Ford pulls out, now what about the WRC's future?

Ford pulls out, now what about the WRC's future?

by Martijn Kösters

It must have come as a shock to many rally fans yesterday afternoon, when Ford announced it would not be competing as a works team in the WRC after this year. Ford is the brand with the biggest rallying legacy, being a competitor in rallying since the 1970s. With MINI issuing a similar announcement and Citroën focussing on Touringcars in the future, will there be a WRC to look at in a few year's time?

Reigning constructor's champion Citroën has recently announced it will be competing next year (2013) with a couple of DS3s, yet so far hasn't made any statements on 2014 and beyond. However the brand has hinted at competing the WRC. Given Citroëns poor sales figures in Europe, I can't see them run a WRC program alongside a WTCC program. For 2013 the Citroën team expands to three works cars, driven by Hirvonen, Al-Qassimi and another driver. The Citroën junior team competing as well, probably with Thierry Neuville.

In all grief about Ford leaving, we must not forget that Volkswagen are coming into the WRC next year, fully committed. VW have tested throughout the season, all be it with a Skoda badge on the front, but Ogier and possible colleague drivers Andreas Mikkelsen and Kevin Abbring have shown impressive speed. Their Super 2000 Skodas made it into the top-10 more often then not, and VW will like to keep that momentum in 2013. So far only Sebastien Ogier is confirmed, the seats in the second car have not been filled yet.

Mini also have announced to be stopping their activities as a Works team, but for different reasons than Ford. They entered the sport in order to homologate their car for others to use during WRC events. Them having completed their obligations, there is no need for them to run a factory team. Mini will keep developing the car and give support to any customers. With Prodrive having run the Mini works team, it is not unlikely for them to enter the WRC as a privateer next year.

The big outsider for next year could be Hyundai, who have shown a concept car of a Hyundai i20 WRC and said they could enter the WRC as early as 2013. Unlike European brands, Hyundai is not plagued by falling sales and decreasing profits. Having no further racing activities either means there would be enough money available for them to compete as a factory team.

For Ford, many things will depend on Malcolm Wilson and his M-Sport. Ford would like to see M-Sport provide development and support for customer teams, and although M-Sport have committed to developing the Fiesta R5 Wilson said he needed to think about the future activities of M-Sport. 2013 is a definite yes, but Ford presence after that remains open.

What is also a possibility for the future is the return of another very successful manufacturer, Toyota. Over the summer rumours of them competing in the WRC with a heavily modified Yaris/Vitz emerged and were confirmed by its Motorsport President. Despite the lack of organization in the company at that moment, development on an engine had started and they hoped to be ready for 2014.

Perhaps it won't be so bad after all. With Citroën and VW next year, and possibly Hyundai and Toyota joining at least VW in 2014, there will be at least two works teams competing in the WRC. And customer teams aren't necessarily a bad thing either, as works teams often fail to give young talent a seat a WRC with less involvement of the factory teams could allow young stars to shine brighter.

IRC Rally San Remo

Rally Review: IRC Rally San Remo

by Martijn Kösters


The penultimate round of the final IRC season took place around the Italian city of San Remo. One man was absent: Andreas Mikkelsen, giving title rivals Jan Kopecký and Juho Hänninen a chance to gain some points on the reigning champion before the season final in Cyprus. Though they would get a run for their money as a strong field of Italian drivers was present. Amongst them former winner Giandomenico Basso and Italian Rally Champion Umberto Scandola. Prior to this round Andreas Mikkelsen lead the championship by 43 points over Juho Hänninen and 53 over Jan Kopecký. With only 75 points left in the championship a good result was crucial for both Skoda drivers.

The Rally San Remo uses an interesting format, a total of ten stages is driven within a 24-hour time window, making any mistakes even more costly. This also means drivers have to be careful with their machines, as service opportunities are rare.

Giandomenico Basso was fast in the opening stage, taking the lead by a good 4 seconds over Andreucci, Kopecký and Perico. Stage two saw Jan Kopecký put in the fastest time and climb into second. Further Umberto Scandola had a terrible round of luck with a puncture and a spin, costing him five and a half minutes. He would retire after the stage. Basso increased his lead on stage three when Kopecký gave away seven seconds. Going into service Basso lead, 12.7 seconds ahead of Jan Kopecký, Andreucci in third, 14.2 seconds behind. Juho Hänninen was in fourth, only 14.4 seconds behind Basso.

