A deal taking 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen into the World Rally Championship is likely to be confirmed within hours according to Autosport.

Raikkonen vacated his race seat at Ferrari at the end of last season to allow Fernando Alonso a shot with the Scuderia for 2010 onwards.

He is likely to join the Citroen Junior World Rally team, with Red Bull backing alongside Sebastian Ogier.

However rumours that it will lead to an F1 drive with Red Bull Racing for 2011 for Raikkonen have been quashed somewhat in an interview with a Red Bull spokesperson.

“This has no prejudice at all for Kimi’s further F1 career if he intends one” He said

“It does not mean at all that he will replace a current Red Bull F1 driver in our team from 2011.”

Portugal’s Bernardo Sousa has become the third driver in a fortnight to switch cars to one of M-Sport’s new Fiesta S2000s and sign up to next year’s inaugural WRC Cup.

Sousa, 22, will compete against former WRC works team drivers Janne Tuohino and Xevi Pons who have also registered for the FIA’s latest championship in identical cars. Sousa has tackled the Production Car World Rally Championship for the last two seasons, driving a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer in 2008, before switching to a Super 2000 Abarth Grande Punto in 2009.

The Madeira-born youngster finished 10th in the P-WRC this year, after failing to finish four of his six rallies – twice because of mechanical problems. Feeling he wasn’t going to get much more from his car, Sousa decided it was time for a change.

“I think everyone saw that the Punto wasn’t that competitive – at least not as much as we thought it would be at the beginning of the season,” Sousa told wrc.com. “If we want to try and get to first position we needed to change. The Punto hasn’t evolved, and it was the first to be built to the Super 2000 rules so we need to change it. I’m sure that the Fiesta is the best car on the market.”

Sousa’s Fiesta will be run by M-sport in 2010 – bringing an end to his association with the Italian Procar Rally Team which ran his Punto.

“With M-Sport and the Fiesta I think we’re going to be with the best team and the best car,” said Sousa. “I think this combination will help us achieve the best results. Also, it looks like Xevi Pons will be a new team-mate, and that’s going to be great. I’m sure we’ll get along very well, and having drivers like him in the team is good for the development of the car.”

Sousa’s WRC Cup programme starts with the first rally of the year in Sweden, and includes the rounds in Jordan, Portugal, Germany, France, Japan and Great Britain. “This will be my third year in the WRC and I hope that with a bit more experience I can get some top five finishes, and maybe some podiums on events we know a bit better,” said Sordo.
- Credit: www.wrc.com

Kimi Raikkonen

Ainda sem saber o que fará em 2010, Kimi Raikkonen está a ser rumorado para assumir uma das vagas da Citroën no WRC. Mesmo não escondendo a admiração pelo piloto, a construtora francesa negou que já tenha feito qualquer tipo de contrato com o finlandês, apesar de o site oficial da categoria ter publicado na última sexta que as partes estavam próximas de um acordo.

“Seria uma rasteira do WRC na F1, mas não há nada assinado, eu jamais conversei com Raikkonen no telefone“, disse Olivier Quesnel, dono da Citroën, à imprensa francesa. “Ele é um grande piloto, não foi campeão por acaso. O que ele fez na Finlândia, ao conduzir uma S2000, foi surpreendente“, elogiou o dirigente, referindo-se a provas de rali já disputadas pelo vencedor da temporada 2007 da F1.

Quesnel, entretanto, avisou que, caso Raikkonen feche mesmo com a Citroën, o nórdico não correrá pela equipa principal da construtora.

“É uma possibilidade. Em todos os casos, se ele vier trabalhar connosco, não vai estar na equipa oficial, mas, sim, na júnior team“, afirmou.

Por Henrique Neto

Fala galerinha off-roader.

Pois é…
Faltando apenas um dia para o lançamento (01/12/2.009)  do meu tão esperando DiRT2, a bendita Demo do jogo resolveu vazar em alguns sites da interwebz internet, e eu, obviamente, baixei testei o demo de tal.

Adeus a minha vida social...

Sério.
Acho que deve ter sido uma das melhores coisas que aconteceu no meu final de semana.
O jogo é simplesmente viciante. Eu, que já amomuitotudoisso gosto BASTANTE de GRID (inclusive, fiz questão de comprar na promoção do Steam por US$ 7,49) fiquei nada mais nada menos que três horas seguidas jogando as míseras duas corridas que estão disponíveis no demo.
Uma entitulada “Trailblazer” que consiste em um estagio de rally, mas em velocidade estupidamente alta.
Um mix de Pikes Peak com WRC e a outra (que gostei um pouco menos) intitulada “Land Rush”, onde pick-ups preparadas para rally e “Baja bugs” competem em um circuito fechado de terra.

