Rumors and reports have surfaced that show Subaru may be keen to return home in the WRC. The Japanese rally icon has been absent for the last few years after the economic downturn forced many companies to halt motorsport operations to ensure financial security. Subaru was one such brand that chose to withdraw its machine due to what some called financial issues and what others called lack of competitiveness. It is no secret that Subaru looked really really bad towards the end of their time in WRC. However, now it…
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Rally – Portugal Super Special
The first stage of Rally Portugal has ended and Mikko Hirvonen will carry a 1.3 sec lead over Sebastien Loeb heading into the proper stages. The super special was located in Lisbon and drew a massive crowd. Below are the top 10 after the stage. There are a couple key points to take away from the opening test. This is a bit unusual as the super special is supposed to be a low threat event that allows the spectators a chance to watch the rally cars up close. The results…
Read MoreRally – Red Bull Skoda Ready to Attack SWRC
One of my top story lines for Rally Mexico is going to be the arrival of the Red Bull Skoda outfit and 2010 IRC champion Juho Hanninen. A seat that was previously held by Patrik Sandell now goes to one of the top all around drivers in rally and they will be looking to win south of the border. Skoda is currently fielding one factory level entry with their man Juho at the wheel while a second car will be fielded by Baumschlager Rally Racing. Hermann Gassner jr will be…
Read MoreRally – Sunday Service Park 1/23/11
After a brief break, we are back for another Sunday Service Park with just a few things happening…including the Monte Carlo Rally. Not a big deal is it? Team that with a few driver signings and we now present this weeks service park. Monte Carlo The IRC kicked off its season with the centenary edition of the Monte Carlo Rally. The Indy 500 of rally has really become an invitational event since leaving the WRC a couple years ago. Every year we see a couple WRC drivers step outside of…
Read MoreRally – Petter Solberg tests Monte Carlo 207 S2000
Rally – 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 – MINI Showing Positive Progress
The Prodrive/MINI project seems to be coming along just fine. The MINI Clubman WRC has undergone its first serious gravel test and is looking to step up to a more intensive program. After last weeks test that saw the likes of Kris Meeke, Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin driving the car on gravel, the team has indicated their intention to test the car once a month up until Christmas. The team was clear that the level of technical changes and situations would be limited but they would run the car…
Read MoreRally – 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 – SWRC/PWRC Day 1 Review
Rally – Proton Closes in on Driver Selection
Malaysian based Proton is reportedly close to signing another driver for its 2010 IRC campaign. Alister McRae delivered a solid finish for Proton at last year’s Rally Scotland and is set to be one of the drivers in the car this year. The question then remains who is in line for the second seat? Francois Duval is one of the names mentioned as well as former factory Subaru ace Chris Atkinson. The latter of the two has just completed a test for the Malaysian squad and is currently without a…
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