Category: WRC

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Citroen WRC

Sebastien Loeb wins Rally d’Italia

Sebastien Loeb

Seven time World Rally Champion and Citroën works driver Sebastien Loeb extended his lead in the 2011 WRC standings with victory in the Rally d’Italia Sardegna.

Loeb explains being the first car our during the rally brought tricky conditions, “We started with the big disadvantage of being first out on the road on the opening day. We managed to take the lead and build up a small cushion, which we maintained yesterday and today. To do so we had to go pedal to the metal from start to finish.

“I felt good in the car, and this helped me push really hard. Obviously, it was very fraught at certain moments so it’s a big relief to see the end of the rally.”

In second place was Ford driver Miko Hirvonen. Third place was claimed by privateer entrant Petter Solberg, driving a Citröen DS3 WRC.

Rally d’Italia also marked the debut race for the new MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Drivers Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke posted respectbale times and Sordo finished the race in sixth place. Meeke was plagued by reliability issues and the team will come away form the event with some solid data to aid their ongoing development.

The next rally takes place in Argentina (26–29 May). MINI will sit out the next two rallies before rejoining competition at Rally Finland in late July.

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Volkswagen WRC

VIDEO: Introducing the Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Following the written confirmation, here is video confirmation of Volkswagen’s plan to enter the WRC with a new Polo R WRC. The only shame of today’s announcement is we have to wait until 2013 for it to be realised.

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Volkswagen WRC

Volkswagen to enter WRC from 2013

Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Overnight Volkswagen confirmed two rumours, one directly, the other indirectly. First, Volkswagen confirmed its plans to enter a factory-backed team in the World Rally Championship from 2013. By nominating a new Polo R WRC as the car of choice we think VW has also indirectly confirmed plans to manufacture the on-again, off-again Polo R road car.

Speaking about the company’s decision to move into WRC Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Management Board of the Volkswagen Brand, Development Division said, “The new Technical Regulations of the World Rally Championship are an ideal fit for Volkswagen’s philosophy with respect to the development of production vehicles.

“Downsizing, high efficiency and reliability are top priorities for our customers. The timing of the WRC debut is optimal for Volkswagen. The big task of engineering a vehicle that is competitive and capable of winning at a large number of challenges holds great appeal for us.”

Volkswagen reckon their strong success in Dakar not only gives them a solid grounding for a WRC effort, but also the desire to reach new heights. Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director explains, “We can draw on an experienced and proven squad which has done an outstanding job in top-calibre sport in the past few years. Even though the WRC is new territory for us and involves learning in many areas the team already meets some important prerequisites now as it brings an unwavering professional attitude and resolve to deliver absolute perfection to this commitment.”

One thing is certain, the Polo R WRC concept car you see in these pictures looks fantastic! A full gallery and press release can be viewed below.

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MINI WRC

MINI WRC Team: Ready to go

MINI WRC

This time next week we’ll be reflecting on the return of MINI to the world rally stage at Rally d’Italia. Can drivers Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke make an impression in the John Cooper Works WRC?

Dave Richards, Team Principal, seems quietly confident, “The MINI has performed better than we dared hope in testing and the S2000 car’s debut in Portugal was very encouraging. However, we are all too aware of the challenges ahead of us and take nothing for granted, but whatever the outcome, Sardinia will be an historic event for the entire team and everyone who has supported us to get this far.”

After the break you can see the team’s latest video and press release.

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Citroen WRC

Sebastien Ogier wins Rally Jordan

Sebastien Ogier, 2011 Rally Jordan

Citroën works driver Sebastien Ogier has backed up his victory in Portugal by winning Rally Jordan on the weekend. It was a nail biting finish in the end and Ogier’s winning margin of just 0.2 seconds over Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala is the closest in WRC history. World champ Sebastien Loeb had to make do with third place, although he now leads the driver’s standings.

It’s a tightly packed leaderboard at the moment and Loeb sits on 74 points, two ahead of Ford’s Miko Hirvonen. On 69 points is race winner Ogier, himself a narrow three points clear of Latvala.

There’s more from Citroën after the break. The next rally takes place in Sardinia, Italy (5–8 May) and will mark the full race debut of the MINI WRC.

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Volkswagen WRC

Volkswagen to announce WRC plans next month

Volkswagen Motorsport - Dakar 2011

Autosport brings word that Volkswagen are set to announce their intention to enter the World Rally Championship in 2012. It is understood Volkswagen had hoped to launch their new program ahead of Rally Portugal, however, final sign off was not achieved in time. It is now expected VW will confirm their WRC entry prior to Rally d’Italia on Thursday 5 May.

Following the path set by MINI and Prodrive, Volkswagen will run a reduced program in 2012 before tackling the full WRC calender in 2013. Indeed, earlier this year, it was Prodrive chairman Davie Richards who gave us the biggest hint yet that VW were serious about WRC.

It is believed Volkswagen will use the Polo as the basis for its WRC car. Petter Solberg, 2003 WRC champion, and Nasser Al-Attiyah, reigning Dakar title holder, are two names being considered for a place behind the wheel.

[Source: Autosport]

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MINI WRC

MINI WRC Team officially launched

MINI WRC team launch

The MINI WRC Team was officially launched in Oxford overnight. To celebrate the occasion, one of the team’s works drivers, Kris Meeke, took to the Plant Oxford forecourt and performed a motorkhana display in his new MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Amateur video footage of that run can be seen below.

