Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Show 50 post(s) from this thread on one page

Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras (https://www.seccs.org/forums/index.php)
-   Motorsports Chat (https://www.seccs.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=19)
-   -   2006 WRC Drivers Market news (https://www.seccs.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3725)

Nick Koan 2005-10-10 07:19 AM
2006 WRC Drivers Market news
 
Manufacturer Entrants:
Subaru World Rally Team: Solberg, Atkinson, Sarrazin (asphalt and testing)
BP-Ford World Rally Team: Gronholm, Hirvonen, Kresta (testing and occasional non-points rounds)
Total Kronos Citroen WRT: Loeb, Xavier Pons

Manufacturer 2 Entrants:
Red Bull Skoda: Andreas Aigner, Panizi (Monte Carlo), Ekstron (Sweeden)
OMV Peugeot Norway: Henning Solberg, Manfred Stohl
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford: Matt Wilson, Kosti Katijamaki

Other Privateer teams with works cars:
Czech Team (Skoda): Jan Kopecky, ?
Oreca (Citroen): ?
PH Sport (Citroen): ?
Astra Racing (Peugeot): Toni Gardermeister (Monte Carlo only)
Ralliart Italy (Mitsubishi): Galli (Monte Carlo and Sweden), Rovanpera (Sweden).

Possible drivers for next years top level seats:
Duval
Martin
Touhino
Passonen
McRae
Meeke

sperry 2005-10-10 09:51 AM
I just hope that Skoda gets a real commitment from Audi to stay in the WRC so McRae and Bubbles, er Grist, get back to full time driving.

And if Gronholm thought the reliability of the Puegot was suspect, I can't wait to see him in a Ford. :lol: Instead of the door handle coming off in his hand, this time it'll be the steering wheel! :eek:

Nick Koan 2005-10-10 10:01 AM
Oh yeah, I forgot that McRae does stand a good chance of getting a drive with Skoda if they stay for another year or two.

What we really need is another manufacturer to step up after losing two, potentially three manufacturers. I'm sure the FIA is doing everything they can to try and keep Skoda in the WRC. Hyundai should be making a limited return next year, so there is also a possibility they will grab a few mid-to-top level drivers for testing and development next year.

sperry 2005-10-10 10:51 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by nKoan
Oh yeah, I forgot that McRae does stand a good chance of getting a drive with Skoda if they stay for another year or two.

What we really need is another manufacturer to step up after losing two, potentially three manufacturers. I'm sure the FIA is doing everything they can to try and keep Skoda in the WRC. Hyundai should be making a limited return next year, so there is also a possibility they will grab a few mid-to-top level drivers for testing and development next year.
Skoda should just switch back to the Audi name for WRC... that would get the ball rolling. It might even get some big-name german manufacturers like Porsche, BMW, and Benz into the fray.

The problem I think is that WRC is a showcase for the "lower" car manufacturers, which keeps the premium brands out of it. If the FIA can get names like Audi, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Ford (i.e. the same fellas running in F1) on board w/ WRC, I think it would do wonders for the sport.

MattR 2005-10-10 02:07 PM
So the Citroen factory team is going to be disolved after all? I still don't think that is a good move. I agree that Audi should take over the Skoda team, for brand recognition if nothing else.

AtomicLabMonkey 2005-10-10 02:17 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by sperry
The problem I think is that WRC is a showcase for the "lower" car manufacturers, which keeps the premium brands out of it. If the FIA can get names like Audi, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Ford (i.e. the same fellas running in F1) on board w/ WRC, I think it would do wonders for the sport.
Yeah, but who's going to want to shell out money to support a WRC team after spending $300-gazillion on F1 in a given year?

Nick Koan 2005-10-10 02:18 PM
Yeah, PSA made the announcement at the beginning of this season that they were pulling Citroen and Peugeot out of the WRC. There stands a good posibility, though, that Citroen will come back in 2007, while Peugeot probably won't be back for a while. They are trying to focus on sports and touring cars. Peugeot's first goal is to be the first Diesel LMP1 car to win the 24 hours at Le Mans.

And, although it would be cool to see Skoda turn to Audi, it probably won't happen. Audi doesn't need the WRC to sell cars, but Skoda does.

