Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Mobil 1 Teams up with Ken Block
ExxonMobil is teaming up with Gymkhana star and World Rally Championship driver Ken Block, making Mobil 1 Extended Performance the official oil of Ken Block and the Monster World Rally Team. The new partnership continues the long tradition of Mobil 1 support in this arena and expands ExxonMobil's ongoing commitment to motorsports around the world
"Ken is a winner throughout all of his ventures, and Mobil 1 is a winner's brand," said Jan Crowe, Americas marketing manager, ExxonMobil Lubricants and Petroleum Specialties. "We are excited to be a part of Ken's endeavors both on and off the track and to equip him with the ultimate Mobil 1 product, Mobil 1 Extended Performance. Mobil 1 is associated with world-class race teams across the world, and this partnership is another addition to that proud heritage."
Ken Block has been competing in the sport of rally since 2005 and brings a legacy of prior achievements to the circuit. Block co-founded DC Shoes and is the star and creator of the ?Gymkhana? video series. ExxonMobil's support of Block adds to the roster of successful teams and drivers that Mobil 1 has supported for more than 30 years.
?I'm excited that Mobil 1 has joined the Monster World Rally Team's roster of sponsors,? said Block. ?My team and I put a priority on only working with premium products, and Mobil 1 has a real pedigree in racing. I am thrilled to partner with them and to be using Mobil 1 Extended Performance for the 2011 race season.?
To complement rally racing's highly competitive and demanding nature, ExxonMobil will be providing lubricant technology and engineering support to the Monster World Rally Team. The team will utilize Mobil 1 Extended Performance motor oils and Mobil 1 gear oils and greases, and Mobil 1 branding will appear on Block's competition vehicles, including his 490hp Ford Fiesta. To keep up with Block's latest announcements, find Mobil 1 on Facebook at facebook.com/mobil1.
A Long History of Performance: Mobil 1 in Motorsports
Mobil 1 has long been the lubricant of choice for race teams competing in the most demanding and popular motorsports series across the globe.
Mobil 1's history in motorsports officially began in 1978 with a sponsorship of the Williams Formula 1? team. From that time, Mobil 1's presence on race tracks and circuits has grown by global proportions. Today, Mobil 1 synthetic oil is relied on for its ability to deliver exceptional engine performance and protection even under the most extreme conditions by automotive technicians, race car drivers, team owners and the world's leading automotive manufacturers.
Along with the Stewart-Haas Racing's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, Mobil 1 enjoys a long association with many of world's most popular and successful race teams, including Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1? team, Corvette Racing's American LeMans Series team, the official AMG-Mercedes factory teams in the European-based DTM championship, Toyota Racing Development in NASCAR, Honda Performance Development in IndyCar, as well as Porsche Motorsport, where it is embraced as an ?Official Partner? in global cooperation of all works-supported activities, all international Carrera Cups and the title partnership of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup – the world's fastest one-make series. Mobil 1 is also the Official Motor Oil of NASCAR.
Mobil and Mobil 1 are registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) or one of its subsidiaries.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sebastien Loeb Pulls a Victory Out of His Sombrero at WRC Mexico
Leon, Mexico, March 2-6th. Sebastien Loeb claimed a fifth Rally Mexico victory on Sunday, driving Citroen's all-new DS3 World Rally Car to its maiden victory in the WRC. The triumph is Loeb and co-pilot Daniel Elena's 63rd success at world championship level, out of 140 starts in the series (that's 45 percent, if you're keeping track).
The Citroen Total Team stars began the final day of the event locked in tight battle with teammates Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, who were 10.5 seconds ahead. Then in an incredible stroke of rotten luck, Ogier crashed on stage 20, allowing Loeb and Elena to move in front, where they were able to preserve their advantage for two stages until the finish in Leon.
The rally gods must have been smiling on Loeb and Elena. Though they ultimately benefited from Ogier's retirement, it wouldn't have mattered had they not fought back so brilliantly after a 50-second time penalty incurred when they were late starting stage 15 following a transmission problem.
