WRC Round 10, RALLY AuSTRALIA, CoFFS HARBouR, nEW SouTH WALES 08 - 11 SEp 11

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Neal Bates on Rally Aus

OPINION

Features: The WRC explained

The AussiesWRC Tyres

to AustrAliA

World rAlly ChAmpionship

returns

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The class of the 2011 World Rally ChampionshipImage: www.wrc.com / copyright McKlein

Race Guide

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Rally Australia

Race Preview

DEMANDS STRENGTH.

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T he World Rally Championship’s first visit to the New South Wales’ Coffs Coast is an exciting prospect for both the region and the sport.

With Australia’s round of the WRC currently run on a rotational basis with Rally New Zealand, it is more important than ever for the Australian public to support the event.

The Coffs area has a strong rallying heritage, forged in the days of the Southern Cross Rally and solidified by later Australian Rally Championship forays to the region, which points to a strong event this weekend.

While Australian rally fans will be seeing the world’s best in action for just the second time in five years, the international teams and drivers will be relishing the challenge of a new rally.

Citroen has dominated the 2011 season so far, and heads Down Under on a run of eight consecutive wins.

The results have been far from predictable however, with the legendary Sebastien Loeb finding his young team-mate Sebastien Ogier too much to handle on occasion.

No matter whose name is added to the Rally Australia honour role this weekend, let’s hope that the event will be long remembered as a win for Australian rallying.

Green means go!

STEFAN BARTHOLOMAEUS

Journalist, Speedcafe.comEditor, Speedcafe Race Guides

INTRODUCTION

RACE GUIDERally Australia

EVENT 2 – Clipsal 500, Adelaide – March 17-20 www.speedcafe.com

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Race Guide

COVER STORY

The titanic battle between Citroen’s two Sebastiens is set to continue in Australia

this weekend, as the World Rally Championship makes its first sojourn to New South Wales’ Coffs Coast.

A field of 29 WRC and Production Car WRC entries will tackle the 369 kilometres of competitive stages, beginning with the Castrol EDGE Super Special beside the city’s harbour beach on Thursday night.

French duo Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier will lead the charge for outright honours, having taken four wins apiece over the opening nine rounds.

Loeb, the WRC’s seven-time defending champion, currently holds a 25 point lead over his younger team-mate as the season enters its final four rounds, and heads to Australia keen to avenge an unexpected defeat last time out in Germany.

As the championship leader, the Loeb will be forced to run first on the road on Friday - effectively playing the role of ‘road sweeper’ for his rivals.

“I’m getting used to it on gravel - you just have to factor in

this parameter,” says Loeb of the handicap.

“Obviously, we don’t know these stages, but it looks like we’ll have dry weather so I expect to lose a lot of time on the first day.

“But we’ve also proved that we can win despite this handicap, and we’re determined to score the maximum number of points in this rally.

“Thanks to our lead in the world championship, we don’t have to take a lot of risks.”

Ogier meanwhile will be on nothing but maximum attack for his second ever Rally Australia.

With two of the season’s final three rounds to be held on Loeb’s favourite surface, tarmac, the

27-year-old Ogier says he’ll be ready to pounce on the slightest chance on the fast Coffs roads.

“On several occasions this season we’ve seen that a race can be turned on its head at any moment - so you have to stay concentrated and be ready to seize the slightest opportunity,” says Ogier.

It’s been a difficult season so far for the Abu Dhabi Ford World Rally Team, which has gone winless since dominating the opening event of the year in Sweden.

Lead driver Mikko Hirvonen heads to Coffs Harbour looking for a rare hat-trick however, having won the most recent Rally

WRC returns to AustraliaRally Australia will make its first visit to Coffs Harbour as the battle between Citroen’s stars heats up

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Australia events held in Perth (2006) and Kingscliff (2009).

The Finn was bumped back to third in the championship standings following Ogier’s win in Germany, and sees the pre-event recce as crucial to toppling his Citroen rivals this weekend.

“When competing on a new rally it’s essential to learn quickly,” says the 13-time World Championship rally winner.

“Accuracy when making pace notes is important because we only have one run in which to make them and a second pass to check them.

“But getting a feel for the characteristics of the roads is equally vital.”

Hirvonen’s factory team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala will also rate himself as an outside winning chance, having recorded five top three finishes so far in 2011, albiet without victory.

Ford’s ranks in Australia will also include M-Sport trio Evgeny Novikov, Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg, American showman Ken Block and Abu Dhabi driver Khalid Al Qassimi.

Completing the Citroen line-up meanwhile are former World Champion Petter Solberg and Dutchman Peter van Merksteijn Jr., while Kimi Raikkonen and ICE 1 Racing having elected not to make the trip Down Under.

With Prodrive’s Mini WRC Team

also absent, the Brazil World Rally Team’s Daniel Oliveira will be the sole Mini runner.

There will be plenty of Australasian interest in the Production World Rally Championship contest in Coffs Harbour, with New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon set to be challenged by Australia’s WRC Academy regular Brendan Reeves, who swaps his Ford Fiesta for a Subaru Impreza WRX this weekend.

