GRC: Great Right Challenge

GRC: Great Right Challenge
by Martijn Kösters

Global Rallycross makes its way to sunny California, and finally gets the facilities right providing great action. After some less successful track lay-outs earlier in the season the Irwindale Motor Speedway is still not a purpose based rallycross track, but does offer opportunities for good racing. The infield can still be described as tight but wide enough to squeeze a car alongside, and the long run towards the first hairpin, across the oval creates a great overtaking area.

Heat one featured the likes of Isachsen, Arpin, Deegan and Mirra. Isachsen had the best of starts in his Subaru and held the lead through the first few turns. Yet when arriving at the joker corner drivers faced wet mud rather than the drier clay and dust they practiced and qualified on. Only Isachsen managed to adjust his speed appropriately, the other went wide or brushed the wall. Arpin was unable to continue, resulting the race to be red flagged, rather late. Isachsen was already approaching the corner where Arpin and his stranded car stood.
The restart saw Isachsen again getting away quickly, with Deegan following him throughout the heat. Both qualified for the final.

Heat two saw well known GRC driver Patrik Sandell take up European drivers such as Anton Marklund and Liam Doran, who took his Mini out for this occasion. Doran was on the pace despite not being in his regular car, with Sandell following him closely, yet settling for second place without attacking fiercely.

A hectic first turn in Heat Three, as Speed Pastrana and Sterckx all make some mistake. And in true Topi-style Heikkinen somehow makes it past all the mishap. He leads Pastrana Speed Sterckx and Verdier after lap 1. Throughout the race the battle for second intensifies between Pastrana and Speed, and in the final lap Speed has no other choice than to go for it. Coming into hairpin two Speed makes his mad dash, with the move biting back on him. Pastrana takes second and his spot in the final, Speed is left with a Last Chance in the LCQ.

Heat four has to be a highlight in the 2013 GRC Season, the amount and especially the intensity of the action was sublime. Timerzyanov (in a VW Polo), Foust, Block, Lasek, Menzies line up. Ken Block makes the best start and leads into the hairpin where Foust briefly bumps into Timerzyanov. Timerzyanov, leading European Champion, chases Block in the following laps. Interesting to see how Block is quite like a defending drifter, using all track surface everywhere and preventing Timerzyanov from passing. Timur Timerzyanov however, is a more clean, agile, driver. Handbrakes for the tight hairpins. Quicker, but he can't find a gap to get past.
As Timerzyanov drops back throughout the race, this creates a terrific fight between him and Foust. Both know eachother from the European Championship, where they both raced for the championship the past years. Foust gets close at the second hairpin and takes the inside, but the traction on the outside helps Timerzyanov out. Going into the next turn drivers are door to door, bumper to bumper, but Timerzyanov refuses to make way.
In the penultimate lap, Timerzyanov loses some control over his car coming out of the second hairpin and with a brilliant move around the outside Foust takes the inner line into the next chicane. Timerzyanov hasn't given up yet, but Foust is having none of it, forcing the Russian very wide and even brushing the tyres himself. As a result Timerzyanov loses more time, letting Bryan Menzies through.

A lot of rubbing into the next turn where Timerzyanov will not concede his place and somehow also keeps it on the track in the process
Mistake for TT in the second turn of the penultimate lap, and with a breathtaking move round the outside by Foust both go side by side into the Joker corner. A disputable move by Foust follows, where he forces Timerzyanov wide, very wide. Yet as he had unmistakeably the inside line he had all the right to do so. Block by this time had created a large lead and easily makes the final, together with Foust.


Last Chance Qualifier also saw some action, as Rhys Millen stalled his car, Anton Marklun is quick to avoid him. Yet as he hits Jos Sterckx's car in the progress this catapults him into the concrete inner wall. Marklund gets out of his car on his own, yet needs some medical attention with an injured leg. As the race officials need another full lap to decide on a red flag racing continues in the infield for a full lap. Opinion: a red flag should not take 45 seconds to decide on, full stop.

Take two of the LCQ sees only five of the original nine cars show up. Speed has another fantastic start, with Millen clean away into second. Millen even gets the lead when Speed goes wide around the Joker Corner, which was rewatered before the LCQ. Bryan Menzies follows in third, waiting to take his joker at the right time. When he does so a little later he indeed passes Speed for second, but also clips the wall exiting the joker, resulting in terminal rear suspension damage. As a result, Millen and Speed qualify for the big final.


The Final sees Isachsen, Heikkinen, Doran and Block on row 1. With Isachsen making a very jumpy start he leads into turn one. As a result he avoids the carnage caused by Doran and Block, who touch and spin together with Deegan. Heikkinen makes his way past, but takes some cones out in the hairpin, still rejoins in second. As Isachsen is indeed penalised, Toomas 'Topi' Heikkinen inherits the lead when Isachsen stops for a very quick stop and go. Isachsen rejoins in 4^th, very close behind Pastrana. The middle of the ten lap race sees no major changes, although Sandell and Speed decide to change that. A contact between the two sees all kinds of debris and litter scattered across the track. A loose thread from Sandell on the home straight, tyre barrier on track right after the first hairpin, bits of barrier and bodywork in the infield. This time the race officials did not decide to interfere, oddly enough.
Despite all, it is Heikkinen who drives home his second GRC victory of the season in a commanding drive beating Foust, Isachsen and Millen.

Standings:

1	57	Toomas Heikkinen	OlsbergsMSE	96
2	38	Brian Deegan	OlsbergsMSE	62
3	34	Tanner Foust	OlsbergsMSE	61
4	18	Patrik Sandell	OlsbergsMSE	60
5	43	Ken Block	Hoonigan Racing Division	58
6	33	Liam Doran	LD Motorsports	51
7	32	Steve Arpin	OMSE2	47
8	77	Scott Speed	OMSE2	45
9	11	Sverre Isachsen	Subaru PUMA Rallycross	34
10	92	Anton Marklund	Marklund Motorsport	26

Rally Review: WRC Acropolis Rally - Bumpy ride just doesn't do it justice

Rally Review: WRC Acropolis Rally
Bumpy ride just doesn't do it justice
by Martijn Kösters
Rough terrain was expected, and explored during the recces, but few would have seen such battlefield coming up. Let alone in Stage one were Sebastien Ogier AND Mikko Hirvonen AND Mads Ostberg encountered severe trouble.

