After the successful start in glamorous Monte-Carlo the Volkswagen Motorsport squad is now setting its sights on the second round of the season from February 9th to 12th. This time the FIA World Rally Championship stops in the winter woods of Sweden. At the only snow rally on the calendar Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) will be joined by Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) who will be competing for the Volkswagen factory team for the first time this season.

“At the season opener in Monte Carlo both drivers, Sébastien Ogier and our junior driver Kevin Abbring, showed strong performances. In Sweden Andreas Mikkelsen will take the wheel of the Junior car as planned,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “Sweden is a special rally: It’s the only WRC event on ice and snow and provides the best opportunity to gather valuable experiences in crisp cold. It’s an important run for us in preparation for our WRC entry with the Polo R WRC.”

Snow instead of gravel: drivers are looking forward to the winter spectacle

24 special stages across about 349 timed kilometres – and unusual challenges – are awaiting the drivers. Whereas the other events on the WRC calendar are held on tarmac or gravel the Rally Sweden due to the winter conditions and the use of studded tyres is a special event. “I really like the Rally Sweden. Because of its unique character it’s important to finish in order to give the team the opportunity to thoroughly get to know this rally,” says Sébastien Ogier (28). “In Sweden the Nordic drivers are always particularly strong because they have more experience with the conditions that exist there. But we’re well prepared.” The accident that meant an early end of the “Monte” has long been chalked up to experience. “Julien and I both are totally fit,” says the Frenchman. In 2011 Ogier/Ingrassia finished the Rally Sweden in fourth place – behind three Scandinavian teams.

The Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen will be the second driver running alongside Ogier. For the 22-year-old and his seasoned co-driver Ola Fløene (42) this will be the second commitment for Volkswagen following the Finland Rally last year. “The Sweden Rally is almost a home round for me as part of the route leads through Norway. I’m hoping that many fans will support me. Thanks to my victory in the snow at the season opener of the Norwegian Championship I’m perfectly prepared. Running in the same team with ‘Seb’ is a special treat for me: He’s currently one of the quickest, if not to say the quickest rally driver of all. I’m looking forward to it and am hoping to be able to learn from him.”

Mikkelsen is the current IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge) champion. As a member of the Junior programme, the Škoda UK racer is sharing the second rally car fielded by Volkswagen Motorsport in the World Rally Championship with the Dutchman Kevin Abbring.

Volkswagen is running at WRC rounds this season with two Fabia S2000 cars of the Group’s Škoda brand in the smaller SWRC class. The commitments serve as preparation for the 2013 season in which Volkswagen will compete in the top group of rally racing with the Polo R WRC. Basically speaking, Sweden is not new territory in Volkswagen’s long motorsport tradition. In the nineteen-eighties Kalle Grundel and Kenneth Eriksson in the Golf clinched several top-ten results at this rally.

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Subaru of America, Inc. Defending 2011 Rally America National Champion David Higgins launched his 2012 title defense with Subaru Rally Team USA by achieving a decisive victory this past weekend at the Sno*Drift Rally.  Higgins, driving a 5-door 2012 Subaru WRX STI rally car, dominated the rally leading from the start and winning 15 of the event’s 24 competitive stages. Higgins finished nearly two minutes clear of his closest rival. The Sno*Drift Rally was not easy by any respect; David’s biggest challenge was keeping his STI on the event’s treacherously icy roads. Higgins proclaimed the variable and slick road conditions as the toughest rallying he has ever encountered.

The Sno*Drift Rally, round one of the six-event 2012 Rally America National Championship, challenged nearly 70 top rally teams with over 130 miles of snow and ice-covered roads in northern Michigan. Constant changes in weather and road conditions coupled with several stages run in total darkness make this rally notoriously challenging. Drivers will attest that the biggest challenge of the rally is that spiked or studded tires are not allowed, making traction extremely elusive when conditions are icy. Drivers this year were greeted with exactly that; a recent thaw and subsequent freeze turned many of the stage roads into sheets of smooth ice.

Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew were up for the challenge from the onset and all but sealed their victory with a commanding performance on the first loop of stages where Higgins posted several blisteringly fast stage times while his rivals struggled with the icy conditions. After winning the opening four stages, Higgins had amassed a nearly two-minute lead on his rivals before the first service halt. However, maintaining that lead on the treacherously ice-covered roads was one of the biggest challenges the veteran rally pro Higgins has ever tackled.

“The icy roads combined with lack of spiked tires makes this one of the toughest rallies and a challenge I think that is unique in rallying anywhere in the world,” explained Higgins. “Mentally it’s very draining, as you are constantly on the edge all weekend with the knowledge that any small mistake could just end the rally. The grip levels would go from variable to non-existent in a flash.”

The lead Higgins had amassed on the opening day of competition was only briefly under threat for the first loop of stages on the morning of day-two. Higgins, running on ice tires, encountered fresh snow on the stages allowing his chief rival Antoine L’Estage, who had chosen a snow tire, to claw back some time. After switching to snow tires at the first service, Higgins responded to the threat and won five straight stages to regain nearly all of the time lost in the morning while sealing his victory.

“This was a great victory and a strong result to start our title defense,” explained Higgins. “Our Subaru was perfect all weekend and allowed Craig [Drew] and I to just concentrate on the job under these wild conditions.”

Added James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc., “David and Craig drove prudently to a tremendous result, and Subaru Rally Team USA prepared a car in our 2012 Subaru WRX STI that has proven to be the class of the field this weekend.  Having to constantly assess traction levels under such difficult road conditions within the context of competition driving rapidly takes a mental toll, and our #75 driver pairing truly rose to the occasion and ultimately prevailed.”

Higgins and Subaru Rally Team USA head next to the high-speed gravel roads of The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, Feb 24-25, in central Missouri.

About Subaru Rally Team USA

Subaru Rally Team USA is managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Motul, and VP Racing Fuels.

For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

Volkswagen Junior Kevin Abbring (23) and his co-driver Lara Vanneste (21) produced a fantastic performance on their way to taking victory in the S2000 class for Volkswagen in the 80th Rally Monte Carlo. The rally classic in the principality on the Cote d’Azur is part of the FIA World Championship for the first time since 2008. 

Kevin Abbring and Lara Vanneste were awarded the winner’s trophy in the square overshadowed by the Royal Palace in Monaco after a total of 1772 kilometres and 18 demanding special stages, which included the infamous run to Col de Turini. For the young Dutchman and his Belgian co-driver it is the second S2000 class victory after taking the spoils at the Rally Great Britain in November 2011. At the same time Abbring, who celebrated his 23rd birthday in the cockpit on Friday, gave himself his favourite present. “I’m delighted. To win the ‘Monte’ is simply an indescribable feeling. Lara and I are very proud,” beamed Abbring during the victory ceremony at the Royal Palace. “We improved from stage to stage and implemented the team’s instructions. My heartfelt thanks to the entire Volkswagen team for the support, we worked perfectly together.”

“A big complement to our driver teams and the entire team because in rallying a win is always a win for the complete team,” emphasised a satisfied Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen (51). “Kevin put in a fantastic performance, we are proud of him and his co-driver Lara. He impressively demonstrated what a huge talent he is and why we support him as Volkswagen Junior.”

New Volkswagen factory driver Sébastien Ogier (28) and co-driver Julien Ingrassia (32) had already attracted a great deal of attention beforehand. The two Frenchmen held fourth place overall on occasion in the less powerful S2000 car – before an accident meant an early end for the two. Nissen: “Sébastiens Speed was incredible on the opening stages. This proves that we have signed a driver with great potential. I’m convinced that he’ll be good for one or the other big surprise during the World Championship rallies this year.”

The Frenchman also looks forward optimistically to his next outing during the Rally Sweden (9 to 12 February). “I feel very comfortable on the car and team. We were extremely competitive before the accident,” said Ogier, who was third in the WRC in 2011. “The difficult conditions at the start of the rally were an advantage for us because the difference in power between the Fabia S2000 and the WRC class didn’t have such a big effect. We aim to maintain our pace in Sweden and I’m confident that we will also be fast there.”

