Subaru rally driver, Cody Crocker, will debut a Model Year 2003 Impreza WRX STi at Telstra Rally Australia, being held in Western Australia from September 4 to7.

Crocker has worked his way into a strong position in the Australian Rally Championship in an MY02 Impreza WRX STi, winning five of the eight heats contested and holding a 19 point buffer over Ed Ordynski in the race for the national driver's title.

But Rally Australia, which is not a round of the driver's championship, provides him with an ideal event to put the MY03 Impreza through its paces across 386 competitive kilometres.

Crocker will then decide which car he will use to complete the remaining two rounds of the Australian Championship, Rally of Melbourne in October and Subaru Safari Tasmania in November.

The Impreza WRX STi Crocker will drive at the World Championship round was used by his mentor, the late Possum Bourne, at Rally New Zealand. The four-time Group N national champion recently tested the car in South Australia, and as a result, decided to make the move for Rally Australia.

"It tested well, we were very happy," Crocker said. "We were achieving better times than in the MY02 car on the same bit of road we used during Rally SA."

"Rally Australia really provides us a perfect one-off test for the car as it doesn't impact on the driver's championship and it's not critical in the ARC Manufacturers' Championship as we have a handy buffer over Mitsubishi and Toyota in that battle."

"Probably the biggest challenge the MY03 car provides us is that it's left hand drive and that will be difficult to get used to, even though we've had a left hand drive recce car for several years and done thousands of kilometres in it."

"Getting the last few per cent of performance at high speed is always the hardest thing to achieve in a rally, and the left hand drive thing will make that a little bit harder."

"The MY03 car is still young in terms of its development. Spending three days in it will be great. I'll learn a lot about it, and so will the service crew."

"We'll see how all the aspects work out in WA - the left hand drive, the performance - and then we'll make a decision on which car we use going forward."