Indeed SS1 caused quite a stirr right at the start of the rally, Hirvonen had major steering issues which would delay the steering response and lost six minutes while Ostberg nursed a damaged wheel home. Ogier promptly retired for the day with fuel pressure problems and would be back on Saturday. Novikov was lucky to escape unharmed after his fully commited run, he went fastest ahead of Sordo and Latvala. Stage two provided little to no drama thankfully, so Novikov lead Sordo and Latvala after day one whilst Robert Kubica lead the WRC2 field ahead of Protsarov and Al Kuwari.

Day two saw the majority of the stages of this rally. Whilst Novikov and Latvala matched eachother's times on stage 3 it was Latvala leading after the fourth stage: Novikov had suffered a puncture and was thrown back a good four minutes into eighth.
After four stages: 1 Latvala, 2 Sordo+15.6, 3 Neuville+43.5, 4 Mikkelsen+1.23, 5 Al-Attiyah+2.09, 7 Ostberg, 11 Hirvonen, 19 Ogier
WRC2: 1 Kubica, 2 Protsarov+1.21, 3 Al-Kuwari+1.28, 4 Aksa+2.12

Throughout the afternoon Latvala slowly increased his lead on Sordo, who drove more cautiously, to a minute by the end of the day. Behind the two Andreas Mikkelsen suffered a massive brake failure in SS5, completing the stage without any but the handbrake. Novikov had a similar problem after an earlier impact and Ostberg suffered another broken wheel, this time the allignment was far from correct.

Stage 8 saw evgeni Novikov recover from his earlier damage to take another stage win. Ogier reported onboard cameras falling off from all the shaking and battering the car took whilst Ostberg came across the finish with another puncture.
After 8 stages: 1 Latvala, 2 Sordo+44.7, 3 Neuville+1.32, 4 Al-Attiyah+3.25, 5 Mikkelsen+3.34, 7 Ostberg, 8 Hirvonen, 11 Ogier
WRC2: 1 Kubica, 2 Al Kuwari+2.04, 3 Protsarov+2.08, 4 Aksa+3.42

The final day of the Acropolis Rally was not focussed on the battle up front, since there wasn't any really. Damage limitation seemed the main priority although Nasser Al-Attiyah and Andreas Mikkelsen did compete for a respectable fourth place though, with the difference being less than 20 seconds throughout most of the rally. Hirvonen and Ogier too seemed to be stuck in 8^th and 10^th respectively, with the driver in front being nearly two minutes away.

Mikkelsen passed Al-Attiyah on stage 12 out of 14, despite the gap being only 1.9s Al-Attiyah adopted a sensible approach and vowed not to push anymore. Yet despite sensibility all around the Rally paddock there were three extra points to be awarded in the final stage. Many drivers reported tweaking their setups after SS12 (also Power Stage 14). Sordo, Al-Attiyah, Ostberg and Prokop were not to be seduced by any extra points, finishing was their main goal and they therefore didn't put in a fast time. Andreas Mikkelsen snatched away a point from Latvala who swiftly but safely made it to the Finish. Novikov got hold of two extra points but the main treat went to the championship leader: Sebastien Ogier.

WRC Greece final: 1 Latvala, 2 Sordo+1.50, 3 Neuville+2.14, 4 Mikkelsen+3.55, 5 Al-Attiyah+4.12, 6 Ostberg, 7 Hirvonen, 8 Prokop, 9 Novikov, 10 Ogier, 11 Kubica
WRC2: 1 Kubica, 2 Protsarov, 3 Al-Kuwari, 4 Tamrazov, 5 Al Ketbi, 6 Fuchs.

Global Rallycross in Europe: DNF

Global Rallycross in Europe: DNF
by Martijn Kösters

What should have been round two of the Global Rallycross Championship ended in a major farce as rain made the track service undriveable. Question on everyone's minds (drivers, fans, organizers): how could this happen to a major and professional sporting event. Because let's be honest, the X Games aren't a primary school sports day.

Both Global Rallycross / X Games tracks in Foz de Iguacu and Barcelona have been under a lot of criticism. In Brazil it was a poor lay-out, dust and a gripless track surface which hampered the experience for drivers and viewers. The narrow and straight-forward layout did not promote overtaking, and even if drivers were planning too, huge amounts of dust and a lack of grip made sure that they couldn't see or feel where they would end up.

With little competitive running in Barcelona, it's difficult to say how the action would have ended up. But taking a look at the track lay-out, it seems like similar design mistakes have been made. Although partly explained by the minimum around of room in the Estadio Olympic, designers definitely shouldn't have opted for a large infield section because of that. Tight and narrow hairpins wouldn't have promoted any overtaking action.

Then there was the major issue, something which wouldn't come to mind of everyone's mind. The facility was excellent, especially from an audience point of view, no doubt that the off track facilities were up to scratch. Yet the surface and particularly the ability of it to disperse water, well.

Let me explain this thoroughly before anyone rushes to conclusions, clay is a tricky surface, for many reasons. Unlike sand or gravel, it is very dense in structure, so it does not let through much or any water. That's why there was so much standing water on track this Sunday, and I doubt much could have been done to make the water drain, although banking would have been part of the solution.

Second is that clay, and especially wet clay is one of the least grippy surfaces you'll find in nature. If you have ever seen a tractor stuck in a field you can understand why racing was out of the question once it rained in Barcelona. Wet clay is miserable stuff to walk, cycle or drive on. Its very density and stickiness makes that when you spin the wheels on it it doesn't fly up in a rooster tail like you see on sand or gravel, but wraps itself around the spinning wheel. This downward spiral of grip makes it worse and worse.

Back to Barcelona and to what the organizers could have done. Another track surface would have been an easy fix but given the fact that the Stadium also served as the Motocross venue that is easier set than done, as you can't have bikers flying through the air when crashing into tarmac is a possibility. Yet, running Rallycross after the motorcyclists was an unwise decision. The Rallycross event had been postponed by two hours in order to let the track modifications take place. Because Rallycross started two hours later, the rain had started to fall down. I am by no means a Motocross expert but the bikes were better equipped to mud and rain than the cars. Someone in the X Games organizers could and should have seen the weather coming.

Another point is made by the cars not being ready for wet, muddy clay. This was the cause that sparked most outrage along Rallycross fans. For the simple reason that drivers were equipped with Tarmac-spec Rallycross tyres, with a much slicker and shallower thread. Although these tyres would have been perfectly suitable for the GRC events at NASCAR speedways they proved tricky enough in the Brazilian dust, let alone the wet mud in Spain. It seems awfully similar to what happened at the F1 United States Grand Prix, where a majority of the cars running on Michelin tyres found out they were not built for the oval conditions in Indianapolis.

