Lapworth stands down as Subaru boss?
Subaru World Rally team boss, David Lapworth has allegedly been forced to step down from his position at the head of the Banbury based squad.
Although few details are currently known, according to reports by norsk-rally.com, Lapworth has been replaced by Richard Taylor, who was previously the managing director at the Prodrive ran team. Lapworth however will still remain part of the set-up at least for now, in a less hands on role.
Subaru World Rally team boss, David Lapworth has allegedly been forced to step down from his position at the head of the Banbury based squad.
Although few details are currently known, according to reports by norsk-rally.com, Lapworth has been replaced by Richard Taylor, who was previously the managing director at the Prodrive ran team. Lapworth however will still remain part of the set-up at least for now, in a less hands on role.
Whether the reports are true or not remains to be seen, however prior to the start of the season, Lapworth's job title was changed, from 'team principal' to 'performance director', as Taylor was brought in at the end of last season, to fill the void left by Nick Fry, who became the full-time team boss at BAR at the end of 2004.
If Lapworth has been given the boot, and it is very much an if at this stage, then he may have been made a scapegoat following the team's poor start to the season, which has seen their number one driver, Petter Solberg suffer mechanical issues on both the opening two events, something that has meant he has yet to score any points. Subaru meanwhile have scored just 8 points towards the manufacturers' championship to date - while Ford has notched up 26 points, Kronos Citroen 24 points and OMV Peugeot 10 points.
Crash.net meanwhile has attempted to contact the team for clarification and is awaiting an official response.
More to follow as we get it...
