Best of Dakar 2010: Cars

Below is a review of the Cars section of the 2010 Dakar.

Video from www.dakar.com

Best of Dakar 2010: Motorbikes

Below is a review of the Motorbike section of the 2010 Dakar Rally.

Video from www.dakar.com

Malaysia Rally date change

The organisers of the Malaysia Rally have been forced to bring the date for the event forward.

“We have had to change the date for the Malaysian Rally due to circumstances beyond our control,” Clerk of the Course Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar said.

The original date, which would have seen the event run on the 8-10 April, conflicted with the date for the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix. The organisers of the rally have now announced that the event will run one week earlier, on the 1-3 April.

“The Malaysian F1 [Grand Prix] has recently been scheduled for the weekend of April 8-10, the same weekend as our original date for the Malaysian Rally. He added.

An idea put forward was to run the event a week later, on the 15-17 April. Ultimately, this idea was scrapped because it would have brought the Malaysian opener too close to the second round of the APRC, the International Rally of Queensland, which will be held on the 13-15 May.

The CoC apologised on behalf of the organisers, saying: “We do apologise for any inconvenience caused due to the date change. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the APRC 2011 season starter in Malaysia.”

SupeRally to be got rid of?

Jean Todt has hinted that he may remove the SupeRally from usage in the WRC.

The rule permits a car that has retired from a day of competing can return the next day, provided they haven’t retired on the final day, albeit with hefty time penalties. It was introduced at the 2004 Acropolis Rally.

However, the rule has had a controversial past. The rule divided the sport right down the middle, with one half believing that a retirement meant that you were out of the rally, while the other half believing that re-entering meant that rookies could gather more experience.

The SupeRally rule has been a deciding factor in recent times. During the 2006 Rallye Monte Carlo, Sebastian Loeb slid off the road and out of the rally. However, he returned the next day and stormed through the field to finish second.

Even though the SupeRally rule helped Sebastian Loeb to win his third successive Drivers title, Todt has said that he isn’t too fond of the rule.

"I'm not a big fan of SupeRally. Maybe for the spectators - if people have been travelling for a long time to see the cars they would be disappointed not to see them. Maybe we can find a way of allowing to test, but to score points once you have retired? I don't like the philosophy; it doesn't seem natural to me.”

One man that wants to see SupeRally stay is M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson, who said: "It costs a huge amount for the privateers in the Juniors and Super 2000 WRC to go around the world and if they retire on the opening stage all that money and effort is wasted. But SupeRally gives them the chance to gain experience. It keeps cars on the stages and that has to be a good thing."

However, Todt did say that the rule would not be dumped immediately: "We have the process to change, but before we change we must make sure it's a good change against an emotional reaction. We must make sure it's the right change."

Valvoline to sponsor Irish Forestry Rally Championship

The committee of the Irish Forest Rally Championship have announced that they have signed a deal to see Valvoline as the title sponsor of the series.

John Quill, one very happy person about the deal, said: “In light of all the tough weather and economic climate it great to have an international company that sees the merit in supporting Irish Forest Rallying.”

Valvoline have had a presence in the series before, with the company sponsoring Andrew Fanning’s Ford Ka. The Forest committee are very appreciative of Mr. Fanning for landing the deal.

Mr. Fanning said: “It’s great to help promote the 2011 Forest Championship after years competing on the series with support from Valvoline. Forest rallying is great craic and the lads you are battling against are competitive but relaxed as forest events are not too stressful.”

“Valvoline have a worldwide interest in motorsport and for them recognise the Irish market as a viable area in which to advertise is great. It proves the level of work being done in motorsport in Ireland is of a high standard.”

Below is the 2011 Irish Forest Rally Championship calendar:

Sean Conlon Memorial Rally (Tipperary)       13/2/2011

Carrick-on-Suir Rally                                      6/3/2011

Moonraker Rally (Munster)                            10/4/2011

Donegal Forestry Rally                                   23/7/2011

Jim Walsh Memorial Rally (Cork)                  13/8/2011

Down Rally                                                     22/10/2011

Regulations for the Series will be made available soon.

'I have nothing to fear': Caffi

Alex Caffi that he will have nothing to be afraid of when he makes his IRC debut on next month’s Rallye Monte Carlo.

The ex-F1 driver is due to compete on the event in a Skoda Fabia S2000 and is due to be navigated by Roberto Peroglio. Caffi’s Fabia S2000 will be run by DP Autosport.

“I have done some rallies before but they were small rallies and never in snow and ice. I understand it will be very difficult but for my first grand prix [at the Italian Grand Prix in 1986] I went in a turbo car with 1500bhp with no testing and finished the race. If I did something like that then I know I can do this. I don’t fear anything.”