To me, however, the saddest point of all is that the fine Global Rallycross Championship once again got squashed in between other extreme sports, in Foz de Iguacu TV-viewers had to sit through a lot of skating before a brief Rallycross segment came along. In Barcelona, the GRC had to wait for Motocross to finish their act and the track to be reconfigured. By the time GRC took to the stage, the proverbial janitor was out mopping the floor (quite literally). Does Rallycross want to be a part of the extreme sports ensemble when it means it is moved to the back of the stage and to adapt to motocross surroundings? Or should Rallycross move back to being a dessert after a NASCAR event, where fans of four-wheeled motorsports can stick around for some more action. It's the NASCAR-GRC combination that I envied and I wished would exist here in Europe.

As long as Rallycross can't stand on it's own legs, it should still try to stand out from other sports, rather than blend in with others at the cost of its own characteristics, don't you think?

The Global Rallycross Championship continues June 29^th, at X Games Munich

Rally Review WRC Argentina: Loeb is in Argentina, so Loeb wins in Argentina

Rally Review WRC Argentina: Loeb is in Argentina, so Loeb wins in Argentina

By Martijn Kösters

Another one of those statistics unlikely to be broken, the amount of wins in the Rally of Argentina by Sebastien Loeb. Eight, eight WRC victories in a row in Argentina. It will take at least till 2022 before someone can break that record, unless Tommi Makinen comes back and wins another six.

But the action. Rally got underway with a short street stage on Thursday, with Ogier taking the early lead of 1.9s over Sordo and 2.2 over Loeb. Latvala, Mikkelsen and Hirvonen followed. Day two saw much longer stages and much more gravel. Two stages were run twice, Santa Catalina and Ascochinga. In the morning loop it was Ogier who held on to his lead despite the slippy and foggy conditions. Loeb meanwhile struggled with understeer and was not happy with his rhytm. More severe issues for Neuville and Ostberg, who both had poorly or non-functioning wipers. Dani Sordo, who was running 7th after two stages, rolled his car on the third stage, dropping a heap of time and out of the points. He did complete the stage but without power steering. Due to Sordo’s crash, Ogier got held up since Dani was blocking the road, yet Ogier still managed to be third fastest after SS3.

Second run of day two saw Ogier extend his lead on Hirvonen and later Loeb to 16.5 seconds, with both Citroën drivers close to one-another. Meanwhile Mads Ostberg became the First retirement when a steering arm broke during SS4. After SS4 it was Ogier from Loeb (12.5) from Hirvonen (16) from Latvala (27.5), Mikkelsen (1.20), Novikov (1.23).

SS5 threw more tricky conditions at the drivers, namely drizzle and fog. Both Citroën drivers weren’t happy with the circumstances, Hirvonen having troubles with a misty windscreen and Loeb with false weather info. Latvala struggled with a faulty handbrake.

Day three then, 2x2 stages plus a city super special. First stages were drive non a muddier surface then before after some overnight rain, yet this didn’t bother any of the Sebs who went fastest, the younger one edging out the older by 1.4s. Ostberg rejoined the rally again under rally2 rules. Stage 7 saw Ogier making a rare mistake in foggy conditions. Combined with some water pools on the road conditions were very tricky. Eventually it turned out Ogier went straight at a corner and needed to reverse his way out, costing him 40 seconds.

After SS7: Loeb, Hirvonen (8.9), Ogier (26.3), Latvala (44.8), Novikov (1.55), Mikkelsen (2.34)

The second run saw puncture emerge for the First time in the rally, this time it was Hirvonen’s and Ogier’s turn. Loeb increased his lead to 30 seconds whil Hirvonen and Ogier swap places. Mikkelsen thought he had a puncture, but lateron the damage seemed to be rather to the suspension than to the rubber and Andreas had to retire for the day.
The final major stage of the day sees Hirvonen encounter even more problems, an electrical glitch means the car’s master switch turns the car off completely at random intervals. Unlike a road car restarting costs more effort and more time. He drops six minutes and into sixth place. Latvala was also iun trouble on stage 9, a puncture added two minutes to what was a good run. Problems for the two finns meant that Novikov was promoted to a podium spot and Neuville found himself in 5th.
After day three: Loeb, Ogier (39.8), Novikov (2.43), Latvala (2.51), Neuville (3.32), Hirvonen (6.43)

The Final day of the rally still has some potential in it, Novikov and Latvala being very close to eachother and the battle for the lead still not over should see interesting action. Latvala and Novikov went flat out on the First stage of the day, yet the Finn only gained 0.9s in the battle for third. Also Loeb took another 15 seconds on Ogier, who admitted he treated the final day as a recce, looking after the car in the rough terrain. No need to push anyway since Loeb is no championship contender. Second stage this Saturday saw Latvala quickest again, taking 3.9 out of Novikov  with the gap now being 3.4 seconds. Part reason for this is Novikov having run the stage in Road Mode unintentionally. Further down Prokop, Sordo and Mikkelsen are within 8 seconds of 8th place. Another stage win for Latvala on SS13, and this time with a reward: 3rd place. Latvala drove Unlimited and uninformed as he didn’t have splits in the car. Further down in the battle for 8th Sordo and Mikkelsen both moved up a place on behalf of Prokop who is now 10th by 18 seconds.

The Power stage was 16km long this time and only could go to one man: Jari-Matti Latvala, who completed all four stages on Saturday fastest. Ogier and Hirvonen took the remaining PS points and Mikkelsen passed Sordo by two tenths for 8th place.
Final: Loeb, Ogier(2), Latvala(3), Novikov, Neuville, Hirvonen(1), Ostberg, Mikkelsen, Sordo, Prokop
Points: Ogier 122, Loeb 68, Hirvonen 57, Latvala 49, Ostberg 38, Neuville 35, Sordo 29, Novikov 27, Prokop 21, Al-Attiyah 20

GRC Review: Speed makes quite the entry in Rallycross

GRC Review: Speed makes quite the entry in Rallycross
by Martijn Kösters
Global Rallycross, Year three, Episode one: 'Blasting in Brazil'.

Yes Rallycross on the other side of the pond got underway at the Brazilian X Games in Foz de Iguacu. A field that included former F1 stars, a NASCAR and Daytona 24h hero, European Rallycross stars and last year's GRC champion contained all everyone could wish for.

The venue, an almost full dirt track in what seemed like the heart of the jungle provoked different opinions. From a spectator's point of view it was difficult to see the action because of the large amounts of dust being kicked up, with drivers seeing even less when driving through that dust. Because of the track being sprayed with water prior to each race the drivers faced constantly changing conditions, starting on a sort of muddy surface the track would dry out during the race with the surface changing to sandy and after that to fine, slippery dust. Travis Pastrana admitted his powerful Dodge Dart had traction problems all weekend round.

