Rally News

[Mar]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

[Kriss]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

Maybe I'm blind but where is Petter

[beefree88]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

Maybe I'm blind but where is Petter

The final registration date for WRC Teams to contest the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers is 26 April 2011.

[Mar]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

Maybe I'm blind but where is Petter

Difficult to know. The whole Junior team is missing. I have read today somewhere (I don’t remember where ) that Solberg will be in Mexico with a 2000 car, not a WRC car. It looks the deals have not been finished yet, they keep working rally by rally.

[Julia]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

Maybe I'm blind but where is Petter

i was just going to post the news from wrc.com

http://www.wrc.com/news/solberg-still-a ... ?fid=14025

ie they are also going to enter PSWRT to the constructors championchip but didnt get it done before sweden...

i guess also merksteijn motorsport is going to be entered now when they know there is not going to be a CJT version 2011 entered to the constructors championchip ....

[Mar]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

Maybe I'm blind but where is Petter

i was just going to post the news from wrc.com

http://www.wrc.com/news/solberg-still-a ... ?fid=14025

ie they are also going to enter PSWRT to the constructors championchip but didnt get it done before sweden...

i guess also merksteijn motorsport is going to be entered now when they know there is not going to be a CJT version 2011 entered to the constructors championchip ....

Now I know where I have read about Petter in a S2000 in Mexico!

[Julia]

Now we have the official lists of participants in this year championship:

FIA World Rally Championship:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 1_wrc.aspx

Production:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _2011.aspx

Super2000:
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... _swrc.aspx

Maybe I'm blind but where is Petter

Difficult to know. The whole Junior team is missing. I have read today somewhere (I don’t remember where ) that Solberg will be in Mexico with a 2000 car, not a WRC car. It looks the deals have not been finished yet, they keep working rally by rally.

the s2000 car is a different matter ... its not about petter but they are planning to enter brynhildsen under the PSWRT banner in the SWRC ... it was in autosport earlier about it

[Kriss]

thanks everyone
Huh, sometimes I'm lost, these days in the rally world everything is soo mixed up

[sleenster]

Breaking news....a name change from Stobart M-Sport to M-Sport Stobart

Interesting that the six-year-plan has not been nominated to score manufacturer points this time...

Revamp for M-Sport’s WRC Team entry

12 Jan 11

M-Sport's WRC Team entry will begin its sixth term in the World Rally Championship with a new name and a new all-Norwegian driver line-up for the season-opening Rally Sweden.

Renamed the M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team (it was known as the Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team in 2010), the British squad has registered as a WRC Team entry and has nominated new signing Mads Ostberg to chase manufacturers’ championship points on the Karlstad-based event next month.

Fellow Norwegian Henning Solberg will also chase makes’ points in a second Ford Fiesta RS WRC with Matthew Wilson entered in a third Fiesta although the Briton won’t be eligible to score manufacturers’ points on the winter rally.

Ostberg, 23, had originally planned to run under the Adapta World Rally Team banner this season but will instead compete for Malcolm Wilson’s vastly successful organisation, which is responsible for fielding the factory Ford Fiestas of Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. Swede Jonas Andersson will co-drive Ostberg.

“To start in Sweden is ideal,” said Ostberg, who has never previously been nominated to score manufacturers’ championship points. “Jonas is Swedish, and the country is my second homeland. We have our family summer house there, I did my first youth rally in Sweden, I won my first rally in Sweden, I did my first WRC rally in Sweden, I won my first special stage in [the] WRC in Sweden - what can be better than starting my Ford career, and my first rally as a nominated team driver, in Sweden? I am delighted to be a part of the M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team and very happy to have Henning and Matthew as team-mates.”

Ostberg will test his new Fiesta RS WRC before Rally Sweden. A testing programme in a Super 2000 version of the car, which uses a normally aspirated engine compared to the turbocharged motor in the new World Rally Car equivalent, is also being planned as are a handful of rallies in Norway.

http://www.wrc.com/news/revamp-for-m-sp ... ?fid=14026

[luieluv]

Everything sounds so fabulous. WRC is becoming the sport of the Future.

New TV deal gives UK WRC fans more coverage than ever before

Fans of the FIA World Rally Championship living in the United Kingdom will have the chance to watch more coverage of their sport than ever before thanks to a new television deal announced today.

ESPN, the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company, has reached an exclusive agreement with North One Sport, the promoter of the WRC, to show the sport in the UK.

The deal will provide motorsport fans with 4.5 hours of programming per rally - the most extensive season-long coverage of the WRC to date - with even more content appearing on ESPN’s multiple media platforms, such as ESPN Classic and ESPN.co.uk.

The coverage will begin on 2 February with an hour-long documentary ‘Road car to rally car’ which follows the development of the new MINI World Rally Car and includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. Each of the 13 events will be previewed in a one hour programme, ‘Rally World’, starting on 2 February with a look ahead to the season opener, Rally Sweden, which starts on 10 February.

Thirty minute highlights programmes will be screened in the evenings of all three days of a rally, and the following week rally fans can watch ‘Access All Areas’ - a one hour look at the event showcasing the best of the action, in depth features and analysis.

ESPN will bring new elements to WRC broadcasting, including live studio-hosted coverage of the new ‘Power Stages’ for up to 13 rallies (and on a same-day delay in cases of schedule conflict).

