WRC

Tactics to make a return?

Road positioning tactics could make an unwelcome return to the WRC on the Rally of Spain, the WRC's only fully mixed surface rally which takes place in two weeks time.

More commonly known as simply employing 'tactics', drivers slow on the final stage before the overnight halt of each day on a gravel rally so as to have a more favourable starting position on the road the next day. In dry conditions, the further down the order you are the better road conditions you face, with the top couple of cars clearing the loose top layer of gravel from the racing line.

This is known to be disliked by spectators and teams alike, the use of tactics was 'introduced' in 2008 and reached a climax towards the end of the 2 litre WRC car era, when drivers were taking massive time penalties to drop themselves down the order. There was even infighting in some teams over positioning tactics.

However this all changed in 2011 when Shakedown was used as a Qualifying Stage, the fastest driver choosing the best position then the rest of the drivers taking part in Qualifying choosing the remaining positions.

But, with the gravel leg of the Spanish round of the WRC running on the final day, teams are worried they could be forced to re-employ tactics. Organisers of the rally have asked the FIA to reverse the running order for the last day of the rally, but their request was denied. Even the teams themselves have written to FIA Rally Committee director Jarmo Mahonen asking him, and the FIA, to reconsider their choice.

"I really can't get my head around this one. I thought we were moving forward and not having the crazy situation which will happen. We told the FIA in Australia that we 100 per cent didn't agree with this and nothing has happened. We don't want to what we had a few years ago." said Qatar M-Sport team boss, Malcolm Wilson.

Greece to lose WRC round?

The Acropolis Rally is expected to be dropped from the 2014 WRC Calendar in favour of the returning Rally Poland.

The Acropolis Rally has formed part of the WRC trail since it's beginning, way back in 1979. The only year it wasn't run was in 2010, partly due to the WRC's round rotation system but also due to the economic crisis that gripped the country, and continues to do so.

A hugely popular rally, the rough gravel roads can smash even the toughest cars to pieces. It takes it toll on drivers too, with soaring temperatures and extremely long stages, dehydration can set in. A good, strong, reliable car is always needed on the Acropolis.

The cars really do take a battering in Greece, but the
challenge makes it a driver favourite

Despite all these challenges it remains a firm driver favourite, as well as a true test of the teams. Manufacturers can use the event to showcase the toughness of their cars, which makes it a favourite with the teams as well.

Jost Capito, Team principal of the VW Motorsport team, makes a valid point in saying that the people of Greece can't continue to have things taken from them. The Acropolis Rally is a big benefit to the economy of the country, so it's removal from the Championship might cause far reaching issues.

He said: "I don't think it's nice to have Greece out. The Acropolis is an iconic event. It was always a good, challenging rally that the drivers were all looking forward to all season. "And when you see the situation in Greece, everybody takes everything from Greece; on a human level, I don't know how the country will survive if these people keep having everything taken from them.”

"They are very proud people and if you take everything - including their pride - away from them then I don't know how they can catch up." he added.

However he isn't against the running of the Polish event, marking it out as a “great event” when it was run back in 2009. Mikko Hirvonen, then driving for the M-Sport Ford team, won the rally that year, a win that helped bring the title fight right down to the last round.

Ogier pledges maximum attack

Championship leader Sebastien Ogier has committed himself to pushing for wins on all three of the remaining 2013 WRC rounds.

Having already claimed six wins this season, Ogier has the title all but wrapped up, barring disaster (which, since this is rallying, is entirely possible). So, with three rounds remaining and the chance to beat his arch-rival Sebastian Loeb in their home country, and Loeb's back yard, Ogier will be going on a charge.

Ogier has the possibility of winning the title after SS1 in France. The first stage is nominated as the Power Stage, so Theirry Neuville (the only person mathematically in with a chance of beating Ogier) must win it, otherwise Ogier has the title wrapped up, regardless of who finishes where. Unless, that is, the Frenchman fails to finish.

“If this was to happen [winning the World Title in France], we wouldn’t stop there. Our fans shouldn’t worry, we’re not gonna sit there twiddling our thumbs for the rest of the season! We sure intend to go on winning, if only to help Volkswagen to get the Manufacturers title, which they’re also coming closer to thanks to the points scored in Australia.” he said.

Team Principal, Jost Capito, has granted Ogier permission to go on maximum attack to win in France, since Volkswagen have have such a massive Championship lead.

“To get the manufacturers’ lead by more than 40 points, this allows Seb to really fight in France. The whole team will support him unconditionally. If the gap was smaller, we might have had some tough words [with Ogier], but now he can really go for it. I’m sure he’s happy for this.” said Capito.