Action got underway with the heats of four cars which would see the top two proceed to the final. Heat one was fought out between Toomas Heikkinen, Ken Block and Liam Doran. Doran being spun round by Block in the very first corner, diminishing his chances of qualification for the final. Heikkinen and Block cruised to P1 and P2.

Heat two saw Nelsinho Piquet, Brian Deegan, Travis Pastrana and Bryce Menzies take to the track. Piquet took a cheeky jump start, responding to the red lights going out rather than the green ones coming on. A penalty eventually dropped him back to 3^rd place, meaning he had to compete in the last chance qualifier to make the final. At the front Deegan and Pastrana took the top two spots.

Heat three out of four had Foust, Arpin, Sandell and Neves lining up. Once again it turned out the venue in Brazil offered little opportunities for overtaking, partly because of the dust but mostly because of the limited traction in combination with the short straights. Foust lead from start to finish with Steve Arpin following him into the final.

The final heat was also the most interesting one. Not only because two debutees lined up (Scott Speed and Buddy Rice), but also actionwise. In turn one Rice made contact with Speed sending him round and giving Anton Marklund the opportunity to take the lead. Yet nothing was lost for Speed yet, he used his Joker Lap, which is a shortcut rather than a longer way round in European Rallycross, to take second from Buddy Rice. After this move Speed chased down Marklund, passing him going into the final lap. Speed and Marklund qualified for the final.

Last Chance Qualifier offered two more tickets to the final for those who finished 3^rd or 4^th before. The LCQ offered more problems for Liam Doran, dropping the clutch at the start saw the whole field pass him, and sent Menzies up the rear of his car. Their chances of a final ticket were virtually gone. Out in front Rice took the lead from the start with Sandell close behind. Piquet and Neves would just miss out on a ticket to the final.

The final uses a different format to the heats. Rather than four cars ten drivers would now line up and drive a ten lap race rather than six. The first corner proved to be a fierce battlefield after the start with everyone aiming for the inside line. Some top drivers including Ken Block, Tanner Foust and Travis Pastrana would either retire or sustain damage after a tumultuous start. After four laps the race was red flagged because of cars and debris scattered around the track.

The race was restarted over its full length but without Block, Foust and Pastrana. Heikkinen had the best restart with an aggressive move on the inside of turn one, keeping Speed and Arpin behind him after lap one. Toomas Heikkinen opted to take his joker lap early increasing his lead a little. Lateron in the race we saw Scott Speed gradually closing in on Heikkinen. Him still having to do his joker there might be an opportunity there. As the chequered flag came closer Speed still hadn't done his Joker Lap. Speed kept it cool in the Brazilian heat and dived round the inside of the final turn, taking Heikkinen in the final lap of the race and taking the gold. Speed finished first, Heikkinen 2^nd, with late qualifier Sandell taking the bronze.

More Rallycross as GRC and RCE kick off

More Rallycross as GRC and RCE kick off
by Martijn Kösters
All be it late in April, the Global Rallycross Championship and the Rallycross Challenge Europe have yet to start their seasons. The GRC gets underway in Brazil at Foz de Iguacu as part of its partnership with the X Games and the RCE starts of the season in Melk, Austria.

The Global Rallycross Championship has seen an interesting development over the winter, from a NASCAR support event with one round at the LA X Games to a full Global partnership with the X Games which takes them to Los Angeles, Foz de Iguacu in Brazil, Barcelona and Munich as well as events we saw last year in New Hampshire, Bristol, Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver line-up has stepped up its game too. We have seen Tanner Foust, Liam Doran, Brian Deegan, Travis Pastrana, Toomas Heikkinen and Ken Block enter events last year and for this weekend they are joined by drivers such as Anton Marklund who we've seen in last year's European Rallycross Championship, Rally driver Patrik Sandell and NASCAR drivers Buddy Rice and Nelson Piquet Jr. who will make their debut on gravel.

The track itself (picture), unlike circuits seen in Europe or previously seen in the GRC is a full gravel course. The surroundings have a real 'Rumble in the jungle' feel to it. Viewers in the US have the opportunity to tune in to ESPN to follow the action live, where as Rallycross followers elsewhere will have to wait for any action to emerge on youtube. But hey we'll keep you updated.

After a few confusing name changes and a media silence following that the second European Rallycross series, the Rallycross Challenge Europe gets underway. The series markets itself as a spectator oriented championship with friendly entry prices, familiar rules and regulations and a family-like atmosphere. Events for the coming year are scheduled for Austria this weekend, two events for France in Essay and Cohiniac, two events in the Lowlands at the classic circuits of Maasmechelen and Valkenswaard. Season finale is planned at Sosnova in the Czech Republic.

With most big names in Rallycross already comitted to the RallycrossRX Championship another big question surrounded who would actually be driving in the series. Drivers were announced over the past few weeks and mostly consist of Central European drivers, with no Scandinavian entries opposed to what we've seen in the ERC traditionally.

In the Supercar category, which is no different from the Supercars you see in other series, we see drivers who had some outings in last year's European Rallycross Championship. Amongst them Kevin Procter (10^th in 2012 and winner of the French round), Jos Kuijpers (11^th in 2012), Pavel Koutny (15^th). Furthermore Jurgen Weiss who came in 9^th in the Austrian round of the ERC who is joined in Supercars by Robert Theuil, Marcel Ottink, Bernd Wilhelm and Otakar Vyborny.

Super 1600 will be headlined by ERC-regulars Vaclav Veverka and Pavel Vimmer driving their Peugeot 206 and Skoda Fabia. They will be joined by national drivers such as Sven Seeliger and Manfred Beck from Germany and Dave van Beers from Belgium. Eric Guillemette and Dorian Launay represent France with Werner Panhauser (A) and Robert Czarnecki (Pol) completing the S1600 grid.

The Touringcar field is a full Belgian-Dutch affair, with Nick Snoeys, Ivo van den Brandt and Mandy Kasse being the most well known drivers. Finishing 15^th, 16^th and 17^th in last year's ERC, Snoeys finished 6^th in the Hungarian round and van den Brandt scoring two 8^th places in Austrian and Hungarian round. Mandy Kasse scored 9^th in France and the Netherlands. Jos Sterkens and Louis de Haas complete the driver's who have been announced so far.

Action gets underway this Saturday afternoon with free practices, Heat one to get underway at 16:00 local. Heat two and three take place from nine and 12:30 on the Sunday. Finals are to start at 14:30 Sunday afternoon. It will be interesting to follow the new championship and hope it catches momentum throughout the year.

