Author: Mike Shaw

Rally America 2013 Schedule Released

Mike Shaw

Rally America has released their schedule for the 2013 season.  Of note are the return of two mid-west rallies to the schedule and the removal of the Olympus Rally.  This increases the total number events from six to seven.  The new season will kick off in just eight weeks time at the always exciting Sno*Drift Rally in northern Michigan. Although the absence of the Olympus Rally from the Rally America series is a bit upsetting to Pacific Northwest rally fans such as myself, the event will still run.  The Olympus…

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M-Sport Officially Partners with Qatar for 2013

Mike Shaw

As was speculated a few weeks ago, M-Sport has now officially partnered with Qatar and Nasser Al-Attiyah to create the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team.  We could know by the end of the day who will be the drivers of this new team, in addition to Nasser Al-Attiyah.       From M-Sport Press Release: M-Sport are pleased to announce a new partnership with Qatar for the 2013 edition of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) which will see the Cumbria firm run three Qatari liveried Ford Fiesta RS WRCs under…

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Final Round of the 2013 Canadian Rally Championship

Mike Shaw

November 23rd and 24th will bring the noise of turbo charged four wheel drive madness to the forests northeast of Toronto for the Rally of the Tall Pines.  This two day event consists of large jumps and high speeds that many compare to the famous stages in Finland.  The Tall Pines Rally is the final round of the Canadian Rally Championship and the last event in the North American Cup. Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Natalie Richard already clinched the Canadian Rally Championship title at the previous Pacific Forest Rally when…

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Global Rallycross Championship Gets New Investors and CEO

Mike Shaw

      This week the Global Rallycross Championship closed a deal with a new investor to help take the series to the next level in 2013 and beyond. LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Colin Dyne and Europlay Capital Advisors, LLC, a structured investment group, have become majority shareholders of the Global RallyCross (GRC) Series. Colin Dyne, who will take over as GRC’s Chief Executive Officer effective immediately, brings significant experience and business acumen from the licensing, branding and racing arenas. Responsible for driving the development of the William Rast brand, Dyne also…

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What happened to Petter Solberg and where will he go now?

Mike Shaw

The 2012 season opened with high hopes for Petter Solberg.  After three seasons running a private team when Subaru dropped out of the WRC, Petter vowed last year to never run a private team again.  Petter was finding it difficult as a private owner to have the time required to work with sponsors, manage the team, and still test setups and study the stages to remain at the top level of the WRC.  Additionally, he had frustrations with his Citroen developed car not getting equal treatment as a paying customer as…

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Global Rallycross Championship – 2012 Season Wrap-up

Mike Shaw

Last week saw the final round of the Global Rallycross Championship at the Special Equipment Market Association (a.k.a. SEMA) show in Las Vegas.  This time the track was set up in a large parking area just outside the convention center.  It still had the big gap jump, but this time it was properly made of dirt instead of the death steel of the other rounds.  As was expected, Tanner Foust took the win in the final heat but that was only after a very close battle with Ken Block.  This…

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Rally – Could M-Sport be saved by Qatar?

Mike Shaw

You might remember rumors back in August that Qatari native Nasser Al-Attiyah was planning to buy the 8 times manufacturer championship title holder Citroen World Rally Team. Nasser has already competing this season in a Citroen prepared DS3 under the Qatar World Rally Team banner which gave some weight to the rumor. However Citroen Team Principal, Yves Matton politely laughed such an idea. As with many rumors though, there is often a grain of truth. Maybe Nasser wasn’t going to buy Citroen, but maybe he was putting out feelers with…

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Rally – Regional Rallies Are Just as Fun

Mike Shaw

For the truly devoted rally fan, it isn’t always about the Rally America National Championship. Sure the Rally America rounds are exciting and always draw a crowd, but they only come by once a year. Regional rallies on the other hand are the bedrock of the sport. This is where teams get a chance to test new setups or parts on their cars. Where both drivers and co-drivers can hone their skills without the pressures of being on the national stage. Regional events are especially important for inexperienced crews to…

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IndyCar is back home to Pocono in 2013

Mike Shaw

More than just a chilly autumn wind blew into Pocono Raceway today–the IZOD IndyCar Series   arrived with October at Long Pond today. For many this is an announcement of a lifetime 23 years in the making. To put it in perspective: Ed Carpenter was 8, Marco Andretti 2,  Graham Rahal was just 9 months old, while Josef Newgarden was not born for 16 months when IndyCar last raced there.   The excitement at Pocono Raceway today can not be put into words. Local newspaper reporters who have been covering…

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