Dean 2005-10-10 03:17 PM
I think the A3, or R32 would make good platforms for WRC, and might make good alternatives to te Skoda nameplate... Maybe in Europe it is making a differenece, but just don't see it here obviously. Is Skoda in Australia?

Nick Koan 2005-10-10 03:21 PM
Skoda is a Czechoslovakian manufacturer, and I believe they are sold in Europe, Africa, Middle East, India and South American markets. Nothing in Australia or North America.

And yes, the WRC is helping Skoda a little bit. It'd help them more if they got wins. Audi and VW have such a good market share and brand recognition, that they don't need the WRC for marketing. There is more return for their advertising budget on programs like DTM, ALMS, Le Mans, etc. Or at least that is what VAG thinks.

sperry 2005-10-10 03:56 PM
I'm not argueing that there's an incentive for Audi propper to get back into the WRC. I'm just saying that if they did, it'd be good for the sport.

Nick Koan 2005-10-10 03:59 PM
But that can be said about any manufacturer. The WRC needs more manufacturers badly.

Dean 2005-10-10 04:07 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by sperry
I'm not argueing that there's an incentive for Audi propper to get back into the WRC. I'm just saying that if they did, it'd be good for the sport.
I realize you aren't, but I think I am. I think you could show an overall net gain in sales, especially for VW as an addition/replacement for Skoda.

Kevin M 2005-10-10 04:27 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by sperry
And if Gronholm thought the reliability of the Puegot was suspect, I can't wait to see him in a Ford. :lol: Instead of the door handle coming off in his hand, this time it'll be the steering wheel! :eek:
IIRC that's more of a Subaru issue. ;)

Nick Koan 2005-10-26 06:58 PM
http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=4&nid=121355

Citroen is returning in 2007 for sure now.

Which means Loeb is all but confirmed to drive a privateer Xsara run either by Oreca or Kronos racing.

Nick Koan 2005-10-26 07:01 PM
Also, some what of a shift for the WRC is coming in 2007 also.

Simply put, 2007 will only have 8-9 rounds, from January to June. The 2008 season will start in August of 2007 and end in May of 2008, and from then on the championship will run August - May.

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=4&nid=121354

MattR 2005-10-26 07:20 PM
That's great for us in the US, a winter motorsport to follow is perfect!!! I think that is a great move.

skimonkey30 2005-10-26 07:41 PM
I just saw the schedule for 2006 and Rally monte Carlo is happening while I'm supposed to be in Switzerland :devil:

MattR 2005-10-26 07:49 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by skimonkey30
I just saw the schedule for 2006 and Rally monte Carlo is happening while I'm supposed to be in Switzerland :devil:

Every time you type something, my hatred grows!

You better go there son.

Nick Koan 2005-10-26 07:54 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by skimonkey30
I just saw the schedule for 2006 and Rally monte Carlo is happening while I'm supposed to be in Switzerland :devil:
Damn. That sucks you'll be so far away from Europe during the Rally Monte Carlo.

skimonkey30 2005-10-26 09:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by nKoan
Damn. That sucks you'll be so far away from Europe during the Rally Monte Carlo.
Shit thats right!! :eek:

My train ticket is going to be so expensive since I have to actually travel into Europe :lol:

Nick Koan 2005-11-05 09:04 AM
Kronos confirmed to be running Loeb in 2006.

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=4&nid=121713

Xavier Pons will be his team mate.

Nick Koan 2005-11-18 08:11 AM
Hirvonen signed to Ford.

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=4&nid=122347

Nick Koan 2005-11-20 09:08 PM
http://www.swrt.com/842511.html

Atkinson re-signs at Subaru

sperry 2005-11-20 11:56 PM
I'm stoked Chris Atkinson kept his ride at Subaru... no doubt due to his strong finish to the season! I think once we see just a touch more maturity from his driving, we're gonna see that kid start winning some rallies! :D

Nick Koan 2005-12-05 06:23 PM
Subaru re-signed Sarrazin for 4 tarmac events and testing duties.

Much more limited program then last year for him, but with Chris's performance last year, I can see they feel less of a need for Sarrazin.