Preview: More Rallycross as GRC and RCE kick off

More Rallycross as GRC and RCE kick off
by Martijn Kösters
All be it late in April, the Global Rallycross Championship and the Rallycross Challenge Europe have yet to start their seasons. The GRC gets underway in Brazil at Foz de Iguacu as part of its partnership with the X Games and the RCE starts of the season in Melk, Austria.

The Global Rallycross Championship has seen an interesting development over the winter, from a NASCAR support event with one round at the LA X Games to a full Global partnership with the X Games which takes them to Los Angeles, Foz de Iguacu in Brazil, Barcelona and Munich as well as events we saw last year in New Hampshire, Bristol, Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver line-up has stepped up its game too. We have seen Tanner Foust, Liam Doran, Brian Deegan, Travis Pastrana, Toomas Heikkinen and Ken Block enter events last year and for this weekend they are joined by drivers such as Anton Marklund who we've seen in last year's European Rallycross Championship, Rally driver Patrik Sandell and NASCAR drivers Buddy Rice and Nelson Piquet Jr. who will make their debut on gravel.


The track itself (picture), unlike circuits seen in Europe or previously seen in the GRC is a full gravel course. The surroundings have a real 'Rumble in the jungle' feel to it. Viewers in the US have the opportunity to tune in to ESPN to follow the action live, where as Rallycross followers elsewhere will have to wait for any action to emerge on youtube. But hey we'll keep you updated.

After a few confusing name changes and a media silence following that the second European Rallycross series, the Rallycross Challenge Europe gets underway. The series markets itself as a spectator oriented championship with friendly entry prices, familiar rules and regulations and a family-like atmosphere. Events for the coming year are scheduled for Austria this weekend, two events for France in Essay and Cohiniac, two events in the Lowlands at the classic circuits of Maasmechelen and Valkenswaard. Season finale is planned at Sosnova in the Czech Republic.

With most big names in Rallycross already comitted to the RallycrossRX Championship another big question surrounded who would actually be driving in the series. Drivers were announced over the past few weeks and mostly consist of Central European drivers, with no Scandinavian entries opposed to what we've seen in the ERC traditionally.

In the Supercar category, which is no different from the Supercars you see in other series, we see drivers who had some outings in last year's European Rallycross Championship. Amongst them Kevin Procter (10^th in 2012 and winner of the French round), Jos Kuijpers (11^th in 2012), Pavel Koutny (15^th). Furthermore Jurgen Weiss who came in 9^th in the Austrian round of the ERC who is joined in Supercars by Robert Theuil, Marcel Ottink, Bernd Wilhelm and Otakar Vyborny.

Super 1600 will be headlined by ERC-regulars Vaclav Veverka and Pavel Vimmer driving their Peugeot 206 and Skoda Fabia. They will be joined by national drivers such as Sven Seeliger and Manfred Beck from Germany and Dave van Beers from Belgium. Eric Guillemette and Dorian Launay represent France with Werner Panhauser (A) and Robert Czarnecki (Pol) completing the S1600 grid.

The Touringcar field is a full Belgian-Dutch affair, with Nick Snoeys, Ivo van den Brandt and Mandy Kasse being the most well known drivers. Finishing 15^th, 16^th and 17^th in last year's ERC, Snoeys finished 6^th in the Hungarian round and van den Brandt scoring two 8^th places in Austrian and Hungarian round. Mandy Kasse scored 9^th in France and the Netherlands. Jos Sterkens and Louis de Haas complete the driver's who have been announced so far.

Action gets underway this Saturday afternoon with free practices, Heat one to get underway at 16:00 local. Heat two and three take place from nine and 12:30 on the Sunday. Finals are to start at 14:30 Sunday afternoon. It will be interesting to follow the new championship and hope it catches momentum throughout the year.

Rally Review: WRC2 / JWRC / WRC3 were all present in Portugal

Rally Review: WRC2 / JWRC / WRC3 were all present in Portugal

by Martijn Kösters
WRC2 had an interesting line-up of drivers for the Rally of Portugal. Amongst them we found a WRC Academy Winner (Elfyn Evans), a Grand Prix Winner making his gravel debut (hello Robert Kubica) and the current leader in WRC2 (Sepp Wiegand). Yet it was neither of these who took the lead after the first duo of stages. A young Finn going by the unique name of Esapekka Lappi topped the time sheets ahead of Wiegand, Evans, Kubica and Barrable. After the end of the first day Sepp Wiegand had crashed on the final stage of the day and Kubica retired because of problems on the liason. This meant that Lappi lead Evans by 30 seconds after day one, with Bresolin and Barrable a good two minutes behind the Finn.

Kubica's debut on gravel can be summarized in three words: Impressive, short and troublesome. Impressive as he managed to keep pace on a surface he never competed before, setting top four times in the stages in which he did compete. Troublesome for the fact that a tree branch ended hopes of a good result when it decided to become a structural part of the radiator, piercing it and spilling fluid everywhere. Kubica and his co-driver Maciek Baran did fix the cooling issue after the stage, but a trio of punctures with only two spare tyres around meant that the final stage of the day in Lisbon was a bridge too far. Kubica did return for day two, but transmission problems meant he had to use his weaker right hand for manual shifting.

Back to the action on day two where Lappi continued to dominate the pace, by setting up a nifty 11 stage win streak and building a four minute lead Elfyn Evans was forced to retire with transimission issues at the first stage of the day, handing P2 to Robert Barrable who demoted Bressolin to third in WRC2. A puncture for Barrable and troubles for Bressolin meant that Wiegand made his way back into second, ahead of Barrable. Meanwhile Fuchs and Villanueva held on to 4^th and 5^th after day 2.

Four stages remained on day three, with Lappi comfortably leading he did not push for fastest stage times any longer yet still extended his lead in what seemed an easy run for the Finn. When Wiegand's gearbox jammed he lost second place and a good ten minutes, giving Lappi a ten minute lead over Barrable with two more stages to go. As no more close battles were fought out little changes happened in the final loop. Esapekka Lappi won by 11,5 minutes over Barrable, with Wiegand a quarter of an hour behind. Fuchs fourth almost twenty minutes behind Lappi. Al-Kuwari and Kubica made up the top six.