The Coast Forest and Coffs Coast Classic rallies, which will run in tandem with Rally Australia, will also hold plenty of local hopes, with the former doubling as Round 4 of the 2011 Australian Rally Championship.

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With Castrol EDGE having added sponsorship of Rally Australia’s Super Special

Stage to its support for the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team and the rugby

Tri-Nationals Final, Jari-Matti Latvala (left) and Mikko Hirvonen (right) found

themselves taking on Wallaby James O’Conner (middle) while in Sydney.

Finding that extra EDGE

Race Guide

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Event 12 – Symmons Plains

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Race Guide

The FIA World Rally Championship pits cars and drivers in a series of two,

three or four-day events though some of the toughest, and most varied, conditions on the planet.

The roads on this epic motorsport adventure range from the ice and snow of Scandinavia to the stifling heat of Jordan - over surfaces including packed ice, smooth asphalt and boulder-strewn rocky tracks.

Unsurprisingly, the series is widely regarded as the most challenging motorsport competition in the world. Established in its current format in 1973, in 2011 drivers and manufacturers will battle it out for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championship trophies on rallies spread across 13 countries.

The competition itself is deceptively simple. Each rally is split into a number (typically between 15 and 25) of ‘special stages’ which are run on closed

roads. Drivers tackle these stages one car at a time in an effort to complete them in the shortest time. Competitors drive to and from each special stage on normal roads, observing normal traffic regulations. During the special stages, a co-driver, or navigator, reads pace notes to alert the driver to the conditions on the road ahead.

World Rally Cars are not the only type of vehicle on the WRC stages. The championship also includes three support series for different classes of car: Production, Academy and Super 2000.

The Production Car World Rally Championship (PWRC) is the FIA’s principal series for near-showroom spec four-wheel drive, turbocharged cars, while the new-for-2011 WRC Academy is the place to find the stars of the future battling it out in two-wheel drive non-turbocharged Ford Fiesta hatchbacks.

Introduced last year, the Super

2000 World Rally Championship (SWRC) is a class specifically for two-litre, four-wheel drive non-turbocharged cars conforming to the FIA’s Super 2000 rules.

The WRC is regulated and controlled by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body for worldwide motorsport. Most WRC rallies follow the same basic itinerary: two days of reconnaissance on Tuesday and Wednesday, to enable the driver and co-driver to check the route, and ‘shakedown’ - in effect practice - on Thursday, followed by the competition itself on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some events also include ‘Super Special’ stages - short and compact sprint tests which often feature two cars racing head-to-head.Because rallies go on for several days, cars and drivers need to take a break. For this reason they visit the ‘Service Park’ at pre-determined times during each event.

WHAT IS THE WRC?

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Besides checking the car and changing tyres, during this time a team of four technicians is allowed to perform mechanical work on each car. Service time available is strictly limited, with each stop being either 10, 30 or 45 minutes depending on the itinerary.

Being able to work in this pressured environment means WRC mechanics are some of the best in the world, capable of extraordinary ingenuity, speed, and the odd miracle. In the heat of competition a suspension upright, hub and brake unit will be swapped in around five minutes, a gearbox in 10. Armed with hammers, welding torches and tank tape, WRC mechanics have the power to transform a sorry looking wreck into a rally winner. Away from the service park repairs or adjustments can still be made, but only by the driver and co-driver, and only using tools and spare parts carried in the car.

Time penalties are applied if visits to the service park exceed the period allowed. Time penalties are also given to competitors who arrive late at stage starts, or any of the other numerous check-points throughout the event.

At the end of the rally the driver who has completed all of the special stages in the shortest total time is the winner. Points are allocated to the top ten drivers in each competition on a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 basis. Points are awarded to registered manufacturers, WRC teams in the same way.

2011 WORLD RALLy CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDARRound Date Rally01 10-13/02/2011 Rally Sweden02 03-06/03/2011 Rally Mexico03 24-27/03/2011 Rally de Portugal04 14-16/04/2011 Jordan Rally05 05-08/05/2011 Rally d'Italia Sardegna06 26-29/05/2011 Rally Argentina07 16-19/06/2011 Acropolis Rally of Greece08 27-30/07/2011 Rally Finland09 18-21/08/2011 Rallye Deutschland10 08-11/09/2011 Rally Australia11 29/09-02/10/2011 Rallye de France12 20-23/10/2011 Rally de España13 10-13/11/2011 Rally of Great Britain

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Race Guide

The 2011 season has seen a new era of cars ushered into the World Rally

Championship.The machines are still based

on four-cylinder turbocharged production models but the two-litre engines of old have been replaced by a 1.6-litre units.

While they look similar to the ones you might see in your local car showroom, just about everything about them is different.

FIA rules say that WRC cars must be based on a standard road car bodyshell. For WRC use it is stripped to the bare metal and then completely rebuilt. All unnecessary brackets and mounting plates are removed to save weight and a tubular steel roll-cage is welded in. After around 700 hours of work, the shell emerges vastly stronger and stiffer than before. Most WRC cars could support the weight of 10 road cars.

