Wrc:

[DEEJAY.B]

WRC:
Solberg to test for
Ford this week

Petter Solberg will test a Ford Fiesta RS WRC for the first time on Thursday with a view to joining the team as its second driver in 2012

 

[DC.]

it's either Ford or nothing for Petter in 2012.

tail end of 2011 was a struggle, fair play to the guy for doing 2 full seasons on his own.

 

[svensktoppen]

Hope he gets a ride, he does deserve one.

 

[DC.]

could see him having to bring in some sponsorship, heard a rumour that Abu Dhadi were scaling back their sponsorship with Ford.

it's like F1: if you've got money you could can get a car.

 

[DC.]

early Christmas present for rally fans:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96752

 

[Graham]

Great news

 

[davecoupe]

Petter and Chris in a factory drive.....great to hear.

 

[DC.]

Ford no longer sponsored by Abu Dhabi tourism thing.

new car has just Castol Edge logo on it

http://www.m-sport.co.uk/index.php/...ion-with-new-two-year-agreement-with-m-sport-

 

[Graham]

I think they done very well out of Abu Dhabi for the number of years they pumped millions into M Sport lol

 

[D4LY]

wrc wouldnt be the same without petter

 

[soupz]

I know its not all about looks, but that does look a heck of alot better. It always looked way too busy, far too many colours, which annoyed me because Ford is probably my favourite motorsport company. I'll finally be able to get a nice diecast model to drool over

 

[DC.]

loving the new Polo WRC to be honest!

 

[Graham]

FORD EXTENDS WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP PARTICIPATION WITH NEW TWO-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH M-SPORT

Ford of Europe continues its World Rally Championship programme for 2012 and 2013

• Company signs new two-year agreement with British-based M-Sport, Ford’s long-term rally partner
• Jari-Matti Latvala confirmed as lead driver in Fiesta RS World Rally Car
• Former world champion Petter Solberg joins the team as second driver.

Brentwood, Dec. 15 2011 – Ford of Europe announced today it is extending its participation in the FIA World Rally Championship into 2012 and 2013.

Long-term partner M-Sport, the British-based preparation company, which has successfully operated Ford’s WRC activities since 1997, will continue to operate the programme from its state-of-the-art facilities at Dovenby Hall in north-west England.

The Fiesta RS World Rally Car will continue as Ford’s WRC flagship in 2012 and 2013. The car, based on the successful Fiesta road car, claimed a clean sweep of the podium in both the first and final rounds of its debut season this year.
Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila, who topped the world rankings for special stage victories in 2011 and won the final round of the championship in Britain last month, are confirmed as team leaders for 2012.

They will be partnered by former world champion Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson, who have signed a one-year agreement to drive the team’s second Fiesta RS WRC in all 13 rounds. The experienced Solberg won the world title in 2003 and the 37-year-old Norwegian has 13 world rally wins to his name. It will be his second stint with Ford, having launched his world rally career with the team in 1999.

The squad will be named Ford World Rally Team and will retain support from long-term partner Castrol for both 2012 and 2013.

Ford has a long and successful heritage in rallying. It is second in the all-time wins list with 79 world rally victories and its run of 145 consecutive points finishes, dating back to the opening round of the 2002 championship, is the longest in the sport’s history.

Ford of Europe chairman and CEO Stephen Odell highlighted the strong will of all parties to continue in the WRC.
“Ford has a rich history in world rallying and we’re excited to continue fighting for titles on the world stage with our great partners at M-Sport,” said Odell. “WRC is a great fit with the Ford brand DNA of precise handling, fun-to-drive cars with leading technology and we’ll continue to leverage rallying to inspire innovation in future vehicles and reach new audiences.”

Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe’s senior manager for motorsport, emphasised what WRC competition means to Ford.
“The WRC is motorsport’s toughest competition for production-based cars,” he said. Through WRC, we can convey the attributes of our road vehicles and send a clear message to our customers and fans about Ford’s passion and expertise.

“We feel that the timing for our announcement is right. We had to be confident about the stability of the championship and to ensure it continues to provide great value and increased exposure globally. We discussed it with our stakeholders and after receiving such assurances we look forward to focusing on competition once again,” said Quinn.

“We have a great team with M-Sport and its leader, Malcolm Wilson, and in Jari-Matti Latvala we have one of motorsport’s rising stars. Already regarded by many as the fastest driver in WRC, this year he showed consistency and expertise on all surfaces. We believe he will flourish in his new role as Ford’s team leader, and look forward to seeing his pace light up the special stages around the world.