A possible decider could be the 44 kilometer Ronde stage, driven on Friday night. Basso and Kopecký were superior on this stage and gaining over half a minute on the rest of the field. Though Basso was best of the best as he gained another twelve seconds on Kopecký. Paolo Andreucci took it easy, since his Italian title would only depend on him finishing. Interesting moment on the stage was Juho Hänninen's crash. He went straight of the road in a left hand corner, rolled his car and ended up on the roof of a shed, turning his Skoda into a wonderful roof ornament. Unfortunately for his championship, he had to retire.

Day two seemed more about everyone consolidating their positions. Giandomenico Basso increased his lead on Kopecký to 52 seconds over the first loop of the Saturday. Perico remained in third, Albertini 4^th, Andreucci 5^th. Craig Breen dropped some time after picking up a puncture on SS7, he is in a distant 6^th. Kopecký did try to launch an attack on Basso later on Saturday, taking the fastest time on SS8, SS9 and SS10. Unfortunately the gap was still 37.7 seconds going into the final stage.

Despite several drivers trying, the second loop on Saturday did not result in any position changes at the top of the table, Giandomenico Basso took his second Rally San Remo win with Jan Kopecký second, Perico third, Albertini 4^th, Andreucci 5^th. For the IRC this meant that Jan Kopecký moves into second at 103 points, 33 behind championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen. With double points awarded in Cyprus, second place for Kopecký and a retirement for Mikkelsen would be enough for the Czech.

WRC France: Home boy, home win

WRC France: Home boy, home win

by Martijn Kösters

Loeb did what many of his fans hoped for, ending his last full-time season with his ninth, consecutive title in front of a home crowd. With the final stage of the rally through his hometown of Haguenau, it must have been like a lap of honour for Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, the most succesful rally duo in history. Loeb replied: “When it’s finished, it’s an incredible moment. In Haguenau, my hometown, it was really a relief and the feeling was incredible!”

It wasn't an easy cruise through familiar surroundings for Loeb at all. Despite what you would expect from a tarmace rally the grip was scarce throughout the whole weekend. With rain and aquaplaining being the main hazards early in the rally, grip did not improve much on the last day. The straights had dried out, but corners were now full of mud after extensive corner-cutting by the crews.

After a short street stage on Thursday, Loeb quickly took the lead on the longer stages on Friday. Conditions were damp, but manageable on dry tyres. Loeb profited from the right tactic to take two soft spare tyres with him, allowing him to adjust to grip conditions, where Petter Solberg did not get the feeling for his Fiesta and was off the pace. At the end of the day all major drivers were still in the rally, with Loeb topping the sheets 13 seconds ahead of Latvala, who leads from Hirvonen.

Day two saw action on the first stage of the day, when Petter Solberg parked his car into a pole, and would be out for that day. His retirement promoted Thierry Neuville up to fourth, closely followed by Dani Sordo in the Mini. Jari-Matti Latvala meanwhile got caught out by a wet patch which still cost him 18 seconds on Loeb. Further behind Neuville, Sordo and Ostberg scrambled for fourth place, with no driver getting the upper hand yet. Behind them Evgeni Novikov found more and more pace throughout Saturday. At the end of Saturday, little had changed apart from Solberg's retirement. Loeb increased his lead to about half a minute with six shorter stages to go. Hirvonen held on to third despite a severe cold.

Would Sunday be a victory run for Sebastien Loeb? It seemed more and more like it on Saturday night, as Latvala almost accepted his second place: “I’m thinking more about preserving second than trying to win, which will be almost impossible unless Loeb makes a mistake. My car is fast enough to win the rally, but it’s the driver that has to improve.”

It certainly would not be overly easy for Loeb to take this victory, as rain struck the early stages on Sunday, Neuville profited with his second scratch of the rally as top drivers controlled their positions rather than attacked. Ostberg was the driver who seemed to struggle most with the rain, dropping from fourth to sixth: “It didn’t feel good at all, I was just too careful with a lot of standing water in the road. I have to take risks to fight for fourth but I didn’t take any risks.”. Ostberg would be handed fifth place as Dani Sordo retired without any power steering, the team decided driving without would be to dangerous.