In something that might worry his rivals a bit, Ogier says he is now more relaxed now he is on the cusp of a maiden World Title success. Each rally will mean a renewed push for the win, so everyone who thought they might have a chance of beating the Frenchman might just have to think again, or really up their game.

“As for myself, I’ll be a bit more relaxed now that I won’t feel our championship pressure, and I’ll look at each rally as a new chance of victory. The Rallye de France is the perfect occasion to maintain our momentum,” he added.  

Is Meeke still in with a chance?

Kris Meeke's dreams of a full time drive in the WRC might not have come crashing down to earth just yet.

Having replaced Dani Sordo on the event, he was expected by team boss Yves Matton to get a solid finish under his belt, to aid Citroen's fight with VW in the Manufacturer's Championship. Under huge pressure having never competed in Australia and being nominated points scorer for the Works team, he initially won the Qualifying Stage in spectacular fashion and held fourth place up until SS13, poised to hunt down Theirry Neuville on the final day of the event.

Meeke in action in Australia

However, it all ended with a slow roll down a hill into a field halfway through the thirteenth test. This left Meeke despondent, and team principal Matton absolutely fuming.

"At service this afternoon I told Kris to keep the pace, to stay not too far from Thierry [Neuville] and we would see tomorrow whether we try to catch him or not," said Matton. "For sure, I am not happy. He did not do what I asked him. This is just the opposite what I ask him.”

It appeared that Meeke has lost his long awaited chance to shine at World level, two crashes in two successive appearances for Citroen certainly didn't help his cause. But, it would seem that Meeke hasn't blown it completely.

Matton hasn't ruled Meeke out of a hugely popular appearance on Wales Rally GB in one of the team's DS3 WRC's. It was seemingly a pre-arranged agreement, finish Australia and start in Wales. But with the crash complicating matters, the Frenchman refuses to act on his first thoughts, which would most likely be to disregard the possibility of Meeke driving in Wales altogether.

"I told him clearly what I wanted him to do. I told him if he was at the finish here, he would be on the start in GB," said Matton. "Now, I don't know. I have to think about it. It's sure that if I take a decision too close to what happened, then the outcome will not be positive for him - and, of course, what happened when he went off again on the final day of the rally has not helped either.”

"I will not say he won't start in GB, I don't know." he added.

Meeke himself knows his chances are slim, but there is still a glimmer of hope for the 2009 IRC Champion. But he remains philosophical, stating he will respect whatever decision Matton and Citron come to. One massive advantage he has is his ability to jump into the car and be almost on the pace, which could just tip the balance in his favour in Wales.

"I'm massively grateful for the opportunity Yves, Khalid and everybody at Citroen has given me and if that's it, then, that's it. I realise I have made mistakes, but I feel I have also shown I have the speed to fight at the front and there aren't many who can do that now." he said.

"It's incredible to drive one of these cars at any time, but the chance to drive one at home with the home support would be unbelievable." he added.

Photo credit: Citroen WRT

Rally Finland Photos

A small selection of photos from this year's Rally Finland, won by Sebastian Ogier/Julien Ingrassia in the VW Polo R WRC. Thanks to Stefan Lassus for the images!

Note: Images copyright to Stefan Lassus Photography and cannot be reused without express permission from the copyright holder.

M-Sport keen to hang on to Neuville

With interests in acquiring the services of Thierry Neuville coming from Hyundai and Citroen, M-Sport have said they are determined to keep the young Belgian in one of their cars for the 2014 season and beyond.

Neuville in Action in Finland, where he finished 2nd

Former IRC front-runner Neuville has been the revelation of this year's WRC season, which is only his second full year in a WRC car in the top flight. To date, after eight rounds, he lies joint second in the overall Driver's table with Jari-Matti Latvala, with four podiums, including two second places, to his credit.

The only downsides in his otherwise excellent year came when he crashed out of Day 1 of the Rallye Monte Carlo, and having to restart in Portugal thanks to damage sustained after hitting a rock.

Even with interest from WRC newcomers Hyundai and his former employer, Citroen, Neuville wants to remain at M-Sport.

"I didn't talk to anybody [else]. I am very happy with M-Sport and I have a lot to focus on for the rest of this season. The Fiesta is a beautiful car to drive, I'm really enjoying myself." he said.

The man responsible for the Qatar tie up, Nasser Al-Attiyah, says he is happy with both the team's main drivers and M-Sport's general performance, appearing keen to hang onto Neuville and Mads Ostberg and to stick with M-Sport for 2014.

"They are both very good drivers and we want to keep them. In Finland, they both did really well, with Thierry making an incredible drive to finish second.”

