC rounds. Also new is his Australian co-driver Dale Moscatt. At the Tour de Corse, he reached the 13th place overall. During the Sata Rallye Açores he left due to an electrical defect. When discharged in Hungary Mecsek Rallye Arai was 18th in the overall standings. With his ninth overall in the Rally of Scotland, Arai won the first place in his class and received his first three IRC points.
WTCC
2011 Arai first appeared also in touring car racing and participated in a meeting of the World Touring Car Championship ( WTCC). He drove a used by the factory team RML Group Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T in Suzuka. With such a vehicle, the driver's and manufacturers' championship was won this season. Arai's lap time in qualifying would for 16th place among 24 participants served. But as he was subsequently not bent as required to weigh, his lap times were canceled and he had to start from the back. In both races, he was classified as 13 and as 15.
Statistics
Title
- Japanese Rally Championship: 1997
- FIA Teams ' Cup: 2000
- Production Car World Rally Championship: 2005, 2007