Another problem Sordo will face is his teammate, Kris Meeke. He is British and Prodrive is led by David Richards, famous for his favoritism towards Colin McRae when he competed alongside Carlos Sainz in Subaru. It remains to be seen whether BMW controls the controversial Richards and does not allow such outrages.
Yeah, you're right. “As” is one of the most important sport newspaper of the country (1st or 2nd), therefore what they publish is read by many, many people.sleenster wrote:Thanks Mar!
Another problem Sordo will face is his teammate, Kris Meeke. He is British and Prodrive is led by David Richards, famous for his favoritism towards Colin McRae when he competed alongside Carlos Sainz in Subaru. It remains to be seen whether BMW controls the controversial Richards and does not allow such outrages.
Edit: Pic of Dani testing the Mini in Sardinia
http://www.rallyes.net/20101130/dani-so ... l-de-mini/
oh my ... they didn't see anything positive in danis situation did they and already conspirations ahead ... well Im positive... he i friends with meek from before, he gets a new beginning and everything is going to be jut fine in the end and he will get his first win not maybe next year but in coming years... he is still young he has a long career ahead of him!Mar wrote:Yeah, you're right. “As” is one of the most important sport newspaper of the country (1st or 2nd), therefore what they publish is read by many, many people.sleenster wrote:Thanks Mar!
Another problem Sordo will face is his teammate, Kris Meeke. He is British and Prodrive is led by David Richards, famous for his favoritism towards Colin McRae when he competed alongside Carlos Sainz in Subaru. It remains to be seen whether BMW controls the controversial Richards and does not allow such outrages.
Edit: Pic of Dani testing the Mini in Sardinia
http://www.rallyes.net/20101130/dani-so ... l-de-mini/
People like Pipo López are those who give the Spanish motorsport press a bad name. And it’s a pity, because there’re some very good journos in Spain.
Let's hope so! I wish him all the best!Julia wrote:... he gets a new beginning and everything is going to be jut fine in the end and he will get his first win not maybe next year but in coming years... he is still young he has a long career ahead of him!
http://www.rallyes.net/20101201/dani-so ... -mini-wrc/Dani Sordo WRC test the MiniAglientu
(Sardinia) .- Coming from Norway where he attended the weekend at a Motor Show organized by the Solberg brothers, Dani Sordo came yesterday to the island of Sardinia where the Prodrive team had a week testing the Mini Countryman with the Northern Irishman Kris WRC Meeke.
Dressed in a white jumpsuit and black helmet, the Citroën former rider had his first contact with what may be his new bike next season in an asphalt road. Wary of cameras, Sordo conducted an exhaustive and at the end of the day was very happy, almost glowing.
Relaxed at his hotel before dinner Dani Sordo said: "Kris told me that the car was very good, but time should not be up in a World Rally Car .... The car is not bad, but Citroën has the experience of having put nearly all the mechanical elements of a C4 in the new DS3 and it shows. What surprised me most of the Mini to sit has been having a windshield almost straight and not tilted as is customary. Not that the side view is very 'racing', but goes well. Although motor development is not definitive, there is much room for improvement in this regard, although it may be because the aura of BMW I expected more. "
Sordo has exchanged views with David Lapworth, the head coach ProDiver and an old acquaintance of Carlos Sainz. "It made me get a monkey rare flame that was not Citroen. Here I am not one more, people listened to me and changed things like the address bar, etc and evening times are much improved. I think if I say that I put the car upside down they would without question, "said the Spaniard.
Mini Countryman The WRC has shown its evolution, though in the slow corners still notice the lack of development, not in the fast. Today Sordo will have contact with the ground giving evening finished their first contact with what may be your new car. "I've been called to see how Citroen and Prodrive will ask me to tell you more than DS3. I just give them indications of the way forward. I think it would be unfair to reveal the work of the French brand. "
As for your final decision it looks like it will be his team Mini. "At Ford dropped its bid to half a million euros for the whole season, but do not call me. Most prefer to have more ugly bride, but I want. "
luieluv wrote:The feeling seems to be not goodDani Sordo WRC test the MiniAglientu
...
Sordo has exchanged views with David Lapworth, the head coach ProDiver and an old acquaintance of Carlos Sainz. "It made me get a monkey rare flame that was not Citroen. Here I am not one more, people listened to me and changed things like the address bar, etc and evening times are much improved. I think if I say that I put the car upside down they would without question, "said the Spaniard.
...
) Ah! In the next phrase “address” means “direction”.
And that means: “I almost prefer to have an uglier girlfriend if she does love me” (I prefer a slower car if the team appreciates me).luieluv wrote:http://www.rallyes.net/20101201/dani-so ... -mini-wrc/...
As for your final decision it looks like it will be his team Mini. "At Ford dropped its bid to half a million euros for the whole season, but do not call me. Most prefer to have more ugly bride, but I want. "
“I almost prefer to have an uglier girlfriend if she does love me”
Oh Dani, that quote makes me like him even more. 
)
http://www.eldiariomontanes.es/v/201012 ... 01201.htmlThe signing of Sordo by Mini will occur after the Sardinia tests
The Spaniard yesterday concluded two test sessions with the Prodrive team and is pleased with the performance
There is chemistry between Dani Sordo and Prodrive. The Spaniard ended yesterday the test scheduled by the English team with the new Mini WRC and feelings were very good on both sides. The car still has a long way to go, but the tuning is complete, the pilot wants to make it competitive with a powerful group that would work for him exclusively, along with the Irishman Kris Meeke as a teammate.