In 2012 Volkswagen contests rounds of the World Rally Championship with two Fabia S2000 cars from the group brand Škoda. The rallies act as preparation for the 2013 season in which Volkswagen will compete with the Polo R WRC in rallying’s top-flight.

Speedworld Surprize, AZ (January 17, 2012) – Rally Organizers will replace the annual Plan B Rally with the Arizona Extreme Rally to take place on February 18-19^th, 2012 in Surprise, Arizona. The Arizona Extreme Rally will operate a co-efficient 2 rally event at the Speedworld Surprise racetrack alongside the 2012 Off-Road Fest featuring the Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Racing series.

The Arizona Extreme Rally will be the kick-off event to the Bilstein USA RallyCup, Lucas Oil 2WD Championship from the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series and the Rally America Southwest Regional Championship. Rally teams are already lining up to compete for a prize fund worth in the thousands, more details to follow at www.southwestrallywseries.com.

Rally cars entered in the Arizona Extreme Rally will race on the same facility as the Pro-Lite trucks, UTV’s, and trophy karts entered in the Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Racing series and will introduce 3,000 truck racing fans to high flying rally car action. This will be the first time rally cars will jump and slide their production passenger cars on tight and hilly dirt roads lining the backside of the facility.

However, the Arizona Extreme Rally won’t be a rally event in the typical sense. Teams will be staggered by 15 second intervals instead of separated by the minute which will place multiple teams on the same course and ensuring a constant state of action. Off-Road teams not using the short course arena will also be using the rally course and given the opportunity to use a route book containing driving instructions typically used by a rally team during competition.

Chairman Denise McMahon is expecting this event to be very exciting for years to come. “It will be the type of weekend that you can bring friends, family together and really enjoy yourselves,” said McMahon, “We are going to have a BBQ and bonfire for all of the teams right after registration, track reconnaissance, and the pre-run for the desert teams. It will be great to sit down and enjoy an evening at the track to get ready for some great competition on Saturday and Sunday.”

Speedworld is a large facility based in Surprise, Arizona just northwest of Phoenix. The track has been seen on CBS, Versus, Speed and MAV TV within the past year. It contains multiple tracks used for drag racing, motorcross, shortcourse dirt arena racing, and also houses a paintball park.

The Arizona Extreme Rally will also feature regional support from The Local Motors dealership from Chandler, AZ running their “Rallyfighter” car at the event as a pace car and showcase their new concept vehicles in the fan zones.

The Arizona Extreme Rally and the fusion of truck and rally car racing was envisioned by Tim Jones from ASCC and Denise McMahon, Plan B Rally Chairperson, during a 2011 conversation to bring the two sports together. Both thought the two sports shared similar characteristics and the fusion could result in a better show for fans, more competition and variety for teams, and better use of resources for organizers. Lucas Oil provided their blessing and will be observing this year’s event for future support.

If you can not make it to Speedworld on February 18-19^th, the organizers will attempt to provide video capturing all of the excitement to be on YouTube and for a possible TV package.

The 2012 Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series presented by Lucas Oil, and Arizona Extreme Rally is proudly supported by Bilstein Shock Absorbers, Lucas Oil, Team O’Neil Rally School, Subenet.com Racetech, Real Estate of Southbay, Fiberwerx, Local Motors, Stage Track, Fast-Aid, K 2 Awards.

About Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series presented by Lucas Oil:

Based in Anaheim, California, the series contains not only the Rally America SW Regional series, but for the past eight years having the SWRC Cup, three years for the Bilstein USA Cup series, and newly formed as of last year the Lucas Oil 2WD Championship series. In 2012, SWRC series will be conducting over 6 venues and 10 events spanning from Arizona, Northern/ Southern California and Nevada. More information about the series can be found on www.southwestrallyseries.com .

About the Arizona ShortCourse Association:

ARIZONA SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIP (ASCC) is an affordable, action packed short course racing series. ASCC features Stock and Heavy Metal Trucks, 1450/Prerunners, Desert and Short Course Buggies, UTV’s, SxS’s and Trophy Karts. All races have exciting land rush starts, high speed straits, high flying jumps, moguls, and woops!  This series is part of the Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road series of Arizona. For more information can be found at www.arizonashortcourse.com .

About Rally America:

Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the premier performance Rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2012, Rally America will be conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Also supports all of the regional series that spans across the United States.More information about the Rally America National/ Regional Championship Series and the sport of Rally can be found at www.rally-america.com and videos can viewed at www.youtube.com/rallyamericaseries.

(Williston, VT) — The 38^th running of the Sno*Drift Rally in Northern Michigan will once again kick-off the six events that comprise the 2012 Rally America National Championship on January 27^th and 28^th, 2012. Based in Montmorency County, the Sno*Drift Rally is the only snow-covered event where high-powered rally cars will speed, jump, and slide down narrow ice-covered stages!

A record-setting 70 teams from across the U.S. and Canada will test their skills on the snow-banked roads which are sure to be an exciting setting to begin the 2012 Rally America National Championship. (See the full Sno*Drift Rally entry list here: http://www.rally-america.com/events/2012/SNODRIFT/entries/)

Topping the list of teams is 2010 Rally America National Champions, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard from Quebec, Canada, piloting what is expected to be a revamped 2010 Mitsubishi Evolution X. L’Estage and Richard finished with a solid 2^nd place overall in 2011 and look to keep the pressure on as a favorite to win it all this year. L’Estage’s closest competition is the entry from Vermont SportsCar and Subaru Rally Team USA entry, is expected to field a 2012 Subaru WRX STI for 2011 Rally America National Championship overall winner David Higgins from the Isle of Man – but the official announcement has not yet been made as to who will actually be piloting the Subaru factory-backed machine.

The top story from last year’s Sno*Drift Rally was the history-making achievement of Traverse City, Michigan’s Travis and Terry Hanson piloting their Super Production (SP) 2007 Subaru WRX STI to an overall win. It was the first time an SP Class car won an event outright, which ultimately positioned them for a 2011 Rally America National Championship third-place overall finish. The Hansons will test their luck again in challenging the more powerful Open Class cars, but as everyone knows, the snow can be an equalizing factor giving anyone a chance for victory.

The Two-Wheel Drive category is always fun to watch and has been exploding with top talent over the past few seasons and the 2012 Sno*Drift Rally will continue the trend. Chris Duplessis from Whitefield, NH, who recently competed in WRC Academy at Rally GB, returns with a rally-prepared 2012 Ford Fiesta R2. He faces strong challenges from television host and longtime Rally competitor, Andrew Comrie-Picard, who will be piloting a 2010 Scion xD, as well as 2009 Rally America Rookie of the year, Dillon Van Way from Carencro, LA, as he returns in his always-fast 2011 Ford Fiesta.

The 2012 Rally America National Championship season opener will feature the entrance of a number of international competitors. Notably, Belgium Rally Champion, David Sterckx, will make his Rally America National Championship event debut driving a newly prepared SP Subaru WRX STI with co-driver Karen Jankowski. Chinese Championship driver, Tingwu Song, begins his full Rally America National Championship effort at Sno*Drift with co-driver Martin Brady in a 2009 Mitsubishi EVO X. Song first arrived on the American rally scene at the 2011 New England Forest Rally to test the waters. He placed as high as sixth in the Chinese Championship before shifting his attention to America.

Fans attending the 2012 Sno*Drift Rally will have plenty of opportunities to meet their favorite drivers and watch the rally action on more than 120 miles of competition roads and at the fan-friendly Ralph Thayer Mazda sponsored Super Special stage which takes place in the afternoon on Saturday, January 28th in Lewiston, MI.

The Sno*Drift Rally begins in downtown Lewiston, MI on Friday, January 27, 2012 at the 1:00pm Parc Expose where spectators will have a chance to view the rally cars on display as well as meet and get autographs from the many drivers and co-drivers prior to the start of the event. Fans will be able to pick up complimentary spectator guides that provide driving instructions to nearby viewing areas. It’s the perfect starting place for a day full of rally competition and an adventure in the beautiful Michigan woods.

