WRC 2011 Preview – Rally Mexico

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Daniel Darrall

 After the snow- and ice-coated forest blasts that formed the backdrop to the WRC-season opener in Sweden, Round 2 kicks of on the slippery high altitude, gravel stages and hot ambient temperatures of Mexico.  

 
 

Photo: D.Darrall

The Mexican gravel event located in Leon, 400 kilometres north-west of the capital Mexico City, features 22 stages that climb to more than 2700 metres above sea level, making it the highest event on the 13-round WRC calendar. Because of the high altitude and thin air, the cars engines can loose around 60hp, the crews will tackle a total competitive distance of 364.87 kilometres.

 

Rally Mexico will kick of with a unique Stage 1, which will go through the streets of Guanajuato. The first part of the stage will go under ground, on Cobbles under the city. With big curb stones to catch out the unwary.

Checkout WRC Commentator, Colin Clarks video of his (attempted) recce drive of the street stage.

Friday and Saturday follow a similar pattern, with three repeated gravel tests and three asphalt sprints. Saturday is the longest day of the rally with 158.65 kilometres of stage action awaiting the competitors. Sunday’s final day features just three tests, including the Guanajuato Power Stage, an 8.28-kilometre course that will be broadcast live on television around the world.

After the excitement of the Swedish snow, This will be the first time we shall be able to compare the cars on gravel, although its still a unique event due to the high altitudes. Having won Mexico the last four occasions, Sebastien Loeb has to be the favourite for this event in his Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 WRC, and will be 6th on the road. Mikko Hirvonen starts the event with a seven-point title lead after his win in Sweden, but will struggle being first on the road a sweeping a clear line for the rest. team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala will be 3rd on the road.Sebastien Ogier returns to Mexico, which made for his World Rally Championship debut in 2008, confident that he can produce a strong result at the wheel of his Citroen DS3 WRC.

Petter Solberg will also be at the wheel of a Citroen DS3 in Mexico. A former winner of the rally, the Norwegian will be looking to build on his strong start to the season in Sweden. Solberg did some gravel running during a test in France earlier this week, but still lacks seat time in his new car. Much of the attention will be on Mads Ostberg. The hero of Rally Sweden following his second-placed finish, and will be 2nd on the road.

Also driving for the M-Sport Stobart Ford team will be Briton Matthew Wilson and Norwegian Henning Solberg, who are regulars in Mexico and are likely to be among the points-paying positions at the finish. Both drivers endured troubled outings in Sweden.

Making a return to the sport is Evgeny Novikov, who begins his 6 event campaign in an M-Sport Fiesta but has never competed in Mexico before. Novikov has endured a one-year absence from the WRC but his return is much anticipated by observers who rank him as a future star. The 20-year-old won’t get to sample his Fiesta until shakedown. Joining him in the Fiesta’s are American Ken Block and Dutchman Dennis Kuipers. Kuipers starts the event on a high after scoring manufacturer championship points for the FERM Powertools World Rally Team on its debut. Block drove a World Rally Car in competition for the first time in Mexico last year and impressed. That appearance was in the old-generation Focus WRC and the Monster World Rally Team ace has already commented on his preference for the new Fiesta. Ken Block was 10th overall before breaking his suspension on last years event. Kimi Raikkonen also retired last year after a roll and hasn’t included in this year’s rally in his 10-event schedule.

Photo: D.Darrall

You can keep up to date with the day to days action, and news here at Inside Rallying. To keep up with all the live action, stage times and Splits as they happen, visit WRC.com

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Dan’s WRC blog – Out with the old, in with the new

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Daniel Darrall

What a start we had to one of the most anticipated seasons for Many years. Round one certainly didn’t let us down. The excitement surrounding the new generation of cars kept up throughout the weekend. And if anything, has grown more before the start of round 2, in the high mountain roads of Mexico. 

Photo: D. Darrall

The reason is simple. Out with the old, and in with the new. Completely new cars made for a level playing field, which meant we saw the talent from further down getting the results they deserve. If only the FIA could freeze the regs for development now so every round would be as exciting. And I think, that is part of the problem we have in all motorsports, the manufacture teams throw too much money into their works cars and don’t give younger or privateer drivers the chance to show what they can do. Resulting in the same drivers winning again and again.

But now, It’s not just the old cars that are being replaced. Now that the younger drivers have more of a chance to show their skill’s as Mads did in Sweden, the next generation of drivers shall start coming through too. With the lack of seats avaliable in WRC the only way would be replacing the now older generation of drivers that we have seen for the past 10 years or so. We can already see this ‘generation replacement’ within Citroen, with Ogier taking on the master, the master who said if he has to drop to number 2 in the team he won’t want to drive anymore. And let’s not forget Dani Sordo getting pushed aside to make room for the younger Frenchman. 