Feio né? (NOT)

Desnecessário dizer que o jogo é lindo.
A Codemaster conseguiu elevar os gráficos do GRID a um outro nível estratosféricamente cósmico.
Os efeitos de iluminação, partículas (fumaça e etc) e até as bandeirinhas bonitinhas e balançantes foram feitas com o maior cuidado e atenção para proporcionar  maxima imersão e realismo possíveis.
E detalhe… Estou falando isso da versão DirectX 10.
Não consigo nem imaginar como o DirectX 11 pode deixar o jogo mais bonito do que já é.

Imagem "in-game"

Enfim…
Na minha opinião, esse com certeza vai ser o jogo de corrida que jogarei por um bom tempo.
Adoro um bom jogo de corrida, e este com certeza vai servir pra tirar a poeira do meu volante.

Segue abaixo videozinho com a intro que fiz e utilizarei nos futuros videos do blog.

PC Pwnage – DiRT 2 (demo)

Abraços a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu feed RSS

PS: aceito toda e qualquer opinão/comentário/zuação com sobre a intro e o video

“Nada está assinado, nunca falei com Raikkonen pelo telefone”, afirma

Olivier Quesnel, principal dirigente da Citroën, desmentiu os rumores recentes de que a equipe teria assinado com o finlandês Kimi Raikkonen para a temporada 2010 do WRC.

O campeão de 2007 da F-1, que optou por tirar um ano sabático na categoria após ser substituído na Ferrari pelo espanhol Fernando Alonso, afirmou diversas vezes que sua intenção é se dedicar ao rali no próximo ano, provavelmente pilotando pela Citroën.

Neste final de semana, o próprio site do WRC informou que o finlandês estava acertando pequenos detalhes com o time francês para oficializar a mudança, já que ele dispõe de um forte patrocínio da Red Bull para competir pela equipe campeã desta temporada.

O dirigente, no entanto, negou que haja algum acordo estabelecido entre as duas partes, mas confirmou que pode, sim, assinar com o finlandês futuramente.

“Nada está assinado, nunca falei com Raikkonen pelo telefone”, disse Quesnel ao jornal francês “L’Equipe”.

“De qualquer maneira, se ele assinar com a Citroën, não será pela equipe oficial, mas sim na júnior. Há muitos rumores sobre isto”, disse.

“Ele não foi campeão na F-1 por acaso. Na Finlândia, ele foi impressionante ao volante de um Super 2000. Se ele for para o WRC, será uma ótima notícia para o rali no geral”, finalizou.

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

M-Sport and Ford last week officially unveiled their latest project, the Ford Fiesta S2000 rally machine. M-Sport has enjoyed tremendous success with their record-breaking Ford Focus RS WRC car and have applied their expertise and experience to this new specification rally car.
With the new World Rally Championship’s sporting regulations stipulating S2000-specification rally machines for 2011 as the official WRC cars, M-Sport and Ford have selected the Fiesta as being the best road car base model for their future rally projects.

Those sporting regulations, which place the emphasis on making the competition vehicle as cost effective as possible, have presented new challenges for Christian Loriaux (Technical Director at M-Sport) and his team at M-Sport, all of which have had to be overcome in an extremely short space of time. The experience gained from the development of the recording-breaking Ford Focus RS WRC has been put to good use throughout the project while also adapting certain aspects of the car to fit the new rules.

One of the biggest challenges was the size of the Fiesta’s cockpit. Despite rules which allow the maximum width of the car to be 1820mm, 20mm wider than the previous regulations, the passenger compartment of the car is still small. With driver safety paramount, the crew have to be kept as far away from the outside of the car as possible so finding room for the competition seats whilst taking this into account was a real test for the designers.
An advantage of the extra width is that it allows more lateral grip and the Fiesta S2000, the first car to be designed within these new rules, really benefits from that. Stricter definitions of the roll cage geometry have been laid out by the FIA and more basic requirements, like an increase in the size of the tube used to construct the roll cage from 38mm to 50mm, have been included in the compulsory guidelines.

M-Sport technical director Christian Loriaux and his team studied 50 different roll cage options, taking into account safety considerations alongside weight distribution and the stiffness of the roll cage to maximise the Fiesta S2000’s handling abilities. The cockpit itself has been designed to maintain the best possible visibility for the crew, who have to sit quite far back in the car.

The Fiesta S2000 has been designed in line with the latest FIA safety regulations and will be able to accept the new FIA safety seat design. The car came through its FIA crash test with flying colours; a maximum deflection of 100mm is allowed and the Fiesta passed with just 10mm of deflection.

The new car’s suspension is based on the MacPherson strut system, a simpler system than that currently in use on the Ford Focus RS WRC, but as on the WRC car, the Fiesta uses Reiger shock absorbers. However, new FIA rules which ban ball bearings in the dampers meant that significant research was needed into reducing the friction losses.