The action continues in downtown Atlanta, MI at 8:00am, on Saturday, January 28, 2012, with another Parc Expose before heading to the Ralph Thayer Mazda Super Special Stage. The Super Special is a rally stage where spectators can watch all the rally action from start to finish from the comfort of one viewing location. The Super Special will be held at the Lewiston Sand & Gravel Pit located just off of Buttles Road – admission is just $5 per person.   Due to limited on-site parking, organizers are providing free bus rides from the Atlanta, MI School and the Lewiston Ace Hardware store beginning at noon. Details of both opportunities are currently available on the event website: www.sno-drift.org.

In addition to the Super Special planned for Saturday, the Sno*Drift Rally organizers are proud to announce the return of the Ralph Thayer Mazda-sponsored Sno*Attack 2-Wheel-Drive Class competition supporting grassroots rally competitors. The Top 5 overall two-wheel-drive finishers of the Ralph Thayer Mazda Sno*Attack competition have a chance to split over $5,000 in prize money. Detroit area auto dealer, Ralph Thayer Mazda, is a long-time supporter of regional rallycross events in the Detroit area and has stepped up their involvement in stage rally in recent years. More information regarding both the Super Special and the Ralph Thayer Max Attack two-wheel-drive competition can be found at www.sno-drift.org and www.thayerauto.com.

Rally America will feature an online broadcast of the Sno*Drift Rally onwww.rally-america.com beginning at 1:0pm EST on Friday, January 27th. The free live-streaming broadcast will bring you live stage racing, driver interviews, results, and analysis. This marks the first time that Rally America will live stream a National Championship event. The organization believes the increased exposure will help grow the sport and give greater visibility to all National Championship events, drivers, and their sponsors.

The 2012 Rally America National Championship is proudly supported by VP Racing Fuels – the Official Fuel of Rally America, Exedy Racing Clutches, Hawk Performance Brakes, ParkNBlend and RECARO seats.

About Rally America:

Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the premier performance Rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2012, Rally America will be conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. More information about the Rally America National Championship Series and the sport of Rally can be found at www.rally-america.com and videos can viewed at www.youtube.com/rallyamericaseries.

The Monster Energy Off-Road Team assembled talent from around the globe to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for Round 15 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORS) season. Veteran short course racer Johnny Greaves made the long drive from Wisconsin while X Games Rally Car Gold medalist and international rallycross star Liam Doran flew in from England and jumped right in to the fastest class in the series; the 4WD, 800 horsepower Pro4 Unlimited category.  Greaves and Doran joined their Monster Energy Teammates, including Jeremy McGrath, Casey Currie, and Cameron Steele, for final and best round of the season. When it was all said and done, the Monster Energy Off-Road Team walked away from the 2011 LOORS season with with a staggering 16 podiums, including 8 first place trophies!

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

The Monster Energy Off-Road Team assembled talent from around the globe to Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix for Round 15 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORS) season. Veteran short course racer Johnny Greaves made the long drive from Wisconsin while X Games Rally Car Gold medalist and international rallycross star Liam Doran flew in from England and jumped right in to the fastest class in the series; the 4WD, 800 horsepower Pro4 Unlimited category.  Greaves and Doran joined their Monster Energy Teammates, including Jeremy McGrath, Casey Currie, and Cameron Steele, for final and best round of the season. When it was all said and done, the Monster Energy Off-Road Team walked away from the 2011 LOORS season with a staggering 16 podiums, including 8 first place trophies!

Directed by The Martelli Brothers – Produced by Mad Media

RALLY AMERICA AND VP RACING FUELS ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT

VP Racing Fuels becomes the Official Fuel of the Rally America National Championship for 2012 and 2013

Charlotte, N.C. (December 6, 2011) – Winner of the 2011 Dakar Rally, Nasser Al-Attiyah confirmed that he will join Robby Gordon and his off-road team in the 2012 edition of the Dakar Rally. Driving one of the highly-modified HUMMERs sponsored by his native country of Qatar, Al-Attiyah will compete for his second consecutive overall Dakar Rally victory.  Should he conquer the South American desert once again, he will be only the second driver to triumph in two different manufactures; Ari Vatanen did so in 1990-1991.

Al-Attiyah has an impressive racing resume and is an accomplished cross-country and classic rally racer. He has won seven FIA Middle East Rally Championships titles since 2003 and collected 13 stage wins in the infamous Dakar Rally from 2009 to 2011.

“Teaming with Robby Gordon and driving a HUMMER is fantastic because it’s a new challenge for me. I’m proud of being able to represent Qatar in this year’s Dakar Rally,” Al-Attiyah said.

Lucas Cruz, who sat alongside Al-Attiyah for the 2011 Dakar win, will once again be his co-driver.

“To have Nasser as a teammate in this year’s Dakar Rally is a huge boost for our team. He brings the excitement and experience of a champion to our team. I personally take it as an honor that he chose our team to defend his 2011 overall win. Between my SPEED Energy HUMMER and his Qatar HUMMER, we have a strong team, cars, and drivers capable of winning the Rally,” commented Robby Gordon.

Nasser Al-Attiyah Career Highlights:

1990             1^st place Qatar National Rally Championship

1991             1^st place Desert Fox by Marlboro

1992             1^st place Qatar National Rally Championship

2003             1^st place FIA Middle East Rally Championship

2006             1^st place FIA Production Car World Rally Championship

2007             1^st place FIA Middle East Rally Championship

2008             1^st place FIA Cross Country Rally Worldcup

1^st place FIA Cross Country Rally Worldcup for Bajas

2009             2^nd place Rally dos Sertões, Silk Way Rally

1^st place FIA Middle East Rally Championship

2010             2^nd place Dakar Rally

2^nd place Silk Way Rally

2011             1^st Place Dakar Rally

No. 300 Qatar HUMMER

Each year, just after the WRC and MotoGP calendars finally wind down, an all star cast of racing greats get together in Italy for the Monza Rally Show. Supported by totally legit WRC and S2000 whips, plus tens and tens of thousands of ecstatic fans, the drivers race stage and head-to-head formats inside the walls of one of the coolest tracks on the planet.

Make no mistake, the event might not be on an official calendar but the talent on show is off the charts. Valentino Rossihas been supporting the event for years and this year, Seb Loeb (WRC World Champion) was in town to keep the timekeeping honest.

Valentino may be the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) when it comes to MotoGP but it turns out he’s a savagely fast driver as well. Fair play, he’s done a couple of WRC Rallies as a wildcard but he’s not exactly got a load of time on his hands to practice on 4 wheels.

The 3 day event started super well for the #46 car and Friday night he was right at the sharp end thanks to a close second to Loeb. Better came on Saturday when he took 2 stage wins and meant he and Seb Loeb had separated themselves from the rest of the pack and left him needing to bring it home on Sunday to stand on the second step. Claiming the podium and finishing only 22 seconds adrift of a multiple World Rally Champion was an immense job and to think he had Dani Sordo behind him in 4^th means he dispatched a WRC ace along the way.

The finale of the show was the head-to-head race (run in the memory of Marco Simoncelli) that took place on the start/finish straight in front of overflowing grandstands. As a knockout format there was zero margin for error and just as he had in the stage formats, Valentino produced a ton of convincing wins which took him to a semi-final with Dani Sordo. As convincing as he had been all weekend, Valentino produced the goods again and it was a final showdown with Seb Loeb as a prize.

The final brought Valentino’s only lapse in judgement all weekend when he clipped a tyre wall when throwing the car into one of the tightest sections on the course. It left Loeb with the title but no doubt about who the two standout drivers were of the whole event. Standing proud on the podium for the second time Valentino was quick to stress how much fun he’d managed to have whilst putting in a performance which could only be described as a masterclass in driving.

Props go out to the GOAT and to the thousands who camped out to support the team outside the garage and in the stands. It was a huge atmosphere and proof if you need it of how cool motorsport can be when everyone’s there to mix racing with a massive amount of fun.

Photos by Milagro and Massimo Bettiol

David Higgins and Subaru Rally Team USA finish 2^nd Overall at 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines

(Nov 28, 2011) Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins has finished 2^nd Overall at the hotly contested 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft, Ontario. Higgins and the Subaru Rally Team USA squad attended the Tall Pines Rally, the final round of the Canadian Rally Championship, to test various development components on their Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2011 Subaru Impreza STI rally car ahead of the 2012 Rally America National Championship.  For Higgins, the 2011 Rally America Champion, this was the first time attending the Tall Pines Rally and he notes it was one of the most challenging events of his career.