The FIA requires all WRC engines to have a 34mm restrictor in the air intake, which holds down power output to around 300bhp. The cylinder block and head must be based on those in the standard road car, but the crankshaft, con-rods, pistons, cylinder linings, valves and camshafts can be modified. Typical turbo boost is 4-5 bar - compared with up to 1 bar for an average road car - while anti-lag systems mean the turbocharger delivers maximum boost from tick-over. The result is massive torque - typically more than 600Nm - about the same as a Ferrari Enzo.

All WRC cars have four-wheel drive and sequential gearboxes. The cars have a clutch, but the driver tends to only use it to move off from a standing start.

Inside a WRC car there is no fancy upholstery or elaborate trim - just painted metal, composite panels and two carbon fibre seats,

moulded to fit the driver and co-driver perfectly. There’s no room in the back - the tubes of the roll cage take up the rear passenger space - and the floor is pretty crowded because everything the car needs to carry, such as a fire extinguisher, tool kit and spare wheel, is bolted to - or under - it to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible and optimise handling.

WRC rules allow spoilers and other aerodynamic aids to be added that you will not see on a road car. These are designed to manage the airflow around the car to cool mechanical components - like engines and brakes - and keep the car planted firmly on the road - or level in flight.

The result is a car that reaches 100kph in around three seconds on all surfaces and can - in the right hands - power slide between the trees on a narrow gravel track under full control at 200kph-plus.

WHAT IS A WORLD RALLY CAR?

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Rally Australia

RALLY DETAILS

Race Guide

SPECIAL STAGE ITINERARy (Note: all times are for arrival of first car)

Thursday 8 September4.30pm Rally Show and Official Start Festivities Coffs Harbour Mall7.15pm SS1 Super Special Stage (3.77 km) The Jetty, Coffs Harbour7.30pm SS2 Super Special Stage (3.77 km) The Jetty, Coffs Harbour7.48 pm Overnight parc ferme Service Park

Friday 9 September8.45am Service A (15 min.) Service Park, Airport10.03am SS3 Shipmans 1 (29.03 km)10.58am SS4 Brooklana 1 (12.78 km)11.29am SS5 Ulong 1 (12.45 km)1.09pm Service B (30 min.) Service Park, Airport2.42pm SS6 Shipmans 2 (29.03 km)3.37pm SS7 Brooklana 2 (12.78 km)4.08pm SS8 Ulong 2 (12.45 km)6.30pm SS9 Super Special Stage (3.77 km) The Jetty, Coffs Harbour6.45 pm SS10 Super Special Stage (3.77 km) The Jetty, Coffs Harbour7.03 pm Service C (45 min) & over night parc ferme Service Park, Airport

Saturday 10 September7.00 am Service D (15 min.) Service Park, Airport8.33 am SS11 Welshes 1 (21.10 km)9.21 am SS12 Grace 1 (19.77 km)10.14 am SS13 Valla 1 (14.84 km)10.54 am SS14 Urunga 1 (13.79 km)12.14 pm Service E (30 min.) Service Park, Airport2.02 pm SS15 Welshes 2 (21.10 km)2.50 pm SS16 Grace 2 (19.77 km)3.43 pm SS17 Valla 2 (14.84 km)4.23 pm SS18 Urunga 2 (13.79 km)(5.00pm CC Classic Rally, Super Special Stage The Jetty, Coffs Harbour)6.30 pm SS19 Super Special Stage (3.77 km) The Jetty, Coffs Harbour6.45 pm SS20 Super Special Stage (3.77 km) The Jetty, Coffs Harbour7.03 pm Service F (45 min.) & over night parc ferme Service Park, Airport

Sunday 11 September6.00 am Service G (15 min.) Service Park, Airport6.56 am SS21 Bucca 1 (14.83 km)8.19 am SS22 Plum Pudding (30 km)9.32 am SS23 Clarence 1 (4.58 km)10.52 am Service H (30 min.) Service Park, Airport12.03 pm SS24 Bucca 2 (14.83 km)1.26 pm SS25 Plum Pudding 2 (30 km)3.30 pm SS26 Clarence 2 Power Stage (4.58 km)4.43 pm Service H (10 min) Service Park, Airport5.30 pm Podium Finish Gallows Car Park, Boambee Beach

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Race Guide

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I may not be competing this weekend, but that doesn’t mean I’m anything less than excited about attending the first World Rally Championship event to be held in Coffs

Harbour.

There’s a strong rallying tradition in and around the Coffs Harbour area and I think they’ll get an enormous amount of public support for the event. It’ll be a fantastic event there - it’s certainly a better fit with the local community than it was in Kingscliff (where the rally was run in 2009).

The Coffs Harbour Rally was always one I enjoyed when it was an Australian Rally Championship event. The roads were generally fast, smooth and high grip, and I’m sure that if the roads are how they used to be, the WRC guys will really enjoy them.

This year’s rally will go a little further south than we did with the ARC, into some of the areas that are better known from their use in the old Southern Cross rallies. Obviously I’m not old enough to have competed on some of those, but from what I know down south they have some very narrow forestry stages, still generally fast but quite narrow.

I think they’ve got some new shire roads as well that weren’t used in the Southern Cross, so there will be an enormous mixture of roads. I think it will be a fantastic event and I reckon there will be a lot of people with a lot

of memories heading up there to have a look, much like myself.