Nick Koan 2005-12-09 08:22 AM
http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=4&nid=123090

Skoda drops out, but two private teams will be running Skoda's next year. Red Bull Racing will field on team and will only run ten events under the new 'Manufacturer 2' rules, which makes them eligible for Manufacturer points, but without the requirement to run all rallies. Andreas Aigner is signed to run in one of the two Red Bull cars. The other team will be based on Jan Kopecky, and he may be the only driver. Again, that team is only contesting 10 rounds.

sperry 2005-12-09 10:32 AM
No Skoda? :( I was really hoping we'd see McRae and Grist with a full time ride. Now is the time for Audi to bring the Quattro back into WRC. :devil:

Nick Koan 2005-12-09 10:48 AM
Yup, its looking pretty bleak with only Ford, Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Kronos (Citroen) should be competitive, though, and maybe the Skoda's will be too.

sperry 2005-12-13 06:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by nKoan
Yup, its looking pretty bleak with only Ford, Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Kronos (Citroen) should be competitive, though, and maybe the Skoda's will be too.
Make that "only Ford and Subaru". :(

Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCshopper on NASIOC
Tokyo, December 14, 2005: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has announced that it has decided to suspend participation in the FIA World Rally Championship series from 2006.

With the Mitsubishi Motors Revitalization Plan as a basis, MMC has made a solid start toward revitalizing its business operations. However, to strengthen and build upon this base, MMC realizes that it must focus management resources on the continued promotion of the revitalization plan.

Mitsubishi Motors hopes to return to the WRC Championship series from 2008, after the completion of the 3-year revitalization plan, which covers fiscal 2005 to 2007.

This decision however does not extend to MMC’s efforts in the Dakar Rally (commonly known as Paris-Dakar). Mitsubishi Motors will continue to compete in this event.

-- Starting with an overall championship in the Safari Rally in 1974, the Mitsubishi WRC Team has accomplished a spectacular 34 wins in the WRC series. The team won the drivers’ title 4 consecutive years from 1996 to 1999, and won the prestigious manufacturers’ title in 1998.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...php?p=11986444

But I can't seem to find any real information that confirms this.... just some posts on message boards. For all I know, this is total bullshit... but it wouldn't be the 1st time Mistubishi has just up and stopped competing in WRC.

Nick Koan 2005-12-13 06:18 PM
Yeah, seeing one new article isn't too assuring, especially when Mitsubishi's main motorsports pages makes no mention of the announcement. We will probably see the offical announcement tomorrow. The deadline to register is the 15th, and they still haven't made any driver announcements, so it's still fully plausibile that they are pulling out.

Sucks to see them go, but in better news, about 70% of the new Red Bull team (engineers and tech's mainly) will be ex-factory Skoda men. Hopefully they can continue their development (in a somewhat limited fashion) and to quote Petter Solberg, "To say that Sebastien Loeb is not in a factory car is bullshit. Guy Frequelin is still there, you know, engineers, mechanics, full-spec Michelin tyres, everything."

Kevin M 2005-12-13 11:20 PM
Go Petter. :lol:

Nick Koan 2005-12-14 08:18 AM
http://www.wrc.com/page/BreakingNews...755137,00.html

Confirmed... :(

MattR 2005-12-14 08:26 AM
Boy, how did the WRC go from full throttle to nothing in a few months. I'm not sure what to think of the coming season.

Nick Koan 2005-12-15 08:28 AM
The new Manufacturer 2 Class just got another team, Bozian racing, who will be running 307's for Henning Solberg and Manfred Stohl. They also picked up OMV as their main sponsor, who used to sponsor Kronos racing.

A lot of ex-Peugeot engineers and techs will be staffing this team as well.

Nick Koan 2005-12-19 10:45 AM
The list of teams registering for Manufacturer points has been released.

Offical Entrants:
KRONOS TOTAL CITROEN WRT (cars #1-2)
BP-FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM (#3-4)
SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM (#5-6)
OMV-PEUGEOT NORWAY (#7-8)*
STOBART VK M-SPORT FORD RALLY TEAM (#9-10)*
RED BULL-SKODA TEAM (#11-12)*

*Denotes Manufacturer 2


M-Sport (who runs the official works Ford team) will run a 'B team' potentially with Matt Wilson and Kosti Katijamaki behind the wheel.