Based in Bancroft Ontario, two hours’ drive from Toronto; the Rally of the Tall Pines is one of the most difficult rallies in Canada due to the mix of high level competition and challenging roads.  The event also features a daunting 126 miles of competition stages run in just one long day, taxing both the crews and the cars.   This challenge presented an ideal test session for Subaru Rally Team USA outside the pressures of the Rally America National Championship.  Subaru Rally Team USA brought the latest evolution of their 2011 Subaru WRX STI rally car which included new suspension upgrades that the team sought to test.

“This rally was one of the most difficult of my career, the roads are so challenging and there is a big variety in surface grip and conditions. There are jumps, off camber turns, blind crests everywhere and rough spots,” explained Higgins.  “It really made for an ideal test for the car and I think we learned more about the car at this rally than we have at the previous four events we’ve run with it.”

Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew began the rally with a conservative pace as they experimented with car setup as part of the test and sat in 3^rd place overall early in the event. The duo hit some trouble near the midpoint of the rally when their car was slowed by a tire puncture in-stage and then on a subsequent stage were forced to stop within the stage and change another tire puncture. Higgins lost nearly three minutes to the rally leader in the process.

However, Higgins’ top two rivals, current Canadian champion Antoine L’Estage and former Canadian champion Pat Richard were befallen by mechanical problems near the midpoint as well leaving Higgins comfortably in 2^nd place overall for the remainder of the event. Higgins went on to win the final seven stages of the rally and at the finish had closed the nearly three-minute gap to the leader down to just over thirty seconds.

“David and Craig drove perfectly to plan as our intention from the beginning was to approach this event as a valuable opportunity testing different components and adjusting car set-ups in advance of our 2012 race campaign,” indicated James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc.  “The talent within the field was strong, and our team performed well…finishing credibly against drivers with many years of experience at [the Rally of] Tall Pines.”
Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, VP Fuels and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

An international adventure traveller and BBC presenter competed and finished the 2011 Dash.

Ben Fogel competed his first desert racing event at the 2011 Kickstarters Gascoyne Dash® “I have never done anything like this, it was one of the toughest challenges of my life as I had to concentrate every second. To finish is just great”.

The Dash is a 4 day desert race motorsport competition held annually around the Western Australia coastal town of Carnarvon and the hamlet of Gascoyne Junction 200kms east. The race, in its eight year, is open to bikes, quads, cars and buggies with competitors travelling from across Australia and the globe to challenge the event’s slogan – winning is something – finishing is everything. Ben Fogel can definitely attest to that with several minor breakdowns adding to the excitement and test his endurance.

Fogel competed in the extreme four wheel drive division driving a highly modified V8 powered Nissan patrol. Ben’s experience will be the subject of an episode of a BBC series titled Ben’s Year of Adventures. The series will have a global audience and Event Director Paul Kelly is very excited “Ben’s Adventure will showcase the Dash to an international audience and we expect significant interest from adventure seekers both domestically and internationally. This event is now more than a race, it’s an adventure”.

Ben’s Year of Adventures should premier on Australian TV in February 2012.

The 2012 event date has been announced as 25th to 28th October. The 2012 event will again be staged around Bidgemia Station and for the purist will include an extensive river section, something missed by many competitors in 2011 when the river run was cancelled due to flood damage.

Mr Kelly also revealed a possible future direction for the event “We have been closely examining an “out and back” format from Carnarvon, something along the lines of the Finke Desert Race. The proposal is in its infancy but we pressed many competitors on their views and the feedback was very encouraging. This format could certainly boast the Dash to national prominence”.

Dear friends of  Vermont SportsCar and Subaru Rally Team USA,

Subaru Rally Team USA drivers David Higgins and Dave Mirra star in the pilot of Battle Cross, a new highly-anticipated television show scheduled on SPEED TV on November 17 at 10pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific.

The concept for the high-energy, action-packed Battle Cross series revolves around pitting two professional drivers on a unique and challenging course where they battle each other for both fastest time and most stylish run.  The pilot episode pits 2011 Rally America Champion David Higgins against his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate, X Games star Dave Mirra, in spectacular contests of speed and style. Higgins and Mirra each pilot their Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2011 Subaru WRX STI competition rally cars in the episode, the same cars they pilot in the Rally America National Championship.

The pilot episode features a challenging gravel and tarmac course that runs literally through a working steel mill facility.  The contest features two rounds of competition between the two rally stars.  Round One is a lap of the Battle Cross course scored by time, with each driver given two attempts to clock their fastest time around the difficult course.  Round Two is a two-minute freestyle session scored for difficulty, creativity, precision and style by two expert judges: drifting champion Samuel Hubinette, and rally driver Stephan Verdier.

Fellow rally driver Andrew Comrie-Picard (“ACP”) hosts the show along with celebrity co-host Stacy Keibler  of WWE and Dancing with the Stars fame.  The show is produced by Hollywood director Rob Cohen, the creator of The Fast and the Furious franchise.

Check out the teaser clip on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/SUXez3B4anI

Complete schedule of air dates:

Bill Holmes of Malibu, CA. and Sean Gallagher of Santa Ana, CA. take the Overall win in their 2011 Ford Raptor at the 2011 Seed 9 Rally November 5,2011 in Jean, NV. This was the first event with the new Ford Raptor Rally Truck.
The team of Holmes/Gallagher won every stage of the event on the fast and winding roads of the Nevada desert that made up the event, Bill said, at the service break, the truck is perfectly suited for these fast roads and I felt right at home when I came into the first turn.
The story of the event was the 500+ Horsepower V-8 battle between Holmes/Gallagher and Jim Morris /Steve Palmieri. Every stage was won by only a few seconds throughout the day and night, with victory secured only after the final special stage.
This was the last event of the 2011 California Rally Series Championship. The team ended the year with   two overall wins in the hotly contested championship. The action will resume in February 2012.

November 14^th, 2011, Cardiff, Wales – Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino ended their 2011 WRC season flying through the air at Rally GB in Wales by finishing out in the top 10 for the second time this season. Block battled not only the other drivers out in the forests during the event, but also against the actual stages themselves, as the weather for the early parts of the rally in northern Wales proved to be quite treacherous thanks to a mixture of heavy rain, slick mud and dense fog. Despite the challenges, Block was able to persevere and work his way up through the standings over the course of four days of racing, eventually ending the rally sitting 9th overall. The finish marks Block’s second best finish of the season and tied for his second best of his WRC career. It also scored Block two additional Drivers’ Championship Standings points, bringing his season total to six.

Volkswagen continued the preparation for its entry in the World Rally Championship in 2013 with the Polo R WRC: At the Spain Rally, the twelfth and penultimate round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the factory team again fielded two Fabia S2000 cars of the Group’s Škoda brand in order to gather valuable experience in the top category of rally racing. 

With Christian Riedemann/Michael Wenzel (both from Germany) and Yeray Lemes/Rogelio Peñate (both from Spain) in the cockpits, two young driver pairings again had the chance to prove their skills in a professional environment on an international stage. And they successfully did so: Lemes/Peñate took fourth place in their class and 14th overall while Riedemann/Wenzel crossed the finish ramp in Salou on position eight in class and 20 in the overall classification.

“We’ve got more than twelve months to go before our entry into the World Rally Championship. We’re using this time efficiently by participating in WRC rounds with vehicles of the Volkswagen Group’s Škoda brand and familiarising ourselves with the WRC in competitive conditions in parallel to the development of the Polo R WRC,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “Every rally has its own character. The special aspect of the Spanish rally is that the vehicles first run on gravel and then on tarmac, plus it has incredibly enthusiastic fans. Our two young pairings did well in the competition. Yeray Lemes in particular showed that he can keep the pace of the quickest cars in different terrain whereas Christian Riedemann was running well especially on tarmac. For the whole Volkswagen team the participation in the rally has been a valuable experience and now we’re preparing for our next run in Wales.”