M-Sport selected Xtrac to supply the transmission system for the car based on their previous experience of S2000 technology with other manufacturers. Engine development has again been restricted by the new regulations but M-Sport have continued to work with French company Pipo on the project. The normally aspirated engine in the Fiesta S2000 uses the same basic two-litre block and cylinder head that was used in the Focus RS WRC. The advantage of an atmospherically aspirated engine is that it fits comfortably under the bonnet of the smaller car.

After initial tests in the UK, the car underwent kinematic testing to measure suspension movement and stiffness, at Ford’s proving ground in Lommel, Belgium before a rigorous week of tarmac and gravel testing in France with both Markko Märtin and Matthew Wilson sharing the driving duties. The car has now completed nearly 3,000 km of testing.

M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson said:
“Today is a very exciting day for us. This is the first global rally car for Ford and M-Sport, I really believe that we have produced a fantastic rally car and this launch is a big step to seeing it out competing in rallies. It’s the first time in five years that we have been able to offer a Ford rally car that can challenge for overall victory in national championships across the world.

“It is also the culmination of a huge amount of hard work not only by Christian Loriaux and his team, but by everyone who works at M-Sport. We have worked closely with Ford on this project, their best-selling road car, the new Ford Fiesta, has been a perfect base car and its award-winning styling and kinematics together with M-Sport’s expertise will surely make the Fiesta S2000 a huge global success.”

M-Sport Technical Director Christian Loriaux said:
“It’s a fantastic feeling today to see the car actually launched to the world after all the hard work and testing behind closed doors. Everyone at M-Sport has had to pull together in order to get the Fiesta S2000 finished in such a short period of time and it has been a great team effort to get to this point so quickly.

“The design team, led by Anthony Brinkman and Chris Gray, has worked incredibly hard and the fact that we have been able to deliver the car to schedule is down in no small part to the commitment of the entire M-Sport team to the success of the project. We have made a very promising start in testing and I am more than pleased with the performance of the car so far; it will be interesting to see how the real pace of the car compares to the competition.”
- Information supplied by M-Sport.

Kimi Raikkonen

Fora da F1 em 2010, Kimi Raikkonen está muito perto de fechar um acordo para correr pela Citroën no WRC. A informação foi noticiada pelo site oficial do Mundial de Ralis, que fez questão de ter cuidado em não estragar a ida do finlandês para o Mundial de Ralis, mas apontou que o acerto para isso está próximo.

De acordo com o site oficial do WRC, nada foi assinado ainda, mas faltam resolver poucos detalhes para que o negócio seja fechado. Um anúncio oficial, inclusive, deve ser feito nos próximos dias, segundo uma fonte ligada ao finlandês.

O site do WRC disse ainda que a transferência de Raikkonen seria apoiada pela Red Bull, um dos patrocinadores pessoais do piloto, que é parceiro da Citroën no campeonato. Coincidência ou não, os rumores apontam para uma provável ida de Kimi para a Red Bull em 2011.

Campeão da F1 em 2007, o nórdico correu apenas uma vez na sua vida no WRC. Foi no Rali da Finlândia desta temporada. Com problemas no motor, Raikkonen fechou sua participação no 15º lugar, depois de sair no segundo dia de rali.

Lembrando também que a Citroën é a equipa de Sèbastien Loeb, que venceu os últimos cinco Mundiais de Rali.

Alain Prost alertou Kimi Raikkonen para os perigos de fazer um ano sabático da Fórmula 1, considerando que o seu regresso à modalidade em 2011 pode ser bastante complicado.

Em declarações à rádio Europe 1, Prost, que também foi protagonista de um ano sabático em 1992, referiu que Raikkonen pode ver a sua carreira na Fórmula 1 comprometida caso siga em frente com a sua ideia de fazer um ano sabático em 2010 e seguir para os ralis.

“Ele vai tentar fazer ralis, mas ele é um pouco preguiçoso, gosta de festas e de beber um pouco. Quando se tira um ano tem que se ser extremamente dedicado e sério, preparando-se física e mentalmente. Por vezes, ele tem algumas dificuldades em trabalhar em equipa. Algumas pessoas na Ferrari não gostavam da maneira como ele se alheava dos engenheiros”, começou por referir o francês.

“Raikkonen é um piloto soberbo, mas poderá ser difícil para ele fazer com que as pessoas que não confiam inteiramente nele neste momento o façam em 2011″, concluiu Prost.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Kimi Raikkonen deverá mesmo deixar as pistas e passar para os troços de rali. De acordo com uma informação dada pela rádio gaulesa Europe 1, o piloto finlandês vai deixar a Fórmula 1 em 2010 para ser o companheiro de equipa de, nada mais, nada menos, Sébastien Loeb.

Segundo informações obtidas por aquela rádio, e seguindo as indicações que a revista AutoSport também já havia dado, o piloto finlandês passará a fazer equipa com Loeb na formação oficial da Citroën com as cores da Red Bull, devendo o acordo prever uma temporada completa.