The JWRC kicked off its six-event season in Portugal, with a field of ten drivers. Best known might be Pontus Tidemand, who showed impressive pace in the WRC field at the rally of Sweden where he ran within the top six during the first day. Drivers drive identical Fiesta R2s for this year, but setup and such is all theirs to adjust. Day one saew Pontus Tidemand, Jose Suarez and Marius Aasen draw ahead of the rest of the field by a good 2 minutes with little drama for most drivers. Except for Estonian Sander Parn who lost a wheel in stage one and already had to retire. Tidemand lead after day 1 out of 2 by 27 seconds over Suarez, Aasen third 32 seconds behind and Bostanci in fourth trailed Tidemand by 2m02.

Day two saw Jose Suarez keep up nicely with Tidemand, losing only 19 seconds over four stages but a puncture on the final stage threw him back by over 1,5 minute. Lemes had a strong second day, climbing all the way up from 8^th to 3^rd place. After a puncture on day one he put on a strong performance to claim a podium spot. Amberg edged out Koci for fourth by just 4 seconds as Marius Aasen dropped to sixth after a puncture and rear axle damage.

The JWRC will be back during the Acropolis Rally.

WRC3 then, with only a field of nine drivers the smallest of the four World Rally Championship. Yet this did not affect the competition as the top four was split by just over 20 seconds after the first day. Keith Cronin lead the field by only 3.3s over Alistair Fisher, Chardonnet another 3.3 behind. Bryan Bouffier was also at Rally de Portugal and maintained fourth only 23 seconds behind.

Drama on day two where a river crossing claimed two leading drivers. Both Cronin and Fisher got their DS3 R3s stuck. Where Fisher managed to get going after a long 18 minute delay Bouffier used his experience to avoid trouble and take the lead. Chardonnet went off road later on the day and lost six minutes, yet held second. Bouffier lead by eight minutes after day two, Chardonnet as said being second. Francesco Parli held on to third, more than 13 minutes from the lead, with Quentin Gilbert in fourth and the only other driver to complete the full day. He is almost 22 minutes behind Bouffier.

Day three saw just four more stages, and with differences being this big little changes in the standings. Bouffier, Chardonnet maintained one-two. With Francesco Parli retiring on the final day it granted Quentin Gilbert third place. Fisher, Cronin and Campadelli were the last to complete the rally in 4^th, 5^th and 6^th respectively.

Kubica flies, Kopecky scores

Kubica flies, Kopecký scores
by Martijn Kösters


Not just any odd comeback from Kubica, he came back with style, quite some style. Winning a tourist trophy is another thing than winning in the ERC I said before, apparently Robert didn't get that message.

Although sunny weather is what you would expect from the Canary Islands, the rally was off to a wet start with rainon SS1 and foggy conditions on the second stage. Kubica wasn't halted by these conditions, with Breen "as blind as a bat" on stage two after forgetting his glasses. No major drama in the early stages of the rally, but Kubica lead by 37 seconds after just 45 kilometers of stages aided by the soft compound tyres whilst others drove on hard ones. After the first leg of three stages it was Kubica, Kopecky, Breen, Monzon and Ancian in the top 5.

Kubica continued his streak of best stage times on the next trio of stages, building on his lead continuously. Conditions did improve, but full attack was not an ideal option on damp stages. Behind the pole, Craig Breen challenged Kopecky by cutting his lead to 10.3s after stage 5. Luis Monzon dropped over 40 seconds to Jeremi Ancian on stage 5 after a puncture struck the Spaniard, handing over fourth place as a result.

The final two stages also went to Kubica, completing a clean sweep on friday of 8 stage bests. Behind him Kopecky felt the need to respond to Craig Breen's charge. Though not without risk: "We had a big moment on a long left-hander when we were braking too late and sliding 40 metres completely off the line". At the end of dayone Kubica lead Kopecky by 1m06. Breen in third 44 seconds behind the Czech. Ancian and Monzon in fourth and fifth well clear of eachother. Aigner lead production class in p6 overall.

A sign of change on day two, with Kubica not winning the first stage of the day. Kopecky gained 1.1 second on the rally leader, and was still unlikely to win the rally. Major drama arose on the following stage, when Kubica had a big shunt and terminally damaged his suspension. He was out, and Kopecky lead. Ancian was also forced to retire, running out of spare tyres and barely making the stage finish meant he couldn't continue. After ss10/14 it was Kopecky leading Breen by 1m17, with Monzon a further 1,5 minute back in 3rd. Andreas Aigner, Bonnefis and Leandri made up the top six, with Antxustegi and Robert Consani lurking at Leandri's sixth place.

Final loop of the rally saw people consolidating their podium spots at the front. Consani dropped time after a puncture on ss12 was out of the battle for sixth place, though was promoted up to seventh when Leandri ran into trouble on the penultimate stage. That joy was shortlived however, as another puncture cost him 7th and even 8th place. 

Final result saw Kopecky taking the win, comfortably ahead of Breen. Local hero Luis Monzon must have been joyed with a podium spot in third. Aigner, Bonnefis and Antxustegi made 4th 5th and 6th whilst Puskadi and Leandri completed the top 8. Kopecky leads Breen in the championship by 18 points.

ERC Preview: Stars touch down on the Canary Islands, not just for sunlight

ERC Preview: Stars touch down on the Canary Islands, not just for sunlight
by Martijn Kösters
As star studded the European Rally Championship opener was in Austria, as bleak its field was in the following Ventspils Rally in Latvia. Given, Jari Ketomaa, Craig Breen and Francois Delecour were interesting headliners in the Baltic but it did not match the likes of Kopecký, Hänninen and even Blomqvist in Austria.

Back to current times, and we have Kopecký, Breen and Oliviera on our entry list. Add to this Robert Kubica in a brand-new Citroën DS3, János Puskadi driving a Fabia S2000, Jean Leandri driving for the returning Sainteloc team, Luis Monzon in a MINI, Jeremi Ancian with backing from the Peugeot Rally Academy and we get a quite interesting fight for the points.

The rally in total encompasses a hefty 246km of timed stages packed into less than 30 hours, which means any mistake will have very costly repercussions and consistency is absolutely vital. Action starts early on the Friday with eight stages spread around the clock from before eight in the morning to half past six in the early evening with stages reaching from between 13 to 26 kilometres. Note the one hour time difference with Central Europe. Two runs of the Moya, Artenara and Tejeda stages in the morning and early afternoon with Aguimes (26km) and Ingenio completing day one in the late afternoon. After both three-stage loops there is a service of 30 minutes. Day two consists of two runs on the trio of Maspalomas, San Bartolome and Vallesco stages. As stages are equal last-minute attacks are to be expected when differences stay close at the front.