Al-Attiyah is planning ahead to 2014 as well, aiming to sit down with M-Sport's top brass in Germany to discuss next season and to have everything in place for the new season, insisting he very much wants to continue on the same path as team has done this year so far.

"We will try to fix everything in Germany, it's much better to get everything done early and have everything in place for 2014. We want to carry on in the same way that we have this year.” he added.

Meeke gets factory Citroen seat in Australia

Kris Meeke will get another chance in a Citroen DS3 WRC in a month's time when he takes over Dani Sordo's works car on the Coates hire Rally Australia.

Further drives in a DS3 WRC this year for Meeke were already being rumoured before Khalid Al-Qassimi dropped a rather large hint over Twitter, saying:

Meeke in Finland

“Chances may come & go, yet Kris deserves them - that's how he'll grow. @krismeeke to you and all your fans I'm thinking of another chance.”

Later, speaking to Gulf News, he said: “Kris did an excellent job and I wasn’t surprised. He was up there with Mikko and much quicker than Dani, and he’s given us a lot to think about. Our first priority is to get the best we can out of our drivers for the rest of the season, and we need to be on the podium. But already we’re looking ahead to next season, and Kris could get more chances.”

Al-Qassimi jumped to Meeke's defence on the subject of the Dungannon man rolling the DS3 WRC just two stages from home in Finland. “He’s a very good driver, that’s why we picked him. We considered several drivers, but decided Kris would be the best choice and he proved us right. It was just unfortunate that he didn’t get the finish he deserved. I really felt for him, especially as I rolled in the same car in the Acropolis Rally.” he said.

Kris Meeke

Now Meeke will get another chance, replacing a lackluster Sordo. The Spaniard has been enduring a less than fruitful return to Citroen, after two years away at MINI. He currently lies fifth in the Driver's Championship, only one point ahead of Sebastian Loeb, who has only competed on three events so far this year.

“Kris showed what he could do in Finland with an excellent performance and high motivation levels. So we instinctively turned to him to take over in Australia.” said Managing Director of Citroen Racing, Yves Matton.

Meeke himself added: “For us, this is an incredible opportunity to take part in the rally as part of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team alongside Mikko [Hirvonen] and Jarmo [Lehtinen], and we are determined to give of our best.”

Ogier lands first Finland win!

Consolidating his lead in the 2013 World Rally Championship for Drivers, Sebastien Ogier claimed a “dream” victory on the high speed gravel roads of the Neste Oil Rally Finland.

Sebastien Ogier

Claiming twelve stage wins out of a possible twenty three, Ogier wrapped up a 36.6 sec win over the very impressive Theirry Neuville. Neuville himself with locked in a battle for second with team-mate Mads Ostberg, both of whom were unable to stay with Ogier.

Thierry Neuville

“I had a dream about winning here. [We gained] A lot of points for the championship and victory in Finland make it a perfect weekend. We pushed when we had to and backed off when necessary to save the tyres and the car,” said Ogier.

Neuville held the overnight advantage after Day 1, driving tactically over the rough and soggy stages. Ogier held second, 5.2 secs down on the flying Belgian, also driving carefully in the poor conditions. Third was occupied by Mads Ostberg, 8.9 secs down on the leader.

Mads Ostberg

Day 2 was all about Ogier and the VW Polo R WRC. Netting seven fastest stage times from the day's nine stages, he rocketed into a 38.1 sec lead over Neuville. Ostberg was breathing down the Belgian's neck, sitting less than a second behind in third.

All Ogier had to do over the final eight stages was to hang onto his lead, which he his admirably. Dropping only 1.5 secs throughout the day to the chasing pack, Ogier decided to have some fun over both runs of the legendary Ouninpohja stage, breaking the stage record on the second run. The battle between Neuville and Ostberg ended when Ostberg went off and dropped 20 secs avoiding a rather large rock.

Speaking of his second placed result on only his second trip to Finland in a WRC car, Neuville said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. We did a great job. Yesterday we lost time with a puncture but otherwise it was a smooth, clean run. Before the rally I couldn’t have imagined this result was possible.”

Mads Ostberg has had a season fraught with problems, both mechanical and driver-errors. However he put those issues behind him and, for a time, fought for the rally lead. However a solid third place for the Norwegian could help him back up to consistent rally-leading pace. He might have won the rally, if not for shattering a wheel on Day 2 and the off-road excursion on the final day.

“It’s nice to be here fighting for the whole rally without any problems. We have been leading, we had a safe second and we ended up third. But it’s great to fight for the win again and rebuild my confidence because it was low after the first half of the season.” he said.