Rally Australia used to have a real reputation for being a car breaker when it was run in Western Australia. I wouldn’t say Coffs will be any less so, mainly due to the weather the area has had over recent years. A lot of the time when there’s been a lot of weather and a lot of road damage, forestry tend to put erosion jumps across the roads. I don’t know how much of that has been done, but they are very hard on the cars, so it could be something to look out for.

The World Championship has such a variety of challenges for the teams and drivers, with pure tarmac events, mixtures of tarmac and gravel, high-grip fast gravel events, wet and slippery, muddy events, snow events and so on. With that in mind, I don’t think there will be any huge shocks for the competitors on the Coffs Coast, I don’t think there will be any bizarre conditions that they haven’t seen before.

In terms of the competition, I think it’ll be very close there - I think it’s the sort of rally that will be probably good for the Fords. If you look at the last few years, there’s no doubt that Sebastien Loeb is something very very special, for sure he’ll be the one to beat, but I think it’s an event where it can be very close between Citroen and Ford.

OPINION by NEAL BATESLocation, location, location

Rally Australia

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RALLY AUSTRALIA ENTRIES

Race Guide

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THE BAGMAN

RECENT FORM - TRACK FORM – THE BAGMAN’S SAY

THE BAG MAN

Race Guide

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#1 SEBASTIEN LOEBNationality: FrenchBorn: 26 Feb 74Car: Citroen DS3 WRCTeam: Citroen Total World Rally TeamCo-driver: Daniel ElenaFIA Championships: J-WRC Champion 2001, WRC Champion 2004-10WRC Debut: Catalunya 1999WRC Rally Wins: 66Current Championship Position: 1st Website: www.sebastienloeb.com

Sebastien Loeb is the most successful competitor in the history of the WRC, having won the past seven consecutive championships. In 2011 he is charging towards yet another title - currently holding a 25 point lead over team-mate Ogier. The championship’s last visit to Australia was one to forget for Loeb who

thought he had won before a time penalty for a technical infringement cost him dearly. He has one of the longest running partnerships in rallying with Citroen and co-driver Daniel Elena, and enters Rally Australia as the favourite for victory.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

#2 SEBASTIEN OGIERNationality: FrenchBorn: 17 Dec 83Car: Citroen DS3 WRCTeam: Citroen Total World Rally TeamCo-driver: Julien IngrassiaFIA Championships: J-WRC Champion 2008WRC Debut: Mexico 2008WRC Rally Wins: 6Current Championship Position: 2nd (167 points)Website: www.sebastien-ogier.com

Ogier was promoted from the Citroen Junior Team to main factory squad for 2011 and lost no time proving that he is a genuine competitor to Loeb. Four wins in the opening nine rounds sees Ogier second in points, heading to Australia, with his most recent success coming on Loeb’s favourite surface - tarmac.

After his first two WRC wins in 2010 , the 27-year-old rebuffed a recruitment bid from Ford to sign a long-term deal with Citroen. Ogier could be in the box seat to win this weekend if Loeb decides to play cautiously in order to protect his points advantage.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

Rally Australia

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Race Guide

#3 Mikko HirvonenNationality: FinnishBorn: 31 July 80Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamCo-driver: Jarmo LehtinenFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Finland 2002WRC Rally Wins: 13Current Championship Position: 3rd (156 points)Website: www.sebastien-ogier.com

Mikko Hirvonnen enters this weekend’s Rally Australia looking for a rare hat-trick, having won the two most recent events held Down Under in Perth (2006) and Kingscliff (2009). After a tough 2010 season, Hirvonen started 2011 with a win in the snow of Rally Sweden. While the podium’s top step has eluded him since

then, the Finn sits third in the drivers’ pointscore after nine rounds - just 11 points adrift of Ogier. One of the WRC’s nice guys, Hirvonen again sits as Ford’s best chance of victory this weekend, and will be one of many hoping that Loeb’s Day 1 road position will work against the flying Frenchman.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

#4 Jari-Matti LatvalaNationality: FinnishBorn: 3 Apr 85Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamCo-driver: Miikka AnttilaFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Great Britain 2002WRC Rally Wins: 4Current Championship Position: 4th (96 points)Website: www.latvalamotorsport.com

Jari-Matti Latvala started driving when he was just eight years old, competed on his first rally in Finland when he was 16 and became the youngest driver to win a world championship event aged 22 years and 313 days when he triumphed on Rally Sweden in 2008. Two years later Latvala finished runner-up in the

world championship to Sebastien Loeb. Crashes in 2008 and 2009 took the edge off his legendary speed, but with support from his team he’s since matured into one of rallying’s elite. With just two gravel events left in the 2011 campaign, Latvala is staring down the barrel of a winless season however.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

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Round 8 – Valencia

Race Guide

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#5 Matthew WilsonNationality: BritishBorn: 29 Jan 87Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: M-Sport Stobart Ford Rally TeamCo-driver: Scott MartinFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Rally GB 2004WRC Rally Wins: 0Current Championship Position: 7th (40 points)Website: www.m-sport.co.uk