O acordo terá sido obtido esta semana, prevendo-se que o contrato seja assinado ao longo da próxima semana.

O mesmo já havia sido noticiado pelo site oficial do WRC, que citou uma fonte próxima de Raikkonen para garantir que o acordo estava perto e preso apenas por pequenos detalhes. Resta, agora, esperar pela confirmação oficial.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Los fans del Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes FIA podrán ver muy pronto vídeos completos y GRATIS con lo mejor de cada rallye desde la temporada 2001 hasta el 2008, gracias al innovador “Show” de YouTube.

El Show del Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes , se puede ver desde esta semana en la nueva sección de vídeos compartidos, en la que hay programas completos en lugar de vídeos breves. En cuestión de semanas el Show del WRC constará de los tres programas de 25 minutos con lo más destacado de cada jornada de todos los rallyes disputados entre 2001 y 2008. Eso suma un total de 75 minutos de imágenes GRATIS por carrera. A partir de esta semana el Show del Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes ha empezado a tomar forma con programas que ya figuran en el archivo del WRC por orden cronológico desde el 2001. Podes verlos en la seccioón  de vídeos del Show del Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes , o visitad el Canal Oficial WRC de TouTube, donde hay cientos de vídeos más.

WRC.com / Youtube.com/wrc

El ex piloto oficial de Ford y Skoda, Janne Tuohino, volverá al Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes en 2010 al volante de uno de los nuevos Ford Fiesta S2000 de M-Sport.

El piloto de 34 años, que corrió con Ford en 2004 y Skoda en 2005, está preparando su regreso después de tres años y disputará la nueva Copa FIA WRC para Súper 2000.

Tuohino, residente en Dubai, ha sido dos veces Campeón de Rallyes de Finlandia (1999 y 2001) y consiguió su mejor resultado en el WRC – cuarto – en el Rallye de Suecia 2004, al volante de un Ford Focus.

El finlandés quiere competir con un equipo oficial en 2011 y cree que el cambio del WRC al Súper 2000 requiere hacer algunos kilómetros antes para adaptarse.

“Para mí era la mejor opción teniendo en cuenta las plazas disponibles para la temporada 2011,” ha comentado Tuohino. “Estoy muy motivado con el nuevo Fiesta S2000, el cual llegará a Finlandia a comienzos de enero. Empezaré inmediatamente con los test y el trabajo de desarrollo para el Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes, que arranca en febrero.”

Antes de la llegada de su nuevo coche, Tuohino trabajará duro para volver a ponerse en buena forma física. “Aunque aún no haya recorrido un solo metro con el coche, ya he empezado a prepararme,” ha explicado. “He estado repasando a fondo las carreteras de Dubai y los gimnasios después de tanto tiempo sin competir. También he recuperado mi afición al motocross. Es una manera fantástica de ponerse en forma para este tipo de deportes en poco tiempo,” ha dicho.

La primera carrera de Tuohino al volante de su nueva montura será el Rallye de Suecia, pero aún tiene cerrado su programa 2010, el cual constará de siete rallyees de un total de 10 opciones. “Con toda seguridad, correré en Jordania, Portugal, Finlandia y Gales,” ha explicado, “a partir de ahí se incluirá también las pruebas de asfalto de Alemania o Francia. Luego tendré que elegir entre México, Nueva Zelanda o Japón. Es una decisión muy complicada

There is something wrong with Jaguar. I can’t point out exactly what, but I can explain it by an example. See, you meet a girl when you were eighteen. She is all very pretty and perky. But thirty years later, when you meet the same girl, now an old woman, she has become the queen of gone horribly wrong aging. What will be actually going on in your mind at that point … “Ah, all those rumors of her about hard drinking and snorting the white powder were true after all!”

Scary Aging

The same is with jaguar. Jaguar used to be the epitome of British beauties. The everlasting prettiness of a Jaguar E-type sitting on your front porch for an example. But then she decided to go communist, gained some extra pounds and developed affection for quick money from retired dentists in Florida. Instead of becoming a cougar she became an ugly dying camel.

Dental Wagon - Ugly Duckling of British Motoring.

Now, Ian Callum and his professed love towards Jaguar, is trying to save her family reputation. I cannot discount Callum as just another car designer. He is a visionary, a genius, an artist. But somehow, all his hard work does not feel right. In my dream world if Callum had designed the new S class, it would have been a huge success. In the real world though, he is designing the new luxury barge from Jaguar called the XJ. It is all good looking and futuristic and a break away from the bad aging. Even then, it doesn’t help Jaguar a little bit.

Future is a bit too late!

