Toshihiro 'Toshi' Arai (新井敏弘, Arai Toshihiro, born December 25, 1966) is a Japanese rally driver and team owner. He is the first Japanese FIA world champion.[1]

Toshi Arai
Born (1966-12-25) 25 December 1966 (age 57)
Related toHiroki Arai (son)
World Rally Championship record
Active years1997–2010, 2022
Co-driverJapan Toshio Omizo
Japan Hiroshi Suzuki
United Kingdom Roger Freeman
Australia Glenn MacNeall
New Zealand Tony Sircombe
United Kingdom Daniel Barritt
Japan Naoya Tanaka
TeamsPrivateer, Subaru
Rallies87
Championships0
Rally wins0
Podiums0
Stage wins0
Total points11
First rally1997 Rally Australia
Last rally2022 Rally Japan

Arai was born in Isesaki, Gunma. He made his debut in 1987 and drove for the Subaru World Rally Team in the Group N World Rally Championship from 1997 to 2000 and 2002–2003, and in the Group A Championship in 2000–2001.

In 2004 he established his own team, Subaru Team Arai, and won the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship for Drivers in 2005 and 2007 driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI, which made him the first Japanese FIA world champion.[2] He scored class victories in Turkey, Japan and Australia on his way to the title.

He was also the winner of the short-lived FIA Teams' Cup in 2000.

Career results

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Arai driving for Chevrolet at Suzuka during the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season.

WRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
1997 Subaru Rally Team Japan Subaru Impreza 555 MON SWE KEN POR ESP FRA ARG GRE NZL FIN IDN ITA AUS
16
GBR NC 0
1998 Subaru Rally Team Japan Subaru Impreza WRX MON SWE KEN POR ESP FRA ARG GRE NZL
EX
FIN ITA NC 0
Toshihiro Arai AUS
Ret
GBR
Ret
1999 Subaru Allstars Endless Sport Subaru Impreza WRC 98 MON SWE KEN POR
Ret
ESP
21
FRA
16
ARG GRE
9
NC 0
Subaru Rally Team Japan Subaru Impreza WRX NZL
13
FIN
STi Club Rally Team CHN
7
ITA
Subaru Rally Team Japan Subaru Impreza 555 AUS
8
GBR
2000 Spike Subaru Team Subaru Impreza WRC 99 MON SWE KEN
6
POR ESP
16
ARG GRE
4
NZL
Ret
FIN CYP
9
FRA ITA GBR
Ret
13th 4
Subaru Impreza 555 AUS
13
2001 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC 01 MON SWE POR
Ret
ESP ARG
8
CYP
4
GRE
Ret
KEN
Ret
FIN NZL
14
ITA
Ret
FRA
Ret
AUS
Ret
GBR
10
18th 3
2002 Toshihiro Arai Subaru Impreza 555 MON SWE
25
FRA ESP NC 0
Spike Subaru Team Subaru Impreza WRX CYP
Ret
ARG
11
KEN
Ret
FIN NZL
Ret
AUS
14
GBR
555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC 02 GRE
13
GER
Ret
ITA
2003 Subaru Production Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX MON SWE
Ret
TUR NZL
11
ARG
9
GRE CYP
9
GER FIN AUS
Ret
ITA FRA
17
ESP GBR NC 0
2004 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE
26
MEX
13
NZL
15
CYP GRE TUR ARG
Ret
FIN GER
18
JPN
9
GBR ITA FRA ESP AUS
8
30th 1
2005 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE
17
MEX NZL
14
ITA CYP
21
TUR
14
GRE ARG FIN GER GBR JPN
12
FRA ESP AUS
9
NC 0
2006 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE MEX
9
ESP FRA ARG
30
ITA GRE
21
GER FIN CYP
22
TUR AUS
Ret
NZL
30
GBR 25th 3
Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC 06 JPN
6
2007 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON SWE
23
NOR MEX
11
POR ARG
10
ITA GRE
15
FIN GER NZL
13
ESP FRA JPN
29
IRE GBR NC 0
2008 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N14 MON SWE
15
MEX ARG
Ret
JOR ITA GRE
Ret
TUR
Ret
FIN GER NZL
Ret
ESP FRA JPN
12
GBR NC 0
2009 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N14 IRL NOR
Ret
CYP
13
POR ARG
12
ITA GRE
10
POL FIN AUS
Ret
ESP GBR
13
NC 0
2010 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N15 SWE MEX
11
JOR TUR NZL
26
POR BUL FIN GER
34
JPN
Ret
FRA
23
ESP GBR
30
NC 0
2022 Toshi Arai Citroën C3 Rally2 MON SWE CRO POR ITA KEN EST FIN BEL GRE NZL ESP JPN
Ret
NC 0

PWRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pos. Points
2002 Toshihiro Arai Subaru Impreza 555 SWE
2
FRA 4th 22
Spike Subaru Team Subaru Impreza WRX CYP
Ret
ARG
2
KEN
Ret
FIN NZL
Ret
AUS
1
2003 Subaru Production Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX SWE
Ret
NZL
1
ARG
1
CYP
1
GER AUS
Ret
FRA
2
2nd 38
2004 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi SWE
6
MEX
2
NZL
5
ARG
Ret
GER
4
FRA AUS
2
2nd 30
2005 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi SWE
1
NZL
2
CYP
7
TUR
1
ARG GBR JPN
1
AUS
1
1st 50
2006 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi MON MEX
1
ARG
8
GRE
5
JPN CYP
6
AUS
Ret
NZL
9
6th 18
2007 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STi SWE
6
MEX
2
ARG
2
GRE
1
NZL
1
JPN
10
IRE GBR 1st 39
2008 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N14 SWE
6
ARG
Ret
GRE
Ret
TUR
Ret
FIN NZL
Ret
JPN
3
GBR 12th 9
2009 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N14 NOR
Ret
CYP
4
POR ARG
3
ITA GRE
3
AUS
Ret
GBR
2
5th 25
2010 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N15 SWE MEX
2
JOR NZL
4
FIN GER
6
JPN
Ret
FRA
3
GBR
9
5th 55

IRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos. Points
2010 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi N15 MON BRA ARG CAN ITA YPR
Ret
AZO MAD ZLI ITA SCO CYP NC 0
2011 Stohl Racing[3][4] Subaru Impreza STi R4 MON CAN COR
13
UKR YPR AZO
Ret
ZLI MEC
18
SAN SCO
9
CYP
7
17th 15
2012 Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza STi R4 AZO CAN IRL COR
14
ITA YPR SMR
Ret
ROM ZLI
11
YAL SLI SAN 10th 30
Subaru Impreza TMR R4 CYP
3

European Rally Championship results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points
2013 Stohl Racing Subaru Impreza STi R4 JÄN LIE CAN AZO COR YPR ROM
38
ZLÍ
Ret
POL
13
CRO SAN
19
VAL 21st 23

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2011 Chevrolet RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T BRA
1

BRA
2

BEL
1

BEL
2

ITA
1

ITA
2

HUN
1

HUN
2

CZE
1

CZE
2

POR
1

POR
2

GBR
1

GBR
2

GER
1

GER
2

ESP
1

ESP
2

JPN
1

13
JPN
2

15
CHN
1

CHN
2

MAC
1

MAC
2

NC 0

Complete Global Rallycross results

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Supercar

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 GRC Points
2016 Subaru Rally Team USA Subaru Impreza WRX STi PHO1
PHO2
DAL
DAY1
DAY2
MCAS1
MCAS2 DC
AC
SEA
LA1
13
LA2
13
19th 4

Race cancelled.

References

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  1. ^ CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR. "THE HISTORY OF WRC -Toyota has challenged to a great many roads in the world- | 2018 | SPECIAL | WRC". TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  2. ^ RallyBase
  3. ^ "IRC: Korsika-Rallye". 11 May 2011.
  4. ^ "IRC: Korsika-Rallye". 5 May 2011.
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