While Ford didn't lock out the podium in Mexico, the Abu Dhabi World Rally Team did score valuable podium real estate; Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished second in their Fiesta RS WRC, with teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila third.
Rally Mexico began with a special ceremonial street stage through the city of Guanajuato on Thursday night. By the end of SS1, Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson had a slender lead of two-tenths of a second heading to Friday's first gravel stage.
The 2003 world champion was fastest on the stage in his Petter Solberg World Rally Team Citroen DS3 WRC, emerging through the short tricky city course in a time of 53.2 seconds.
Cheered on by thousands of spectators, Solberg just edged Loeb on the stage, held under the cover of darkness, despite reporting nudging a wall in the tunnel section; the damage was restricted to a scuffed tire and Solberg was able to make it to the finish line. Ogier took third fastest in his DS3, and Latvala was fourth quickest in his Fiesta RS.
American superstar driver Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino meanwhile had to contend mechanical gremlins with the Monster Energy Ford Fiesta RS literally just feet from the start line. An electrical issue left the car dead, forcing the pair into a situation where they were too late to start, leaving them to Superrally for Friday morning with a 10-minute penalty.
"I'm really bummed about the car leaving us stranded at the start," said Block. "Not only did we miss out on taking part in Rally Mexico's awesome opening ceremonies, the 10-minute penalty has pretty much killed our chances of a good overall finish here. And after all the work and preparation, it's tough to start off like this, but we're here and we are still looking forward to getting back out onto these amazing roads tomorrow."
After a late night three-hour service, M-Sport had Block and Gelsomino back in the rally for Friday morning.
DAY-1
Ogier completed the two runs over the Super Special Stage at Leon's race circuit with an overall lead of 2.3 seconds heading into day two of Rally Mexico. The 27-year-old Frenchman eclipsed factory Citroen teammate and countryman Loeb, with world championship leader Hirvonen, the top Ford driver, in third.
Ogier completed the two runs over the Super Special Stage at Leon's race circuit with an overall lead of 2.3 seconds heading into day two of Rally Mexico. The 27-year-old Frenchman eclipsed factory Citroen teammate and countryman Loeb, with world championship leader Hirvonen, the top Ford driver, in third.
Ogier was fastest on four of the six all-gravel stages, and Loeb was fastest on two. Hirvonen spent day one cleaning the road in his Fiesta RS, indicating it had been a huge struggle to remain in contention.
Solberg was on course for completing day one in third place, but an electrical glitch on stage six cost him almost seven minutes and dropped him out of contention.
Latvala was fourth heading to the final day of the rally, albeit almost three minutes off the lead after he picked up a puncture on stage four in his Fiesta. Block returned Friday only to encounter another reported mechanical fault with his Ford.
DAY-2
Saturday closed with Ogier 11.3sec ahead of Loeb after a wild day that saw Loeb claim the overall lead for a time starting with SS11. With his advantage over Ogier increasing, Loeb prepared to line up for the start of stage 15 only for the car's gear selector pin to break, leaving the Frenchman's DS3 WRC stuck in third gear.
Saturday closed with Ogier 11.3sec ahead of Loeb after a wild day that saw Loeb claim the overall lead for a time starting with SS11. With his advantage over Ogier increasing, Loeb prepared to line up for the start of stage 15 only for the car's gear selector pin to break, leaving the Frenchman's DS3 WRC stuck in third gear.
With the stage featuring several uphill hairpins, Loeb knew it would be impossible to complete the stage without making repairs. Although Loeb and Elena were able to fashion a temporary fix, they were five minutes late starting the stage and incurred a 50-second time penalty as a result.
Having led by 19.7sec, Loeb now trailed Ogier by 24.1sec after the 15th stage. It appeared Loeb's challenge was done until Ogier's car suffered an intermittent power loss with 3.1 miles of stage 16 left to run and dropped some five seconds.
Ogier's misfortune and Loeb's pace meant the gap was down to 10.4sec with one gravel stage remaining. But any hopes Loeb had of trimming Ogier's lead still further evaporated when he stalled on the final hairpin of stage 17 as a result of his car's handbrake not working and lost vital time.