The old pictures of an ugly Jaguar are still very vivid in people’s minds. So are the scary stories of doors coming off and engine refusing to budge to your desperate attempt at turning the keys. It all feels like, a brilliant plastic surgeon trying to hide away all those crow feet and wrinkles under a thin layer of aluminum shell. Nobody and their accounts manager will be willing to put that kind of cash into an expensive car like the XJ, especially if you look at the fact that it is from a company with the worst financial history.

Well appointed but histrionic.

Even the company is late in recognizing its potential. If you take a closer look at the XFR, you will be amazed by the difference. Though performance wise the Brit cat is a bit behind the curve as compared to an M5, it is the best car to own and use it on a daily basis as a high performance sedan. Do you know why? It is because; it is by far the most fuel efficient high performance sedan ever. It falls into a lower tax bracket, due to its lower emissions. On the road, at stop and go traffic, it feels much more comfortable than the M5 too. Also, the nosy pretentious Prius driving neighbor of yours will never get to know, you are driving an R version of the Jag. This is because there are minimal visual cues separating it from its slower siblings. The car has minimal branding of the R badge unlike the M5. If you are like me, a big fan of the badge delete program, then you will love the Jag. Take off that R lettering, and only an auto geek can spot you as a R driving enthusiast. For all other Jack, Dick and Sally it is just the run off the mill XF.

Supercharged Brit cat musical!

But, nobody, I mean nobody in this world, wants not to be ostentatious. If you have a Bentley, you will take it to the busiest street in the world. This means, you will have to suffer the bumps on that 20 inch low profile rollers, you will scrub the front bumper against the kerb, the ten year old hawker who doesn’t know what a Bentley is: draws a nice picture of your wife’s bottom on the silver chrome body work using the one rupee coin that you threw at him, you will stop the entire traffic of the city because you have to scold your brilliant and patient driver who is putting up with your stupidity of driving a huge arse Bentley on a crowded single lane.

Bavarian over engineering marvel.

Cat from Coventry.

The sad reality is, no matter how much prettier the XFR is than the M5, how much better it feels to drive on a busy street than the M5, it will never be a legend as the M5. It will be remembered in a few corners of the world as a car that also ran for the laurels of the best high performance sedan. People will remember only vaguely, like the Lancia Stratos. This Brit cat does have a few good points in its favor, but it is way too little to be rescued by them. The Jaguar also knows very well of this sad situation. The present economy is also not helping things very much for the British legend. The car is an understated performance monster. But the time that we live in, we need everything loud and bling. The recession has not taught anybody any lesson. The only lesson that the recession has taught if at all is, even if you are poor and your business is nose diving into the cesspool of brown, smelly things, your wife and your children are unwilling to compromise on the lifestyles that they are used to. They will leave you, if you give a bit of a hint about going bankrupt, allowing you to look at an even more expensive lawyer bill. And Sadly the Jag is never part of that lifestyle.

Fun in motion.

Verdict: If the XFR was a new Mercedes, people would have been ready to forgive the stupidity of Daimler. It is that good.

Forget!

E sono sei. Hirvonen ci ha provato a battere l’extraterrestre ma i conti vanno sempre fatti alla fine.
Sebastien Loeb ha vinto il rally del Galles, conquistando il Campionato del Mondo Rally 2009 a bordo della sua fida Citroen C4 WRC.
Dopo una prima parte di stagione vissuta da protagonista ed una parte centrale problematica, Loeb negli ultimi rally ha tirato fuori tutta la sua classe per recuperare quanti più punti possibili a Hirvonen, presentandosi al via dell’ultimo appuntamento della stagione a -1 dalla vetta.
La sfida sugli sterrati Inglesi è stata una sorta di dentro o fuori, con i due piloti in lizza per il titolo in lotta per la vittoria fin dall’inizio.
Alla fine della prima tappa i due si trovavano staccati di soli 5 secondi e le condizioni atmosferiche difficilissime avevano buttato sale alla sfida; terreno scivolosissimo e prove speciali che cambiavano ad ogni passaggio rendevano incerto il risultato e la condotta di gara dei due piloti che non potevano fare altro che spingere sempre e comunque.
La seconda tappa si apre con i due ancora in lotta, ma durante la PS8 di 15km Loeb sferra il primo attacco rifilando ben 10 secondi a Hirvonen, un’enormità.
Nemmeno il tempo di rendersi conto di che cosa è successo e Hirvonen deve incassare altri 12 secondi nella prova successiva; Loeb sta tirando oltre il limite e il mondiale si sta giocando in queste prove.
Il pilota Finlandese cerca di rialzarsi e durante la PS15 chiude gli occhi e apre il gas; le condizioni sono difficili, Loeb decide di non rischiare mentre Hirvonen vola.
Il distacco è dimezzato a due speciali dalla fine del rally. Dalla fine del mondiale.
Mikko fa sapere che ormai non ha più nulla da perdere e che attaccherà fino alla fine, ma la sfortuna è li in agguato; durante la penultima prova il cofano della sua Focus si stacca aprendosi contro il parabrezza.
Hirvonen non può continuare ed è costretto a fermarsi per richiuderlo; i secondi persi sono tanti, troppi.
Il mondiale è finito, Loeb è campione per la sesta volta.
Dietro di loro Dani Sordo (Citroen) conclude terzo, mentre Solberg (Citroen) conquista un buon quarto posto. Delusione invece per Latvala (Ford), soltanto settimo.

