Lotus Exige R-GT Rally car Debut

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

The long-awaited Lotus Exige R-GT has received its starters orders from the FIA and will make its competition debut this weekend at Round 7 of the European Rally Championship in Madeira, Portugal.

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The FIA have homologated the car ready for competition. It is the first car to pass the FIA R-GT regulations.
The car will be raced by the works Lotus International Rally Team crew of Bernardo Sousa and co-driver Corrado Mancini.
The team has been testing this all-new category car for the last five months, and recorded vital miles as the course car during last month’s Geko Ypres Rally in Belgium. Sousa will be racing the Exige in anger for the first time on home turf, being Portuguese and born in Madeira. The 25-year-old has marked himself out as being one of the most promising young drivers, having taken the S2000 class win at last year’s Jordan Rally.
The first priority in Madeira will be reliability, and further fine-tuning the car during the punishing schedule of a rally weekend.
Claudio Berro, director of Lotus Racing: “This is a very exciting week for us. It’s been a long time coming because the R-GT category is all new, and it’s taken time for the rules to be written and, in turn, the car to comply with the championship. Nonetheless, the process on our side has been smooth and the development of the car is really promising. We go to Portugal with realistic aims, primarily to work on reliability and performance, but it’s going to be great to experience competition. This is the first car to be homologated by the FIA for R-GT. The R-GT class is sure to make rallying more appealing and thrilling than ever, and the acclaimed Exige will earn a huge following I’m sure.”
Pier Liberali, Team Principal of Lotus International Rally Team: “After months in which the whole team has worked hard and very professionally, the long awaited day has finally come and it is surely a very exciting day for all of us, but that also brings us a lot of responsibilities. I am sure that the team, drivers and all the Lotus staff will, after this first rally, keep working with the same intensity of the last months to bring the car to the highest standards of competitiveness. To represent Lotus is a high honour and responsibility, I wish to thank them for the trust they have put in us and in our drivers”.
For Lotus, it’s a historic return to a sport in which the marque has appeared in the past with great success. Lotus won the World Rally Championship with the Lotus Talbot Sunbeam back in 1981.

Lotus International Rally Team

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InsideRally Raises money for Richard Burns Foundation

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

Daniel Darrall & Michelle Darrall will be Venturing to the top of Ben Nevis on 17th of August to help raise money for the Richard Burns Foundation.

the RBF is a Charity which helps sufferers of Brain Cancer & Spinal injuries set up in memory of Richard Burns. Britians last World Rally Champion who lost his battle with Brain Cancer in 2005.

please help support them by donating, either by txting ‘RBFC99 £'(and your amount) to 70070 or visit www.justgiving.com/RBF Many Thanks, and please help to spread the word. we shall keep you up-to-date with the climb ect.

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10 years of WRC with Stage1 technology

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

Stage1 Technology has provided important safety tracking for the WRC cars during the entire event – both on and off the stages – and timing to a thousandth of a second, required for all WRC special Stages for the past 10 years

The Stage 1 Technology system powers the stage results that can be seen in real time on wrc.com. The results can also be seen live on WRC apps ensuring fans across the world don’t miss a moment of the action. Without this service the WRC wouldnt run the way it does.

Stage1 have put together a special video on their Youtube channel of some of the best moments in the WRC over the past 10 years of their service. (Video below)

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Ken Blocks New Gymkhana 5

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Daniel Darrall

American Rally star Ken Block releases the next edition of his Gymhana films on youtube. – DC and Ken Block present Gymkhana FIVE: Ultimate Urban Playground; San Francisco.

Gymkhana was released on Monday. In the video he shows off his amazing driving skill aound the city and streets of San Francisco using the same Hybrid Function Hoon Viehcle (H.F.H.V) as in Gymkhana 4. The very same car which he raced at the X-Games in America just a week ago. The car is a 2ltr TurboCharged 600bhp Ford Fiesta, with a 0-60 of 1.8 seconds. Shot on the actual streets of San Francisco, California, GYM5 features a focus on fast, raw and precise driving action. Filmed over four days, director Ben Conrad and his team are back to work on their second Gymkhana production and delivered the entire city of San Francisco as Ken Block’s personal gymkhana playground. DC Shoes also provided fellow DC athlete and longtime Ken Block friend, Travis Pastrana, to make a cameo appearance on his dirtbike, and S.F. resident Jake Phelps of Thrasher Magazine fame also makes a cameo as Block hoons S.F. in his most incredible Gymkhana yet.

After just 24 hours it already has over 5 million views. Block said “I am blown away by how many people have already watched Gymkhana FIVE. 5.1 million! And I want to thank all of you for making it possible. After all, we just make the video, it’s all of you that make it viral by sharing it.”

As well as his films on youtube which has took the world by storm. He also does regular Gymkhana shows and Rally cross around the world. And as well as that he also competes in the World Rally Championships.

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