Hirvonen in third led the Blue Oval camp, followed by Latvala, who suffered a puncture on Saturday's first test but bounced back with Ford's first stage win of the rally when he went fastest on the second Derramadero run. Block crashed out on Saturday.
DAY-3
The deciding moment of Sunday's final three stages came when Ogier left the road eight miles into the Guanajuatito morning test, damaging his DS3's front-left wheel. The off gave Loeb a Rally Mexico lead he would not relinquish.
The deciding moment of Sunday's final three stages came when Ogier left the road eight miles into the Guanajuatito morning test, damaging his DS3's front-left wheel. The off gave Loeb a Rally Mexico lead he would not relinquish.
Hirvonen also benefited from Ogier's exit to inherit second place. The result means the Finn maintains his lead in the world drivers' championship following his triumph on Rally Sweden last month. He ended the event by winning the Power Stage to secure three bonus points in his bid to become world champion for the first time.
Latvala completed the podium in his Fiesta and secured his second stage win of the rally with the fastest time on the penultimate test of the event.
Up next for the WRC is the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, March 24-27 in the city of Faro (MFL photography provided by Citroen, Ford Abu Dhabi WRT and Monster WRT).
BLOCK RETURNS TO WRC MEXICO WITH A MUCH IMPROVED PACE.
March 7, 2011, León, Mexico – Returning to León, Mexico, now with one year of WRC racing under their belts, Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino showed major improvement on stage since their debut here in 2010. But a series of electrical issues, that started even before the Monster Energy Ford Fiesta RS WRC took to the opening stage, robbed the two of a possible 6th overall finish. Still the pair pressed on through the rugged, rocky and extremely dusty terrain of the Sierra de Lobos mountains to finish 12th overall, despite two early retirements and a 20 minute delay on stage all caused by gremlins in the Fiesta’s electronics.
“It’s hard not to focus on the mechanical issues we had this event, since without them, I would have likely had the best overall finish of my WRC career,” says Block. “But regardless, from a driving perspective, I am very happy with our times here compared to last year. This is the first event we have gone into with notes already prepared, giving us an advantage we haven’t had before. And with this only being our 9th WRC event ever, I feel confident on our continued development this season, when we are already showing on pace to be 6th or 7th overall.”
With their Fiesta being unable to make it to the start of the event on Thursday evening, Block and Gelsomino were forced to retire, which led to them having to SuperRally on Friday morning, taking on a 10-minute penalty. Despite the setback though, Block managed to hit the stages and lay down consistent top-10 stage times throughout the day, until a new set of electrical problems stopped the Fiesta once again on SS8, forcing the team to SuperRally for the second consecutive day on Saturday. Once again though, Block tore out of the gates Saturday morning and continued to move up through the pack, putting down a series of 7th fastest stage times. Unfortunately, on the afternoon running of the Duarte stage, Block clipped a tree stump, snapping a control arm, forcing the car to retire early for the third consecutive day and leading to yet another SuperRally for Sunday. But Block wasn’t alone with problems in Mexico, a series of DNFs and other issues for other WRC drivers had the Monster World Rally Team still sitting 11th overall into leg 3.
The final day’s performance from Block was a display of continued solid improvement over 2010, with two more lucky 7 stage finishes. And after an off by rally leader Sébastien Ogier, Block and Gelsomino ironically found themselves in a point earning position in 10th overall despite three consecutives early retirements. But again, the team’s luck would run out, when the electric system again acted up, delaying Block and Gelsomino for 20 minutes on the second to last stage, subsequently knocking them back a few spots.
“WRC Mexico is one of the toughest events on the calendar, partly due to the high altitude’s effect on the engines and the rugged terrain, so despite the electrical issues that plagued the team this event, I am very happy with Ken and Alex's performance here as well as their perseverance each morning to press on after all the problems,” says team manager Derek Dauncey. “Ken was consistently only 1.1-seconds per kilometer off of the fastest Ford driver and 1.3-seconds per kilometer off the top time on each stage, which is an excellent pace for a driver who hasn’t even completed a full season of events yet.”
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