Inside Rally

M-Sport are pleased to announce a new partnership with Qatar for the 2013 edition of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) which will see the Cumbria firm run three Qatari liveried Ford Fiesta RS WRCs under the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team banner in next year’s championship.

Making their debut in the Fiesta RS WRC, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Giovanni Bernacchini will contest a seven-round programme scheduled around their other motorsport commitments. Launching their 2013 campaign at Rally Sweden in February, the duo will be looking to build upon their previous successes in the world series.
Set to do battle for a record-breaking eighth FIA Middle East Rally Championship title with M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta RRC at the end of November, the Qatari driver was instrumental in making the partnership a reality and enjoys a strong relationship with the Cumbrian firm.

Piloting the Ford Fiesta S2000 to its maiden victory at the 2010 Qatar International Rally – on the same weekend that saw Mikko Hirvonen secure victory in Monte Carlo – Al-Attiyah has a working knowledge of M-Sport’s range of Fiesta rally cars and is poised to contest what could be his best ever season in the WRC.

M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“We are delighted to welcome such a prestigious partner as Qatar on board for 2013. The partnership with Nasser [Al-Attiyah] and the Qatari State will enable M-Sport to continue at the pinnacle of the sport and we are looking forward to working together in the future. Since the 2012 season came to a close, work has not stopped and the entire team is working around the clock to ensure we deliver a strong package for next year.

Nasser Al Attiyah said:
“We are looking forward to building on our strong relationship with M-Sport and working with them in 2013. I have a good knowledge of the car having driven the [Ford] Fiesta S2000 to its debut win in 2010 and now looking to secure my eighth title in the Middle East with the [Ford] Fiesta RRC. I am really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the [Ford] Fiesta RS WRC and contesting as many WRC events as I can around my other motorsport commitments.”

Credit: M-Sport

With excitement building around M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta R5, the company is pleased to confirm that the project is nearing completion. With the all-new Fiesta due for public unveiling in January, M-Sport is seeing considerable interest with the first saleable model due to roll out of the workshop in April.

Despite harnessing the same expertise that launched the current crop of globally successful Ford Fiesta rally cars, the Fiesta R5 is in effect a completely new model. With 90 per cent of the Fiesta R5 differing from its RRC and RS WRC counterparts, the latest addition to Ford’s ‘Ladder of Opportunity’ will include a new transmission developed in conjunction with Sadev and a new engine – with a 32mm restrictor – developed in-house by M-Sport’s engineers.

Based on the 1.6 turbo Ford Fiesta ST road car, the Fiesta R5 will also boast a newly developed roll cage, fuel tank and electronics, not to mention a revised aero package to comply with R5 regulations. In an aim to reduce costs for the customer, the car has been designed with ease of use in mind and M-Sport has developed a new generation of rally car which can be easily managed and maintained by teams around the globe.

The Fiesta R5 provides the perfect transition from 2WD to 4WD competition and is the ideal model for those competitors who are keen to progress. With deposits already being placed for the first batch of Fiesta R5s, those wishing to receive more information should register their interest with M-Sport’s Customer Liaison Manager, Richard Millener ( rmillener@m-sport.co.uk).

M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“Our engineering department is working flat-out developing the [Ford] Fiesta R5 and the first car is due to be tested in the coming weeks. We have had a lot of interest in this model and it is set to be one of the most popular rally cars in the Fiesta family. Needless to say we are all looking forward to launching the [Fiesta] R5 in January.”

Credit: M-Sport

Having driven for the Brand between 2005 and 2010, Dani Sordo has spent the majority of his WRC career with Citroën Racing. Alongside co-driver Carlos del Barrio, the 29 year-old Spaniard is set to rejoin the Citroën Total World Rally Team to compete in the 2013 World Rally Championship.

Dani Sordo has driven a Citroën in 80 of his 98 WRC rallies. Back in 2005, Yves Matton, the then Customer Racing Manager, entrusted a C2 Super 1600 to the Cantabria-born driver to take part in the J-WRC (Junior World Championship). After winning the title in his first season, Dani moved up a level by switching to the Xsara WRC for 2006.

