Kris Meeke confirmed for Mini WRC in 2011/2012

The Mini WRC, based on the Countryman and run by Banbury-based preparation firm Prodrive, was officially launched at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday where it was also confirmed that reigning IRC champion Meeke, 31, would be behind the wheel in its debut season.

The 2011 World Rally Championship will see the Mini WRC contesting six of 13 scheduled rounds, with Mini competing in the full 2012 season.

"The response to our announcement that Mini will return to the world of rallying next year was very positive,” said Ian Robertson, BMW AG board member responsible for sales and marketing.

"The FIA World Rally Championship is the pinnacle of rallying, making it the ideal platform for demonstrating the competitive spirit of our brand. The development of the car is running on schedule and the preparations for the world championship are in full swing.”

Prodrive chairman David Richards said: "This project is a truly passionate opportunity. Mini is a cult brand which left a lasting impression during its previous motorsport campaigns. We are both extremely happy and proud to be on board as a partner when Mini returns to rallying.

"We aim to use 2011 as a preparatory year, amassing experience in order to ensure we are fully competitive from the start of the following season. But let's not underestimate the task ahead of us, nor the stiff competition we will face on the way.

“However, our target is firmly set on winning the world championship title again with Mini."

Source: Kris Meeke/Prodrive

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard Aim for the Lead of the Championship

 

Montréal (Québec), September 29 2010. –

Recent winners of the North America Rally Cup, as well as the hotly contested Rally America series in the United States, Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard are attempting to also capture the Canadian championship, a hat trick that has only been accomplished once before. Victorious at the Rallye Défi earlier this month, the duo currently holds second place in Canada, three points behind the lead. The gap between a rally win and runner-up is five points, which means that with a victory, the team will jump into the lead with one event remaining. « The Pacific Forest Rally is one that I know well and Nathalie and I have won here on three previous occasions » confides Antoine, who adds : « this rally could be a determining factor in the championship and we’re going for the victory. There are four teams within seven points of each other at the top of the season leaderboard. It’s a tight battle and we know all too well that it’s never over until it’s over.»

The Rockstar Royal Group team is heading into this penultimate 2010 round knowing that the reliability of their Buffum-prepared Mitsubishi Evo X is key. « They’re calling for good weather but honestly, I wouldn’t mind more challenging conditions because our new Yokohama A053 tires are competitive in all types of road conditions. » The 2010 Pacific Forest Rally is similar to previous years, with the addition of two new roads. « We’ll refine our notes during the reconnaissance of the roads that we already know and as for the new roads, Antoine’s very good at making precise notes in two passes and he’s generally fairly confident on stages that we’ve never seen before. One thing is for sure, this will be a good battle for the win ! » explains Nathalie.

In addition to the North American title clinched at Rallye Défi three weeks ago, his third including 2007 and 2008, Antoine L’Estage has two Canadian championship titles (2006 and 2007), one American and twenty-three overall victories in Canada and the United States. Nathalie Richard holds five overall national championships (Canada and USA) and twenty-nine national victories on both sides of the border. The North American title she won at Rallye Défi is her sixth in seven years.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard is the only team to participate in the entire 2010 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships, with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Yokohama Tires, Mitsubishi Canada, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Énergie Cardio, Libra Racing, Driver's Edge Autosport (OMP), and VP Racing Fuels. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye .

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC) are among the favourites in this weekend’s Pacific Forest Rally, in British Columbia, the penultimate round of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship. At the wheel of their Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi Evo X, the team has won four of the past five events in North America and is striving for a sixth win this weekend, which would vault them into the lead of the Canadian title hunt.

Source : Coyote Rallye Media Service,

Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra Thrill Fans at US Rallycross round #1

Liam Doran's RallyCross CITROEN heads to the USA.

Liam Doran is expected to enter round #2 of the 2010 RallyCar / RallyCross Championship in Millville New Jersey USA on October 2-3rd.. Photo/Liam Doran

RallyCross: Why You Should Be There And What You Should Bring

Overall 2WD winner of the first RallyCar /RallyCross, Josh Wimpey is a guest contributor to Rally World News this week. Josh and his brother Jeremy make up one of the top teams in 2WD U.S. stage rally.

The first round of the US RallyCross championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) was a ton of fun and you should have been there.

In the past couple of weeks, I have fielded dozens of inquiries about the RallyCross event ranging from what I thought of the course, the racing format, and the spectators, to what kind of car and tires would be ideal for RallyCross.

I can’t pretend to speak to the experience of others nor can I assure you that what follows is useful but I hope it motivates some bench-racers, naysayers, and fence sitters to get involved. So, without further ado:

The Course: The NJMP course for round one was heavy on the tarmac with three dirt sections. While carrying speed and staying clean on the tarmac is crucial, it is the dirt sections that have the biggest unknowns and offer the most potential to capitalize on good driving.

A water truck wet the dirt sections every couple of hours in order to keep the dust down and created a traction situation that could evolve dramatically from one run group to the next. The ideal tire choice and driving style could change significantly over a 15 minute window so there are a lot of strategic elements to be considered.

The Format: Unlike the time-trial format of traditional stage rally, RallyCross only uses a single time-trial in qualifying to sort drivers into the first heat's run groups.

Heat races are a standing start from a grid with side-by-side sprint racing action for roughly 5-laps at a time (4 full laps plus the 7/8ths of a lap you start on).

Lowest cumulative time in a heat gets lowest points, and the points from heat races are used to qualify drivers and place them into the mains, with the top 5 advancing to the A-Main (finals) and the remaining qualifying drivers being placed in additional mains that allow for a last chance qualifier to join the A-Main.

In addition to the traction-driven tire and driving strategy mentioned above, the qualifying and heat races introduce another layer of strategy as only your best 2 of 3 heat races count toward placement in the final races.



When not running solo during RallyCross, Josh is joined by his twin brother Jeremy, who together are a dominate force in U.S. 2WD stage rally. Photo/Neil McDaid/RallyWorldNews

Spectators: Just like stage rally, the spectators are die-hard enthusiasts only now they don’t have to drive for an hour to wait in the woods for two hours to see 30-40 seconds of cumulative action. Just like stage rally, spectators can get up-close and personal with the drivers and crews in the paddock while the all-day action and amenities allow spectators to meet their favorite drivers, run a session of go-karting, and relax with a soft pretzel and beer in the shade.



Ideal Equipment: A long-time favorite of fence-sitters and bench-racers, the ‘ideal’ setup, is a legendarily boring topic like fantasy baseball or Dungeons and Dragons filled with mind numbing hypotheticals that will be built only by the rarest of individuals most of whom will fail to make it around the track even once.

In my opinion, the ‘ideal’ equipment for 2wd is probably the 2wd car you already have and a set of decent sticky tires with at least some tread depth.

I would also advise adding a brain to the list of items to bring with you to the track. If, like me, you don’t have one readily accessible, perhaps you can convince your co-driver to come along and provide the necessary thought support; I brought mine with me to the first event and he was very useful both in his traditional role of telling me to drive faster and in his role of putting together a dynamic strategy on-the-fly to adapt to lane choice, joker lap reminders, tire pressures and everything else that rally drivers aren’t used to dealing with.

OK, I’ll indulge the bench-racers: If you can’t come up with anything else that could possibly chase down a sub 150hp VW GTi, get yourself an old VW Beetle, add 250hp motor, add some decent suspension and keep it under 1800lbs. Enjoy beating everybody!

By Josh Wimpey
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