Matthew Wilson won his first rally as a co-driver to father Malcolm Wilson in 2003 before he took his turn behind the wheel in 2004 as a 17-year-old. He looked set to achieve more success in 2005 only for a huge accident on the Rally of Wales that left him with serious injuries. In 2006 at age 20 Wilson became

the youngest driver to win a stage at world level. He was seventh in the championship last season, when he divided his time between competing and helping to develop Ford’s new-generation Fiesta RS WRC for 2011. Not a potential winner but a solid points scoring driver.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

#6 Evgeny NovikovNationality: FrenchBorn: 19 Sep 90Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: M-Sport Stobart Ford Rally TeamCo-driver: Stephane PrevotFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Wales 2007WRC Rally Wins: 0Current Championship Position: -Website: www.eng.e-novikov.net/

Eygeny Novikov will compete in just his fifth World Rally Championship event of the season this weekend, having made the switch from the now defunct Citroen Junior Team to the Stobart-backed Ford squad over the off-season. Novikov impressed during an eight-round 2010 campaign that yielded

a best result of fifth place in Sardinia, in addition to four stage victories. All four outings so far this year have been beset with difficulties however, and the Russian will start his maiden Rally Australia campaign determined to score his first points of 2011.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

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Rally Australia

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Round 1 – AustraliaRace Guide

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#10 Khalid Al QassimiNationality: EmiratiBorn: 18 Feb 72Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: Team Abu DhabiCo-driver: Michael OrrFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Acropolis 2004WRC Rally Wins: 0Current Championship Position: 16th (5 points)Website: www.wrcford.com

It has been a tough road to the World Rally Championship for Khalid Al Qassimi, having begun his career with a full program in the Middle East Rally Championship nine years ago. His debut season ended in an almost career ending accident resulting in a broken vertebrae. He rejoined the rally world

soon after, climbing the ranks before moving to the top flight with Ford in 2007. His 2011 campaign so far has included five events, with an eighth placed effort in Jordan his best result. Low entry numbers in Australia provide the chance of another points scoring performance this weekend.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

#11 Petter SolbergNationality: NorwegianBorn: 18 Nov 74Car: Citroen DS3 WRCTeam: Petter Solberg World Rally TeamCo-driver: Chris PattersonFIA Championships: 2003 FIA World Rally ChampionWRC Debut: Sweden 1998WRC Rally Wins: 13Current Championship Position: 5th (91 points)Website: www.pettersolberg.no

With a career total of 171 world championship starts, Petter Solberg is easily the most experienced top-level driver competing in this year’s Rally Australia. Of the current drivers his tally of 13 WRC victories is second only to Loeb’s record total of 66; while Solberg remains the last driver to win a championship since

Loeb began his incredible run. It’s been five years since the popular Solberg last tasted rally success, but with his privately-run, Citroen-supported team he’s been close several times. Solberg Is again unlikely to be able to match the pace of the factory cars this weekend but will contend for the podium.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

Rally Australia

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Round 8 – ValenciaRace Guide

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#12 Daniel OliveiraNationality: BrazilianBorn: 12 July 85Car: Mini John Cooper Works WRCTeam: Brazil World Rally TeamCo-driver: Carlos MagalhaesFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Argentina 2009WRC Rally Wins: 0Current Championship Position: -Website: www.brazilwrt.com

The Brazilian driver started out in cross-country events before switching to rallying in 2009, when he tackled selected rallies in Argentina and Brazil. A move to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge followed in 2010 when he signed to drive for former WRC regular Manfred Stohl’s eponymous team. Now in driving

for the Brazil World Rally Team, Oliveira will be the only Mini driver in the field this weekend. Has had a troubled time since switching from the S2000 to WRC version of the Mini mid-season, and may again miss out on points here if issues aren’t sorted.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

#14 Peter Van Merksteijn Jr.Nationality: DutchBorn: 1 Sep 82Car: Citroen DS3 WRCTeam: Van Merksteijn MotorsportCo-driver: Erwin MombaertsFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Germany 2007WRC Rally Wins: 0Current Championship Position: 20th (2 points)Website: www.vm-motorsport.com

Van Merksteijn Jr started rallying in 2006 at the wheel of a Renault Megane, 21 years after his entrepreneur father Peter Sr took part in the sport for the first time. Peter Jr debuted in the WRC in 2007 behind the wheel of a Lancer before moving to a Ford Focus in 2008. Now campaigning a Citroen for his own team,

the Dutchman scored his first ever WRC points last time out in Germany following four consecutive retirements. Is the least fancied Citroen driver heading to Rally Australia, but will relish the chance to score another top 10 result.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

Round 2 – Malaysia

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Rally Australia

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Round 1 – AustraliaRace Guide

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#15 Henning SolbergNationality: NorwegianBorn: 9 Jan 73Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: M-Sport Stobart Ford Rally TeamCo-driver: Ilka MinorFIA Championships:WRC Debut: Sweden 1998WRC Wins:Current Championship Position:Website: www.stobartmotorsport.com