The 47th Spain Rally featured a varied profile over a 406.52-kilometre distance of special stages. On Friday the gravel sections were on the agenda. They culminated in a spectacular leg in the dark of the night. On Saturday and Sunday the terrain changed to quick, winding tarmac roads. Yeray Lemes and his co-driver Rogelio Peñate marked three fastest stage times at their home round but due to a puncture lost the chances of clinching an even better result. “We’re more than pleased. We quickly got used to the car on gravel and were able to seriously attack on tarmac. The result makes us very happy, particularly in front of so many fans from my home region, the Canary Islands. I want to thank Volkswagen, we’d like to repeat this at another venue,” said the 24-year-old Lemes. After competing in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland this was Riedemann and Wenzel’s second run for Volkswagen. “In the beginning we didn’t do the best job of handling the gravel, but we learned from this. On tarmac we clearly managed to improve and were even able to keep the pace of the more experienced drivers some of the time,” says the 24-year-old as he summed up the event. From 10 – 13 November, Volkswagen will continue the preparation of the team: Sepp Wiegand with “Dakar” winner Timo Gottschalk as his co-driver and the Dutchman Kevin Abbring with co-driver Lara Vanneste will compete at the Rally Great Britain.

The Rally Legend San Marino, a historical rally spectacular with former World Champions like Marcus Grönholm, Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen, attracts more than 50,000 fans to San Marino every year. Volkswagen competed with two cars in the legend classification at the ninth running of the event: triple German Rally Champion Dieter Depping and former co-driver World Champion Peter Diekmann drove a Golf GTI II Group A of the type with which Volkswagen was World Champion in 1986. Former European Rallycross Champion Per Eklund drove a replica Golf GTI 1, with which Volkswagen contested the 1980 Rally Monte Carlo, together with Hans Sylvan.

PHARAOHS RALLY (Egypt) – 1st/8th of October 2011

World Cup for Cross Country Rallies

LEG 5 : SAHL BARAKA – TIBNIYA (7th of October)

Liaison : 91,59 km – Special Stage : 444,88 km – Liaison : 4,80 km

Team Sonangol Schlesser : straight to the top!

The fifth and penultimate stage of the 2011 Pharaohs Rally was a true highlight. A long and difficult stage, typically “African”. For the fourth consecutive day, the Sonangol Schlesser Buggy gives the right pace and signs another victory. The “Desert Fox” can see now the royal way to the Pyramids of Giza wide open. Tomorrow, the last stage to reach Cairo will be decisive.

Announced as the most terrible of stages, the 445 km stage between Sahl Baraka and Tibniya was decisive for the competitors still racing. The difficulties were real especially the crossing of cathedral dunes and portions on very soft sand.

“This leg was very beautiful but also very hard. Some competitors will certainly spend a lot of time to cross these dunes. We had a good part of soft sand and a 100% off-piste route. I do not think we have made one kilometer on a « real » track… The biggest challenge was to catch the waypoints in the middle of very tough dunes. At the end, we were shaken during about 70 km of closely spaced jumps. There is still a leg to run and I am well placed to say that a rally is never finished until you have crossed the finish line … ”

Tomorrow, back to Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza, for the finish line of the 2011 Pharaohs Rally. Another 350 km stage where many traps will have to be avoid: fast track, sand and bumps to be negotiated with skill. Then, a 78 km transfer before the podium …

PHARAOHS RALLY (Egypt) – 1st/8th of October 2011

World Cup for Cross Country Rallies

LEG 4 : SAHL BARAKA – SAHL BARAKA (6th of October)

Liaison : 1,20 km – Special Stage : 339,93 km – Liaison : 21,38 km

This fifth stage between Sahl Baraka and Tibniya looks spicy, perhaps the most difficult and the most selective since the start of the rally. Indeed, the 444 km of special stage will the judge of the race. Those who will escape from this trap are quite sure to see the Pyramids of Giza next Saturday.

PHARAOHS RALLY (Egypt) – 1st/8th of October 2011

World Cup for Cross Country Rallies

LEG 3 : TIBNIYA – SAHL BARAKA (5th of October)

Liaison : 3,21 km – Special Stage : 286,05 km – Liaison : 21,38 km

New stage victory for Team Sonangol Schlesser!

Taken the overall lead yesterday after defeating the BMW of Team Czech Off-Road Sport and Romanian Team Casuneanu on Mitsubishi MPR 13, Jean-Louis Schlesser signs today its second consecutive stage win. On this 286 km stage which had to be negotiated carefully, the blue buggy takes a comfortable overall lead with more than one hour on his pursuers.

PHARAOHS RALLY (Egypt) – 1st/8th of October 2011

World Cup for Cross Country Rallies

LEG 2 : TIBNIYA / TIBNIYA (4th of October)

Special Stage : 473,63 km – Liaison : 3,93 km

For the Team Sonangol Schlesser the day was cloudless. The huge experience of the “Desert Fox” still makes the difference. The blue buggy moved to the top of classification after its first stage victory with more than 47 minutes ahead of Jun Mitsuhashi’s official Toyota.

Jean-Louis Schlesser started second on the day’s stage and left the initiative to Vladimir Vasiliev. A game of cat and mouse between them, but the Sonangol Schlesser driver has shown all his experience …

“It was again a great leg with incredible landscapes and we crossed such beautiful dunes. This morning, Vladimir Vasiliev opened the track. He quickly took the advantage and probably followed the bikes footsteps. We decided to strictly follow the road book and at CP1 we had taken between 20 and 40 seconds. But after the CP, to avoid to open the track in the dunes, he let us pass. Then he overtook us and in front of a new difficulty, he slowed down again. This time I pushed really hard and he tried to follow us but I think he was stuck. We quickly took off and crossed the finish line first. This morning, visibility was very bad due to the reflection and we had to be very careful not to get trapped. Navigation was less complicated than yesterday but it was really a great leg! “

Photo@Desertrun

PHARAOHS RALLY (Egypt) – 1st/8th of October 2011

World Cup for Cross Country Rallies

LEG 1 : CAIRO – TIBNIYA (3rd of October)

Liaison : 89,06 km – Special Stage : 356,01 km – Liaison : 3,93 km

Photo@Alain Estenave

Photo@Desertrun

Pharaohs Rally 2011

Monday 3rd of October: CAIRO – TIBNIYA (470,35 km)
Tuesday 4th of October: TIBNIYA – TIBNIYA (478,46 km)
Wednesday 5th of October: TIBNIYA – SAHL BARAKA (310,64 km)
Thursday 6th of October: SAHL BARAKA – SAHL BARAKA (362,51 km)
Friday 7th of October: SAHL BARAKA – TIBNIYA (541,27 km)
Saturday 8th of October: TIBNIYA – CAIRO (414,28 km)

Australasian Safari: Again stagewin for Lowndes and Smith – only 11 cars left

Stage 2 of the Australasian Safari Rally brought the competitors from
Mount Magnet to Sandstone – normally only 150 kilometers on the road, but
for the participants the day was again tough – they had to drive 326
kilometers in racing. The terrain was easier to drive, fast sandpists, but
in some parts tricky navigation. So it was the day of the navigators…

In the cars, only four cars ran really against eachother, after them the
time was running and running – so much, that even our press crew were not
able to catch more the four cars all the day. Interesting: All cars were
fitted with V8-engines from American Motor companies, even if they are
running with Japanese Mitsubishi or Nissan cars.

But: From the only 16 cars five didn´t made it after the second day. Tony
and Greg Flood in their ’91 Pajero, out due to mechanical issues faced in
the Prologue. Tony Quinn and Toni Feaver whose “Safari hoodoo” continues,
they blew engine during Leg 1. Darren Green and Wayne Smith withdrew from
the race after rolling their Nissan Patrol and blowing the engine – and
the Weels-Holden crashed two times in two stages.

Let´s say it so: There are two competitions. The “crazy guys” with
V8-fitted engines and big mechanical support – and the “normal guys” with
normal rallycars or even lower support. The crazy fraction has to make
“full throttle” to be in the top – as a Normal the target means: “Keep on
going, watch the navigation… and count with the mistakes of the Crazy.”

