Welcome Back Prodrive

Our first look at Prodrive's new WRC Mini

Warwickshire, England. September 9, 2010. Prodrive, the automotive engineering gurus that took Subaru, who at the time were just a quirky Japanese car brand, and developed several of their sleepy AWD cars into legendary World Rally Cars, are back at it again.

After Prodrive’s announcement earlier this year regarding their partnership with BMW/MINI to develop the Mini for a return to the WRC circuit, rally fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting our first glimpse of the new Mini in Prodrive rally kit.

[Q] Can David Richards, and the Prodrive Group
bring the same success to Mini as they did with Subaru?
Only time will tell.

Today, as the WRC takes to the stages of Rally Japan, Prodrive released one grainy picture of their camera shy baby. The initial part of the car’s test and development programme had the engineering team driving the car over four days primarily on tarmac, but also on several kilometres of loose surfaces, at Prodrive’s low grip facility. The car is now ready to travel to Portugal for a week of testing on gravel.

“As with any totally new car, it is vital to take time to ensure all the systems are working as intended before embarking on a week long gravel test,” said David Lapworth, Prodrive technical director.

Clearly not done with the final look of the car, this first test car is running with an interim body and aero package, while design of the final World Rally Car bodywork is underway.

The next piece of the puzzle is: Who the heck will actually get to drive this latest Prodrive creation?

The Stage is Set For an Exciting Battle at the Penultimate Round of the 2010 United State Rally Championship

Making the trip over from Ireland for IRNY, Brian Sharkey [L] will  again be calling the notes for Tom Lawless; Sharkey guided Lawless to his epic victory on this same event in 2009. Picture Neil McDaid/rallyworldnews

Forestburgh, New York. September 8, 2010. Anticipation for both drivers and rally fans alike is building fast as we are only hours away from the penultimate round of the 2010 United States Rally Championship [USRC] at International Rally New York [IRNY].

The pressure on drivers and crews to perform well at IRNY is heightened as the 2010 USRC Championship is very much up for grabs. Any one of five drivers are well within reach of the AWD USRC title.

Current point’s leader and defending USRC AWD Champion Keith Jackson will not be in attendance this weekend, but he will surely be keeping a close eye on the outcome.

IRNY has again attracted a notable international entry with highly decorated Turkish Champion Volkan Isik contesting the event. Volkan had originally planned to drive a Mitsubishi Evo in the rally but some last minute issues will have him behind the wheel of an open class Subaru.

The Subaru STI that Volkan will drive is the very same car that Ramana Lagemann put on the podium several times throughout the 2010 Rally America series. Isik will be sponsored and supported by Lassa Racing Tyres.

The entry of Volkan, and his current position in the starting order, could have a significant impact on the current Eastern Division Championship contenders. Despite the fact that this is his first time at IRNY, his vast experience, along with starting first on the road [subject change at the final stewards meeting]in what most certainly will be very dusty conditions, clearly pegs him as a favorite for the victory.

Assuming Isik does drive to victory, he will take away valuable points from those who have been competing for the USRC title throughout the year.

Despite everything that Isik has going for him, he will be hard pressed by local drivers Charlie Donnelly and Tom Lawless both driving Mitsubishi Evos. Both men know the IRNY stages very well and both have tasted victory on the Rally New York stages.

Charlie Donnelly, currently listed as second on the road, is coming off a victory at the all tarmac Rally New York earlier this year. He feels strongly that this is his year to claim the AWD USRC Championship. Charlie has come painstakingly close in the past only to see the USRC title slip away in the final rounds. He needs a strong finish at IRNY to stay in the hunt heading into the final round in Prescott.

Tom Lawless, who is the IRNY reigning champion and also the 2005 USRC Champion, will surely have the bit between the teeth. Lawless faced another notable international entry last year when Finnish driver Jani Paasonen competed at IRNY. The battle between Lawless and Paasonen was epic to say the least with Lawless pulling ahead over the final few stages to claim victory.

Isik, Donnelly and Lawless will be followed by Enda McCormack and Danny O’Brien, both in the hunt for the championship and both very capable of pushing for the victory at IRNY.

Although this year’s entry at IRNY is down from prior years, fans will still enjoy a quality lineup and, for sure, some great action. IRNY will be run over 2 days with the first of 17 special stages getting underway at 10am on Friday morning at Keowa Rally Village. We will be posting images and updates throughout the weekend.

For more information on IRNY: visit: http://www.rallynewyork.com/

For more information on the USRC visit: http://www.unitedstatesrallychampionship.com/

Is Kris Meeke a Step Closer to Being a WRC driver?

Kris Meeke, pictured here in his
native Ireland, competing in the
2008 Donegal International Rally.
Photo Neil McDaid

Dungannon, Ireland. Northern Irish driver Kris Meeke could finally be on the door step of a proper WRC drive. Two of Britain’s most respected motorsports magazines, Motorsport News and Autosport, are claiming that the 31-year-old Irish driver has already signed with Prodrive/Mini for their return to the WRC in 2011.

If this deal with Mini actually goes through let’s hope that Meeke can follow in the footsteps of another Northern Irish driver that brough rally glory to the Mini brand.

Belfast man Paddy Hopkirk brought Mini one of its most memorable victories in rally when he drove his #37 Mini Copper S to victory in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.

At this point its mums the word from Meeke, as he stands fast to his commitment to the IRC and Peugeot. “My focus remains on this year and winning rallies with Peugeot,” commented Meeke

Kris and his regular co-driver, fellow Irishman Paul Nagle, are currently competing in the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC); of which Kris is the reigning champion.

But as news of Meeke’s pending deal continues to unfold over the past few days, Meeke has been in France at the Rallye Mont-Blanc taking a slight detour from the IRC.

Meeke and Nagle jumped at the chance to drive Citroen’s new DS3 R3 and, much to the delight of Citroen, the Irish crew took their new baby to its second class victory in just two outings. Meeke also collected first overall in 2WD. Stay tuned for more on these exciting developments for Meeke.

By Neil McDaid

Ford in Search of Victory Hat-Trick in Land of the Rising Sun

After winning the last two versions of Rally Japan in 2007 and 2008, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team returns to the Pacific Ocean island of Hokkaido next week intent on sealing a third consecutive win there. Rally Japan (9 - 12 September) takes the squad back to its preferred gravel roads, the team having won two of the last three loose-surface rallies with its Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.

This 10th round of the FIA World Rally championship is the last of the 2010 season to journey outside Europe and returns to the series after a year's absence. Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen climbed onto the top step of the podium in both 2007 and 2008 while team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are on form on gravel, having won in New Zealand and Finland recently.

The rally is again based in Sapporo, Japan's fifth-largest city, in the central Do-oh region of Hokkaido, the country's most northerly island. It is the biggest motorsport event
in Japan, with more

Randy Zimmer: From Track to Gravel to Track

Racing veteran Randy Zimmer is a guest contributor to Rally World News this week. Randy is the epitome of a true club racer. Here he details his journey from track to gravel and now back to track with RallyCross.

Randy Zimmer charging towards third overall in the 2WD A-final, at round one of the 2010 RallyCar/RallyCross Championship. Photo Neil McDaid/RallyWorldNews.com

Racing... God, I love it.

There's nothing else I'm any good at so I'm stuck; its race or just give up and end it all.

There were years of going to autocrosses with my older brother, keeping times and tire pressures,

working out meager strategies for him while reading about how the Bruce and Denny show

was stinking up the place in Competition Press.

Jim Clark was running Escorts down ski hills. A.J. Foyt ran the local dirt fairground in a 4-cam Ford powered sprint car.

Watkins Glen and Mosport were