The elder brother of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg, Henning has been a WRC regular for the past seven seasons. He’s proved he can be a solid points contender, but currently sits last of the eight drivers to have competed in every round of the 2011 championship so far. Solberg began his career in

rallycross before switching to rallying fulltime in the mid-1990s. He was Norwegian champion five years in a row from 1999 and made his international debut in 1998 in privately-run Ford Escort and Toyota Corolla World Rally Cars. He has claimed several podium results, but is unlikely to repeat the feat this weekend.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

#43 Ken BlockNationality: AmericanBorn: 21 Nov 67Car: Ford Fiesta RS WRCTeam: Monster World Rally TeamCo-driver: Alex GelsominoFIA Championships: 0WRC Debut: Rally New Zealand 2007 (P-WRC)WRC Rally Wins:Current Championship Position:Website: www.monsterworldrallyteam.com

Although yet to score a strong finish in the World Rally Championship, Ken Block is among the category’s most famous drivers having starred in a series of youTube viral videos showcasing his talents as a ‘gymkhana’ driver. A shoe salesman by trade, Block has found the switch to WRC challenging, enduring

several crashes since forming the Monster WRT last year Before joining the WRC, he contested the Rally America National Championship, finishing second once and third three times. Rally Australia marks Block’s sixth event of the season, and will provide a chance for the American to score his first 2011 points.

THE BAGMAN’S SAY

Rally Australia

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Race Guide

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Australian Rally Championship

Running alongside the Rally Australia WRC event this year will be the Coffs Forrest and Coffs Classic Rallies.

The Coffs Forest Rally doubles as four of the Bosch Australian Rally Championship and will see the resumption of the torrid three way battle for the national championship being fought out by Justin Dowel, Mark Pedder and Ryan Smart.

The 47 cars entered for the Bosch ARC section of the rally will campaign over two days of the WRC event, tackling the stages on Friday and Saturday before leaving the World Championship contenders and the Classic Cars to compete on the final stages on

Sunday September 11th.

According to CEO of the Bosch ARC Scott Pedder the strong domestic entry is a great vote of confidence in Australian rallying and follows on from strong entries the first three rounds of the series in WA, Queensland and South Australia.

“To have such strong entries returning to the Bosch ARC in this the first year of our rebuilding plan is very encouraging and will help attract even more entries in the future,” said Pedder, who has put his own driving career on hold to focus on rebuilding the ARC.

“Entries in the 2011 Bosch ARC are up 82 percent on the same time in 2010 and a whopping 172 percent

Three rallies in oneA strong field of local entries will be seen in both the Coffs Forrest and Coffs Classic rallies this weekend

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Rally Australia

on the figures for the first four rallies in the 2009 ARC.

“The Coffs Forest Rally presents a great opportunity for us to showcase our domestic championship in front of the World Rally Championship media and teams particularly with the final of our Rallyschool.com.au Australian Junior Challenge where 14 young drivers will be competing for fully paid drives in the final round of the Bosch ARC this year.

“Along with those 14 Rallyschool AJC competitors there are 33 outright Bosch ARC crews including three who will be competing for ARC points but will also be competing against the WRC competitors across the entire three days of Rally Australia,” he said.

“There will be nine ‘Unrestricted’ Bosch ARC cars competing in the Coffs Forest Rally and it will be exciting to see these fire breathing rally cars tackling the same stages as the WRC cars on Friday and Saturday.

“It will be fascinating to see the times these cars post on the same stages as the Production World Rally Cars on the Rally Australia stages.”

In terms of the Coffs Classic there will be at least seven Ford Escort RS1800s along with a range of other exciting rally machines of the past including Datsun Stanzas, 280Zs and P510s, a Triumph TR7 V8,

a Porsche 911 and an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT.

Five times Australian Rally Champion Ross Dunkerton will be campaigning his Ford Escort RS1800 along with the similar car of Queenslander Stewart Reid who currently leads the Classic rally competition after winning the category in the opening three rounds this year.

“The Classics are crowd pleasers and the many thousands of rally fans who will be in the forests around Coffs Harbour will be thrilled with the spectacle the 27 classic rally cars will be turning on for them,” said Pedder.

The Coffs Forest and Coffs Classic competitors will join a further seven Australian crews entered for Rally Australia itself.

Nathan Quinn (Mitsubishi Evo IX), Leigh Gotch (Subaru WRX), John Spencer (Mitsubishi Evo IX), Razvan Vlad (Ford Fiesta), Adrian Copping (Ford Fiesta) and Mick Harding (Subaru WRX) will all give it their best against the international competition.

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WRC TYRES

A new set of tyre regulations has been brought into the World Rally Championship in 2011, coinciding with the sport’s revised technical

rules. Following three years of Pirelli control rubber, this season has seen two tyre companies - Michelin and Chinese brand DMACK - involved in the championship.

Unlike in the past, tyres are now required to be ‘customer-competition’ products which are freely available for sale. Any tyre companies wishing to become involved were invited to homolate the construction and pattern of their WRC tyres with the FIA before the start of the season and have only been permitted one specification change during the year.

Teams and drivers therefore have a relatively limited range of rubber to choose from, as only one type of asphalt tyre, one type of gravel tyre and one type of snow/ice tyre are authorised. Furthermore, the ‘re-cutting’ or modifying of tread patterns seen in previous years is no longer permitted.