Toni Gartermesiter has a drive for Monte Carlo from Astra Racing running a Peugeot 307.

Oreca and PH Sport are both linked to run Citroen Xsara's but no driver announcements yet.

The Manufacturer 2 class is for privateer teams to enter for Manufacturer points. These teams can run the same cars as works teams, and are not required to run all 16 events (I believe the minimum is 10 events). They still go after the same championship (ie, there will not be a Manufacturer 2 cup at the end of the season), but running less events will theoretically but them out of contention anyway.

Nick Koan 2005-12-19 10:51 AM
Also, Gigi Galli has stated that he turned down an offer from Malcom Wilson to run the second Ford Focus to stay with Mitsubishi, shortly before getting the call from Mitsubishi telling him that they were pulling out of the 06 season :rolleyes:

MattR 2005-12-22 08:34 AM
Ex-Mitsu Driver Gilles Panizzi and DTM champ from 04, Mathias Ekstrom will split the work with RedBull's 2nd Skoda.

They are only guranteed seats in the first two rounds of the season, Panizzi will handle tarmac duties at Monte, and Ekstrom will take on Rally Sweden.
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/rally/auto/21335/

Nick Koan 2005-12-22 08:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattR
Ex-Mitsu Driver Gilles Panizzi and DTM champ from 04, Mathias Ekstrom will split the work with RedBull's 2nd Skoda.

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/rally/auto/21335/
Looks like only for Monte Carlo and Sweeden (respectively) so far. No long term signings yet.

Also, Matt Wilson got signed full time at the second Ford team.

MattR 2005-12-22 08:53 AM
I must have added that while you typed...

Anyway, I'm concerned that this WRC season is going to be so choppy and hard to follow, that interest will be WAY down. Not a good thing for the US market, as WRC fightsfor coverage on Tv yearly, a week season of viewers and WRC could go away from Speed. I know I'm having a hard time getting excited for the season, but of course I will give it a chance on hopes that the drivers will still shine from their privateer teams.

Nick Koan 2005-12-22 09:52 AM
Yeah, it doesn't look good.

But, on the other hand, if Subaru does well, they'll keep funding speed to show the WRC. Hopefully, it won't get to the point where Speed just axes it even with Subaru paying so much to air it.

AtomicLabMonkey 2005-12-22 10:05 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by nKoan
Yeah, it doesn't look good.

But, on the other hand, if Subaru does well, they'll keep funding speed to show the WRC. Hopefully, it won't get to the point where Speed just axes it even with Subaru paying so much to air it.
Really, I didn't know Subaru was paying off Speed to float the coverage. I've never heard of that before in motorsports... maybe I'm just living under a rock though.

MattR 2005-12-22 10:08 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey
Really, I didn't know Subaru was paying off Speed to float the coverage. I've never heard of that before in motorsports... maybe I'm just living under a rock though.
Not so much paying them off,, just running a TON of Legacy, wrx and tribeca comercials during the race coverage. Also, the "This broadcast brought ot you buy Subaru, the beauty of AWD"...tags. Just lots of advertising dollars.

Nick Koan 2005-12-22 10:09 AM
Well, paying off might be a bit strong. I didn't mean to imply some behind the sceens conspiracy. I doubt its a cloaked payoff to keep WRC coverage on the air.

But, Subaru is certainly a major sponsor for the events. From a purely business standpoint at Speed, it doesn't really matter how many viewers you have, but how many advertising dollars you get. As long as Subaru keeps supplying a majority of those dollars, there is no reason to pull WRC off the air, regardless of viewership.

sperry 2005-12-22 10:10 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey
Really, I didn't know Subaru was paying off Speed to float the coverage. I've never heard of that before in motorsports... maybe I'm just living under a rock though.
You never noticed that there's a Subaru commercial every commercial break? Also the "WRC on Speed is brought to you by Subaru. Think. Feel. Drive." before each commercial break? ;)

Nick Koan 2005-12-28 04:27 PM
Rumor mill says that Ralliart Italy will get the 05/06 Lancers from Mitsubishi and Gigi Galli will drive one of them.

Unfortunately, I think they will be too late in registering for Manufacturers points.