Photo: D.Darrall

Of course Dani has managed to find a seat in the Mini along with Kris Meeke, but the current drivers are closer to the end of their career than the beginning. Many have had their time in Champaign glory. And with the new WRC academy bringing in the new younger drivers, it won’t be long before the next generation push through to the top. By the time we get new manufactures committing to the sport, the younger generation will be ready to jump in and try to dominate. We already have a new Loeb, but who will be the new Solberg? Only time will tell…

As Mexico awaits, 2011 is the beginning of a new generation of both cars and drivers. Out with the old, and in with the new.

Photo: D.Darrall

Daniel Darrall

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Mini confirms WRC debut

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Daniel Darrall
 

MINI WRC team has unveiled its Mini John Cooper Works WRC at the Geneva Motor Show in its S2000 form and has confirmed that it will contest six rounds of this year’s world championship starting from Rally d’Italia Sardegna in May.

 

 

Photo: Mini Motorsport

 

At the Geneva Motorshow, the MINI WRC Team, run by the British Prodrive organisation, announced that its drivers Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo will contest 6 rounds of this year’s World Rally Championship. They will compete at Rally d’Italia Sardegna, Rally Finland, Rally Germany, Rally France, Rally Spain and Rally GB
 

 

 

Photo: D.Darrall

 

 

Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland on Tuesday, Dr Wolfgang Armbrecht, MINI’s senior vice president of brand management, said: “Our colleagues in England continue to oversee the development of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. When you add the turbocharged MINI engine and the BMW Group’s expertise in the world of [motorsport] to the mix, you can see we have an exceptional blend of attributes which will take us quickly to the next stage. The car’s technical make-up and driving characteristics make it the perfect fit for rallying. Entering the WRC takes MINI back to its rally roots and brings this heritage right up to date.”

Photo: Mini Motorsport

 

Before Sardinia, MINI will be represented on the world stage by Armindo Araujo and Daniel Oliveira, who will use a pair of Super 2000-specification MINI John Cooper Works on Vodafone Rally de Portugal at the end of March. Both drivers are due to continue their campaigns on the Jordan Rally in April before switching to the higher-specification WRC version from Sardinia onwards.

Photo: Mini motorsport

 

 

MINI is planning further tests of its John Cooper Works WRC prior to the car’s official launch at its UK manufacturing plan in Cowley, Oxfordshire on 11 April.

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Ford prepare to beat Mexican thin air

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Daniel Darrall

For Many years the high altitude event in Mexico has hampered Ford’s old Focus RS WR cars, but after special laboratory testing of their 1.6 litre turbo engines, they’re hoping to be able to battle with their rivals in the thin air of Guanajuato.

By D.Darrall

By D.Darrall

  

The Mexican gravel event located in Leon, 400 kilometres north-west of the capital Mexico City, features stages that climb to more than 2700 metres above sea level, making it the highest event on the 13-round WRC calendar. Because of the high altitude and thin air, the cars engines can loose around 60hp, and is something that Ford have regularly struggled with the old Focus RS in the past.

To try and avoid the problem with the new Fiesta RS, the team spent two days in the Environmental Testing Laboratory at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre where it was able to run the engines of its Ford Fiesta RS WRCs at altitudes encountered in Mexico. During Ford’s pre-event test in Portugal, the team’s engineers also replicated the predicted power levels they will experience in Mexico to help its drivers gauge different braking points.Jari-Matti Latvala’s rally engineer, Tim Jackson explained to WRC.com “Altitude is a major challenge in Mexico and we know the engines will be down on power compared to Sweden,”

Ford also hopes its switch to a six-speed gearbox with its Fiesta, having relied on a five-speed for its previous Focus model, will also aid its cause in Mexico.

“The torque of the old [2.0-litre] engine was a lot flatter so if you were ever in the wrong gear coming out of a corner you could get away with it,” said Jackson. “With the high-revving engine and a six-speed gearbox we can use the optimum power of the engine all of the time, which is particularly important in the altitude.”

As well running the new 1.6 litre World Rally Cars at high altitude for the first time, Ford and their rival Citroen will also be putting their cars through their paces in high temperatures in Mexico, which impose greater stresses on the cars engines, transmissions and tyres, as well as the drivers and co-drivers, who will endure higher temperatures in the cockpit throughout the weekend.

“When there is less air it’s more difficult to refresh the brakes, cooling systems and engines, which suffer more when you have hot weather,” said Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, Citroen’s technical manager. “It’s a big challenge.”

By D.Darrall

 

Souce: iRally

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