HPI Racing Impreza
2004 March 28th
HPI Racing is proud to announce an exciting new sponsorship package in full-scale auto racing. HPI Racing is now the main sponsor of the Prova Racing Subaru Impreza STi entry in the 2004 Super Taikyu Endurance Series. The Super Taikyu Series consists of 8 endurance races throughout Japan at top racing circuits like Twin Ring Motegi and Suzuka, each race is around 3 hours long, driving duties are split between two drivers on each team. The HPI Racing Subaru will compete in Class 2, battling against other turbocharged Subaru Impreza STi cars and Mitsubishi Evo VIII cars. Prova Racing Division will field the entry, driven by Kazuhiro Koizumi and Yasushi Kikuchi. Of interest to R/C racers (and anyone that aspires to compete in real racing), team driver Kazuhiro Koizumi started his racing career driving radio controlled cars in the early 1990’s, competing at many top 1/10th scale buggy and on-road races around the world.
Team Profile
Car: Subaru Impreza STI
Team: Prova Racing Division
Entry car: HPI Racing Impreza (Class 2)
Drivers: Kazuhiro Koizumi and Yasushi Kikuchi
Engine support: STi (Subaru Tecnica International)
Main sponsor: HPI Racing
Co-sponsors: RC Driver magazine, Hot Bodies, and Force Engines, and Shabu Shabu Toshi restaurant in Maui.
Suppliers: Dunlop, Motul, Project µ, Enkei and Swift
The Subaru Impreza STi features bold HPI Racing graphics which help to promote radio controlled cars to hundreds of thousands of racing enthusiasts. The bold graphics were chosen for maximum impact in magazines and on TV, making the car easily recognizable to all R/C racing fans. To help further promote R/C cars, the sponsorship package also teams HPI up with other companies in the R/C industry, including RC Driver magazine, Hot Bodies, and Force Engines.
In the first race of the season on March 21, 2004 at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, the HPI Racing Subaru grabbed an impressive 8th place overall finish out of a field of 34 cars. We’ll be tracking the car throughout the season here on the web page, so keep an eye on our news section for the latest results and photos. A replica R/C body and decal package are in the works, stay tuned!
“HPI Racing Impreza” Specifications
Chassis length: 4,415mm
Width: 1,740mm
Wheelbase: 2,525mm
Weight fully equipped: 1,280kg
Engine system: EJ207
Displacement: 1,994cc
Maximum power: 340 hp+
Maximum torque: 47 kgm +
Turbo charger: IHI twin stroke turbo
Tires: Dunlop Direzza Racing Slick (235/45R-17)
Driver Profiles
Kazuhiro Koizumi (Born: 7-28-1964)
Kazuhiro Koizumi began his racing career in a Toyota KP61 in 1991 and won 4th place in the series in 1992. He participated in 26 FJ1600 racing series events held all over Japan, and moved to the F3 series in 1993. He started racing Endurance races while he was racing in F3. After suspending his race activities in 1996, he resumed again in 2002 and became a driver for HPI Racing Impreza in the 2004 Super Taikyu Series. (He was a successful RC car racing driver before he debuted as a full-scale car driver).
Yasushi Kikuchi (Born: 10-18-1972)
Yasushi Kikuchi debuted in cart racing in 1990 and debuted in full-scale car racing in the 1993 Fuji Freshman Series to win the championship. He started racing in the S Endurance Class 1 Skyline in 1995 and participated in the All Japan GP Championship GT500 class in 1997, and has competed in the 24 hour Endurance Race at the Nurbergring. He is also active as a motorsports journalist for automobile magazines.
