Subaru and its motorsports subsidiary, Subaru Tecnica International (STI) won’t be running at this year’s Nürburgring 24-Hour Race due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The 48th holding of the race was scheduled to take place from September 24 to 27, 2020.

Since its first participation in the endurance race in 2008, STI NBR Challenge team has competed in the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race every year for the past 12 years. Through these experiences, Subaru and STI has proven the driving performance of the Subaru vehicle and further improved it through the challenges in the racing. The team won the SP3T class in 2018 and 2019 and was aiming at the third consecutive win in the class this year.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, however, the team faces difficulties to conduct the racing activities overseas in the best shape while ensuring the safety of the drivers, partner companies, employees, and other related parties. Therefore, the team decided not to participate in the race this year.

Subaru is the second Japanese carmaker to pull out of the endurance race. Earlier, Toyota has announced its withdrawal as well.