Si conclude cosi il mondiale rally 2009, un mondiale che ha visto Loeb campione per la sesta volta consecutiva dopo una parte centrale di stagione ad appannaggio di Hirvonen, l’erede in Ford di Marcus Gronholm.
Si pensava che il francese della Citroen potesse conquistare il titolo a mani basse, ma gli errori commessi durante la stagione (oltre a sviste del team come quella in spagna) hanno rimesso in gioco il Finlandese della Ford che sembrava in grado di interrompere l’egemonia di Seb.
L’ultimo rally, una sfida decisiva d’altri tempi, ha premiato il più forte, lo Schumacher degli sterrati.
E proprio Schumacher sarà ora l’obiettivo di Loeb; conquistare il settimo titolo.

It seems there are some news stories flying around the Formula One paddock that may or may not be true. One thing that we do know at this point is that Kimi Raikkonen has decided to take a sabbatical from F1 for 2010 and go to the WRC. His decision is based on the fact that he was pushed out by Ferrari, was too expensive for every other team and couldn’t come to contract terms with McLaren before Jenson arrived on the scene. He has stated that he could return in 2011, but only if he is driving for a team that has a shot at winning a title. This logic also runs through his WRC hopes and he, I assume anyway, will sign with Citroen if he wants the best car. I am on the fence about him going. I was never a true fan of his, but he did bring a really mellow, laid-back, Finnish attitude to the pits that was really refreshing… plus, he could wear a hat like no other. His Kimi-cap fashion was something to see in every press conference. As far as rumor is concerned, there is some speculation going around that Michael Schumacher will actually return for the 2010 season. But the shocker is that it won’t be in a red car with a prancing horse at the front. If he does come back though, he could be pared with Ross Brawn again at Mercedes (formerly Brawn). Eddie Jordan, the outspoken former team owner and BBC pundit, has made it known that he believes Schumi will be back on the grid, but that it will be in a Silver Arrows with Mercedes Grand Prix. Personally, I would hate to see this happen, but it isn’t like Michael can drive for the prancing horse because both seats are filled. If Luca di Montezemolo had his way and gotten the third car he wanted, this would not be an issue, but because that won’t be an option, Schumacher to Mercedes looks like a possibility that cannot be denied. Also, it has come about that, although Schumi renewed his contract with Ferrari, it has nothing to do with the F1 team anymore and is solely focused on the road car division. This leaves his racing wide open and he could be the person to fill one of the two seats that is now open at Mercedes GP because of the departures of both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. Do I think Schumi will do it? I think he will certainly give it a shot, I mean, he desperately wanted to come back this year and was unable, but his neck injury meant that he had to return to the sidelines. But that will be healed soon, so he will probably give it a good run. Now, do I want Schumi to return in anything that isn’t red and comes from Maranello? Of course not. But that’s the way things work these days. The coming weeks will really tell the whole story, but it is an interesting development and could be one of the biggest stories of the off season if it comes to fruition. Just imagine what Schumacher and Brawn can do with a car that came away with both the driver’s and constructor’s championships last year. It could be a hell of a season if that’s the case. Stay tuned.

Tras tener que abandonar con su Citroën Xsara World Rally Car en el Rallye de Finlandia, Petter Solberg volverá a la acción este fin de semana tras una remodelación del motor de su coche que le ha hecho pasar de 300 a 450 caballos.Petter se unirá a su hermano mayor Henning y a varias estrellas del WRC y de rallycross en la inauguración del “Solberg Extreme MotorShow”, que tendrá lugar el sábado 21 de noviembre en el estadio de fútbol Telenor de Oslo.

Junto a los hermanos Solberg también estarán algunas de las grandes leyendas del pasado y presente del Campeonato del Mundo de Rallyes, incluyendo a Mikko Hirvonen, Marcus Grönholm y Tommi Makinen. Los noruegos Andreas Mikkelsen, Mads Østberg, Anders Grøndal, Thomas Schie y Eyvind Brynildsen también han confirmado su presencia.“Los preparativos están yendo bien,” ha explicado Solberg a wrc.com. “Citroën me ha ayudado a darle un poco más de potencia al Xsara. Lo probé la semana pasada en Francia y fue muy divertido, debo confesarlo. Estoy deseando pilotarlo este fin de semana, aunque Henning no deja de recordarme que su Fiesta de rallycross tiene 575 cv.”

