Wales Rally GB future, a clearer view on what’s going on

Wales Rally GB is in jeopardy and the official WRC website hasn’t even reported on it yet.

All the other stories out there are cram packed full of way too much information and I don’t know about you but I’m confused!

So here’s Remote:Service’s understanding on the matter.

As I’m sure it did for you it came as a bit of a shock for me when last week the Welsh Assembly Government announced it was to end it’s £2.2million a year sponsorship for Wales Rally GB…..but when I thought about it a bit more, although it is unfair, it does kind of make sense.

We all know that the FIA have implemented this daft rotational system – some rallies are in the calendar, some rallies are out and this means that WRGB doens’t have official WRC status in 2010.

In 2006 when the Welsh Assembly agreed to support WRGB until 2011 this rotational system wasn’t in place. Every WRGB until 2011 had WRC status but that is no longer the case so surely they have every right to pull the plug.

I’m no solicitor but surely this denotes a bit of a change in the original contract – an event minus WRC status isn’t the type of event the Welsh Assembly agreed to sponsor is it?

As I mentioned in last week’s Rally Round-up the chief excutive of the company which runs WRGB, International Motor Sports Ltd’s Andrew Coe is now planning to sue the Welsh Assembly Government for breach of contract when surely he should be taking the matter up with the FIA.

The funny thing is the 2010 calendar hasn’t even been finalised yet and won’t be until it’s approved by the World Motor Sports Council later this year – WRGB might still play a part in 2010!

As I said I’m far from being a solicitor and I don’t know the ins and outs of this contract so Remote:Service is not taking any sides….I just think it’s important that fans are kept in the loop about what’s going on with one of the most popular events in the series.

It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

Rally round-up 13th April to 19th April

• The future of this year’s Wales Rally GB is in doubt after the Welsh Assembly Government withdrew it’s £2.2million a year funding. WRGB is not an actual WRC event in 2010 and the government told the BBC the rally without WRC status was not the type of event it was willing to sponsor. The contract was due to last until 2011 and WRGB Chief Organiser and Chief Executive of International Motor Sports ltd Andrew Coe now plans to sue for breach of contract.
• With just a few days until Rally Argentina the countdown has begun. The entry list list boasts 59 registered crews but only ten of these are World Rally Championship cars, a poor showing. See here for more details.
• J-WRC driver Michal Kosciuszko is heading to Argentina looking to move into the lead of the championship. He’s going into the event level on points with Martin Prokop but only three cars have been entered in the J-WRC category so it shouldn’t be too hard a task for him….Three cars, I know, how pants is that?
• Details of Rally Russia, the fifth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge have been revealed over on Crash.net. The event is due to take place between the 9-11 July and stages are already being prepared. Last year some drivers complained stages were too demanding on cars so organisers are clearly getting ready early this time.
• Somehow Conrad Rautenbach has landed a drive in the French PH Sport operations. Crash.net have reported that the former African champion who now drives for the Citroen Junior Team will compete in the IRC Sata Rally Acores next month. Driving a Peugeot 207 this will be his IRC debut and the first time he has driven a S2000 car competitively. Conrad’s plan is to gain experience of S2000 machinary, well, we all know that will depends on how long he can keep the car on the road and past results how he’s not that good at that at all.
• Fans on Rallyforum are voicing concern over the future of the Tour de Course, one of the most famous rounds on the WRC calendar. The reports aren’t confirmed yet but like the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire.

Weekly round-up 6th March to 12th March

• The Race of Champions organisers have dropped Wembley Stadium as the venue of the end of season all-star event. Organisers have apparently got five different proposals to choose from and will announce their decision in the next few weeks.
• Dani Sordo has been testing Citroen’s C4 WRC HYbrid4 in Portugal this week. It was the first time the car has had a proper asphalt test on competitive roads. The car features different modes; an Internal Combustion mode, where the car behaves exactly like one of Citroen’s regular petrol C4 WRCs, Electric mode which is used on road sections and in service parks, by engaging a 125kW electric motor the wheel wheels are only given drive to quieten the car down. Finally there is a Boost mode which uses both the petrol engine and the electric motor to give an extra 300 Nm of torque.

