FROM: FORD Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team has dropped plans to debut its all-new Fiesta RS World Rally Car in Finland’s Arctic Lapland Rally (28 – 29 January) next weekend. Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila were scheduled to drive a leg each in the two-day snow and ice rally based in Rovaniemi. It was due to be the final part of the squad’s pre-season test programme before next month’s opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Sweden. However,…
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Rally – Ford Fiesta RS Breaks Cover in 2011 Color Scheme
FROM: FORD BIRMINGHAM, 13 January 2011 – Ford’s all-new Fiesta RS World Rally Car was revealed in its 2011-specification today when the company unveiled the color scheme that will adorn the car in the FIA World Rally Championship. Team driver Mikko Hirvonen and Ford of Europe motorsport chief Gerard Quinn unveiled the livery for the eye-catching Fiesta RS WRC at the Autosport International Racing Car Show in Birmingham, motorsport’s traditional start-of-season showcase event. Ford’s official WRC squad for 2011 also confirmed its new name and logo – it will compete…
Read MoreRally – Stobart Changes
A number of changes have already occurred in preparations for what experts are calling an amazing 2011 WRC season. More changes have been released today involving the Stobart team this time. The satellite Ford team has made slight changes and added a driver for Sweden to up its chances for a great points haul in the opening round. First, the team that was known as the Stobart M-Sport Ford World Rally Team has changed its name to the M-Sport Stobart Ford Rally Team. Not a huge difference in a name…
Read MoreRally – FERM World Rally Team
The World Rally Championship got some news this morning as FERM Power Tools World Rally Team has entered the Manufacturer’s Championship for 2011. Dennis Kuipers will be the man behind the wheel of the M-Sport Fiesta for 11 out 13 rounds (Australia and Argentina missing). Kuipers was originally slated to run only 10 rounds of the championship in a Fiesta, however the recent deal with FERM has opened up an 11th round. Kuipers best result last season was an 11th overall at Rally Spain. He was driving under the Stobart…
Read MoreRally – Sunday Service Park 1-2-2011
Welcome to the first Sunday Service Park of 2011. The news has been slow due to Christmas and New Year’s, but we are going to take a look at the 2011 Manufacturer’s Championship for the WRC. Citroen has dominated the series for the last few years, but this season Ford has a great shot at taking the fight to the French as the slate is wiped clean. The late introduction of the FiA technical regulations for 2011 has now potentially shown us the first gap between Ford and Citroen. As…
Read MoreRally – New 2011 Fiesta Sport Trophy Series Calendar Announced
PRESS RELEASE FROM RALLYCAR: INAUGURAL FIESTA SPORT TROPHY SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED Dearborn, Mich. (12/17/2010) – Ford Racing and RallyCar announced today that the inaugural Fiesta Sport Trophy championship for the United States will kick off June 3 at the Susquehanna Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro, Pa., and comprise of seven events during four weekends, culminating at the Lake Superior Rally in Oct. 15. The winner of the Fiesta Sport Trophy Championship will receive a ride in a Fiesta R2 at the 2011 Rally Great Britain. Sanctioned by RallyCar, the Fiesta Sport…
Read MoreRally – Ostberg to Compete in Fiesta for 2011
News broke today on Autosport that has Mads Ostberg collaborating with M-Sport for the 2011 campaign in the new Fiesta RS WRC. Big news for Ford as Ostberg will bring his Adapta Motorsport rally team into the M-Sport fold. The Norweigian driver has competed in select rounds of the championship this year in a Subaru WRC car and has put together great performances for the technology. A move to a better drive was in order and must be considered a welcome addition to the team. One thing that we need…
Read MoreRally – Leg 1 in Spain
Sebastien Loeb has taken it easy this weekend and is still leading Rally Spain by 3.8secs over future teammate and Citroen Junior driver Sebastien Ogier. Loeb’s lead does come as a surprise as the first leg has a mixture of both tarmac and gravel. The Frenchman was first on the roads and sacrificed little time because of it. Jari-Matti Latvala is currently in third which is slightly below what the team were hoping. The idea was to have JML utilize his fast gravel pace to put a lead over the…
Read MoreRally – The Face of WRC for 2011
With both championships decided this past weekend in France, we now begin to shift our focus to the 2011 season. The whole face of the WRC is set to change with the launch of the 2011 S2000T cars that occured late last week. I was not able to post the launch videos last week, so here are the launch videos for the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Citroen DS3, and MINI Countryman WRC. These cars are based on a S2000 chassis and will run a 1.6 litre turbo charged engine. You…
Read MoreRally – Loeb Wins Germany
Sebastian Loeb has won Rally Germany for the eighth time and has all but sured up the title with four events left. The Citroen ace was never in question of losing this event as he continues to destroy the competition on tarmac. The French ace now has 191 points to Sebastian Ogier’s 133. Ogier would finish on the final step of the podium while factory driver Dani Sordo would finish an impressive second. A result the Spaniard needed after coming back to the Total team after being demoted to the…
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