El festival constará de siete clases de competición, con Hirvonen, Grönholm y Makinen además de los hermanos Solberg y los campeones escandinavos de Turismos, Mattias Ekström y Tommy Rustad en la ‘Golden League’. “Pilotaremos una selección de coches de entre 450 y 600 cv, incluyendo del Fiesta de Henning, mi Citroën, Volvos y un par de Saabs de Per Ekland,” ha explicado Petter. “En este festival los tiempos no serán lo más importante, sino que consiste en conducir de forma espectacular y ofrecer un buen show a los espectadores y a los jueces. Cada piloto recibirá la puntuación de tres jueces, pero no saben nada sobre coches.”

Otra de las actividades destacadas será un duelo noruego-sueco entre dos de los pilotos más grandes de Rallycross: el noruego Martin Schanche y el sueco (y suegro de Petter) Per Inge Walfridsson.Todas las competiciones tendrán lugar en un circuito asfaltado con un aforo para 15.000 personas construido sobre la superficie de hierba del estadio. “Hemos utilizado 180 toneladas de asfalto para construirlo, y luego tendremos que retirarlo todo,” ha dicho Petter.Además de coches de rallye y rallycross, el festival incluirá otras especialidades automovilísticas como carreras de Drag, derrapes y una demostración con el Ferrari del ex piloto de Fórmula 1, Michael Schumacher, el cual Petter ya condujo este mismo año. Con 10.000 entradas vendidas por adelantado, los Solberg prevén un éxito total del evento.

Lots of big news in the world of Formula One today. It has been announced the Jenson Button has signed with McLaren and will be paired up alongside Lewis Hamilton. He has said that it wasn’t about the money and that he is just out to continue moving forward with his career. However, everyone knows that Brawn did not want to pay him as much as he was asking and that McLaren was willing to pay more. Besides the pay increase, he now has a chance to be teamed with another Brit on a British team and he says that was a big reason to make the switch as well. As motivation, there is nothing better than driving for your country, and with McLaren, both Button and Hamilton will be flying the Union Jack, but I still don’t see any way this will work out in the long. This does mean that McLaren will retain the number 1 on the front of the car, and it is also the first time in F1 history that a team has the services of two drivers who were World Champions back to back. There is some speculation that Button had been forced out of Brawn by new owner Mercedes, but it remains to be seen whether that is the case or not. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry have expressed their disappointment at having Jenson leave the team and now have to go with a clean slate of drivers as Rubens Barrichello signed with Williams right after the season ended. The seats at Brawn will be highly coveted though, and the team should have the pace to stay with the front runners, if not be the front runners come the start of the season. More will be revealed as winter testing finally shows up and the true pace of the new cars can really be judged.

The news also means that Kimi Raikkonen is looking for a new place to drive. It has come out as rumor that he has three possibilities. Either he sits out the season, signs with the former Brawn team at reduced income or goes to the WRC with Citroen. There are rumors flying all over the paddock, from people close to him, that he will be in the WRC and contest Le Mans, while others are saying that he will try and shore up a deal with Mercedes F1 so that he can continue racing. Personally, I think Kimi is going to leave F1 behind this season and concentrate on his WRC training. He could possibly make a return in 2011 if all goes well, but his attention is not on F1 right now.

Quem segue há algum tempo este blog sabe que eu acho que os S2000 tem um lugar muito especial nos ralis.
– Como prova de que uma marca tem capacidades para desenvolver tecnologia baseada em carros de série (que depois pode reverter), mas sem grandes complicações tecnológicas para haver verdadeira competitividade entre os vários “players”.
– Como forma de promover a modalidade porque traz os investimentos de volta a valores que os WRC fizeram escalar.
– Como forma de promover a “competição-cliente” através da venda dos kit’s a privados, mas também porque estimula as representações locais das várias marcas a se mostrarem aos seus clientes nos ralis.

O sr. Malcom Wilson e a M-Sport estiveram nos últimos meses em árduo trabalho para preparar este novo S2000, o Fiesta, que com toda a certeza trará mais êxitos para a marca norte-americana e ele próprio afirma que “é a primeira vez em cinco anos que podemos oferecer um carro para lutar pelas vitórias nos diversos campeonatos nacionais pelo mundo inteiro.“
Sabendo de antemão que esta equipa não brinca em serviço e que experiência não lhes falta, não é difícil imaginar que o Fiesta começará com um nível elevado, no entanto, a bitola já está bem alta, basta ver o que o “estreante” Fabia fez este ano um pouco por todo o lado, ou a grande capacidade do 207, para além da quase inexistência de resultados dos Punto, que sendo o “primeiro” agora parece que perdeu um pouco o comboio.