The Italian wants to gain some experience and finish, but is looking for a decent result at the same time.

Alex Caffi

“I just want to get some experience and make the finish. If I can pass the Col de Turini two times in the night then I will be very happy. It will be a big sensation.” he added.

Caffi’s F1 career lasted seven years, from 1986-1992. During that time he drove for teams such as the back-markers Osella, Scuderia Italia, Arrows and Andrea Modea. His best result from the 56 GP’s that he qualified for was fourth, at the 1989 San Marino Grand Prix. He retired from F1 early in 1992, and then moved to Sports Cars, where he became quite successful.

He also has experience of rally cars, having competed on the Monza Rally Show in 2007, 2008, 2009. In 2009 he drove a Skoda Fabia S2000 run by the DP Autosport squad. He made his rallying debut in 2003 at the wheel of a Renault Cilo on the Ciocchetto Rally.


Photo credit: www.alexcaffi.com

Wittmann's main sponsor drops out

Interwetten have announced that they are withdrawing their sponsorship of Franz Wittmann.

Interwetten, a telephone sport betting provider, contacted the young Austrian to say that there is no money left to sponsor him.

“We had a meeting with Interwetten to sort things out. Unfortunately I was told that they plan to set different marketing activities next year for business policy reasons. This cancellation creates a budget hole that proves too large to be filled without a main sponsor.” he said.

This means that Wittmann will not compete on the season-opener Rallye Monte Carlo. He was due to compete on the event in a Peugeot 207 S2000, and was to be supported by Interwetten. However, this is not to be.

However, Wittmann, 27, has said that he will find a new sponsor, so that he can at least compete in some rounds of the IRC later in the season.

“From this moment on I will naturally try to find partners who could help me to successfully continue my rally career in some form,” he added.

Wittmann failed to secure a single point in this year’s IRC series. He was driving a Peugeot 207 S2000.

'The Iceman' due to announce plans soon

Kimi Raikkonen is understood to be announcing his future plans in the near future.

The Finn, who competed 12 in this year’s 13 WRC rounds with the Citroen Junior Team, is due to be resigning for the French outfit in the coming weeks.

Details of his 2011 campaign are being kept secret; with Red Bull only saying that they are still in negotiations with him.

A source close to Citroen said: "We expect Kimi to be here again next year. He has talked to a few people about a few things, but this is where he's going to be. The agreement, we're told, is made."

Raikkonen has been the centre of a storm of rumours about his future, with Renault F1 rumouring that he was returning with them. Raikkonen later stated that he was ‘never seriously considering driving for Renault’ and that he would ‘assure you 100% that I will not be driving for them in 2011’.

Within rallying, he was believed to be moving to Ford, but nothing came of this. MINI was another name mentioned, but with MINI only competing in select rounds next year, and with Kimi’s experience level not being suited to all the development needed, this rumour has somewhat frozen.

Recently, however, he has been linked to the Monster WRT, partnering Ken Block. Block described Raikkonen as ‘a dream team-mate’, but with both his current sponsor Red Bull and Monster both being energy drinks companies, this has gone somewhat stale.

Another idea that was circulated was of Raikkonen taking a sabbatical from driving for 2011, but this was dismissed.

Citroen Racing boss Oliver Quesnel is understood to be keen on retaining the ‘Iceman’ in the team, after some strong showings in the latter half of the season.

Should Raikkonen re-sign for Citroen, he would probably get his first test in the team’s new challenger, the DS3 WRC, in early to mid January.

P-WRC Champion gunning for the top

Double P-WRC Champion Armindo Araujo has said that he could have his 2011 campaign sorted out as early as next month.

“My goal is to keep driving in the World Rally Championship with a World Rally Car and that is what I am working towards.”

The Portuguese driver, who claimed his second successive P-WRC title on the season-ending Wales Rally GB, has said that he is closing on a deal to drive one of the new 1600cc turbo cars next year. He has said that he would like to do all the rounds of next year’s calendar, but budgetary constraints may hamper him from doing this.

“The plan is to do all the rounds but obviously this depends on the budget. If I can’t do all the rounds, I will do as many as I can.”

He added that he has completed all his sponsor meetings, and that he is ever confident. He also added that all of his sponsors, including major sponsor TMN, a telecommunications company, are all staying with him, and that some new ones are coming on board.

“We are very close with one team to race in the WRC and we hope to have a decision early in January. We have done all our meetings with the sponsors and I am very confident although I am still working very hard.” he said.

However, the Portuguese is keeping details secret, but he has said that he is talking to Citroen and Ford, as well as MINI.

We’re all working very hard indeed, and we’re talking to all the manufacturers, not just MINI. I’m quite confident that we will get something, but nothing is actually signed yet.”