Now who to tip for the win? Kopecký has won twice in three attempts at the Canarias so far, but only just held off Bouffier in Austria in his ageing Peugeot 207. The Canary Islands being far from wintery Austria and conditions likely to be more equal this weekend, it is time for the Czech to show he's up for the job.

Yet that is exactly what Craig Breen will be thinking too. With less experience he may be, but he has certainly got the pace. Outscoring Francois Delecour in similar Peugeot material must have given him a boost, but missing out the win also would have made him more eager to go for glory. Will he keep it together?

Then there are the outsiders, Robert Kubica, Daniel Oliviera, Local Luis Monzon, Janos Puskadi, Jeremi Ancian. They all make their debut in the new-style European Rally Championship, and some of them showed great things before. Who knows what happens if either Breen or Kopecký get into trouble?

Rally Islas Canarias starts Friday morning, coverage on twitter.com/RallyandCross

New champion this year, but that doesn't mean he won't be French

New champion this year, but that doesn't mean he won't be French
by Martijn Kösters

Okay a bold statement here, 'Sebastien Ogier will be 2013 World Rally Champion'. I am convinced and you may remind me of this quote by the end of the year. But from what I have seen in the first three rallies of the year there is no way (apart from him succumbing to some injury) that anyone is going to beat him this year. He simply has got it all going for him.

First, there is the Volkswagen World Rally Team. New name for this year, but we all know they didn't come completely out of the blue. Skoda (one of VW's daughter brands) have been running S2000 cars with quite some success over the past years, not only were they fast but they were reliable too. So VW has the know-how of putting a decent engine in a more than decent car. Telltale signs were visible last year, when 'test drivers' Ogier, Andreas Mikkelsen and Kevin Abbring scoring regular WRC points in a S2000 car.

Second, the man himself. Without discrediting any of his former rivals, Ogier has been the toughest competitor Sebastien Loeb faced during his career. Perhaps he was helped by the outstanding Citroen C4 WRC of that time, but beating Loeb is quite the achievement. Facing other rivals Loeb always seemed in control, but when Ogier challenged Loeb's supremacy in 2011 by winning 5 out of 13 rallies, it made the 9-time Champion feel uneasy.

Not to play down Ogier's skill and talent, but his competitors are just not up to the job of catching him. Hirvonen finished three and a half minutes down on Ogier in last weekend's Rally Mexico, winning only two stages. Mads Ostberg has the potential to be quicker, and won four stages in Mexico. But gremlins in his Ford machinery prevented him from winning either of three rallies this season, and he now trails Ogier by 46 points. Dani Sordo had solid runs in Monaco and Mexico, but neither he can squeeze enough out of his Citroën to challenge Ogier.

Almost nobody seems to catch this guy, Loeb did beat Ogier in Monaco by a decent margin of 1m40, only to lose out to Ogier by 40s in Sweden a few weeks later. The margin to other drivers is close to or over two minutes most of the time.

Seems like the French supremacy in the WRC continues.

European Rallycross: Two halves equals nothing?

European Rallycross: Two halves equals nothing?

by Martijn Kösters

This has been bugging my mind for a while now, actually ever since the split of the European Rallycross Championship (back then the only series to be abbreviated to ERC) into the IMG European Rallycross Championship and The Rallycross Challenge. Why? Because break-ups never work out, and probably never will.

Most recent example comes from The States, Champcar and Indycar split in the 1990s and went there own way for a while. One focusing more on so called 'Road Courses', the other practiced the fine art of going counter-clockwise very fast. Yet in the end, with a little help from the financial crisis, they were forced into eachother's arms again. The United States could not hold up two major open wheel racing categories. If two similar series, in one of the biggest categories of motor racing in one of the biggest consumer markets on the planet is not achievable. Can a much smaller form of motorsport like Rallycross make a split work?

Given, despite the current financial climate the IMG championship can rely on more than decent backing. Its outlook for the coming years looks very good, with more TV coverage, and more revenue for both teams and drivers. IMG seem to have a vantage point on the horizon where they want to take Rallycross to, and so far teams and drivers are more than willing to jump the IMG-train.

In a way, something needed to happen in order to take Rallycross to the next level. Coverage was virtually non-existent except when you were in one of the Scandinavian countries and some successful drivers like Isachsen, Foust and Doran were moving to the US to compete in the Global Rallycross Championship. The GRC might not be what Europeans call Rallycross, if only for the lack of off-road driving. Tracks might have been very basic in their lay-outs as they often used pit-lanes at oval circuits combined with some (very exciting) jumps. Still, GRC did get one thing right, positioning GRC as a dessert after NASCAR-races meant the spectators were already there, and major channels like ESPN were too. It provides prime racing (great driver line-up) on a prime channel (ESPN) on a prime slot (right after NASCAR) in front of a prime audience. For 2013 GRC takes another step by hosting events in line with the X-Games in Brazil, Spain, Germany and the US.

The big question is what the future of European Rallycross will look like. Will both series survive, will only one remain or will the split lead to the complete demise of Rallycross? Virtually it is anybody's guess with no events being run yet and no feedback from drivers or spectators. Yet from what we have seen in the build-up to the 2013 season I'll have to say that the IMG Championship seems to have a very strong package. Not only in terms of resources, but also in terms of FIA backing and a driver line-up which is right up there.

The Rallycross Challenge has been cloaked in silence so far, having only released a calendar which lists planned events. The Challenge is founded on the slogan 'Rallycross the way it is meant to be' and promises accessibility for both drivers and spectators. The focus on old-school rallycross is one that appeals to a general audience, but it may be a dead-end street. In the end the teams need to pay their bills, something IMG promises to do in their Championship. Combined with the more progressive focus of IMG into new markets like Portugal, Hungary and good-old Scandinavia which the Challenge misses out on, IMG provides a commercially more appealing package.

This whole opinion might be redundant as soon when The Rallycross Challenge reveal their plans in detail, but as it stands now the IMG has everything the drivers and teams could like. And although both calendars do not interfere with each other, it seems unlikely that any team can pull off 15 Rallycross events in a year. Drivers and teams who have signed up for the IMG ERC might occasionally join the Rallycross Challenge, but I'm afraid the latter one will boast perhaps a better atmosphere, but a starting grid without any headliners.

Rally Review: FIA ERC Jänner rally

Rally Review: FIA ERC Jänner rally

New year, new championship, more action

by Martijn Kösters

The good thing about rallying is that it always starts early in the year compared to other forms of motorsport which hibernate till around March. We were used to the Rally Monte Carlo blasting into our living rooms in the third weekend of January. But the new-style European Rally Championship takes rallying to just after dessert of your Christmas dinner. Not that anyone has a problem with that.