One of the “real crazys” were the father-son duo Weel, which rolled their
Holden Colorado in the first day and crashed again in the second day – so
heavily, that they can´t start again on Sunday. So now the team
concentrates for Craig Lowndes, the second Holden was too much damaged,
the penalties too high to start again.

So let´s have a view to the “crazy” but “can finish” competitors.
Superstar Craig Lowndes again showed, why he is a superstar here in
Australia. He pushed his Holden Colorado on top Speed, no big mistakes,
great navigator, again the stagewin and he strenghten his overall lead.
But today Geoff Oholm in his V8-Mitsubishi Pajero pushed, took many
minutes to his teammates Riley / Doble and made the third today behind
them. In the overall he climbed from sixth to fourth position.

“The stages were fast and flowing and a bit rough in a few patches and we
had a close call with three kangaroos” Geoff Oholm told. “We hit 200 km/h
on the fast straight track, it was very enjoyable.”

The father-daughter pairing in their V8 Nissan Patrol Pickup pushed again,
stayed inside the “four Crazys” and finished in the third position
overall. So, even if Laundes has a repectable lead, he can´t slower down,
because his concorrents are still behind him…

Steve Riley (2nd, Mitsubishi Pajero) said, although the day was hard on
the car and their bodies, it was a good day because they had no mechanical
problems. “There were lots of fast bits, and some pretty rough and broken
country. We caught up to Craig – he was lost, and we were lost, and a few
other cars joined us, driving around in circles playing follow the leader.
The scenery was nice with some big rocky gorges and acres of wildflowers.
We went through some really overgrown areas and the windows got covered in
sap and John (Doble) was busy scrubbing it off” he said.

Behind the leaders, only the Mitsubishi L200/Triton crew of Purshouse /
McShane could follow the “crazys” nearly in time, but made a good race and
finished 5th overall. The only international crew, Trairat / Suzuki in
their Isuzu D-Max from Thailand, had a stable race, but some navigation
mistakes. “My driver wanted to follow a wadi instead of the street”
laughed navigator Harry Suzuki, “but the car made all, rocks, stones,
pists. We only cannot reach the speed of the top crews, so we try to make
this race with the stability of the car.”

Terry ‘Tangles’ and Jodi Conner had a rough ride yesterday having only
two-wheel drive for half of the leg and Tangles said he was feeling pretty
sore today. Rob Herridge and Tim Batten’s Subaru Forester suffered from
some rear suspension problems but they are still in the race.

In the motos, the lead has been held by brothers Todd and Jake Smith on
Honda, closely followed by Ben Grabham and Matt Fish, both on KTM. Dakar
winner Frenchman Cyril Despres, also on KTM, said he had a better day and
moved up one position to fifth.

“It was fun today. I was a bit faster, although I was expecting it to be
like yesterday. There was some sliding – it was quite fun. Some parts were
really fast. I’m still having difficultly with the course notes, it is
very different to what I am used to and I’m not sure I can learn it in a
week. I saw some big animals today including 1.5 metre lizard!”

Todd and Jacob Smith have stayed neck and neck but are helping each other
along the way. “Jacob caught me and we raced each other most of the way,
and we also worked together to open and close gates. The stages were
flowing nicely – it was fun,” Todd Smith said.

Matthew Fish also encountered some wildlife on the course. “I had a good
day today – no dramas. Stage 3 was really fun and Stage 4 was a bit
rockier. I managed to get some good speed and didn’t make any navigation
errors. I had a couple of close calls with a kangaroo and an emu and saw
heaps of lizards out there.”

For Damian Grabham, it was a relief to get to the end of today’s Leg.
“Today was mentally challenging – this is the place where I broke my leg
two years ago. I just cruised and took it easy. It was good,” he said.

Colin Lawson remains fastest Quad despite having a tough day, wrecking a
rear wheel rim and having to stop to change his drive belt. Adrian Hermsen
said he had his best day for a long time on the Can-Am Renegade. He sits
second fastest in the Quads. “I had an awesome day. The tracks were fast
and flowing with lots of nice corners where I could slide the back out.
Today was the best ride I’ve had in ages.”

Tomorrow sees competitors travel to Laverton for the event’s longest
competitive course so far at 560 kilometers.

Australasian Safari: Lowndes wins, Weel destroyed again, big carpet of
flowers.

“Welcome in the Outback” showed a sign some kilometers before the
“Village” of Yalgoo, where the Servicepoint after the first stage of 183
kilometers in racing was settled.

And yes, we are in the Outback. Not the real desert like in Africa, but
hot, stony regions with many small bushes and trees – and partly
greenfields with thousands of little yellow and red flowers. This was like
a carpet for the participants – soft, but extremely slippery. Also the
temperatures changed from coastal 24 degrees up to 36 in the Outback.

The Mitsubishi Pajero V8-Crew (yes, V8) Steve Riley and John Doble were
leading the first stage on Saturday, but had major brake issues in the
second part of the day about 230 kilometers. So it was the day of the
Australian “Michael Schumacher” Craig Lowndes, who overtook six cars (!)
and made the first stagewin in 04:43:22 hours with his shining Holden
Colorado V8 Pickup. But Riley and Doble secured the second position with
04:50:07.

The father-daughter team Terry and Jodi Connor (Nissan Patrol Pickup V8)
managed the third position in 05:08:02 hours in front of the Mitsubishi
Triton (L200) crew of Purshouse / McShane (05:27:14), the Mitsubishi-crew
Young / McBean (05:31:51) and the “always happy” Geoff Olholm and Hayden
Redfern in their “Coconut” Mitsubishi Pajero V8 (05:05:54).

Steve Riley elaborated: “Our brakes exploded just 20 kilometers from the
end of the second stage. We had been first out and were leading up until
that point but had to stop and fix it up. But the wildflowers out there
were beautiful but dangerous – it was like driving on oil and we did a lot
of damage to the car.”

The Connor team also had no “easy going”. The stabilizer of their Nissan
Prototype with Chevrolet 4.7 litres V8 engine broke some kilometers after
the start, “we were just slipped through the stage, hitted a tree with our
back, but nothing serious” Terry Connor said in the evening.

Damage was a common theme amongst the cars and the PWR Holden Rally team
mechanics will also be putting in a late night with Lowndes and Weel both
hitting trees. Lowndes explained: “We navigated our way into the forestry
and had to then turn the car around in the first stage. It was really
rocky and rutted and we did a lot of sliding in the wildflower areas.”

The second Holden Colorado of the father-son pairing Paul and Kees Weel,
winner of the prologue even after they roll, had more serious problems.
They arrived very late in the Camp – again with a destroyed Holden Pickup.
They hit a tree on the drivers site heavily, broke the tire and damaged
the cooler system. The mechanics have to find out, if the car can be fixed
- there´s a lot “cold formed” metal to reconstruct.

At all, many cars were missing in the evening, had technical or navigation
problems or damaged their car, so the results will take a while. Tony
Flood and Greg Flood in their Mitsubishi Pajero were the first who had to
retire from the race. They did not start in the stage due to mechanical
issues. Tony Quinn and Toni Feaver (Mitsubishi Pajero) were towed from the
first stage.

In the bikes, Brothers Todd and Jacob Smith finished first and second
fastest with two minutes between them, followed by Rod Faggotter and then
Ben Grabham, who recovered after a tumble over the handlebars.

Cyril Despres is sitting a respectable sixth fastest despite continuing
difficulties with the language of the road books. “This is quite a
different race for me and reading the navigation is like a different
language. I was not racing at 100 percent capacity today and it’s also the
first day.”

Jacob and Todd had some friendly rivalry keeping each other at pace
despite the overgrown tracks, which they both said were treacherous.

Last year´s winner Ben Grabham (KTM) said he was a bit sore but a Panadol
at the refuel kept him going. “Something happened when I was in first gear
going through the grass. I wasn’t liking the conditions today, you
couldn’t see anything in the long grass.”

Shane Diener finished a respectable seventh after coming off on a corner
and getting lost a couple of times in the first stage. “I sorted out my
concentration by the second stage and am being a bit more cautious after
breaking both my wrists earlier this year.”

