Another sign of the tough economic times, Cusco, the Japanese team which switched from Subaru to Mitsubishi at the end of last year, have announced a reduced APRC schedule for 2009. The Cusco EVO Xs of Hiroshi Yanagisawa and Yuya Sumijama will contest the final four events of the 2009 season, rallies Hokkaido, Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

The Cusco team made a big step forward in 2008, the cars gaining extra speed and reliability, with Aussie driver Dean Herridge claiming the Pacific Cup title early in the season and Yanagisawa almost pulling off the teams first vistory at Rally China.