Everything went without a hitch. Monday on asphalt and yesterday Tuesday, on gravel, Sordo had his first solo contact with Mini Countryman WRC, which will break into the World Rally Championship in 2011 as a preparation to stand up a year later to the Kings of the Championship, Citroën and Ford. The Spaniard was focused on seeing the possibilities of the car and he was understood perfectly by Prodrive's engineers to suit his way of driving, with the advantage of knowing first hand how the DS3 WRC Citroën which he has been testing throughout the year and without a doubt will be the reference in the new era of WRC cars with the 1,6 liter turbocharger engine.
So with the exception of some small details, it is assumed that he will have a contract to join the BMW group, probably for at least two seasons the first season in 2011 with a small program and then to compete in the full WRC season in 2012, always as a leader, assisted by Kris Meeke who he already knows through Citroën when both competed for the Junior World Championship, the first major title Sordo won in 2005.
Sordo is working on a personal basis to get sponsors to cover the expense of competing in all or at least some of the rallies Mini will not contest in 2011, for which he would almost certainly use a car in the second division in the rallies, that is, a Super 2000. Thus, the Puente San Miguel made his debut in Monte Carlo and in the IRC in mid January.
Let's wait for next few days both the official confirmation, but within Prodrive they are already thinking to schedule new test sessions with the Spaniard to get ahead of the next season with higher coupling.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88552Mini happy about driver line-up
By David Evans Thursday, December 2nd 2010, 10:06 GMT
Prodrive technical director David Lapworth says the potential lack of a star name in Mini's line-up next year will not be a problem for the team, with the chances of Marcus Gronholm returning having faded.
Double world champion Gronholm has still not told Mini he will definitely not drive for the team, but as former works Citroen driver Dani Sordo now looks set to join Kris Meeke at Mini, Lapworth is adamant that there will be enough experience in the line-up even without Gronholm.
"The driver you mention, the one who was in the car earlier this week [Sordo], might be young, but he's got four years of experience in a very good car," said Lapworth.
"I don't think we're missing anything. Working with Marcus Gronholm is great, you put him in the car and he goes flat out. You get very simple feedback from him: 'It does this, it does this and it does this.'It's nice to know where you are with the car, but until you asked me whether we would miss a big name driver, I honestly hadn't thought we were missing something at all.
"And I don't think we are - don't forget we still have Markko [Martin] doing some work with us as well."
Lapworth was quick to praise the early work from Meeke, adding: "The feedback we get from Kris is very logical and common sense. Okay, Kris doesn't have massive World Rally Car experience, but he has driven plenty of them. And, anyway, when we're starting from scratch with new technical regulations, you can do without any preconceived ideas about what a World Rally Car should do."
Mini completed a week-long test in Sardinia, with Sordo running for the final two days, one on asphalt and one on gravel. The focus of the team's gravel running was to establish a base suspension set-up with damper supplier Ohlins and to complete the Mini Countryman WRC's first significant mileage on asphalt.
The next test is expected to be in the UK shortly before Christmas.
13.3 ‘POWER’ STAGE
13.3.1 Announcement:
On each World Rally Championship event, the organiser shall include one special stage (or super special stage) called a ‘Power Stage’ with the purpose of enhancing TV coverage.
13.3.2 Characteristics
This stage shall:
- Normally be the last stage of the rally.
- Run as a stage of the event for all classified competitors.
- Competitors shall run in the order of the previous section except for those cars identified by the Promoter to run in a different order.
- Ideally be of a distance between 4 and 8 kms.
- Be preceded by a regroup of at least 30 minutes.
- Be run at a time co-ordinated with the Championship Promoter in order to maximise international TV coverage.
5.4.3 For the World Rally Championships for Drivers and for Co-drivers, additional points as per the following scale will be awarded according to the classification of the ‘Power stage’ as in Art 13.3.
1st 3 points
2nd 2points
3rd 1point
Solberg enters Monte with Peugeot
By Matt Beer Monday, December 6th 2010, 09:18 GMT
Petter SolbergFormer World Rally champion Petter Solberg will contest the Monte Carlo Rally in a Peugeot 207.
The outing will be Solberg's first appearance in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which kicks off with the famous January event.
"I was very surprised when Olivier Quesnel, director of Citroen Racing and Peugeot Sport, contacted me and asked if I would be a guest driver for the 2011 IRC Rallye Monte Carlo in January," said Solberg.
"Of course I had to accept! The manufacturer team will run the car, and they wanted to hire me for this event to secure a good result for the team.
"As for me, this means more competitive kilometres in a rally car and a new experience, as I have not entered an IRC event before. There is also live coverage of some of the stages, which will be exciting."
Solberg never managed to win the Monte when it was still a round of the WRC. A privateer Citroen driver for the past two years since Subaru's exit from the WRC, he has yet to announce his plans for the full 2011 season, but emphasised that his Peugeot run was a one-off deal for the Monte and he was not planning a full-time IRC switch.
"This is a one-time arrangement, and I have no plans for a future in the IRC," said Solberg.
"My plan is still to be in the WRC, and fight for the championship, in 2011."
Peugeot will also enter a car for ex-grand prix driver and Le Mans star Stephane Sarrazin once again, but at present 2009 Monte winner Sebastien Ogier is not on the list for the '11 event.
Other leading drivers in Peugeots in Monte Carlo include new Peugeot UK signing Guy Wilks, plus series regulars Thierry Neuville, Bruno Magalhaes and Bryan Bouffier.