Leading Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen endured a disastrous rally, finishing over 1 min 20 secs behind Ogier in fourth. Almost rolling on two separate occasions, he suffered a large time loss on Thursday evening when heavy rain left the roads in a very poor condition and, running last of the front runners on the road endured the worst of the conditions.

Hirvonen's team-mate Dani Sordo finished fifth, benefiting from Kris Meeke's exit on SS22. Evgney Novikov rounded out the top six in sixth, having completed a very eventful rally, suffering a crash on SS10, which threw the bonnet up over the windscreen.

Jari Ketomaa won WRC2 and finished seventh overall, ahead of PG Andersson who had a relatively quiet rally in eighth. Robert Kubica and Andreas Mikkelsen (who lost a wheel on Day 2 and was forced to restart) rounded out the Top 10.

Jari-Matti Latvala

Jari-Matti Latvala had an even more disastrous rally than compatriot Hirvonen. Initially confident of a good rally, Latvala smashed his suspension to pieces on the first day. Running repairs allowed him to continue for a bit but he eventually admitted defeat. He was later blasted by team director Jost Capito, who said it shouldn't happen happened. But, after reviewing the situation, he changed his tune to “It was not at all his [Latvala's] fault”, acknowledging a weakness in the Polo R WRC's rear supension.

Well worth a mention is the performance of Dungannon's Kris Meeke. Having not competed on a top level rally in 20 months and having not finished Rally Finland since 2005, Meeke faced an uphill struggle when asked to step in for Khalid Al-Qassimi in Finland. However, he silenced the doubters when he kept pace with Citroen star and local hero Mikko Hirvonen over the latter half of the rally, holding an impressive fifth place overall in his first rally in a DS3 WRC. A small mistake on SS22 sent him rolling out of the rally, but it just goes to show that given a decent car Kris Meeke is world class, and very few people can dispute that.

Kris Meeke

Keith Cronin

Keith Cronin also showed his world class pace by dominating the WRC3 category in Finland. Inheriting the lead after early leader Alastair Fisher crashed out (rolling spectacularly on SS8), Cronin was never troubled afterwards. With 1 min 14.5 secs in hand over Sebastian Chardonnet at the end, it's hard to believe this is only Keith's first visit to Finland!




Please note: Images copyright to their respective owners, in no particular order Willy Weyens, Citroen WRT and M-Sport.

Ingrassia passed fit for Finland

Current leader of the FIA Co-Drivers Championship Julien Ingrassia has been passed fit to contest next weekend's Rally Finland alongside regular driver and Driver's Championship leader Sebastien Ogier.

Ogier (R) and Ingrassia (L) winning Rally Portgual

Having broken his collarbone whilst out on his mountain bike in Corsica, it was initially feared he would have to miss Rally Finland, the WRC's fastest rally. Nicolas Klinger, Theirry Neuville's former co-driver, was drafted in to co-drive for Ogier on a recent VW test while Ingrassia recovered.

Although understandably keen to tackle Finland, he admitted he would give the event a miss if it transpired to be “dangerous or stupid” to compete, in order to be able to complete the season.

Even though the Frenchman's collarbone is being held together by a titanium plate and nine screws, he completed a medical examination two weeks ago at the Bad Nauheim Sports Injury Clinic in Germany and also completed a test on Saturday. With this in mind, Ingrassia's team of doctors have passed him fit to compete in Finland.

“I am so relieved that I have managed to get back to full health in time for the Rally Finland. My thanks go out to the doctors for the great job they have done on me and the whole Volkswagen team, who have always supported me and sent me their best wishes. Now, I cannot wait to get back out on the road with Sébastien.” he said.

Ingrassia's team boss Jost Capito was keen to see his Championship leading co-driver return to the #8 Polo R WRC, saying:

“The whole team is very happy that Julien is back to full health and can start racing again. Our main priority is always the well-being of our drivers – we never want to take any risks. In the worst case scenario, it would have been better that Julien sits out one race than risk being out for a long time. You can only start a World Championship rally if you are in good health. That's why in Nicolas Klinger we would have had an excellent replacement.”

Capito thanked Klinger for his “great levels of commitment” in testing with Ogier. It was expected Klinger would co-drive for Ogier in Finland until news of Ingrassia's recovery broke.

“I would like to thank Nicolas for the great levels of commitment he demonstrated in the most recent test runs and for his willingness to step in for Julien in Finland if needed.” he said.

Photo credit: Willy Weyens

Strong Entry for Rally Finland

Home hero Mikko Hirvonen leads the 101 car strong entry list for the ever popular Rally Finland, again sponsored by Neste Oil.

