Earlier today we dropped into MotorSportRetro.com and noticed these very cool posters. They’re created by Adelaide-based graphic designer Sean Kane. There’s a series of five posters in total, three featuring Ayrton Senna (2 x Lotus, 1 x McLaren), one with the 1991 Le Mans winning Mazda 787B rotary and one with Juha Kankunnen’s 1986 Peugeot 205 T16 E2 Group B rally car.
They’re very cool. And you can buy them all for yourself if you want!
As it stands Sebastien Loeb has one more WRC rally left in his record-breaking career. That’s scheduled to be his home event, Rallye de France-Alsace, in early October. However, Citroën’s current parlous performance against the emerging dominance of Volkswagen has forced Citroën Racing boss, Yves Matton, to think twice about letting Loeb go so easily.
With half of the WRC season behind us Loeb has proven to be the only person capable of defeating Volkswagen, as his victories in Monte Carlo and Argentina prove. He finished second to The Other Sebastienâ„¢ in Sweden and we wouldn’t mind betting that Ogier holds that victory, his first for Volkswagen, in high regard because of Loeb’s participation.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, but for sure at the half of the season I will speak again with Sebastien to see if he has the motivation to do maybe one or two rallies more,†said Matton.
“It depends a lot on what we [Citroen] will do in the future, if we will be involved in the touring cars or not. In the following days or weeks then we will have an answer and we will see with Seb what we can do.â€
We now know that Citroën Racing has been confirmed as a starter in the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, with Sebastien Loeb in the role of poster boy and lead driver. That really only leaves this year for Loeb to mount any challenge against Volkswagen in the WRC.
And what of Mikko Hirvonen, the supposed number one for Citroën this year? He’d better pull his finger out, and fast.
[Source: wrc.com]
Volkswagen’s extraordinary debut season in the WRC continued to gather momentum after Sebastien Ogier claimed victory in the Rally d’Italia Sardegna. That makes it five wins from seven rallies for Volkswagen, with nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb the only person able to beat VW so far this year.
Ogier’s fourth win of the year came relatively easily too, enjoying a margin of more than 75 seconds back to Ford’s Thierry Neuville. A further 30-odd seconds behind was Acropolis Rally winner Jari-Matti Latvala.
Latvala slipped as low as twelfth early in the rally after a puncture cost him almost two minutes. With that in mind he was very happy to have clawed his way back to third place. Young Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelsen put in some very strong performances as well and was disappointed to have crashed out late in the event while pushing hard to take fourth place from Citroën’s Dani Sordo.
Speaking after the rally Ogier said his driving style helped him achieve success in the heat of Sardinia. With half to the WRC season now behind us you also get the feeling that Volkswagen think it’s now okay to start talking of world titles.
“It feels fantastic to be back on top of the podium again! I was really beginning to miss that feeling after the last two rallies. I’m simply delighted – the team did a fantastic job and the Polo ran like a dream all weekend. We now have a very comfortable lead in the Drivers’ Championship rankings,” said Ogier.
“The rally was incredibly demanding physically, due to the high temperatures, and it sometimes got as hot as 45 degrees in the cockpit. On the second day in particular, you came close to your limits and you easily lost three to four litres of fluid.
“The heat really takes it out on the tyres and the car too. My tyre-friendly driving style was no doubt one of the reasons for my victory. I was especially pleased to once again win the Power Stage. I had a tough fight on my hands there with Thierry Neuville, who was incredibly fast during that stage, as he was throughout the rally.â€
The official WRC YouTube channel brings selected footage to the world during and after each rally. Here we ride with Acropolis Rally winner Jari-Matti Latvala on SS6. Settle yourself down and enjoy the ride!
The resurgence in manufacturer support for the WRC could be set to take another step with word coming Fiat is keen to join the sport. The Italian auto giant would likely use its performance Abarth brand with a view to start racing in 2013 or 2014.
Already competing in lower level rally competitions such as the IRC, it’s expected Abarth would upgrade its current Punto S2000 to WRC spec. Although, it would be nice to see a Fiat 500-based machine in action.
It will be great news for WRC if this rumour comes to fruition and follows the recent additions of MINI and Volkswagen to the series.
[Source: Autoblog]
After a long build up the MINI WRC made it’s full race debut at Rally d’Italia on the weekend. Dani Sordo achieved consistent results bringing his car home in sixth place. Kris Meeke had a few teething problems and did not finish the race. Dave Wilcox, Technical Director, has a debrief on the event where he details some of Meeke’s issues.
There’s quite a break now until the MINI WRC is back in competitive action at Rally Finland (28–30 July). Dani Sordo will be back in the car this weekend, though, fulfilling promo duties at the Cornbury Park Rally Show near Oxford.
Meanwhile, here’s a small gallery of images of the two MINI WRCs from Sardinia.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.â€
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]