Araujo also claimed the WRC.com ‘Personality Of The Year’ award by winning 47% of the final votes. He says that winning the award will, hopefully, boost his standing with companies in his native Portugal.

“I am very motivated to be in the WRC and this award shows my image in Portugal is very strong and hopefully it will make other companies want to support me.”

Future IRC return possible for Meeke

2009 IRC Champion Kris Meeke has said that he will not turn his back completely on the IRC, saying that a return isn’t impossible.

“You never know for the future. For now my focus is with MINI and their programme in the world championship. I’ve had a great time in the IRC but this is going to be a new and exciting project and an opportunity to play a part in a major development programme.”

Hailing from Dungannon, Meeke was Peugeot UK’s shock signing in 2009. The Irishman got his IRC debut off to a bad start, crashing out of the season-opener Rallye Monte Carlo. However, he shook off the crash to claim four wins and the IRC title in his debut year.

2010 was a bit of a disappointment, with the Peugeot 207 S2000s not being up to the pace of the Skoda Fabia S2000. In fact, when compared to the 2009 results, where Peugeot claimed five wins, the Kronos Racing run team claimed only three wins in the series. In stark contrast to Peugeot’s 3 wins, Skoda took seven. Meeke finished third in this year’s standings, with one win, and five retirements, to his name.

Meeke has said that his MINI contract would never have come if it wasn’t for Peugeot signing him.

“It’s fair to say I would not have the opportunity I have now without the IRC. It was a breath of fresh air for me. It’s a big step from a national championship but not so big that you can’t be competitive. The cars are the same specification and we’ve seen on events where you have 26 Super 2000 cars and at least 10 of them are genuinely capable of winning. It’s highly, highly competitive.”

Meeke will begin his MINI career on next year’s Rally d’Italia Sardegna.

This Is Rallying

Global Rally News will start a new series called 'This Is Rallying' where I will put up a video about rallying every so often. Be it about a hard charging drive, a tribute to the sport or an accident worth a mention, I'll post it here. Below is the the first video of the series.

This is Rallying

 video supplied courtesy of 'Amjayes'.

Interview with Tom Cave

Below is an EXCLUSIVE interview with up-and-coming young British driver Tom Cave. But first, a little bit about him.


Tom has been around rallying for as long as he can remember. With his Dad, Peter Cave, competing himself, it would not be long before Tom was involved one way or another. He began with cleaning wheels or polishing the car at service, then he would head out to see his Dad, and some of the best in the sport, come flying past.


Tom's motorsport career began after he enrolled in Martin Rowe's Ice Driving School in Norway. From there he progressed to rallying in Latvia, where youngsters can begin from the age of 14. He began in an MG ZR, before moving to a Ford Fiesta. He progressed to the Latvian National Championship, where after two years in the Latvian National Championship he gained his International licence. On gaining his International licence, he entered Wales Rally GB. Tom  dominated his class, N3, to win by 15 mins.

Profile

Hometown: Aberdovey, West Wales

Job: Assistant Manager at our family hotel, the Trefeddian Hotel

Road Car: VW Golf TDi

Rally Car: Proton Satria Neo S2000

Co-Driver: Craig Parry

Sponsors: Trefeddian Hotel, Jim Blackstock Communications, Evo Magazine

Global Rally News: When did you first start driving?

Tom Cave: I first started driving around the grounds of our house and the hotel, when I was 12 in a Fiat Panda 4x4, the old-school classic model, brilliant little off-roader and brilliant for driving around and doing handbrakes everywhere, much to everyone's annoyance!

GRN: What was your first rally car?

TC: The first rally car I drove in which I learned to practice the trade of rallying in was an MG ZR 1.8 Grp N, most of parts on the car were from the MG rally team who ran Gwyndaf Evans in the British championship, we were luckily to have allot of spares and a shell!

GRN: What was your first event?

TC: My first ever event in competition was out in Latvia. I was 15 at the time, the 2007 Rally Sarma. It was a snow rally, we started car 60 odd, and finished 3rd overall, and won our class and it was a snow rally as well, I surprised my self a bit with the way I drove, I got the early vibes that I new I could drive rally car.

GRN: What is your favourite rally car?

TC: Favourite rally car, Audi Quattro S1, what a monster!

GRN: Who was your childhood hero in motorsport?

TC: I guess it was Colin McRae, I grew up watching the era when he was in his last couple years at Ford, defiantly a crowd pleaser on the stages.

GRN: What are your favourite rallies?

TC: Favourite rallies, the ones I have done got to be the Monte Carlo rally which we did this year, I think the Dakar rally is up there with my favourites, one day would like to win Rally GB, I think if you win that some point your rallying career even if its in 10 years, you would be respected by many British fans.

GRN: What was your biggest accident?