The tyres designed for asphalt rallies must therefore be competitive and durable whatever the conditions, although drivers can choose between two compounds (soft or hard) as a function of the stage profile and weather.

Gravel tyres also need to be strong enough to withstand the different types of terrain and conditions. Before each gravel rally, the FIA nominates the compound (soft or hard) to be used.

Tyres intended for use on snow and ice must be competitive and durable whatever the conditions (packed snow, slush, black ice, ice, frozen dirt, etc.). Unlike in the past, only winter tyres that can be used with 7×15 inch rims (the same as gravel rallies) permitted. Narrow studded tyres are now prohibited.

While DMACK has focussed on servicing production car teams, Michelin has worked closely with the leading manufacturer outfits to develop its latest rubber

“The new WRC tyre regulations allow us to combine curbed costs with free competition,” says Nick Shorrock, the Director of Michelin Competition. “Today’s WRC tyres are much more similar to road tyres and smaller quantities are used at each event. Further restrictions are due to be introduced in the future.“

Although this year’s tyre quotas are unchanged compared with 2010 (approximately 50 per driver per event), the FIA plans to introduce a further reduction of between 15 and 20 percent of the overall quantity of tyres consumed each year from 2012.

New tyres for new cars

Rally Australia

2011 TYRE REGulATioNS ovERviEw

• The FIA has approved two tyre manufactur-ers for the 2011 WRC, Michelin and DMACK.• Each manufacturer or team must tell the FIA which tyre manufacturer they choose.• Only ‘moulded’ catalogue tyres may be used.• All tyres must be identifiable by a bar code.• ‘Re-cutting’ or modifying the tyre’s original tread pattern is not authorised.• Only appropriately marked tyres may be used on stages.• Cars may carry up to two spare wheels and tyres.• The space between the rim and the interior of the tyre may only be filled with air.• In 2012, the number of tyres permitted per driver for each event will be reduced by be-tween 15 and 20 per cent compared with the quotas applicable in 2011.• In 2013, the number of tyres permitted per driver for each event will be reduced by be-tween 15 and 20 per cent compared with the quotas applicable in 2012.• A single type of asphalt tyre (construction/pattern) is authorised for the entire season; two compounds.• A single type of gravel tyre (construction/pattern) is authorised for the entire season; two compounds, although only one com-pound can be used on each event as speci-fied by the FIA.• A single type of snow/ice tyre (one com-pound) is authorised, fitted to 7×15″ wheels.• Manufacturers may only introduce one change to the specification of their tyres in the course of the season.• Tyre quotas for each event:Priority 1 drivers: six tires per tyre-change op-portunity, plus six additional tyres for shake-down.Priority 2 drivers: six tyres per tyre-change opportunity, plus six additional tyres for shakedown.Priority 3 drivers (two-wheel drive cars)/non-priority drivers (two-wheel drive cars): six tyres per tyre-change opportunity/unlimited. Non-priority drivers (four-wheel drive cars): four tyres per tyre-change opportunity, plus five additional tyres for shakedown.

For the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, preparation for this weekend’s Rally Australia included sending the team’s tyre engineer George Black to Australia in June. According to Black, the Coffs Harbour event will provide an array of challenges for the teams and drivers.

“There is a mix of hard base roads, some tight and twisty and others that are fast and flowing,” said Black of Rally Australia’s new home.

“Some parts closely resemble the countryside in which the rally used to be held in Western Australia. Other areas are similar to the famous Whaanga Coast stage in New Zealand, with dense rainforest vegetation.

“The public (shire) roads are well-maintained, with trees close the edge of the road in many places. If drivers put a wheel off-line it will be easy to hit one. Most stages travel through dense forest, so the low angle of the sun in mornings and evenings could be tricky. It creates a ‘strobe-like’ effect as it flashes through the branches and it could be hard to read the road.”

The hard compound version of Michelin’s Latitude Cross gravel tyre will be used this weekend.

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Round 8 – ValenciaRace Guide

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Every sport has its own jargon and the World Rally Championship is no exception. If you’re baffled by rallyspeak, check out this glossary.

Academy: The replacement for the Junior World Rally Championship, the new-for-2011 WRC Academy is open to 24 drivers born on or after 1 January 1986. Drivers use identical Ford Fiesta R2s prepared by the British M-Sport organisation from a base in Krakow, Poland. Uniquely, drivers will tackle two thirds of the total rally distance before spending the final day of an event in various training workshops and seminars.

Gravel crews: On asphalt rallies, priority drivers are supported by a gravel crew who pass through the stages in advance of the competitors to report back on weather and changes to the surface condition, which might have changed following reconnaissance.

intercom: The audio link that enables drivers and co-drivers to hear one another above the noise of the car. Intercom headphones and a microphone are built into each driver and co-driver’s safety helmet.

North one Sport: Part of North One Television, North One Sport is the promoter of the FIA World Rally Championship.

oTl: Over time limit. Competitors arriving more than 30 minutes later than the target time between two time controls, at the end of each section and/or day of the rally are said to be OTL, and must retire from the day’s competition.

