For the first time in a couple seasons, 2012 will see proper “junior” squads making a return in the World Rally Championship. These teams are often manufacturer efforts put forth to develop the future stars of the WRC. Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Ogier are a couple of the most recent graduates from Ford and Citroen respectfully. These teams are rarely given the chance to compete for victories, but will see some of the best and brightest pushing the car to the absolute limit. The goal is to leave that lasting…
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WRC – Citroen Testing Ahead of Monte Carlo
WRC – MINI Fails to Register for 2012
The more things change, the more they stay the same for some people. During Subaru’s dying days in the WRC, Prodrive was the subject of much criticism in how they performed and worked with the Japanese marque. While the prospect of Prodrive leading the BMW backed MINI was almost too good to be true, a major mistake has occurred and MINI are not in the 2012 championship fight at the moment. 19 Dec 2011 was the final day for teams to register. This date was presented by the FiA after…
Read MoreEpisode 117 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they welcome back Doug from the fall semester! We talk about Ford signing a new deal and hiring Petter Solberg joining M-Sport. We also talk about the latest driver signings in WRC, F1, and the IZOD IndyCar Series! There is also a lot of discussion involving the upcoming schedule for the 2012 IndyCar season. Doug has your Mazda Road to Indy update and the next trivia question in our AcceleRace promotion! Thanks as always for the download and enjoy…
Read MoreWRC – Ford Extends World Rally Championship Participation
COLOGNE, Dec. 15, 2011 – Ford of Europe announced today it is extending its participation in the FIA World Rally Championship into 2012 and 2013. Long-term partner M-Sport, the British-based preparation company, which has successfully operated Ford’s WRC activities since 1997, will continue to operate the programme from its state-of-the-art facilities at Dovenby Hall in north-west England. The Fiesta RS World Rally Car will continue as Ford’s WRC flagship in 2012 and 2013. The car, based on the successful Fiesta road car, claimed a clean sweep of the podium in…
Read MoreWRC – 2011 Ford Season Review
WRC – Ford Standoff Maybe Nearing an End
As soon as the WRC season ended, it was time to prepare for the short turn around that is the 2012 campaign. However, the future of M-Sport and Ford’s involvement in the World Rally Championship was brought into question as the latest deal between the two came to an end. Mikko Hirvonen left the team to pair with eight times champion Sebastien Loeb and dark days loomed for fans of the blue oval. Recent events in the media have shown that perhaps the standoff between Ford and M-Sport have come…
Read MoreEpisode 116 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike as they cover all of this week’s top motorsport news. ALMS fires back at Grand Am, and qualifying is officially added to the WRC. We also talk about the latest driver signings in both IndyCar and F1. As always, thank you for the download and enjoy the show.
Read MoreEpisode 115 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun and Mike are back this week to cover all of the latest news in motorsport. We talk the Race of Champions and Mike reveals the all-star event has its own theme song. Our favorite Finnish driver is back in the saddle with a new team and FOTA falls apart a bit. We also talk about the IZOD IndyCar series and the management shakeup, Newman Haas closing its IndyCar doors, and the new car is still making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The…
Read MoreEpisode 114 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadJoin Shaun and Mike for all of the hot news this week in motorsport. We talk Ogier going to Citroen and Shaun tries to rationalize the Ford/M-Sport situation. We also look back and talk about the Brazilian Grand Prix. Where will Kimi go? Well we found out today Renault. We talk about it during the show. Join our Mazda Road to Indy editor Doug Patterson as he talks with Accelerace’s very own Ardie Greenamyer. Listen for details in the show about how you can…
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