TC: I haven't had any big smacks yet, had numerous incidents when ending on the roof and having big moments down ditches this year with PROTON, but on the whole my accident rate record if fairly low! 

GRN: What would you like to change in rallying (rules/admin ect.)?

TC: For the MSA to run a scheme for young drivers like the French sport federation (FFSA) is doing, which has supported the likes of Sebastien Ogier financially, there is so many talented drivers in the UK but just don't get the chance and backing to make it somewhere in the sport and given the opportunity.

GRN: What are your plans for next year?

TC: Our plans are firmly set on the British championship, I said to myself at the end of this year we need to win a championship, and the British championship is good proving ground. I think we can be competitive, but we need to have the right car and backing behind us to go all the way next year, there is no point doing a championship half heartily if you want to win it!

GRN: What advice would you offer to an upcoming young driver?

TC: When your young you just want to prove yourself to everyone that your best driver, but if you believe in your own ability to drive a rally car fast, keep holding the belief, and one day your chance will come. Set your goals high and achieve them!

Alistair McRae, Chris Atkinson and Tom Cave (L-R)
The PROTON team

New tyre regs to come in near future

A new set of tyre regulations are expected to be given the ok by the FIA in the near future.

Should the new regulations get passed, teams are to be allocated only one set of new tyres, per car, per day of competition. This is to be introduced as an initiative to reduce the costs for the teams.

In the past, teams were able to change tyres at the end of each stage, but costs began to rise, so this was eventually phased out. In the past decade, teams reduced their tyre usage by large amounts, with usage coming down to only two sets per day.

The idea was put forward by FIA President Jean Todt, who is keen to get costs down by reducing tyre usage over the course of a rally.

“When we are talking about running more endurance-style events [and] running one set of tyres per day will cut costs and it can be done.” Todt said.

With a typical day’s rallying in the WRC comprising of over 100Kms of competitive driving and around 300kms of road driving to get to the stages, the tyre companies would have to construct tyres capable of taking such abuse. Michelin have already begun the process of planning for such a radical change.

“By discussing this with the FIA and other tyre manufacturers, like Jean Todt says, we can improve the life of the tyres. We are already working on that but it’s not very long from today until 2012 when the FIA wants this incorporating in to the regulations.” said Nick Shorrock, Director of Michelin’s competition department.

Should the new regulations be brought into force, they would likely be run from 2012 on.

Layout changes

The following are changes made recently to the layout of Global Rally News:

• 'Recent posts' on the left shows a list of the last 10 stories posted on Global Rally News
• A table has been added at the bottom of the page which shows the final results of some Championships
• An archive has been added to enable viewers to see all posts from Global Rally News' beginning

Rally Australia director steps down

Graham Fountain, the Chairman of Rally Australia, has announced his resignation from the head of the country’s WRC event.

Mr. Fountain resigned from the chairmanship of Rally Australia and as the CEO of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade after a woman, with whom he was alleged to be having an affair with, brought up claims of unfair treatment against Mr.  Fountain. CCTV footage from the HQ of the Melbourne fire brigade appears to back-up the woman’s claims.

Mr. Fountain has also stepped down from the director’s position of Rally Australia Pty Ltd. Mr. Ben Rainsford has stepped in to fill the space vacated by Mr. Fountain as Chairman of Rally Australia.

The accusations have come at a bad time for the Rally Australia organisers, who are in the process of organising Australia’s return to the WRC. The 2011 edition will be based in Coffs Harbour, and will run from the 8^th to the 11^th of September 2011. Coffs Harbour is located 500Kms north of the capital, Sydney.

Tour de Corse a possibility for Vouilloz

Former IRC Champion Nicolas Vouilloz is due to place an entry for next year’s Tour de Corse.

Vouilloz, a former Downhill Mountain bike World Champion, has said that he would like to compete in both French rounds of the Series with the backing of Skoda’s French arm, Skoda France. He is due to compete on the centenary edition of the Rallye Monte Carlo with Skoda France’ backing. He is due to be navigated by Benjamin Veillas.

The Frenchman has entered the infamous event on three occasions but has only finished one of them, the 2005 edition. On the event, he finished in 11^th position overall onboard a Skoda Fabia WRC. He was navigated by Patrick Pivato.

“Nothing is confirmed but the idea is to do both of the French [IRC] events with Skoda France. I would like to do it but we will have to see.” said the Frenchman.

As a professional mountain biker, Vouilloz won an amazing 10 Downhill Mountain Bike World Championships. His Downhill Championship race wins stand at 16. He retired after claiming his 10^th title in 2002. He returned to the scene in 2007 on the fourth round of the series, at Champery, Switzerland. He currently races for Lapierre Ultimate Cycles.