The 101 crews entered into the rally make it the most popular rally of 2013, sporting fourteen WRC cars. Citroen, M-Sport and Volkswagen are all present with their usual drivers, the only exception being Kris Meeke replacing Khalid Al-Qassimi, who will be absent due to other commitments.

Meeke's last WRC rally was in 2011 on Wales Rally GB, where he finished a career-best fourth overall. Since then, his competitive running has been minimal, mainly confined to testing, 00 duties on the Ypres Rally in the new Peugeot 208 R5 and a once-off appearance at the Lurgan Park Rally in 2012 (which he won, naturally). He will take over Al-Qassimi's entry as a once-off.

Sebastian Loeb hasn't nominated Finland as one of his four rallies this year, he has confirmed he isn't interested in adding any extra rallies to his already extremely busy schedule.

Local hero's Jarkko Nikara and Juho Hanninen both mark their competitive returns, Nikara in an uprated Prodrive-run MINI John Cooper Works WRC, and Hanninen in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Riku Tahko pilots the other MINI on the entry list, the most amount of MINI's seen on a WRC entry list since Michal Kosciuszko switched from a MINI to a Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Yazzed Al-Rajhi heads the WRC2 entry, which also features Robert Kubica, Robert Barrable, Jari Ketomaa, Esapekka Lappi and Elfyn Evans, who is taking part in a Ford Fiesta R5. Barrable and Karl Kruuda will also pilot the new Fiesta R5.

WRC3 is dominated by the Citroen R3 drivers, headed by Sebastian Chardonnet. Alastair Fisher (who lead the WRC Academy round here in 2011), Christian Riedemann, Bryan Bouffier and Keith Cronin are also present. Cronin looking to overturn a 27 point deficit to series leader Chardonnet after having suffered horrible luck in the past couple of rounds.

Junior WRC leader Pontus Tidemand starts at number 102 in his Ford Fiesta R2, and he can expect to be put under pressure by second in the Championship Jose Antonio Suarez and by local drivers Niko-Pekka Nieminen and Andreas Amberg.

Kubica pleased with rally progress

F1 ace turned rally start Robert Kubica is pleased with his performance in his first year of full-time rallying.

"I've been pleased with my pace, I've won stages and I've been able to fight at the top on all three rallies I have done [in the ERC]. To come to these events for the first time and drive at the same pace as the championship contenders gives me a positive to take away from this.” he said.

The Polish driver has lead all three rallies he has competed in in the ERC, but has only finished one (the Rally Azores, finishing in 6^th place after leading for six stages, winning five in a row). He crashed out of the Rally Islas Canarias and suffered fuel pump problems in Corsica.

He also competed in the WRC2 Category on the Rallye de Portugal, running as high as second amongst the established WRC2 runners. He finished in sixth place at the end, after tyre troubles forced him retire. However he rejoined to finish sixth.

Kubica is now focusing on his WRC2 campaign, with the Acropolis Rally up next. The rough , car-breaking gravel encounter will be like nothing he has ever experienced before, the rough gravel will take a careless driver out very quickly. But the Pole will be as well prepared as he can be, completing a test on rough gravel similar to what he'll experience in Greece before he leaves for the rally itself.

"I will have my test and then I will go to Greece on the Monday so there is not a lot of time," he added. I know it's a very specific event and you have to take care of the car. It will be an interesting experience because it's my first time on rough gravel and I know I cannot take big risks because I really want to finish." He added.

VW, champions in their first year?

Even though they spent nearly a year just testing this brand new car, the VW World Rally team surely can't even be a little bit surprised by the first four rallies in the 2013 WRC season.

Even though they have never run a top-level WRC team, or a top level WRC-spec car, the VW team and star driver Sebastien Ogier have racked up three WRC wins from four starts. As well as that, Ogier took second place behind the retiring nine-times World Champion Sebastian Loeb in Monte Carlo, the only rally he has so far failed to win.

Ogier's smallest winning margin has been a massive 41.8 secs over Loeb in Sweden. On the next round in Mexico he obliterated the opposition to win by 3 mins 28.9 secs, VW's decision to carry out a test in Mexico paying huge dividends. His third win in Portugal was coincidently his third win in the Polo R WRC as well. This time he won by 58.2 secs.

“Maybe it looks easy for me, but Mads [Ostberg] and Dani [Sordo] were very, very fast before the mistakes. It will be a big fight to keep this kind of result all the year. Now we have the good advantage. Now we don’t need to win the rallies, but this is not my plan: I am a competitor and I like the taste of victory. But I know I have to be clever for the rest of season.” he said.