EDIT: found a link on an itallian site.

Link to the Google translation:
http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools
Original article:
http://www.racingworld.it/rally/noti...?idtitolo=2072

Nick Koan 2006-02-24 02:32 PM
http://www.wrc.com/page/News/Breakin...794060,00.html

Not drivers market news, but the rumors of David Lapworth leaving the Prodrive part of SWRT were in fact true.

Quote:
The Subaru World Rally Team announced today a shift in its management structure. David Lapworth is stepping down and will be replaced by Paul Howarth, who is now responsible for the operation and tehcnical aspect of the team. Lapworth will now take over a new position within Prodrive, working on a new project.

"I have worked with Subaru for a long time in the WRC and have been fortunate to be involved in many World Championship successes. I have very much enjoyed myself and it will not be easy to move from the Team, however I am confident that I am leaving a very strong technical team who will take Subaru forward to further success in the future. Personally I am looking forward to the challenge of my new role within the Prodrive organisation", said Lapworth.

Richard Taylor, SWRT's Managing Director added: "As one of the founding members of the team, David's contribution to its success over the past 17 years has been invaluable and we owe him a big debt of gratitude. In advance of this move, the team has, over the last four months, made a number of management and organisational changes, including significantly increasing the level of technical collaboration with Subaru in Japan. More and more effort is being devoted to the parallel development of Subaru road cars and the World Rally Car and we will see the benefits of this on both stage and road in the coming months and years. We have a formidable team of people and are very confident that we are fully equipped for the challenges ahead".

This announcement came only a week before the Corona Rally México, where last year's winner was Subaru ace Petter Solberg.

Nick Koan 2006-02-27 09:45 AM
No link, but more Lapworth rumor mongering.

Quote:
Richards makes progress on new F1 team

By Jonathan Noble Monday, February 27th 2006, 14:31 GMT

Former BAR boss David Richards is believed to be close to giving the green light to launching his own Prodrive Formula One team for 2008, autosport.com has learned.

Sources have confirmed that Richards recently held talks with FIA president Max Mosley and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone to discuss the future framework of regulations planned for the sport after 2007.

It is the first indication that Richards' plans for a team are advancing behind the scenes - even though he has made no secret of the fact that he has been considering a return to Grand Prix racing for some time.

Although Richards has declined to comment on the latest developments, he did admit at the Autosport International Show in January that a move to F1 for Prodrive would make sense if new rules planned for 2008 made the sport more economically viable for independent teams.

"I would not say it is unfinished business, but Prodrive is a motorsport business and that is at the heart of everything that we do," he said.

"We are involved in most aspects of it, but we are currently not involved in F1 - although we do supply some components.

"I will only go there (into F1) when the situation allows us to be competitive and to make a profit - and the changes coming for 2008 might allow that to come to fruition."

There are suggestions that David Lapworth, who left his position as Performance Director of Prodrive's Subaru World Rally Team last week, will be involved in the F1 operation.

A report in this week's Autocar magazine also suggests that Prodrive will build a state-of-the-art factory for their F1 team at the former Honiley airfield near Warwick, which has been owned by the company since 1999.

Richards' ambitions for the team come at a time when Mosley is campaigning hard on behalf of independent teams – claiming they are the lifeblood of F1. Mosley admitted recently that Richards was 'serious' in his ambitions to launch an F1 team.

"David Richards is looking at it quite seriously, but I think that is a separate operation, he has put a whole operation together," said Mosley. "It would make sense."

sperry 2006-02-27 09:59 AM
Dear god, please let the F1 rules actually effectively lower costs to the point where Prodrive can race and succeed in the sport.

tysonK 2006-02-27 10:18 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by sperry
Dean god, please let the F1 rules actually effectively lower costs to the point where Prodrive can race and succeed in the sport.
Dear god...

Dean god sounds really funny though.

sperry 2006-02-27 10:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by tysonK
Dear god...

Dean god sounds really funny though.
:lol: Woops... I just got done sending an email to Dean and Mike about the Timing and Scoring computer... I wonder if that's how that happened?


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:42 AM.
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Show 50 post(s) from this thread on one page

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
All Content Copyright Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras unless otherwise noted.