Young English rider Sam Sunderland had another rough day in the Aussie
outback, hitting a kangaroo and coming off his bike. He managed to get
back on to reach the end of the stage but arrived disoriented and was seen
by a medical team and given IV fluid. He hopes to start tomorrow.

Italian rider Manuel Lucchese had wheel damage 108 km into the second
stage. “My mousse in the tire exploded, really, with fire and a heavy
damage. So I can´t finish the stage, which is very sad. I wanted to get a
good position, but this dream is over now. Ok, I can start again, but it´s
not the same fun as before.”

It was a tough day for the Quads as well. The kinship of the quad riders
was apparent when Heath Young towed Neville Yeatman from the first stage.
Colin Lawson, finishing fastest for the leg, said he lost a lot of time as
he blew a drive belt in the first 70km after he pushed hard to catch the
lead rider. Paul Smith did not finish the second stage because of fuel
problems.

The fourth edition of “Sardegna Rally Race” is still alive in the memory. This one was the edition marked by Marc Coma’s crystalline victory, by the second place of his “historic” opponent Cyril Despres, and by the third place of the almost world champion Helder Rodrigues. This was also the edition of Stephan Peterhansel’s exclusive exploit, who returned to the competitions in that way that opened him the doors to his notorious reputation. The fourth edition was as well the edition of Cyril Neveu and Franco Picco: champions who wrote some of the most beautiful history pages of the exciting African rallies. The events here described were referred to the “Sardegna Rally Race” 2011, fascinating sport agonistic window of “Paradise Island”, which is crossed from Porto Cervo to San Teodoro in five unforgettable stopovers.
Is it possible to do better? Is it possible to add something more to the Rally that has marked a “turning point” in the history of the marathons with the road book? Bike Village says yes, says that it can always be improved, that must be improved. For this reasons, “Sardegna Rally Race” has been replaced in the calendar of the World Championship, in a date that allows the competition to directly join the tourist season. “Sardegna Rally Race” 2012 will take place from June, the 23rd to June, the 28th, one month ahead compared to last year’s competition.

A new pathway has been designed and it will cover an area of Sardegna that has never been “touched” from “Sardegna Rally Race”; there will also be special trials and routes that have never been used before. The “scouts” (headed by the historical marker of “Sardegna Rally Race” Valter Pinna) are already working. The “Marathon” stage has been confirmed (without assistance between the two sections of the race); also the bivouacking camp of Sa Itria has been confirmed: this was an exclusive moment of the Rally 2011 highly appreciated by the participants because of the magic of the Sanctuary near Gavoi, of the camp under the stars and, of course, also because of the great dinner banquet. As in the previous editions the pathway will have different scenery, with ground’s changes and varied landscape worthy of Bike Village Rally’s high reputation. As usual, the navigation will play a key role in the competitive and tactical development of the safest and most technically complex competition of the World championship.

As in the tradition of “Sardegna Rally Race”, its fifth edition will be the most accessible race of the World Championship, because of the lowest costs in the entire World Championship and because of its logistic solutions targeting to the maximum practicality. The fact that the Rally takes place in the peak of the tourist season with predictable, best weather conditions and with the extraordinary availability of the prestigious accommodation involved, emphasizes even better the “Sardegna Rally Race” “Race & Holiday” vocation. This is a value that will appeal a great number of family members, friends and supporters of the participants to Bike Village’s World Championship. As usual, “Sardegna World Championship Rally Race” will host the partially coincident Raid TT test of the Italian Championship .

These are only the preliminary news, the announcement that officializes the fifth edition of “Sardegna Rally Race” and that suggests to all passioned supporters involved in the World Championship or simply searching for an unforgettable experience, to plan their Rally season considering “Sardegna Rally Race” as the center of their program.

The third test run for Volkswagen in the WRC: At the Rally of Spain, the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship (20-23 October 2011), the factory team will again field two Škoda Fabia S2000 cars. At the wheel: the German duo Christian Riedemann/Michael Wenzel (Sulingen/Kaiserslautern) and the Spanish pairing Yeray Lemes/Rogelio Peñate. The team headed by Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen is pursuing two aims at this run: firstly the careful preparation for the entry of the Polo R WRC from 2013 on, and secondly the evaluation of young drivers who would like to recommend themselves for the climb up into the top class of rally racing.

“Our trial runs in Finland and the German Rally have already provided us with important findings with respect to the fielding of the vehicles, the organisation of the teams and the related logistics. Every WRC round has its own characteristics though – this makes it particularly important to gather specific experiences,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “In Spain we will again be running with two young driver pairings: Christian Riedemann and Michael Wenzel did a good job at their home round and now have the chance to show their potential on gravel. Yeray Lemes and his co-driver Rogelio Peñate on the other hand are hopefuls and highly motivated to compete in front of a home audience. For our team the main focus is not so much on the sporting result but on finishing the entire rally in order to gather as much experience as possible.”

For the 23-year-old Christian Riedemann this will be the second run in the Volkswagen factory team. Together with his co-driver Michael Wenzel he took third place at the German Rally in the Super 2000 category and was also the best German in the large field. The duo has to “switch gears” for its run in Spain. Whereas the German rally around Trier was held mostly on tarmac the Catalonian WRC event around the small coastal town Salou additionally features several gravel tracks. This is the type of terrain on which Riedemann’s team colleague Yeray Lemes feels particularly comfortable. The 24-year-old from Lanzarote won the 2009 Spanish Rally Championship on gravel and in addition the JWRC junior class at last year’s WRC round. Lemes, whose enthusiasm for the sport was inspired by Carlos Sainz’ WRC exploits, is currently competing in the so called WRC Academy with his co-driver Rogelio Peñate and is ranking in fourth place overall.

Wolfsburg (13 September 2011). World premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA): Volkswagen is presenting the first drivable prototype of the Polo R WRC that will be used to launch the testing programme this year in preparation for the FIA World Rally Championship. In 2013 Volkswagen will start to contest the top rally racing category, thus setting new aims for the brand after three consecutive victories at the Dakar Rally. The new Polo was unveiled in Frankfurt on Monday evening to an audience of about 2,000 international media representatives and will be showcased on the Volkswagen stand for the duration of the motor show. 

“In February we started designing the vehicle concept for the Polo R WRC. Now we’re already in a position to present the first ready-to-run vehicle that will subsequently be used in extensive tests – an important step in our preparations for the WRC entry in 2013,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “I’m pleased about our team having managed to get this car off the ground in such a short time. And I’m very proud about the opportunity to present it to the public on the occasion of the IAA in Frankfurt.”

The Polo R WRC is based on the Volkswagen Polo that is successfully sold around the world. Its centrepiece is a 1.6-litre TSI engine that uses direct injection and turbocharging and delivers a power output of about 300 HP and maximum torque of about 350 Newton metres. The new engine regulations that came into effect in 2011 thus perfectly fit the Volkswagen philosophy of clever downsizing for high efficiency with sporty performance. Power is transmitted to the wheels by a sequential gearbox and four-wheel drive system. In addition, the weight-optimised Polo R WRC features a complex safety cage and, last but not least, an aerodynamically optimised outer shell.

The FIA World Rally Championship is the most diverse technological challenge in worldwide car racing. The concept design of a WRC vehicle has to consider various types of ground: gravel, scree, tarmac, ice, snow and mud of any description. In this season, for example, 13 World Rally Championship rounds on four different continents are on the calendar. Consequently, a World Rally Car has to function in extremely different climatic conditions – from the blazing heat of South America to the icy ride in Scandinavia. Volkswagen is carefully preparing for the new sporting challenge with an extensive testing programme that includes WRC commitments with vehicles of the Group’s Škoda brand and the evaluation of young talents, among other things.

Immediate Release By
Southwest RallyCup Group
The Rally That Came Back From the Dead!!!!

The 2011 Mendocino Rally is based in Ukiah, CA came back from a 30 year’s of non-competition. The rally had over 54 miles of hard-packed twisty stages contained within the South Cow Mountain off-road vehicle park.