Route changes for 2011 Rally d'Italia Sardegna

The organisers of the 2011 edition of the Rally d’Italia Sardegna, the Automobile Club d’Italia, have announced some changes to the route of the rally.

Rumours began to circulate recently about a proposed ceremonial start in Rome, the capital city of Italy, but in the last few days suggestions were circulated that the organisers were struggling to put together a plan to get the cars to Rome, then to Sardegna, but in recent days this plan has been scraped altogether.

Another scrapped plan was to run a mixed surface forma, after introducing sections of tarmac during stages last year (2009) to the rally.

A proposed idea that did stick is to base Day 1 more south than usually run. The opening day of the rally will run in the province of Oristano. Day 2 will be run just south of Olbia, near the town of Budduso. SS15/17 and SS16/18 of Day 3 will be run slightly south of Olbia, and the final stage, SS19, is run just north of Olbia.

Another planned idea is to run a ‘Power Stage’. The stage will be televised live on Eurosport TV, the IRC’s TV partner, and an extra three Championship points will be awarded to the fastest crew over the stage.

New co-driver in 2011 for Magalhães

Bruno Magalhães has announced that he has switched navigators for the 2011 IRC season.

Paulo Grave will replace the departing Carlos Magalhães from next year on. Grave has previously navigated for Bruno Magalhães, with the pair finishing second in the A6 Class of the 2005 Sata Rally Açores and winning Class A6 on the 2006 edition of the Rali Vinho Madeira, claiming fourth along the way. They also finished second in the N4 Class of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, in a Peugeot 207 S2000.

“Paulo was my co-driver from 2002 until 2007 when he stopped rallying. I know him perfectly so the change will not be a problem.”

Carlos Magalhães will leave the navigator seat of the Peugeot 207 S2000 after a successful time paired with Bruno. The pair won this year’s Sata Rally Açores after Juho Hanninen punctured and Jan Kopecký crashed out during the final stages. Carlos will now leave to partner Daniel Olivera, who will compete in next year’s IRC season.

Bruno said: “Carlos is a great friend of mine and for his career this change can be better and for me I will still have a good co-driver.”

The new Magalhães-Grave partnership will begin on next year’s Rallye Monte Carlo.

WTCC ace tests MINI

Andy Priaulx has completed a test in the new MINI Countryman WRC at Prodrive’s test stage.

Priaulx, a treble World Touring Car champion, was contacted by Prodrive boss Dave Richards, and asked to take part in the test. The 37-year old has always been keen on rallying so jumped at the chance to try the car.

“I had a bit of fun. It was great as Kris Meeke was there so he was able to show me the ropes, and then he was brave enough to sit beside me while I drove the car. It really is a lovely little car, and I am sure the programme will be successful. This was an amazing opportunity and I can’t thank David Richards enough for giving me such a great chance.”

Priaulx, who is more used to driving a BMW 320si Touring Car in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), is not used to rally cars on gravel, but has previous experience or them. He has driven a Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000 and a Ford Focus WRC at the Race of Champions. He won the RoC Legends event in 2009.

However, he has warned people that he will not be following Kimi Raikkonen and switching from closed-circuit racing to rallying. He has recently announced that he will embark on a full time endurance racing career next year after BMW announced that they would withdraw from the WTCC from next year.

“However, before anyone starts getting excited about me swapping from racing to rallying, I need to point out it is a one off and I can’t visualise myself taking on the rally boys at this stage in my career!”

He does have prior experience of part of the new MINI, however. The engine in Priaulx’ BMW is the same 1.6 turbo unit used in the MINI.

Alén working towards return

Son of World Rally legend Markku, Anton Alén says that he wants a return to rallying next year.

“I’m really desperate to drive again and this year has been one of the most difficult times I have ever experienced,”

Anton was previously one of Abarth’s works drivers in the IRC last year, but was dropped from their line-up this year when the Italian squad withdrew from the IRC to concentrate on their ERC programme, which culminated in Luca Rosseti winning the series.

He still says, however, that he is working towards a return to rallying, after having to sit out this year.

“I’ve been working solidly on different ways to come back, but unfortunately it’s so financially tough for everyone at the moment. My motivation is stronger than ever though and I’m determined to give it 100%. I know some of the IRC and WRC events already and there are some interesting new rallies coming in as well.”

During his Abarth career, he competed in the IRC, and he also won the 2007 edition of Rally Russia. Outside of his time with the Italian team, he competed on some P-WRC events in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI, winning on Wales Rally GB and his home event, Rally Finland.

Rally Ireland return looking brighter

Rally Ireland’s return to the WRC calendar is beginning to gather pace after a good outcome from a meeting between Irish Senator Mark MacSharry and FIA Vice-President Mohammed ben Sulayem.