His team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala has been less successful in the Polo R WRC, however. 2013 marked the first year since 2006 that Latvala had driven anything other than an M-Sport prepared car in the WRC, and he struggled to get used to the handling of the new car. Two crashes in testing didn't his fragile self confidence neither, but neither were his fault. A member of the public drove their car onto the closed test road in Mexico, and collided with Latvala's VW, and in Portugal a 'mechanical failure' sent him into a ditch.

A patch of ice sent him out of Monte Carlo, but he came back with fourth in Sweden, only to exit in Mexico very early after a rock shattered his front suspension. He did manage to score his first VW podium in Portugal. He put this result down to a stronger mental attitude he took on heading into Portugal, pushing himself on.

“I was pushing myself, forcing myself to drive fast and it started to help. I have been letting myself think I can take the experience and the speed will just come, but it doesn’t work that way – you have to work for it.”

“My confidence is coming in the car. In Argentina I will have a different set-up which will suit me better, but still I am really, really happy with this result.” he added.

Team leader Jost Capito even revealed that their pre-season plan of learning and gaining experience might even be reviewed, such is their recent domination. Ogier's three straight maximum scores have him heading the Driver's table by 54 points, while VW lead the Manufacturer's standings by 14 points over the formerly all-conquering Citroen team.

“In terms of pace, we are among the front-runners and appear to be able to force our rivals to make mistakes, without making any ourselves. With that in mind, we might just have to change our goals for the season,”

Could we be in for another few years of domination by a single driver in a single car? Who knows, not many could have predicted Loeb's meteoric rise to superstar status, but with Hyundai and possibly even Toyota looming in the horizon, Ogier might just have his work cut out!

Hyundai filling more top level positions

Hyundai has announced several important positions within their new WRC programme have been filled, by people who have vast experience in the top level of the sport.

“We’ve been evolving rapidly since the beginning of the year and made great progress in filling all the main roles to establish our core team. We’re facing a big and exciting challenge in building a team from scratch and we have now only nine months to prepare for next year. I’m now surrounded by the best people in the business and I’m confident we’ll be ready to meet our ambitious goal to be ready at the start of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship.” said Team Principal, Michal Nandan.

Since Hyundai announced their return to the top level of the WRC back in September 2012, they have wasted to time in getting a team set up, a car on the road and then in development. The team have been testing an 'interim' version of the i20 WRC since late December.

Michal Nandan was announced as Team Principal in January, around the time the i20 WRC was first shown to a small group of the media. Now, however, more names of the new team members have been announced.

Bertrand Vallat: Involved in the design of the massively successful Peugeot 207 S2000 and the new 208 R5, Vallat has actually been working with the i20 WRC programme since last December. He will take up the role of Chief Designer.

Stephane Girand: Hyundai's new engine manager. Formerly an employee of the Subaru World Rally Team, Peugeot Sport and Citroen Sport, he brings massive experience to the fledgling team. The engine's powering the DS3 WRCs are known for their 'pull' out of tight corners, so Girand's help could give the new car an edge here.

Alain Penasse: The Belgian will take up the position of Team Manager later this month, and is linked with TTE, Peugeot Sport and tyre supplier Michelin. He has also has helped in organising the infamous Ypres Rally.

Hyundai are still yet to announce a driver line-up, and they are presented with a driver market that is bursting at the seams with new talent. GRN will be compiling a list of drivers who we think deserve a Hyundai seat soon, so stay tuned!

Evans set for RRC début

2012 WRC Academy winner Elfyn Evans is set to take part on Rally Portugal in a Ford Fiesta RRC, as part of his prize for winning the 2012 edition of the feeder series.

Son of the former WRC driver and British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans, Elfyn will drive a Ford Fiesta RRC in Portugal before the Ford Fiesta R5 is released later this year. He will then complete the rest of his season in the Fiesta R5.

Evans in action on last year's Ulster Rally

“Nowhere else could a young driver hope for such an opportunity and I am really looking forward to starting the season and developing my career with the team.” he said.

M-Sport team leader Malcolm Wilson praised Evans talent, saying he has a “promising career ahead of him”. Evans' Fiesta RRC will run a Qatar M-Sport livery similar to what is presently on the works Fiesta RS WRC's. His car will be run out of the same service area as the works team.

“Elfyn is a talented driver with a promising career ahead of him. Elfyn started rallying with the Ford Fiesta ST when he contested the FordFiesta SportTrophy series in 2007 and has grown with the Fiesta R2 through the WRC Academy. He’ll now progress to the Ford Fiesta RRC – and eventually the Fiesta R5 – and I am sure it won’t be long until we see him challenging for results at the highest level.” said Wilson.