Additionally in 2011, ESPN Classic will feature 30 one-hour WRC archive programmes, as well as two brand-new documentary programmes, and ESPN.co.uk - ESPN’s UK online sports portal - will provide news and video highlights online.

Simon Long, CEO of North One Sport said: “This is a pioneering TV agreement, not only in the UK but globally. It brings the exciting prospect of more coverage, fresh programming and more promotion than ever before. The combination of the innovative content, production and digital promotion that ESPN offers combined with our revamped sport is extremely good news as we seek to reach out to new fans in the UK.”

Specific production details for ESPN’s coverage are in development and will be announced in the run up to the start of the WRC season. The WRC joins ESPN’s growing stable of multimedia motorsports content and coverage, which includes live or delayed television coverage of DTM, FIA GT1, Superleague Formula, F3 Euro Series, VW Scirocco R-Cup and NHRA Drag Racing, as well as the ESPNF1.com - the online and mobile site providing 24/7 year-long coverage of F1.

“WRC is a superb, dynamic product with a fervent following a growing legion of enthusiasts, and fits extremely well as a key part of ESPN’s growing portfolio of motorsports from across the UK and Europe,” said Jeroen Oerlemans, vice president and channel manager, ESPN - Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

http://www.wrc.com/news/new-tv-deal-giv ... ?fid=14027

[luieluv]

Van Merksteijn delays WRC start with Citroen DS3

Van Merksteijn Motorsport is to skip Rally Sweden and instead go to Argentina later on in the year.

Peter van Merksteijn Jr has opted to delay his ten-round 2011 WRC programme with the new Citroen DS3 WRC car.

The Dutchman had been due to begin his season in Sweden next month, but after discussions with Citroen Racing he will now start his year in Portugal, the third round in the series, running from March 24-27.

He will though still do ten events, as Van Merksteijn Motorsport now plan to make the trip to Argentina instead. The squad will do all the events from Portugal onwards – except Rally Finland.

“We had an agreement for Sweden but there were not enough cars available for that event,” Van Merksteijn Motorsport team manager Gerard Grove explained to Crash.net.

“And following very good discussion with Citroen Racing we have decided to not take part to give Petter [Solberg] the possibility of driving there. We will now go to Argentina instead of Sweden.”

http://www.crash.net/world+rally/news/1 ... n_ds3.html

[sleenster]

Just a roster of the teams and drivers we will see in 2011:

Citroën Total Rally Team - Citroën WRC DS3
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Ogier

Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team - Ford Fiesta WRC
Mikko Hirvonen
Jari-Matti Latvala
Khalid Al-Qassimi

ICE 1 Racing WRC - Citroën WRC DS3
Kimi Raikkonen

Petter Solberg World Rally Team - Citroën WRC DS3
Petter Solberg

Monster World Rally Team - Ford Fiesta WRC
Ken Block

FERM Powertools World Rally Team - Ford Fiesta WRC
Dennis Kuipers

M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team - Ford Fiesta WRC
Henning Solberg
Mads Ostberg
Matthew Wilson

Munchi Ford World Rally Team - Ford Fiesta WRC
Federico Villagra

Prodrive Mini - Mini Coutryman WRC
Daniel Sordo (6 rallies)
Kris Meeke (6 rallies)

Brazil World Rally Team - SP Mini Countryman and Mini Countryman WRC
Daniel Oliveira

Van Merksteijn Motorsport - Citroën WRC DS3
Peter van Merksteijn Jr.

[Kriss]

Just a roster of the teams and drivers we will see in 2011:

thanks sleen

it will be a very interesting year, new teams, new cars, new drivers (new Kimi)

[sleenster]

Welcome Kriss

[sleenster]

Oh dear, what will become of the six-year-plan...

Wilson waiting on full WRC programme

14 Jan 11

Matthew Wilson says he cannot wait for the 2011 World Rally Championship to start, even though he only has a drive firmed up for the opening event of the season in Sweden next month.

The 23-year-old Briton will pilot an M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team Fiesta RS WRC on the Karlstad-based snow contest alongside long-term navigator Scott Martin.

However, funding constraints mean that Wilson is not sure when his next rally will be after Sweden or even if he will be able to manage a full programme of events in 2011.

“We’re still talking but the only event I know I’m doing for sure is Sweden and even that has been a bit last-minute,” said Wilson, who placed seventh in last year’s WRC title race. “It’s difficult to know what’s going to happen but hopefully we can work something out.”

Wilson, who has conducted significant testing in the Fiesta RS WRC, insists he is not prepared to let the lack of a concrete programme get the better of him.

“It’s not a case of being frustrated or getting disappointed,” said Wilson. “It’s going to be an exciting season and I obviously want to do every rally, particularly as I know the potential of the new car and really liked it when I drove it.

“But I’ve had fantastic support from the Stobart Group over the years and any support they can give me is always a bonus. We’re still discussing things for this year and hopefully we can work something out.”

Wilson believes the WRC in 2011 will be a more evenly matched than it has been in the past with advent of the new-generation World Rally Cars.

“The car felt more natural to me to drive and because there is only going to be one spec of car available at first then it will be more of a level playing field. Hopefully I can be a part of it.”

http://www.wrc.com/news/wilson-waiting- ... ?fid=14033