“The addition of Petter Solberg to the team brings one of the sport’s most experienced and flamboyant drivers back to the team where he started his top-level career. A drivers’ world title and 13 world rally victories are testament to his abilities and his vast experience will be a great asset to our line-up,” added Quinn.

Wilson, M-Sport managing director and team director, said the new deal was a vote of confidence in his company.

“The performance of the Fiesta RS WRC in 2011 was strong on all surfaces and I’m genuinely excited about what we can achieve in the future,” he said. “We want to challenge for world titles and I have no doubts that our car and driver combination, allied to the infrastructure and expertise of our staff at Dovenby Hall, will allow us to do that.”

M-Sport recently completed its ladder of opportunity, adding a first rung to complete a structured path to take young and talented rally drivers from the grass-roots to the top level in Ford Fiestas. From the entry-level MS1 car, drivers can progress via the increasingly more powerful R2, S2000 and Regional Rally Car models to the top-billing World Rally Car.

“Ford has five different Fiesta models in which drivers with potential can graduate from entry level to the WRC. This ladder is the breeding ground of Ford’s future stars, and in the next seasons we will see drivers with ability climb it and begin to emerge at the top,” he added.

 

[Cess]

So Abu Dhabi have pulled their sponsorship.

 

[Graham]

Video:

 

[DC.]

wonderful video. watched it a few times via twitter.

not lacking commitment anyway

 

[RComms]

Well, the fiasco that is the WRC has started up again today, with the first day of the Monte. The whole North One saga is abit of a disaster all in all, but it appears that Eurosport has picked up the rights to cover monte carlo, with possibly a longer term deal in place. What this seems to mean, is that wrc.com isn't being updated anymore, and the nightly coverage of monte carlo is now on Eurosport (10.30 this evening i believe). Also there is live timing through eurosport:

http://uk.yahoo.eurosport.com/rally/rally-monte-carlo/2012/live_mtc384665.shtml

Jarri Matti seems to be leading the way after 2 stages.

 

[Cess]

Was going to start a Monte thread last night, but never got round to it. Craig Breen going well at the mo

 

[davecoupe]

As much as I dislike the current WRC setup with the lack of cars etc and the coverage debacle on top of that..........Im glad to hear that Eurosport managed to pick it up because the Monte is still the one rally worth getting excited about.

Petter sitting 3rd too

Boland 17 mins down

 

[DC.]

Boland's turbo blew on stage 1 I believe.

Ogier on a mission in the Škodoa S2000.

Sordo hit a bridge in SS2. hope both Ford's make the podium!

 

[DEEJAY.B]

Most people have access to Eurosport ,its even on freeveiw , so the change in
coverage can only increase the veiwing figures imo . This is a cracking start
to the 2012 WRC season . .only thing wrong is no Kris Meeke in the Mini !

Leading positions after SS2:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford 45m54.4s
2. Sebastien Loeb Citroen + 30.5s
3. Petter Solberg Ford + 40.8s
4. Dani Sordo Mini + 44.1s
5. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 1m04.0s
6. Sebastien Ogier VW Skoda + 1m10.9s
7. Evgeny Novikov M-Sport Ford + 1m17.1s
8. Mathieu Arzeno Sainteloc Peugeot + 1m35.7s
9. Francois Delecour M-Sport Ford + 1m49.3s
10. Pierre Campana Mini + 2m11.0s

 

[DC.]

it's a crime that Matt Wilson has a drive and Kris Meeke doesn't.

 

[davecoupe]

The irally app is reporting that Jari-Matti took 59 seconds out of loeb on SS2 because he had one studded tyre on the front and one studded tyre on the rear.....thats a bit of a mad combo

it's a crime that Matt Wilson has a drive and Kris Meeke doesn't.

Its a crime that Matt Wilson has a WRC drive and my Ma doesnt, she is twice as committed in a diesel 4-door megane. At least Henning Solberg is a bit of craic and has a bit of commitment, Matt has the personality of a wooden door

 

[pinto200]

it's a crime that Matt Wilson has a drive and Kris Meeke doesn't.

Spot on. Can't understand who backs wilson, suppose he has a full season of total mediocrity planned for this year. It's not as if he can argue that he's inexperienced, he must be at it about 10 years at this level. Waste of a seat.

 

[cormac81]

Coverage is on tonight at 10pm on eurosport.