Evans even attracted the praise of Michele Mouton, the legendary former Audi driver turned FIA WRC Manger. She praised the junior formulae that help young drivers get to the top of the sport, and wished the Welshman all the best in his future career.

She said: “Once again we are seeing how the FIA’s junior series is developing young drivers and giving them the opportunity to make that step in to the FIA World Rally Championship. We all wish Elfyn the best of luck with his career.” 

Image copyright to Jordan Murphy/Global Rally News. No unauthorised use

Meeke in Citroen's sights?

Kris Meeke is one of the drivers being head hunted by Citroen team leader Yves Matton to drive Khalid Al-Qassimi's Citroen DS3 WRC on this year's Rally Finland.

With Al-Qassimi not being able to compete on the rally due to a date clash with a rally in the Middle East Rally Championship, Matton recently announced his intent to put Meeke in the car for the Finnish event. However he faces faces stiff competition for the seat from Aussie star Chris Atkinson, who recently drove the car on Rally Mexico and has already competed in Finland in a DS3 WRC.

Matton said: "I have known Kris for a long time. And the reason he is on the list is because of his experience from four-wheel drive cars and the speed I know he has. And because he is working with us testing some cars."

Meeke has been under the PSA wing for close to a decade now, nearly winning the J-WRC crown in a Citroen C2 S1600, and winning the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title in 2009 at his first attempt, driving a Peugeot 207 S2000. He recently tested a DS3 WRC in Italy, and is excited at the prospect of driving one of the French firm's WRC cars.

“Yves knows I would go to the end of the earth to get into his car in Finland. After I tested it a few months ago, I sent him a text telling him I'd sell my granny to get a rally in that car. I would absolutely relish the chance to get in that car in Finland. I know the DS3 is a simply awesome car.” said the Dungannon ace.

Meeke isn't the only man Matton would like to see back driving one of his cars. He recently conceded that he would ask their legendary driver Sebastian Loeb to return for an extra rally on top of his four event programme.

Originally intended to only compete in Monte Carlo, Sweden, Argentina and France, VW's unexpected winning streak and overall performance could see the nine-times World Champion back in the driving seat of a DS3 WRC for one more rally.

However, it might not be that easy. Loeb has already begun a Sportscar/GT campaign under his own team name. He originally hadn't intended to do any rallies this year, but given the chance to once again prove he is the master of any rally, anywhere and at any time, and against his arch-rival Sebastian Ogier, could could yet be back.

"I think you know it's not my decision. I think he doesn't want to, maybe. It's not on my mind for the moment. I have to be happy with what I have already this season; I have my four rallies with him - at the start he was doing nothing this year. At the end of the season, if I ask him to do one [extra] rally and with this rally we will be champion, then for sure I will ask.” Matton said.

Ogier dominates in Mexico!

You could be forgiven for thinking that we're in for another 9 years of dominance by a Frenchman in a near infallible team, given how Sebastian Ogier and VW have only been competing together for WRC three rallies, and have won two of them, convincingly.

Ogier flying high on route to winning Rally Mexico 2013

Mexico was the first rally in ten years we haven't seen the all-conquering Sebastian Loeb in action, the record-shattering former-gymnast electing to cut down on his rallying this year with a view to retiring altogether at the end of the year. In the event itself, Ogier, Loeb's former arch-enemy, was only lead twice, after the first stage by Theirry Neuville and by Mads Ostberg over SS4 and SS5.

“The start of the season is just amazing for us. We want to thank the team because the car was perfect again all weekend. Okay, just a small alarm this morning with a sensor but it was not a drama, and here we are again at the end with a perfect amount of points. Now we have quite a good lead for the championship after just three rallies. For sure the season will be long, but already it’s not bad,” said Ogier.

Mikko Hirvonen claimed second but it could have been all over when he punctured 25kms from the finish of the Otates 2 stage. He managed to fend off the flying Neuville, who was closing on the Finn before he landed in a ditch SS23 and called quits on the fight for second, settling for third. However they had no hope of winning, after the puncture Hirvonen lay over three minutes off Ogier, with the Frenchman's winning margin being 3 mins 28 secs at the end.

The Belgian ace said: “We did a job we can be proud of and learned a lot. This morning I tried to push but okay, it went wrong, but we are still here with no damage on the car. It’s been a long wait for a podium, last year many things went wrong. We showed everyone we can learn, we took another step, now we are ready to go forward again and win,”

Such was the pace of the Top 3 and Ogier in particular, Dani Sordo was over six minutes off the flying VW in fourth place. Sordo, in the other works DS3 WRC, wasn't happy with the handling of his car but still managed to win the final stage of the rally.

