Yesterday was the final day of Rally Poland and it was the shortest day of competition. A day of mixed emotions for the BP Abu Dhabi team and a salvage job for the Citroen of Sebastian Loeb. As the day began the Fords had a comfortable lead and looked poised for a second straight 1/2 finish. Danni Sordo promised more pressure from his C4 on the final day. After being back 38 seconds it was going to be tough for the Spaniard to make up that kind of time. If…
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Rally – Poland Day 1 & 2
Rally Poland has ended its first day of competition and there were a couple surprises to talk about. This event may see the first change in the drivers’ championship as well as helps a certain team make a real ball game out of the manufacturer’s title as well. With Petter Solberg having the early lead after the spectator stage, it was on to the loose dirt/gravel surfaces in the super stages. Mikko Hirvonen continued to roll through the stages all morning and was granted a sigh of relief after Sebastian…
Read MoreRally – WRC Regulations for 2011
As the World Motorsport Council met to discuss the future of the Formula 1 World Championship, a number of items were on the table regarding the WRC and its future regulations. In March of this year the teams had agreed to a 2 liter naturally aspirated engine. That has switched however to 1600cc turbo charged power plants that the teams claim will be more environmentally friendly. With the new engines, we will also see Super 2000 regulations put in place for the transmission and electronics. With these new regulations, the…
Read MoreRally – Rally GB Saved…For This Year
In a story revealed by the folks at Autosport, the Rally of Great Britain has been saved this year after a funding boost from the MSA which happens to be the British motorsport governing body. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and the MSA are currently engaged in a battle over the rally after the Welsh decided to drop the event from its funding list. The battle had taken its roots in 2007 when an agreement was signed that saw funding from WAG last for five years. However, the FIA has…
Read MoreRally – STPR Review and Thoughts
So the very brief STPR has concluded and if I have learned anything…it is that I will not be picking lottery numbers anytime soon. Ken Block has taken victory for the second time this year in impressive fashion and the points battle has become even closer. The rally was fast and furious and Block set the early tempo. My favorite for the race and P-WRC driver Patrik Sandell fell out of the event after the first stage! While the reason is not 100%, the team did blame an engine failure…
Read MoreRally – STPR Preview
The Rally America series moves from the beautiful Pacific Northwest and into the equally nice New England area. The STPR is one of the toughest rallies on the calendar for the championship and this weekend has entered a wildcard there will definately play. Patrik Sandell from the P-WRC class has entered the event in hopes of making the X games later this season. Sandell has joined the NCRALLY Team and looks to win the event and earn his first X Games apperance. I am predicting a win for Sandell as…
Read MoreRally – Solberg Secures Sponsorship
In an article posted by the awesome guys at Rallybuzz.com, Petter Solberg’s WRC team has secured a big sponsorship with oil giant Shell joining. Solberg has put together spectacular results thus far with a very dated Citroen Xsara. Not only is the deal running for the rest of this year, but it will also run the full 2010 season. That being said, that should ensure that Petter receives upgrades as he needs them and will also see the former champion run all of the rallies this year and next. We…
Read MoreRally – Gronholm Coming to America
However it is not the capacity that we were hoping. There will be no Rally America for Marcus, but Pikes Peak is another matter all together. Former WRC champion will be fitted into a brand new Ford Fiesta RS for the climb. The Fiesta is not due in the states for another year, but it is a hot little car that is bound to grab attention. Marcus has run one WRC event this year and put up excellent pace in the Prodrive Subaru. There are talks of another WRC rally…
Read MoreRally – Rally d’Italia Wrap-up
As you have probably heard by now, Sebastian Loeb has finally been beaten this year. Jari Matti-Latvala and his BP Ford Focus WRC finally put to rest some speculation on Latvala’s position with the team. Mikko Hirvonen came home in second place making it a Ford 1/2 which was desperately needed for championship aspirations. Petter Solberg finished on another podium with a third place finish and Sebastian Loeb was dropped to fourth after a FIA ruling penalized the Frenchman for his co-driver removing his seat belt before the Citroen C4…
Read MoreRally – Italy Day 2
1. 4 Jari-Matti LATVALA 2:58:03.5 0.0 2. 3 Mikko HIRVONEN 2:58:13.4 +9.9 3. 11 Petter SOLBERG 2:59:16.1 +1:12.6 4. 1 Sébastien LOEB 2:59:18.3 +1:14.8 5. 7 Evgeny NOVIKOV 3:00:49.5 +2:46.0 6. 5 Matthew WILSON 3:03:06.3 +5:02.8 7. 10 Khalid AL QASSIMI 3:05:01.4 +6:57.9 8. 2 Dani SORDO 3:07:22.3 +9:18.8 9. 21 Mads ÖSTBERG 3:10:32.5 +12:29.0 10. 6 Henning SOLBERG 3:10:33.6 +12:30.1 11. 146 Patrik SANDELL 3:12:58.2 +14:54.7 12. 150 Nasser AL-ATTIYAH 3:13:21.7 +15:18.2 13. 147 Armindo ARAUJO 3:14:07.8 +16:04.3 14. 63 Jarkko NIKARA 3:14:20.4 +16:16.9 15. 32 Michal KOSCIUSZKO 3:14:27.5…
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