Curioso é o facto de terem optado por desenvolver um S2000, enquanto a Citroen diz que não se vai decidir enquanto não houver clareza nos regulamentos (só que entretanto vai desenvolvendo um Citroen DS3 R3 com um motor 1.6Turbo, já que já tem um S2000 nos estiradores do grupo…)

Para além da aposta no desenvolvimento foi curioso verificar a promoção de marketing que fizeram em volta deste projecto, com a divulgação a conta-gotas de fotos, vídeos, e pequenos press-releases, até ao site, que contém muita informação e multimedia, vale a pena passar por lá.

Ha sido presentado en una ceremonia de lanzamiento en la base de M-Sport en el Reino Unido el nuevo coche de rally, el Ford Fiesta S2000. Es la culminación de un trabajo duro nueve meses por el equipo de diseño y de ingeniería de M-Sport, fue presentado por Malcolm Wilson, Director General de M-Sport. El Fiesta S2000 es el primer coche de rally mundial, que será elegible para competir en los campeonatos de todo el mundo, así como el IRC y la Copa FIA S2000, esta prevista su homologación para enero de 2010.

Ford ha presentado su nuevo coche de rallyes, el Ford Fiesta S2000. con más de 3.000 kilómetros de test por pistas de tierra en Inglaterra y unos cuantos más por asfalto en Francia y España, se presenta este proyecto a lo que se hace llamar el primer coche global ya que se espera que pueda participar en casi todos los campeonatos de la categoría, entre ellos se encuentran la Copa FIA S2000 y el IRC. La marca del ovalo ha desmentido que para el IRC articipará de forma oficial, asi como lo hacen Peugeot o Skoda, aunque para Montecarlo, que es la primera fecha, uno de sus pilotos oficiales lo hará debutar contra los S2000 ya existentes.
En enero de 2010 es la posible fecha para que la FIA homologue este nuevo coche de 280 CV y 1200 Kilogramos de peso. Sin duda la agresividad de las líneas de este coche, dada en buena parte por sus agigantados pasos de rueda, nos dejan en nuestra retina el nacimiento de una nueva generación de coches de rally a la que deberemos acostumbrarnos los próximos años.

Descarga el sonido del Fiesta S2000

Fiesta S2000

El principal patrocinador del equipo Citroen, la empresa Red Bull, está tan interesada en fichar a Raikkonen que le habría ofrecido el doble del sueldo que paga a su primer piloto, el seis veces campeón mundial Sebastian Loeb, aseguró el canal MTV3 citando fuentes cercanas al finlandés. Esta negociaciones podrían tomar un nuevo impulso después de que se confirmara que Raikkonen estará apartado de la Fórmula Uno al menos un año, tras el fracaso de las negociaciones para su regreso a la escudería McLaren junto al británico Lewis Hamilton. El equipo de Woking optó finalmente por fichar al vigente campeón del mundo, el británico Jenson Button, cuyas exigencias económicas eran mucho menores que las del piloto finlandés. El representante de Raikkonen, Steve Robertson, confirmó en declaraciones publicadas hoy por un diario finlandés que Raikkonen estará apartado de la Fórmula Uno al menos un año. ‘Las opciones eran McLaren o nada. Kimi y McLaren no han logrado un acuerdo, así que no estará en la Fórmula Uno al menos el año que viene’, declaró Robertson al diario ‘Turun Sanomat’. ‘Kimi aún tiene muchas ganas de pilotar, por eso un año sabático no significa nada. Para él lo importante es encontrar un lugar donde pueda luchar por las victorias y por el Mundial’, añadió. Además de su posible participación en el Mundial de Rallys en 2010, el finlandés tiene intención de competir también en las 24 Horas de Le Mans, una prueba mítica por la que siente un interés especial.

Kimi Raikkonen the 2007 F1 World Champion has confirmed he will be taking a sabbatical from Formula One for the 2010 season.

Raikkonen, nicknamed Iceman, was ousted from his Ferrari seat by mutual termination so the team could allow Fernando Alonso in one season early.  Raikkonen will be paid some £10million for not racing next season.

He had an option with McLaren but this was said to be dogged with problems, from money, to sponsorship days to even allowing him tom compete in rallying.  Also, McLaren seemed a little less interested when the possibility of snapping up current world champion Jenson Button arose.

“The options in F1 were with McLaren next season or not at all,” Steve Robertson, Raikkonen’s manager was quoted as saying by respected Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, which has close links with the Raikkonen camp. “Kimi and McLaren were unable to reach an agreement, so he will not drive at the F1 level – at least not next year.

“A gap year means nothing for Kimi. He is more interested in fighting for wins and the world championship. F1 will miss Kimi. He worked hard over the summer – doing things in a Ferrari that only the best drivers are capable of.”

He will be returning to F1 in 2011, and the only real possibility is with the Red Bull Racing team who could lose Mark Webber at the end of the forthcoming season.  Rumour now is being fuelled that Raikkonen could drive a Red Bull sponsored rally car, the Austrian energy drink giant sponsor the world championship winning Citroen team.