The big buzz heading into 2011 has been MINI and Prodrive collaborating for a WRC program. Two fantastic names in the lore of the WRC coming together to mount a challenge against the giants Ford and Citroen. Originally scheduled to miss the first four rounds of the next years championship, some words dropped by Technical Director David Lapworth on autosport.com may see the new team up its original 2011 commitment. “We’ve got a good idea of where we’re going,” said Lapworth. “It’s going to be a minimum of six rallies,…
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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 – Meeke to MINI
Intercontinental Rally Champion Kris Meeke will once again compete in the WRC. Stories this morning have the star signing with MINI’s WRC efforts and while nothing has come out of the Meeke camp, all things are in motion for this to take place. Kris is the second name mentioned with program as it is heavily rumored P-G Andersson is also in line for a seat. It does not stop there however. Marcus Gronholm is also in the mix as he is set for a Portugal test of the new Countryman.…
Read MoreRally – Prodrive MINI Preparing to Test
Just when you thought all hope was lost of seeing a Prodrive MINI next year, Rallybuzz.com has now posted a story that is the first sign of life we have had from the project in a couple months time. The silence then began to drive rumors that funding had been cut and that Prodrive was looking at teaming with Toyota for a WRC bid. That being the dumbest rumor I have ever heard has now brought us a proof of life that the MINI project is on track. Reports are…
Read MoreRally – Ford Getting Ambitious on Ogier
The Works Ford squad have gotten a little ambitious over the last couple days by announcing publicly their pursuit of Citroen ace Sebastian Ogier. The French driver who took his first WRC victory in Portugal by out gunning Citroen works phenom Sebastian Loeb, has announced that he is actually entertaining the idea. The driving slot that would become available would be at the the factory Ford outfit along side Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. Reports indicate that Ford have been in touch with Ogier’s management team and that a formal…
Read MoreRally – MINI WRC News
As was mentioned a few months ago, MINI was looking to jump into the WRC arena with Prodrive given the S2000T regulations. MINI who was once involved with rally’s top flight looks to return on the wings of the Countryman crossover. Yesterday I had mentioned that with the news coming out of the Czech Republic on Skoda’s decision to develop the 1.6T and further its development its S2000 chassis, little had been heard from Prodrive or MINI aside from the facts that they were in Sweden on fact finding missions.…
Read MoreRally – Skoda 1.6T in WRC
There are now reports surfacing out of the Czech Republic that home automaker Skoda will now develop a 1.6T engine and continue development on the Fabia S2000 chassis. While the details are a little thin at the moment, it would appear that the WRC will have at least the four manufacturers it was hoping for. There is currently no news on whether this will be a supply to privateers or a factory effort, but the Czech team has shown itself very well in the IRC at the factory level. From…
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