Sounds like a dream rally car but in today’s world of WRC the likelihood of these cars ever running competitively is next to none if Max Mosley and his ‘brilliant’ money saving ideas are anything to go by.

• According to Eurosport Petter has been testing a Grande Punto S2000 this week. Apparently Petter took part in the Abarth team test “with a view to participating in a few international rallies”. Eurosport seem to think that the “international rallies” Abarth, who are active in the IRC, referred to in their press release might indicate a possible Petter Solberg participation in an IRC event this year. – I’ll believe it when I see it, maybe he’s just working through his options for next year.

Rally round-up 30th March to 5th April

• Michal Kosciuszko kept his Suzuki Swift S1600 out of trouble and finished first in the Rally Portugal JWRC class. Finishing over six minutes ahead of his nearest rival he’s now level with championship leader Martin Prokop in the standings.
• There was a record number of Norwegians in the Rally Portugal top ten, with Petter finishing 4th, Henning finishing 5th and Mads finishing 6th.
• Matt Wilson actually retired! He rolled it on SS17 and then burnt out the clutch, does this mean he was actually pushing it for once?
• Petter Solberg has revealed he turned down an offer to drive for Courage-Oreca team in 2009 Le Mans Sports Car Series, including the Le Mans 24 hour race. He wanted to give priority to the WRC.
• After taking the first four rallies of the season Sebastien Loeb thinks he can win all the remaining rallies but is still concentrating on keeping his crown.

Championship standings

													Total
1.	S. LOEB	10	10	10	10									40
2.	M. HIRVONEN	6	8	8	8									30
3.	D. SORDO	8	4	5	6									23
4.	P. SOLBERG	-	3	6	5									14
5.	H. SOLBERG	5	5	0	4									14
6.	M. WILSON	2	2	4										8
7.	J-M LATVALA	0	6	0										6
8.	C. ATKINSON	4	-	-										4
9.	F. VILLAGRA	-	-	2	2									4
10.	S. OGIER	3	0	R										3

Weekly round-up 23rd March to 29th March

• Marcus Gronholm is hoping to do ‘something good’ but says it will be impossible for him to win his WRC comeback rally in Portugal next week. He completed a 200km, two day test in Spain to sort out the set up of his car and finalise differential and suspension settings – I don’t think anyone cares where he finishes, the majority of fans just seem to be happy that a bit of the old Marcus magic will be back on the stages.

• Two-time BRC champ Guy Wilks is planning to progress to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Guy’s been linked with Mellors Elliot MS Team, the company responsible for Proton’s Satria Neo Super 2000. He completed a test with the team last month and was ‘very impressed’ with the car – Finally, things seem to be looking up for the Brit.

• The Vodafone Rally de Portugal is next weekend and is the first pure gravel rally of the season. Six consecutive loose surface events follow so the result of this event will be a key indicator of what’s to come.

Weekly round-up 16th March to 22nd March

• Rally Portugal boasts the biggest entry list of the championship to date……..75 crews are set to take part, exciting news for fans.
• Prodrive has revealed the Impreza WRC2008 that will be used by Marcus Gronholm on Rally Portugal. It’s very white, looks a bit like a Ford kitcar and it’s very bare.
• Petter Solberg hasn’t had much time to celebrate since his podium position on Rally Cyprus – Hollywood seems to be showing his age and isn’t the party animal we once knew. As soon as he got back home to Monaco he went straight to bed feeling rather unwell and hasn’t left it since! Too much excitement to handle!

Weekly round-up 9th March – 15th March

It’s all about Cyprus this week…..