Second loop of the day brought some excitement with an earlier than normal power stage, which saw none of the top-drivers take additional points. Ostberg came third, taking one point extra whilst Neuville and Tanak went for victory, with the Estonian eventually rewarded three points. Thierry Neuville then went on to win two more stages, but all the attention turned to Sebastien Loeb, who took win number 75, and championship number 9 of his impressive career.

His retirement cost Petter Solberg his third place in the championship, being passed by Latvala and Ostberg who finished second and fifth. Mikko Hirvonen celebrated his 8^th podium of the year by coming third while Neuville had his best weekend of the year with a fourth place. Tanak, Novikov, Atkinson, Prokop and Chardonnet complete the top ten.

Our big announcement of the week

We promised it before, we had some big news to share this week. Because there will be some changes to the Rallycross_ERC you know, good changes.

First of all, the Twitter account started in 2009 and was born out of the interest I had towards the ERC and Rallycross. Yet despite modern media and the internet, my knowledge and experience of Rallycross was very limited. Limited to visiting the Belgian Round of the European Championship each year, finding out who lead the championship, cheering at the winners and going back home to wait for another year. TV coverage didn't/doesn't exist apart from the Scandinavian Countries and Motors TV for digital viewers, and only occasionally would newspapers write about Rallycross.

So after yet another visit in 2009, I created the Twitter page with a official sounding name and (still) to my amazement it caught on to the 800 followers it had now. Since WRC coverage was becoming marginal over time (Eurosport pushed it into midnight slots, or would randomly broadcast it) I started reporting on that as well. Than the Intercontinental Rally Challenge emerged, and was added to the Rallycross_ERC portfolio. This year the Global Rallycross Championship got covered.

More and more the old name of Rallycross_ERC stopped reflecting what the twitter page was about. The twitter page covered much more than the ERC alone. And when your jacket gets too tight you buy a new one, and that is exactly what is going to happen. From this weekend on, @Rallycross_ERC will change to @RallyandCross, a new name with a wider focus on the world of off-road motorsports. The blog was created under this name months ago, and suits the whole combination of blog and twitter rather well don't you think?

The new name allows us to use several media forms under the same flag, where before the twitter account operated under a different name than the blog, it is now all together under one label. This makes it easier for you to connect with what is happening in the world of rally and rallycross and to connect with what we're up to.

But there is something extra in store for you as well, RallyandCross is coming to Facebook! Our Facebook page will give an overview of our twitter posts as well as the posts on this blog. Search for "Rally and Cross" and hit that like button!

Above all, enjoy all that is new, and this weekends Rally de France,


The Rally and Cross Team

WRC Rally France Preview - Can Loeb clinch title #9 at home?

WRC Rally France Preview - Can Loeb clinch title #9 at home?


by Martijn Kösters



Just three rounds remain in the 2012 World Rally Championship, and the title chase could all be over on sunday. Only Mikko Hirvonen can beat Sebastien Loeb to the title, but even that will not only come down to him. Loeb goes into his home event with a 61 point lead. With the notion that a maximum of 56 points remain in the championship after the French round (2x 25 for a win, 2x 3 for Power Stage Win), a win for Hirvonen would not neccesarily mean that he could still take the title, as Loeb can comfortably finish second, win the power stage and take yet another title.

The odds are very much against Mikko Hirvonen, not only does he challenge the one man who has been reigning the WRC since 2004. He also takes on Loeb at home turf, who was born in the Alsace region. One factor might give Hirvonen some hope, Loeb did not win here last year due to an engine failure.

Action starts this afternoon (Thursday) with a small stage in Strasbourg, with real stages being driven throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. In total the rally consists of 22 tarmac stages with a combined length of 404 kilometers. Friday will see two equal loops of three stages: Hohlandsbourg(28km), Vallee de Munster(22) and Soltzeren(20), with the Mulhouse stage as added extra to the Friday.


Saturday starts a bit earlier around 8.30 CET with the Massif des Grands Crus-Ungersberg stage of 18km, followed directly by the longest stage of the rally Pays d'Ormont (43.45km). Pays de la Haute Bruche (24) and Klevener (11) complete the loop of four stages, which will be run twice.