First of all, David Sterckx also came back into rallying at this event from being out of competition as being the two time Belgian rally champion with his co-driver Karen Jankowski. Which they did very well for the first five stages but a clutch problem started to happen and took out the team for the rest of the day. What was so impressive was that other teams were helping Sterckx/Jankowski get up one the hills to try to start the stage with all of the help but had to withdraw from the event as a DNF due to mechanical problems.

But right behind David and Karen were Alex Radenmacher and Jeani Yi who were ecstatic being able to take the lead in the event in their Subaru 2.5 RS and win. Alex went from a 2 wheel drive in previous competition to an 4 wheel drive Open Lite class. Alex has for sometime really started showing his driving capability and for the past two events including this rally that he is in strong contention to do very well in several series that are part of these events which include Rally Car Regional, Bilstein SWRC and CRS series.

As Alex put it as quoted; “The return of the Mendocino Rally was an amazing experience for Jeana and I and the experience started before the stages. Jeana and I were driving our rally car to the event, which is always a bit of a gamble, and this time I lost. Somehow my Axle nut fell off about 5 minutes out of Yuba city, my car veered strangely as I was driving straight, so I pulled over to see what the problem was. I jacked up the front of the car and to my horror I discovered you could easily push the top of the tire, changing the camber and tow, about 2 inches. I figured my spindle/ wheel bearing was bad and I would have to tow back to Yuba City . I called around the rally community. Sean Lane had not left yet and was going to find me a spindle so I could continue my way. And while I was waiting for a call back, I saw a large box truck turning around and driving up the farm entrance I had parked in. But I saw a max attack Tshirt and I knew it was rallyists ! It was Adam Crane and Sean Medcroft they wanted to see if I needed help. YES I DID. When I went to show them the problem I then and only then noticed it was a missing axle nut. I got excited and called Sean lane back with the good news. I dug through my spares and found an axle nut that I could use! But I lacked the proper tools to install it securely, but Adam and Sean quickly dug through their truck and presto! My car was put back together and we could all continue on! Just before the welcome party … I locked my keys in my car, while telling a crew member “its important to hand out your spare keys early, so you don’t lock yourself out of your car… uhm… uh oh … I think I just locked myself out” we managed to find a sneaky way to unlock the door. Jeani and I quickly gave him the spare keys…

The welcome party was great and I got a history lesson by our own Bill Rodgers, I was excited to see a lot of my Northern California rally cross buddies and others from the north Nevada rally! When we left the first MTC all I couldn’t get over how awesome our rally community is , my start was only because of my competitors ! at one of the stage starts I saw Kris-Jon, the new rally driver who unfortunately totaled his car at NNR. In true rally spirit he was already out there on the other side of the time cards. He told me he was building a new car ! Awesome! The roads were amazing, Grade A, and A is for awesome, great job to Jim for putting on an awesome rally! Great people, amazing roads, good weather. fun was had by all. Jeana and I found ourselves giggling like school kids. The roads practically force you to link your drifts together ! With a little bit of attrition we found ourselves in the lead! I tried to not think about it and just drive. On the last stage who was nipping my heels? Adam Crane! He had an amazing last stage, only 6 seconds off of my time with less HP and less drive tires and considering the uphill start . I think he drove the last stage better than I did. The scoreboard showed me on top at the after party, lots of free drinks due to the awesome organization of Jim and we had one hell of a party. Again, big thanks to Jim and all the rally workers, thanks to Adam, Sean, and Sean! Thanks to Rally-America, and also a huge thanks to my GF and navigator for putting up with all of that, and for riding in a rally car 600 miles round trip !”

Alex had to say a lot for this win at Mendocino Red Tail Rally. Congratulations to Alex and Jeana..
Now the other Open Lite Class competitor was Kevin Kardos/Corey Salsbery who did very well in finishing 5th overall and second in their class in their Subaru Impreza. This team was very happy about their results but would have enjoyed it even more so winning the event. They were very ready to have great results in competition.

In the Group 2 class; George Doganis/Tom Smith in a Honda Civic was head to head with Tom and Dick Moser in a VW Golf. This same scenerios was playing out between these two from the previous rally- North Nevada Rally and spilled over into this event. At one stage both finished on the same time…that is a rarity to see and both only had seconds separating their scores. But in the end; the Mosers retired with a broken axle. Right behind them was Adam Crane/Sean Medcroft in their Toyota Corolla who took second place and really showing they have the right stuff to watch out for …with Andrew and Robin Lockhart in their VW Golf who in the end took third place.

The most unfortunate mishap was Roger and Dave Matthews in their VW Rabbit GTI. They came out from Colorado to compete and were doing very well in the early stages but ended up sideways off the road and had to watch as spectators. Roger came out anyway to see relatives and still had a great time despite the DNF. Roger and Dave we hope to see you again with that great spirit that you have always shown at each and every event.

In all, everyone had a great time and ended up back at the awards ceremony enjoying a Red Tail or two at the brewing company that sponsored the event.

In the other competition categories results were:

Lucas Oil 2 Wheel Drive
1. George Doganis/Tom Smith
2. Adam Crane/Sean Medcroft
3. Andrew and Robin Lockhart

Subaru All Wheels Driven
1. Alex Rademacher/Jeana Yi
2. Kevin Kardos/Corey Salsbery

Bilstein Cup Class:
1. George Doganis/Tom Smith
2. Adam Crane/Sean Medcroft
3. Andrew and Robin Lockhart
3

2011 Mendocino Red Tail Official Scoring Results presented by Rallydata.com:
OA Car

Place # Driver / Co-Driver Car Score Class
1 390 Alex Rademacher / Jeana Yi Impreza RS 2.5 1:00:07 1 Open Lite
2 792 George Doganis / Thomas Smith Honda Civic 1:01:01 1 Group 2
3 742 Adam Crane / Sean Medcroft Toyota Corolla 1:01:43 2 Group 2
4 337 Andrew Lockhart / R Lockhart VW Golf 1:02:34 3 Group 2
5 500 Kevin Kardos / Corey Salsbery Subaru Impreza 1:05:23 2 Open Lite
6 190 Jason Staats / Nick Taylor Nissan Sentra 1:06:02 4 Group 2
7 104 Albert Kun / Don Burress Volvo 242 1:06:47 5 Group
8 256 Javier Olivares / Brock Heinz Mitsubishi Galant 1:09:13 6 Group 2
9 446 Jen Imai / Terry Stonecipher Suzuki Swift GT 1:12:04 7 Group
10 49 Sean Lane / Christian Coulter Dodge Neon 1:49:49 8 Group 2
343 Tim Moser / Dick Moser VW Golf GTi DNF Group 2
28 Jose Angeles / Jun Castrence Toyota Corolla DNF Group 2
14 David Sterckx / K Jankowski Mitsubishi Evo 6 DNF Open
72 Roger Matthews / D Matthews VW Rabbit GTI DNF Group 2

About the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series: Based out of Southern California, Southwest RallyCup is a series over 7 years that supports both organizers and competitors in the Southwest region and competitors who come from out of region to support the southwest area events. The series main goal is to bring awareness about the southwest region and to help events to be successful, fun and rewarding to both sides of the rally program. Which is supported by the title sponsor Bilstein USA, Lucas Oil, Subaru Southwest Region, Rallygrafix.com, K2 Awards, Team O’Neil Rally School, Real Estate of South Bay, Poly Performance, Fast Aid, Silverstone Tyres, etc.

About RallyCar, Inc. Based in Golden Valley, Minn., RallyCar sanctions the premier performance rally series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2011, RallyCar is conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Washington to Newry, Maine. RallyCar competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. Additionally, RallyCar sanctions the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship featuring rally cars racing door-to-door on tricky tarmac/dirt race tracks. More information about rally and rallycross can be found at www.rally-america.com, and videos can viewed at www.youtube.com/rallyamericaseries.
About the California Rally Series:

The California Rally Series is the premier performance rally championship in the southwestern United States. The Series incorporates events from various sanctioning bodies in order to create a meaningful regional championship for its members. The Series celebrates more than 35 continuous years of performance rally, making it the longest running rally series in the United States. To learn more about the California Rally Series visit www.californiarallyseries.com.