With four podium finishes in his first season at the sport’s highest level, Dani earned his place in the Citroën Total World Rally Team when the works team returned to the World Championship with the C4 WRC. The next four years saw him rack up an impressive collection of 25 podium finishes, making a significant contribution to the team securing four Manufacturers’ World Championship titles.

2013 will therefore see the Spanish driver return to the team in which he grew up. “We took our time in assessing the potential of the drivers available to line up alongside Mikko Hirvonen next season. Obviously, Dani was very high on our shortlist and his performances at the Rally de Espana proved that he can still perform at the very highest level,” explained Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal. “Dani is very well liked in the team and it’s a pleasure for everyone to see him return to the ‘family’. His profile complements Mikko’s in many aspects and it was important for Citroën to have a Latin driver for the Southern Europe and Latin American markets.”

“Obviously, I’m very pleased to rejoin a team with which I share so many good memories. This was my no.1 choice for 2013,” asserted Dani. “The last few years have been good for me. In another team, I got to grips with different working methods and I took on more responsibility in the car development process. I see this return to Citroën as a great opportunity. I am still looking for my first win in WRC and I am determined to secure it next season! I can’t wait to see the people I know again and get back behind the wheel of the DS3 WRC, in which I did some testing at the end of 2010.”

Credit: Citroen Racing

Sebastien Loeb won his last WRC rally as a championship competitor in Spain last weekend. The 9 times champion, finishing the 2012 season on a high.

Photo:D.Darrall

It was a tough event with many drivers on Day 1 suffering from condtions and struggling to stay on the road. After the first 4km stage on Friday, Fords Jari-Matti Latvala had the lead. On the following stage many of the front runners went off in tricky, wet and muddy conditions, the likes of Petter Solberg, Neuville and Mikklesen or off in the same place after hitting a rock in a dip, and damaging the car. It was young M-Sport driver Ott Tanak who then held the lead as more top names fell off the road and into retirement. But after an impressive and storming performance in undriveble conditions, it was Norweigen Privateer Mads Ostberg that held the lead by the end of day 1.

After the tough conditions on the Gravel stages of Day 1, it was now on to the Tarmac of day 2. The teams and their mechanics had a 45minute ‘Flexi-service’ to change the set-up, brakes, suspension and gear box to Tarmac spec. The cars now lower, stiffer and ready for racing on the race circuit like Spanish mountain roads. Loeb may not have been comfortable enough to push on day 1, but he was picking up his rhythm enough to put pressure on Ostberg. Ostberg may have been the driver of the rally on day 1, but day 2 was all about Latvala and Loeb. On the first stage latvala was quick out the box in attempt to try and make up time on loeb. On the 2nd stage of the Day, Mads made a mistake and went off the road, and dropped nearly 40 seconds and lost the lead, the Norwegian wasnt happy on the black stuff and made several more mistakes in the day. Loeb was now in front and Ostberg was down in 3rd with 4th place Hirvonen closing in on him. Once Loeb was in front and could smell the victory, he upped his pace and opened up the gap. The 9 times champion ended the day with a 27 second lead over Latvala.

Photo:D.Darrall

Day 3, the final day of Rally Spain. Jari-Matti Latvala set out to do what he could to catch Loeb. On the first stage of the morning though, it was Mini’s Dani sordo who was lighting up the timing screens on his home event he wanted to prove that, despite retiring on day 1 he still had the pace to match the top boys.The Spaniard went on to be fastest on all 3 of the mornings stages. In the afternoon loop, Latvala managed to pick up his pace more and continued to take time out of the world champion at the top. Also going fastest on the penultimate stage of the rally, used as the power stage to claim 3 bonus points. Latvala had closed up to within 9.1 seconds of the leader with just a 4km final stage to go. Latvala pushed hard, and in them 4km managed to take out 2.1 seconds out of the leader. But unfortunately ran out of milage to catch him.