Senator MacSharry, whose constituency is Sligo North Leitrim, where Rally Ireland was based, is also gunning for the FIA General Assembly and Prize Giving to be held in the North West of Ireland in 2013.

"As a prelude to the WRC's return I intend to illicit support to mount a bid for Sligo to host the World Motor Sport Council meeting in 2011 and the prestigious FIA General Assembly and prize giving in 2013,"

Rally Ireland has proved a successful venture in the past. It was ranked second best event in the 2007 WRC Season after the infamous Rally Finland, and it also was the most watched event in the WRC. Some of the WRC’s top drivers described the rally as technical but enjoyable.

"With Sligo as its lead, Ireland proved to the world that it can successfully bid for, win and host global events such as the WRC. In 2007, in particular, we displayed our capability to not just compete, but beat the best the rest could offer with the Irish round of the WRC ranking second in the championship and first in terms of television viewers worldwide.

Senator MacSharry also pointed out that it had a massive following, which could prove an advantage in the current economic climate in Ireland.

"Some 800 million people viewed aspects of Rally Ireland that year between live and delayed coverage. Such exposure, together with direct revenue and tourism generation, is too big to ignore - especially in these recessionary times."

Senator MacSharry was a key part of the original bid for the event to be run and based in the North West.

Mr. ben Sulayem was supportive of the event, citing the record of the previous two runnings of the rally and Ireland’s history of rallying as good points for the WRC to be staged in Ireland.

"Senator MacSharry's support for motorsport is most welcome and his enthusiasm and determination for Ireland's hosting of FIA events is encouraging.

"Given Ireland's long association with motorsport, its track record on Rally Ireland, together with the work and commitment of Motorsport Ireland and Senator MacSharry, clearly I would be supportive of any Irish Initiative to host the WRC or other FIA events."

Senator MacSharry announced that he would soon be contacting the stakeholders in Rally Ireland, which are Motorsport Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland. He also said that he would be in contact with the Minister for Sport and the Secretary-General of the Department of Sport regarding the sending of a formal request to North One Sport, the Promoters of the WRC.

Safety Direct to continue as Galway sponsors

Safety Direct have announced that they will continue to be the Galway International Rally’s major sponsor for 2011. Safety Direct are a leading supplier of health and safety equipment in Ireland.

"This is a very exciting event for Safety Direct to be involved with. An occasion of this scale is wonderful for Galway city and county and we are only too happy to be a part of it bringing so much revenue to the area and local business". said Alan Fair, Safety Direct’s spokesperson.

COC of the Safety Direct Galway International Rally, Gary Leonard, has said that the Galway Motor Club is happy to see Safety Direct continuing their support for the Rally.

"Safety Direct are an ideal sponsor for the Galway International Rally. They are a well-established local company with a great interest in the sport and carry a huge range of quality products and equipment. They even have a large range of Road Safety products which is entirely complementary for this event."

The Galway International is a historic event in the Irish Tarmac calendar, with the event being the first event of the inaugural Tarmac Championship, back in 1978. Today, 32 years on, the rally still hosts the first round of the ITRC. The event attracts top Irish crews as well as crews from the Continent and further a field and many thousands of supporters to journey out to see their heroes in any weather. The event also attracts a unique weather pattern, unseen on any other event in the calendar, with snow, ice and rain all present during the rally.

The event has also been a good testing ground for the WRC Works teams, with 2000 and 2002 World Champion Marcus Gronhölm coming to the rally to gain some experience of the unique Irish roads. The big Finn was given a run for his money by local driver Eugene Donnelly, who traded top spot with Marcus until Donnelly slid off the road.

The 2011 edition of the rally will be based in Ballybrit, and the Rally HQ being based in the Clayton Hotel. It will be run over the weekend of the 4^th to the 6^th of February.

Amended IRC calendar for 2011

Eurosport Events have announced a new calendar for the 2011 season of the IRC.

"We are delighted to confirm this exciting IRC calendar for 2011, which reflects the increasing status of IRC in world motorsport with more and more prestigious rallies joining our series. The addition of four new events to our 2011 schedule will pose an exciting challenge for our competitors and a great spectacle for the fans watching on the stages and at home on television." Geraldine Filiol, Managing Director of Eurosport Events, said.

The following two changes have been made to the proposed calendar for the 2011 IRC season:

• The Prime Yalta Rally will be held for the first time in Hungary on the 2^nd-4^th June. Details of the rally are yet to be announced.
• The Rally de los Alerces will now be run on the 11^th-13^th March, a week later than previously scheduled.

The revised calendar can now be viewed in the 2011 Rally Calendars section of Global Rally News.

MINI for 2011 Dakar

MINI has announced that they will compete on January’s Dakar Rally.