It’s all about development for the MINI WRC in 2011 and they will take part in a reduced program competing in just six of the 13 rallies on the WRC calendar. From 2012, though, the MINI WRC Team will be hoping the lessons learnt this year will allow them to challenge the established teams from Ford and Citroën. Meeke will be joined by Spanish rally ace Dani Sordo, so the driving roster should be up to the task at hand.

Rally Jordan takes place this weekend, then in early May, the MINI WRC will debut at Rally d’Italia in Sardinia.

David Richards, Chairman and Chief Executive, Prodrive Group, can’t wait for the team’s first race, “We have been working towards this moment for more than two years and it is truly exciting to be launching the MINI WRC Team and what I believe is the most stunning car in World Rallying, the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. We have an experienced team, a talented driver pairing and, most importantly of all, a strong partnership with MINI. We are now eagerly looking forward to demonstrating the performance of the car on its debut in Sardinia in just a few weeks.”

More detail below from MINI motorsport, including a link to download the team’s full media kit. There’s over 30 pages of info to keep you interested. You can also keep abreast of MINI motorsport activities by checking out their website, which includes links to various social media.

[Thanks to Aaron for the video tip]

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MINI WRC

MINI JCW S2000 shows promise in Portugal

Armindo Araujo

Portuguese driver Armindo Araujo created headlines by mixing it with the higher spec WRC cars on the first day of competition at Rally Portugal.  Araujo had the honour of making the competition debut in the MINI John Cooper Works S2000 in the event.

By the end of Day 1 the Portuguese was sitting pretty in seventh outright, just 97 seconds behind fifth place. From there, though, a combination of bad luck and mechanical gremlins conspired against hopes of moving further up the time sheets.

Speaking after the event Armindo said, “Obviously I am sad not to have completed the rally in front of my home fans. Despite this I am extremely optimistic looking ahead.

“The set-up of the car was fantastic. Punctures are part of rallying, and the engine has been sent off for analysis. I am certain we can solve the problem quickly. We have plenty of time before the start of the Rally d’Italia on 5th May.”

It’s in Italy, too, that the MINI WRC will make its race debut with Briton Kris Meeke and Spaniard Dani Sordo at the wheel.

[Source: MINI Motorsport | Pic: Brian Butcher via Rally Buzz]

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Citroen WRC

Sebastien Ogier wins Rally Portugal

Sebastien Ogier

The other Sebastien at Citroën has made up for his disappointment at Rally Mexico by claiming a comfortable win at Rally Portugal on the weekend. Ogier drove a tactically astute race and finished more than 30 seconds ahead of his more decorated compatriot and DS3 WRC teammate Sebastien Loeb.

Ford driver Miko Hirvonen finished fourth, allowing him to cling onto the championship lead with 58 points, although he now shares that honour with Loeb. Fellow Ford competitor Jari Matti Latvala sits in third on 48 points, while Ogier is fourth with a tally of 41 points.

The next rally will take place in Jordan during mid-April.

There’s more from Citroën after the break.

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MINI WRC

VIDEO: MINI WRC promo

MINI WRC promo

MINI and Prodrive have been promoting their WRC partnership with this video at the Geneva Motor Show. They say the legend is back. It’s not clear if the Countryman-based racecar will be a success on the world rallying stage, but it is great to see MINI back in the game that’s for sure.

For the WRC’s sake, let’s hope the MINI is a good package. With the recent dominance of the mighty Citroën team and, now, only one credible challenger in Ford, the sport is crying out for more depth.

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Citroen WRC

Sebastien Loeb wins Rally Mexico

Sebastien Loeb

Sebastien Loeb has quickly erased the poor start to his 2011 WRC campaign by winning Rally Mexico. The six-time world champ is now in second place on the standings behind Mikko Hirvonen, Rally Sweden winner, who finished second in Mexico ahead of his Ford team mate Jari Matti Latvala.

It was the maiden win for Loeb in his new Citroën DS3 WRC who reluctantly accepted his fifth Rally Mexico success after team mate Sebastien Ogier crashed out on the last day while leading the event.

“Seeing Sébastien and Julian on the side of the road didn’t give me much pleasure. We could have fought till the very end and it’s a pity it finished like that. We went back into the lead of the rally with more than 1m 30s in hand over Mikko. We just nursed it home,” said Loeb.

A brief post-race interview with Loeb can be seen at the Citroën WRC website.

[Pic: Citroën WRC]

UPDATE: A press release from Citroën UK has been added below.

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MINI Motor Shows WRC

Geneva 2011: MINI John Cooper Works S2000

MINI WRC

MINI and Prodrive are celebrating the Geneva Motor Show by presenting a race-spec version of the MINI John Cooper Works S2000. Even though MINI presented a WRC car at Paris last year, this is the best look yet at what the fully-fledged WRC car will look like.

The MINI WRC will differ slightly from what you see here, though, in that it will have a larger rear wing, a revised front aero package and will use plastic for the side windows.

Privately entered JCW S2000s will be making their competition debut at Rally Portugal and, there’s even one on its way to Australia. The MINI WRC will debut at Rally d’Italia in early May.

Also officially announced at Geneva is the new MINI Motorsport website, home to the WRC team. There’s more detail on all of these things after the break.

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