The Jänner Rally delivered what it had promised, tricky, slippery conditions which constantly changed and made the right tyre choice absolutely vital. Rain, snow, ice, mud, gravel and dry stages, it was all thrown at the drivers.

The first loop immediately provided interesting conditions, stage 1 was run in wet conditions, suitable for wider rain tyres. But the weather changed quickly, with stage two partly icy and three full on ice, which would have required narrow or even studded tyres. Jan Kopecký suffered from a wrong tyre choice. On the wider rain tyre he was fastest on SS1, 15^th on SS2 and 14^th on SS3, but still lead somehow, as drivers on studded tyres were very slow on the opening stage. Raimund Baumschlager of Austria proved to be a tough competitor for Kopecký, as he excelled on snow and ice. Yet his excellence on the slippy stuff could not make up the time he lost on the rainy first stage.

The re-run of the morning loop later on Saturday took place in different conditions again. The cold and wet conditions of the morning stages gave way to what was described by Kopecký as a gravel rally. No ice or snow meant that drivers were free to cut corners, throwing mud and gravel on the narrow tarmac roads.

Bryan Bouffier obviously had some time to make up, starting the second set of stages in 6^th he went on for two fastest times and one second place, cutting his 40 seconds gap to the leader in half. At the top of the table Jan Kopecký battled for the lead with Baumschlager and countryman Vaclav Pech. Despite the top-5 only covered by 22 seconds after six stages, little changes were made at the top.

And just as everyone got used to “gravel” conditions, the heavens opened and the rally was run under full wet conditions, asking for another major setup change. Bouffier and Kopecký were both well set up for the conditions, sharing fastest times between them. Baumschlager made a short gamble for studs but that did not pay out. At the end of day one Kopecký and Bouffier built out some sort of a lead over the rest. The Frenchman trailed Kopecký by 20 seconds, with Baumschlager a further 18 down the road. Vaclav Pech was in fourth but well down after going off the road. Francois Delecour was also behind the leading trio after suffering a 1 minute penalty for being early in time control at stage 6.

The first leg of day two was by far not as interesting as the day before, despite Bouffier eating away Kopecký's lead not much happened as differences on the stages were small but differences in the standings were big. On top of that most drivers were well used to the wet roads, providing little surprises in stage times. Kopecký put Bouffier back to were he was by a fast SS14, restoring the 20 second lead he had prior to day two. But just as you thought everything settled down and the rally was in Kopecký's hands there is a puncture. For Kopecký, who dropped down to third, 30 seconds behind Bouffier with just three stages and in total 58 kilometers to go.

What followed was a very exciting finale, as if out of a movie. On Stage 16 out of 18 Kopecký gains just 4.7 seconds, not bad considering the stage was only 8km long. Kopecký claimed everything was possible, and he would give it all despite having no spare wheel left. The rally ended spectacularly with the 25km Bad Zell stage run twice, with service in between. On the first run Kopecký gave it his best in the pouring rain, gaining 14.4s cutting the gap to 10.6 seconds. Bouffier after the stage: 'Jan knows how to disconnect and go crazy. He was so quick, too quick.'

One stage remained, the gap a good 10 seconds, the distance 25 kilometers. Could he? Yes. Would he? Well.

Conditions were worse on the final stage, as seen in stage times which were a good 10 to 15 seconds slower. Bouffier was first to cross the line, with a 13:53.1 he was a good 11 seconds slower. Kopecký now had a time to beat: 13:42.4, 15 seconds slower than his first blast on this stage. No reason for Kopecký to hold back, he crossed the line in...13....42.......0, winning the inaugural rally of 2013 by just half a second.

What a way to start the year.

FIA ERC Jänner Rally:
1 Jan Kopecký
2 Bryan Bouffier
3 Raimund Baumschlager
4 Václav Pech
5 Beppo Harrach (Prod. Cup winner)
6 Kajetan Kajetanowicz (PC)
7 Francois Delecour
8 Jaroslav Orsak (PC)

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.

WRC: World- or Western Rally Championship?

An interesting story that came up today, it is believed that the World Rally Championship manufacturers (Citroën, Ford and Mini) have proposed a calendar for 2013 in which no Rallies will be held outside Europe and the Americas. A curious case, in many ways.

First of all, why would these car manufacturers limit the scope of publicity they get via the WRC? Teams are in there to be on TV, and find customers in markets around the world. With Asia quickly becoming the largest car market in the world, it makes no sense to leave that continent behind by not rallying there.

Also, although the teams aim to get more attention in North and South America, this is also very limited, as their desire is to have ten European rallies, together with two in South America, and one in central America (Mexico probably). The WRC would become a European Championship, which would mean it would lose prestige in the world of motorsports and would also lose interest to non-European manufacturers, as they would have nothing to celebrate in their HQs in Asia, as less people would pay attention to the rallying in Europe. Subaru and Mitsubishi would be spinning in their proverbial graves.

Ironically one source said this: "The value in the American markets is enormous and we need a calendar which will reflect that. What we need now more than ever is value in return for every Euro we spend."Why leave Asia, North America and Australia out of the picture and stick with a 80% European championship?


Second, why do the teams propose a calendar prior to the FIA? The FIA does not present a calendar till May, and will probably not change that moment after the teams proposal, which leaves the rally world and fans outside Europe in doubt for another two months, not good for a championship. The only clue we have is that FIA boss Jean Todt talked about a 50/50 championship in January, with half the races in Europe, and the other half somewhere else. Something which definitely makes more sense.

The Final point I want to make is questioning if we need so many Rallies in Europe? Comparing the WRC to, say F1 we see that Formula One has 8 out of 20 races in Europe, 40% of total seems enough and fair towards other parts of the world. It covers 5 different continents, a true world championship in which the champion can really be called best of the world. WRC plans to do 10 out of 13 rallies in Europe, and will cover 2,5 continents (Central America being debatable). With some European rounds awfully close to oneanother. France's Alsace round is held a good 20 miles from the Deutschland Rally, and the Monte Carlo Rally used to be around the corner of that other French round: the Tour de Corse, which happens to be next door to the Rally of Italy at Sardinia.

Issue for a world championship is that transport costs increase for teams if they want to cover more continents, but if that is such an issue, why does the 2012 calendar feature 'Air Miles' bonus trips such as the Rally Mexico - Portugal - Argentina trio? Two long trips to America back to Europe and to America again in six weeks does not make sense.

But let's not forget, the season is only two rallies underway now, we don't have a champion yet, and the next season will not kick off for a good 10 months. Enjoy the Rallies outside of Europe, and hope they'll be there next year too.