2011 will see both Ford and Citroen drop their current WRC cars in favor of the new technical regulations that allow for only S2000 chassis and 1.6 litre turbo engines. That has presented an interesting issue. Both Citroen and M-Sport are at capacity building the DS3 and Ford Fiesta WRC respectably. Because of the manufacturers efforts in developing, testing, and building these machines in time for next season, there is currently no way to produce a C4 or Focus in case of emergency this season. This can be a REAL…
Read MoreTag: Citroen
Rally – Fiesta to Test Current Focus Motor
With the World Motor Sport Council agreeing to run the S2000 chassis with a 1.6 litre turbo engine, Ford has decided to take a head start on the issue of development. The Fiesta S2000 will be fitted with the current 2.0 litre turbo charged engine used in the Ford Focus WRC. This is a tactic that has been used by Citroen in the development of the DS3 using the C4’s engine. Ford hopes that by using the chassis and engine package, they will be able to gauge how the car…
Read MoreRally – FiA Stalls WRC Calendar
The FiA World Motor Sport Council met today with a number of issues on the agenda. One such item, was the 2011 WRC calendar that has been put forth by North One Sport. The calendar that was purposed has been under wraps and had a large amount of buzz surrounding it as we reported about a month ago. The FiA however has stalled the calendar in a very typical FiA fashion. The motorsport governing body asked North One Sport to further consider the calendar. One point that was debated revolves…
Read MoreEpisode 29 – Open Paddock Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Mike and myself this week as I call in from Washington DC and we discuss the Carl Edwards drama (make fun of it is a better description) and recap Rally Mexico. We also touch on the IRC and another victory for Kris Meeke. We also talk Rahal to Fisher for a short stint as well as offer our insight into Brazil and Bahrain for the grand kickoff of open wheel racing.
Read MoreRally – Corona Mexico Review
So ends the first proper gravel test of the year, and what a rally it turned out to be in Mexico! The clear favorites going into this weekend had to be Mikko Hirvonen and the BP Ford team, however it was not to be as the Citroens would prove to be too much. Day 1 was exciting as Petter Solberg would set a dominant pace all day long. Sebastian Ogier would run a clean and consistent second as the two factory Citroen efforts would take the third and fourth positions.…
Read MoreRally – Kimi Raikkonen Keeps on Rolling
Rally – Quirky Mexico Shakedown
Round 2 of the WRC campaign kicked off today with the shakedown stage and a number of cars would not make it back to service without a battle wound courtesy a water bridge. Petter Solberg would claim the fastest time in the shakedown with a 2:51.7. It would appear as though the gremlins that haunted the Norwegian during Rally Sweden would allow him to enjoy at least one day of the event. Both Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo would suffer damage to their Citroens with the latter actually busting a…
Read MoreRally – Sweden Footage
Rally – Hirvonen Takes Sweden
Mikko Hirvonen has started off his 2010 campaign in style as he has won the Rally of Sweden. The Finn defeated Sebastian Loeb by a margin of around 42 secs. The battle raged in the morning stages as Sebastian Loeb took an early lead. However, a differential change at the mid day service park saw Mikko surge ahead of his title rival. Once ahead, the Ford number one began to pull away until Sebastian threw in the towel and Hirvonen was able to take the opening round by 42.3 seconds.…
Read MoreRally – Hirvonen Leads After Day 1
The WRC and Rally Sweden are now officially go and the first day has ended with the factory Ford of Mikko Hirvonen in the lead. The day started with Sordo and Ogier in the first and second position, but that was short lived as the rally ventured out into the proper stages. The Citroen duo attacked early and were able to claim the lead with Sebastian Loeb. Dani Sordo and Mikko Hirvonen were engaged in a battle for most of the morning, with the Finn putting his Focus in second…
Read More