Endurance specialist Nasser Al-Attiyah took fifth place in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC, with the returning Chris Atkinson in sixth in Khalid Al-Qassimi's DS3 WRC. The ever spectacular Ken Block took seventh, and local hero Benito Guerra finished eighth on his WRC car début. Rounding out the Top 10 was Martin Prokop and Evgeny Novikov in ninth and tenth, respectively.

Mads Ostberg was the only driver able to take the fight to Ogier but he went out with an alternator failure on his works Fiesta RS WRC. His frustration got the better of him and he kicked the car, a normal reaction for some drivers but this time Ostberg hurt his foot, the icing on the cake of a bad day.

He said: “It’s the biggest disappointment I’ve ever had in rallying,” he said. “I’ve been disappointed previously but never this bad. It’s very frustrating after fighting for a good result. I can’t believe it’s the third rally in a row where we’ve had technical issues and I’m not happy with that. I hope this will change now.”

Ogier also won the Power Stage, featuring the infamous Brinco Jump. He lead Mads Ostberg by 5.9 secs at the end of the stage, with VW team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala in third.

In the WRC2 category, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari blew the opposition away in his Ford Fiesta RRC. Co-driven by Killian Duffy and on his WRC2 début, the Qatari won all bar two stages. Nicolas Fuchs and Ricardo Trivino closed out the remaining places on the podium, both in Group N-spec Mitsubishi Lancers.

Mikkelsen gets 'own' team

Andreas Mikkelsen will get a VW Motorsport team all to his self, it was announced today when the FIA announced the confirmed teams eligible to score points in the Manufacturer's World Rally Championship, and also confirmed No. 2 drivers.

Mikkelsen, who is only 23, won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge two years in a row in 2011 and 2012, whilst driving for Skoda. At the end of 2012, the series was mothballed and the Norwegian was signed up by the German car giant, VW, for their WRC campaign. Whilst under the wing of VW Motorsport, he took part in eight WRC events driving a Skoda Fabia S2000, and on the rallies he knew, he was keeping up to the pace of team leader, Sebastian Ogier.

Today, the FIA announced that VW would register the “VW Motorsport II” team, a one-car entry solely for Mikkelsen. He was always promised a third works Polo R WRC, and by driving in what is effectively his own team he can avail of a full compliment of testing days, rather than having to share with team leaders Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. He will also have his own designated service place in each of the WRC's service parks, again rather than having to squeeze into the 'main' team's area.

Sven Smeets, team manager, said: “The third car was always planned to come, and we chose to have a one-car team in order to give Andreas his fair amount of test days and not to have to share them with our other drivers. Also we are a manufacturer, so in order to have the proper space in the service park the complete package for a one-car WRC team was much more interesting to us.”

The Norwegian will be able to score both Driver's Championship points as well as points for the VW Motorsport II team in the Manufacturer's Championship.

Kubica lands WRC2 drive with Citroen

Robert Kubica today announced he will tackle a seven round campaign in the WRC2 class of the WRC, driving a Citroen DS3 RRC.

"I weighed up the different options before deciding this programme. I kept in touch with Citroen and both sides were keen to continue working together. I can't wait to start, but I haven't set myself any specific target. I still have a lot to learn and to improve I will need to rack up the miles on the stages." he said.

Kubica already has semi-works Citroen experience, having competed on two rallies at the end of last year in a works-supported Citroen C4 WRC. On the Rallye Du Var, he dominated the event, racking up a 5 minute lead before a pacenote error sent him into the trees. He and co-driver Emanuele Inglesi both escaped unhurt, but the C4 was nothing but a charred shell afterwards.

The Polish driver, who's 2011 crash still causes him problems, will campaign a slightly modified Citroen DS3 RRC, which stands for Regional Rally Car. The car will be equipped with a paddle-shift system, but which will be sufficiently slowed down to match the regulation 'gear stick' type change.

Citroen Racing boss Yves Matton praised the FIA for allowing them to bend the rules a little in order to give Kubica's injured arm a break. He also praised Kubica's “determination” and referring to him as a “resolutely positive individual”.

He said: "I am especially pleased to have Robert as one of our drivers in 2013. Thanks to the support of his partners, we are in the process of putting together a programme that will enable him to improve in a car that offers similar handling to a World Rally Car.”

The former F1 ace's full-time rally career will begin on the Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, 21-23 March. His WRC2 campaign will begin on the Rally Portugal, 11-14 April. He will compete on a number of ERC events as well as his WRC2 drive.

“I’m really pleased now to be able to return to top-level racing. Taking part in Rally Islas Canarias will be an interesting challenge for me.” he added.