The Sunday sees perhaps a different style to which we are used to. Six stages, all be it shorter than the rest, will be run without Service half way through. At 9.23 CET the Vignoble de Cleebourg (17) kicks off, followed by Bischweiler (8) and Sebastien Loeb's home town stage: Hagenau (6). These three stages will be run twice, but without a service.

ERC/GRC Rallycross Review: Action on and off track

ERC/GRC Rallycross Review: Action on and off track

by Martijn Kösters

Double the action this weekend as both major Rallycross series had an outing on either side of the globe. The Global Rallycross Championship had its first of two events in Las Vegas (with a race at SEMA in four weeks time) and the European Rallycross Championship went for its final spin at the Estering in Germany.

Although the Global Rallycross Championship had its final on Saturday evening local time, we will start of with the ERC since important developments took place over the weekend. As you may know, next year's FIA Rallycross Championship is undergoing some changes including a new promoting party, IMG. As IMG basically organises this championship, she has the right to select venues on which to stage events, meaning some tracks might be left out. This has resulted in the formation of a break-away series, going by the name of FIA Rallycross Challenge. The Challenge will use the same Rallycross regulations written by FIA. One issue is that the series has yet to be approved by the FIA, who will not be overly pleased with two European Championship in the same class of motorsport on roughly similar tracks. To Be Continued...


Back to on-track action, the ERC came to Buxtehude for round ten out of ten of the season. All the titles were awarded last week, but championship standings provide enough excitement for 2^nd and 3^rd place in the championship. In Supercars Liam Doran, Davy Jeanney and possible Alexander Hvaal hoped to profit from #2 in the standings Tanner Foust. In Super 1600 Skorupski, Leppihalme, Linnemann and Rakhmatullin had a chance at taking 'silver' for the 2012 championship. Touringcars had less battles still in the championship, although Robin Larsson could reward his great run in the second half of the season with third place in the Championship.

The A-finals on Sunday saw plenty of action, with some of the favourites being caught out in crashes. In Touringcars Anton Marklund and outgoing champion Lars Oivind Enerberg retired from the gravel trap. Robin Larsson took his fifth victory of the season, and his fourth from the second half of the season, giving him maximum points from the second half of the year. Ole Habjorg finished second ahead of Castoral, Enlund and Lundh. Both Koen Pauwels and Derek Tohill were absent from the A-final.
Ch. Result: 1. Anton Marklund 142pt., 2 Derek Tohill 121pt., 3 Roman Castoral 115pt.

In Super 1600 it took a few tries to decide a winner. Jussi Leppihalme caused a red flag in the first take of the A-final, and also had to retire. Take two saw chaos in the first corner, leaving Joni Wiman unable to compete. Eventually Teemu Suninen, who was fast all weekend took the win ahead of this year's champ Bakkerud and Sergey Zagumennov.
Ch. Result: 1. Andreas Bakkerud 138pt., 2 Krzystof Skorupski 114pt., 3 Jussi-Petteri Leppihalme 113pt.

In Supercars, a spectecular crash saw two cars out after the first lap. Peter Hedström hit the armco barrier on the inside, sending his car across the track into the path of Pavel Koutný, who as a result barrel-rolled along the armco, and straight over Hedström's car. After the restart, Liam Doran profited from both Tanner Foust's and more surprisingly Timerzyanov's absence from the final to take the win. Jeanney second, Stig-Olov Walfridsson scored his best 2012 result with third.
Ch. Result: 1. Timur Timerzyanov 148pt., 2 Liam Doran 104pt., 3 Tanner Foust 100pt.



Over in the United States, the Global Rallycross Championship worked off round 5 out of 6, with the Discount Tire-America's Tire Cup concluding already this weekend. Tanner Foust wanted to score here, he skipped the European Rallycross round in Germany (and others) in order to take a shot at the GRC. Foust did not let himself down by being fastest in practice and eventually taking the win. Fellow Rockstar teammate Brian Deegan finished second ahead of 2011 European Champion Sverre Isachsen, Toomas Heikkinen and Stéphane Verdier. Foust's win secured him the Discount Tire Cup, which he also won ahead of Brian Deegan. This result also puts him another step closer to the Global Championship, as he increases his Championship lead on Brian Deegan to 16 points.
The GRC will be finishing at the SEMA centre in Vegas, during the last weekend of October.