MINI will run an extensively modified Countryman, which has been built and developed by All4 Racing. The car will be entered under the Monster Energy X-Raid Team.

The car will be powered by a twin-turbo diesel engine, which produces 315bhp and 710Nm of torque. The engine is an updated and improved version of last year’s engine which powered the BMW X3 CC, which scored 4^th and 5^th on the 2010 Dakar Rally and won the FIA World Cross-Country Cup for a third time in 2010.

"Compared to the BMW X3CC, the Mini will be characterised by improved handling as the overall length is shorter and it is lower. We have also been able to improve on many other smaller details, such as the relocation of smaller components to lower the centre of gravity." said Sven Quandt.

The Raid version of the Countryman will be a different animal to its WRC cousin. It will sport multiple air intakes, including a large one in the roof, a single piece bonnet and an improved ventilation system. Downsides to the car will be that entry and exit will be slightly more difficult and visibility will be slightly reduced.

The idea was first thought up in mid-2009. Monster Energy X-Raid team boss Sven Quandt began looking into the feasibility of the idea. He held talks with engineering firm Magna Steyr about building the car and with BMW about the car becoming a replacement to the X3 CC.

Construction of the car began in November of this year. All4 Racing finished the car earlier this month and it will have its first test in France next week, in preparation for the Dakar. After the test, the car will be flown out to Argentina for scrutineering at the end of this month.

“This is a major development in cross-country rallying and something of which we are very excited," admitted Quandt. "There has been a very short time between the decision to go ahead and the roll out for the next Dakar, but we are confident that the new Mini All4 Racing will be competitive out of the box.” added Quandt.

Guerlain Chicherit, 2009 FIA World Cross-Country Cup winner, will drive the car on the event. Chicherit also won the Dakar Challenge in 2005

Citroen do the double at Autosport Awards

Sebastian Loeb and the Citroen C4 WRC have won awards at this year’s edition of the Autosport Awards.

The Awards took place on Sunday 5^th December, with Loeb winning the International Rally Driver award for a fifth time this year, succeeding Mikko Hirvonen, who won the award last year.

Loeb almost lost the No.1 seed to Mikko Hirvonen last year, but a dominant display of driving and bad luck on the Finn’s side helped him to his sixth World title. He carried on his dominant display into this year, winning eight rallies, including two three-in-a-rows, to leave the rest of the drivers fighting for the runners-up spot.

1981 World Champion Ari Vatanen collected Loeb’s award, as the Frenchman could not attend the event. Vatanen later said: "His [Loeb’s] talent is phenomenal."

Citroen also did the double, with the all-conquering C4 WRC winning the ‘Rally Car of the Year’.

The C4 WRC was one of the short-listed cars, alongside the IRC-winning Skoda Fabia S2000 and the multiple Dakar-winning VW Race Toureag 3, but the C4’s 36 WRC wins, 87 podiums and 1261 WRC points eclipsed the others.

C4’s dominated this year’s championship, with no less than five C4’s present at any WRC rally, and at least one C4 present at the podium. C4 drivers Seb Loeb, Dani Sordo, Seb Ogier, Kimi Raikkonen and Petter Solberg scoring 1^st, 5^th, 4^th, 10^th and 3^rd, respectively, in the final points table.

The C4’s final WRC victory came on the 2000cc WRC Class car’s final WRC outing, on Wales Rally GB last month. Petter Solberg’s private C4 completed a C4 1-2.

Mikko will find missing fifth gear, says Wilson

M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson says that his No.1 driver Mikko Hirvonen can find the ‘missing fifth gear’ that he lost at the start of the year.

“He lost that fifth gear in the car somewhere and had a dreadful season by his standards. But, as we’ve always done as a team, we’ve got to give him the support to get back there. We know [his ability] is there and we’ll work with him like we’ve worked with Jari-Matti [Latvala] and like we worked with our cars to get them competitive after Bulgaria.”

Hirvonen got the year off to a great start with a win on the season opener Rally Sweden, but his form went downhill from there. He made a mistake in Jordan, clipping a bank going over a jump, which sent him into the undergrowth. A monster crash at his home event while leading was his next mistake. Third in turkey was his best showing all year.

This was in stark contrast to his 2009 campaign, taking the title fight down to the final round in Wales after a string of wins in the mid-season. Bad luck in the form of his bonnet blowing up ruined his title chances.

The Finn has been showing enthusiasm towards the new Fiesta RS WRC, with both Hirvonen and team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala have tested.

“He’s really excited and looking forward to the future so that’s a positive.When you look at the year he’s had it’s certainly going to be a lot easier going into next year with a car that he’s really excited about and end it the way this season has ended with some good performances.” Wilson added.