• Hirvonen finished Cyrpus in second place to Loeb. Bad times you may say but he finished a respectable 27 secs behind Loeb. You may think this is far from respectable but considering on the last Cyprus he finished a whole 5mins behind Loeb it’s quite decent.
• The Munchis team had a solid start to their slightly delayed season opener with Federico Villagra finishing in 7th place.
• Sebastien Ogier, bless him, was on course for a fantastic 5th place, that was until he crashed out 200m before the finishing line.
• Czech Republic’s Martin Prokop moved into the lead of the JWRC after winning his class.
• Patrik Sandell took his second win from two starts with the Red Bull Rally Team, extending his lead in the PWRC in the process.
• A bit of un-Cyrpiot news now – Sebastien Loeb has hit out at the proposed changes to the WRC saying that the most important thing is to put the security of the series first in the current economic climate. I know he’s said he would be far from keen to be involved in the sport if Super2000s are introduced but he must have had a bit of a rethink and has now said he’ll remain loyal to the sport whatever happens -All you Loeb haters out there, it seems you’ll have to put up with him for a bit longer yet.

Latest WRC standings

														Total
1.	S. LOEB	10	10	10										30
2.	M. HIRVONEN	6	8	8										22
3.	D. SORDO	8	4	5										17
4.	H. SOLBERG	5	5	0										10
5.	P. SOLBERG	-	3	6										9
6.	M. WILSON	2	2	4										8
7.	J-M LATVALA	0	6	0										6
8.	C. ATKINSON	4	-	-										4
9.	S. OGIER	3	0	R										3
10.	C. RAUTENBACH	0	R	3

Weekly round-up March 2nd – March 8th

Again, there’s hardly been any news this week, it’s all very quiet on the World scene which is a bit worrying so I’ll give you a bit of good news beginning with the IRC……

• Kris Meeke stormed to a brilliant victory on the Curitiba Rally in Brazil, the second round of the IRC championship. He took all the stage wins on day one and managed to hang on to his advantage on the final day. It may not be WRC but this boy certainly deserves to be there and he’s just proved it with this win.

Current IRC Standings:

1. Freddy Loix 13 FREDDY’S BACK!!

2. Sebastien Ogier 10

3. Giandomenico Basso 10

4. Kris Meeke 10

5. Nicholas Vouilloz 8

• WRC boys head to Rally Cyprus this week for the very first mixed surface (gravel/asphalt) event since Sanremo in 1996. Loeb’s already had a good moan about it and Petter has said it’s a bit unfair for all the ‘privateers’ out there who can’t afford to carry around spare parts like the manufacturers. It remains to be seen how both the drivers and cars will fair but it will definitely be one of the most exciting events of the year.

• Five time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan has joined the board of directors on Rally Australia 2009. I’m not entirely sure who he is having been only about ten when he retired but I’m sure he’ll do a fine job.

Weekly round-up 23rd Feb – 1st March

Not much has really been going on this week so there’s little to report.

• Munchi’s have finally confirmed its entry in this year’s championship. They’ll take part in eight events and Federico Villagra and Jorge Perez Companc will be the registered crew but could be joined by other drivers on a round by round basis.
• The FIA is expected to announce new plans for turbo-free technical regulations for future versions of WRC cars. Oh yes the end is near. The FIA has the final say on the spec of the next generation of WRC cars and it’s believed the Max Mosley and co are likely to give the go-ahead for the Super 2000 based vehicle on 17 March.

All smiles

One thing I have noticed of late in the WRC is a slight change in our top man.

I have never been Loeb’s number one fan, I leave that fascination to my mother. The one thing, other than his constant domination, that put me off was the fact that he never seemed to be enjoying himself. There were never any smiles for the camera at the end of a stage and never any explosions of joy when he took a rally win – we had no glimpse into the real Loeb and I’m sorry to say it Monsieur Loeb but what came across was just boring.

These comments are coming from a Petter Solberg fan, the ultimate master of the rally celebration, but it always seemed to me that Loeb wasn’t really that appreciative of what he had achieved and that annoyed me.

smile for the camera....

enjoy that stage Sebastien?

looking like he's going to burst into tears, oh dear

Watching the highlights of Rally Norway journalists seemed to be interviewing a very different person for Loeb was engaging with the interviewer and buzzing with excitement from the competition between himself and Hirvonen. He was actually smiling, yes SMILING, showing teeth and laughing and everything, it was great! The iceman has finally melted!

Now he’s driving the stages like a real rally driver rather than a circuit racer on the way to the shops, he is clearly relishing the prospect of actually having some competition for once rather than just having a private battle with the clock and the record books.