Solberg for Monte Carlo

Petter Solberg has announced that he is due to mark his IRC debut on next year’s Rallye Monte Carlo.

“I was very surprised when Olivier Quesnel, director of Peugeot Sport, contacted me and asked if I would be a guest driver for Rallye Monte-Carlo. Of course I had to accept but this is a one-time arrangement, and I have no plans for a future in the IRC.”

Solberg will drive a Kronos Racing-prepared Peugeot 207 S2000 on the 100^th anniversary of the historic event. Regular navigator Chris Patterson will partner Solberg on the event.

“The manufacturer team will run the car, and they wanted to hire me for this event to secure a good result for the team. As for me, this means more competitive kilometres in a rally car and a new experience, as I have not entered an IRC event before. There is also live coverage of the stages, which will be exciting.”

However, Solberg will still stay in the WRC, with this IRC debut being a one-off event.

“My plan is still to be in the WRC, and fight for the championship in 2011.”

Solberg has experience of the event, having entered 8 times, but he has never had the winning touch on the rally. 5^th in 2008 has been his best performance at the event, with four retirements being his worst showing.

Delecour close to confirmation of Monte entry

1994 Rallye Monte Carlo winner Francois Delecour is close to confirming his entry on the 100^th edition of the rally.

Delecour won the event in 1994 by over a minute in his Ford Escort Cosworth RS. He took the lead on SS5 and was never headed. He took eight stage wins on his way to victory over four-times World Champion Juha Kankkunen, in a works Toyota Celica Turbo. The event proved to be the fiery Frenchman’s fourth and final WRC win.

” When I saw the line and I realized that this rally was in its hundredth edition, I realized that I had to participate. We have to find a part of the budget. A large proportion of the budget will be devoted to the tyres because I need maximum choice to give myself the best chance [of winning the event].”

The 48-year old is understood to be taking part in a Peugeot 207 S2000. It is not known at this time what tyres he will be running on, but it is understood to be running on BFGoodrich tyres, the same as the works team.

He will be, however, going for his second Monte win, saying that he is still physically fit and he knows the stages that the event runs on well, having competed on the event 15 times.

“I still have a great hunger for success, I’m in great shape physically and I know the stages better than anyone such as The Moulinon and Burzet on this rally.”

McCormack looking for IRC run next year

Rising star Martin McCormack has said that he is looking to make a step up to the IRC for next year.

McCormack, who hails from Draperstown, near Dungannon, where Kris Meeke is from, says he wants to follow in the footsteps of Meeke, who signed for MINI some months back. Meeke won the IRC Drivers Title at his first attempt back in 2009 with Peugeot UK, having only 2WD experience of the IRC before.

“Kris [Meeke] is most definitely an inspiration, especially when you look at what he did in the IRC and how it helped his career. There’s a lot of manufacturer interest in the series and that means there are more options for young drivers like me.” Marty said.

He also said that he would like to upgrade to an S2000, from his current Citroen C2 R2 Max. However, if he could not get an S2000 car, he would look at the IRC 2WD category. He also said that he would like to try and secure the necessary budget to contest six events.

“It’s still in the planning stages and nothing is confirmed at the moment. A Super 2000 car would be the main aim but the IRC 2WD Cup is another option I would definitely pursue.” he added.

Marty is currently competing in the French Citroen Racing Trophy after winning the Irish and British versions. He made his IRC debut in his Citroen C2 R2 Max on June’s GEKO Ypres Rally in Belguim. He finished second in Class 6, behind J-WRC runner up Hans Weijs jr., fifth fastest 2WD car and 20^th overall.

MINI must be given time, says Meeke

Kris Meeke has said that people must give the new team time to get into the WRC, when they debut next summer.

The Prodrive-run team will only run on a few selected events to find their feet in the sport. The team will then run the full calendar in 2012 and 2013, with their main goal being challenging for the title in 2013.

Meeke and the team have been testing the car on gravel and tarmac over the last week on the island of Sardinia. Before this week’s tests, the team tested the car in Portugal on gravel. Marcus Gronhölm and Kris Meeke drove the car then.

"I never like to get too optimistic; you never know where the others are at. But I have sat in quite a few cars down the years and I'm very impressed with where we are at, particularly bearing in mind the car hasn't done 2,000 kilometres yet. The important thing here is that we don't try to get ahead of ourselves. The team is gelling fantastically well, but everything is going to take time."

David Lapworth is also in the same mind-state as Meeke. He says the team has already set out a three-year plan.

"We need patience at the moment. Everybody [in the team] is automatically focused on winning the first event, winning the title in 2012 - that's what we all want. But that's not the three-year plan. The three-year plan is about launching the car in 2011, running through another development year in 2012 and then challenging for the title in 2013. But, you know what it's like, as soon as you get the numbers on the doors."