Pace notes: A description of the road ahead, called out by the co-driver to inform the driver of what is coming up. Pace notes for every rally are made during the pre-event reconnaissance. As they recce each stage (twice, and at limited speed), drivers describe

the road to their co-drivers, who write down the information in a form of shorthand. During the rally the co-driver reads the notes back to the driver.

Parc ferme: The secure area where all competing rally cars are housed at the completion of a day of the rally.

Power Stage: New for 2011, the Power Stage will form the final stage of a rally and run over a shorter distance to make it suitable for live television coverage. Bonus points (3-2-1) will be awarded to the fastest three drivers respectively.

PwRC: Now in its 24th season, the Production Car World Rally Championship is the longest-running support category of the World Rally Championship and the principal series for cars of near-showroom specification. The PWRC is open to drivers or teams using cars homologated in the Group N category with four-wheel drive and two-litre turbocharged engines, while a Production Cup has been created for two-wheel-drive machines for 2011.

Recce: Before every rally, drivers and co-drivers spend two days reconnoitring the route at a maximum speed (set by rally organisers) of between 50 and 70kph. Crews are allowed two passes through each stage to familiarise themselves with the route and make pace notes, defining the length of a straight, severity of a bend and even where to place the car on the road for an upcoming blind crest.

WRC GLOSSARY

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Rally Australia

Restrictor: To limit engine output to around 300bhp, the FIA requires all WRC-specification engines to be fitted with a 34mm diameter inlet restrictor which limits the flow of fuel/air mixture to the combustion chambers. Without a restrictor engines would produce more than 500bhp. PWRC cars are fitted with a 33mm restrictor.

Road book: A set of instructions and route maps issued to each crew by rally organisers.

Road section: Sometimes called a liaison section, this is the public road which links the special stages, service points and parc ferme. Drivers must obey all applicable traffic laws on road sections.

Running order: The order in which competitors tackle the stages. The running order (also called the start order) is different for each day of the rally. The order for the opening day is determined by the drivers’ championship standings - with the leader going first. For days two and three, crews tackle the stages in rally leading order - with the leader going first. It should be noted that the order for superspecial stages can be adjusted by the event organisers for television and promotional requirements.

Service park: A designated area where checks, maintenance and running repairs can be made to competing cars, subject to strict time limits.

Shakedown: The opportunity for crews to check their competition cars, on terrain similar to the rally, just before the event starts. Competitors must drive through the shakedown stage at least four times.

Stages: The competitive sections of the rally, also called special stages, where drivers and co-drivers drive as fast as they can to complete the section in the shortest time possible.

Stop control: A point 200-500 metres past the flying finish where the car must stop to have its time recorded.

Superspecial stage: A stage - often set up in a sports stadium - with two parallel tracks that enable two drivers to race each other. Superspecial stages are also run in city centre locations but tend to adopt a pursuit-style format with a handful of cars competing on the stage at the same time, albeit separated by gaps.

SwRC: The Super 2000 World Rally Championship is a dedicated support championship for Super 2000

cars - the vehicles on which this year’s World Rally Cars are based. Within the Super 2000 category are competitions for drivers (known as the SWRC) and another for teams (the WRC Cup for Super 2000 Teams).

SupeRally: Drivers who retire on the first and second days of a rally can restart under the SupeRally system on the following day providing their car is safe to do so and can be repaired within the regulations. However, they will receive five minutes of time penalties for every stage missed.

Target time: The official time allowed by rally organisers for a WRC car to complete a non-competitive road section. Time penalties are applied if competitors check-in earlier or later than the target time.

Time card: Carried by the co-driver, the time card is a record of stage times and time control arrival times throughout the rally. The card is stamped by event officials as the rally progresses and provides proof of a competitor’s whereabouts in case of a dispute.

Time control: The place where cars must stop to get an official passing time recorded by rally officials.

Time penalty: Rally crews are penalised 10 seconds for every minute the car is late to a time control - for instance a stage start, service-in control, service-out control. Checking in early to a time control carries a stiffer penalty of one minute for every minute early.

Zero car: A course car driven through a stage before the competitors start it to alert spectators that the section is live. The zero car is preceded by the triple zero and double zero cars.

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PAST RALLY AUSTRALIA WINNERSYear Driver/Co-Driver Car2009 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC 092006 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC 062005 François Duval/Sven Smeets Citroën Xsara WRC2004 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroën Xsara WRC2003 Petter Solberg/Phil Mills Subaru Impreza WRC 20032002 Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC2001 Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC2000 Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC1999 Richard Burns/Robert Reid Subaru Impreza WRC991998 Tommi Mäkinen/Risto Mannisenmäki Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V1997 Colin McRae/Nicky Grist Subaru Impreza 5551996 Tommi Mäkinen/Seppo Harjanne ` Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III1995 Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III1994 Colin McRae/Derek Ringer Subaru Impreza 5551993 Juha Kankkunen/Nicky Grist Toyota Celica GT-Four1992 Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale1991 Juha Kankkunen/Juha Piironen Lancia Delta Integrale 16V1990 Juha Kankkunen/Juha Piironen Lancia Delta Integrale1989 Juha Kankkunen/Juha Piironen Toyota Celica GT-Four1988 Ingvar Carlsson/Per Carlsson Mazda 323 4WD

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Race Guide

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Race Guide Round 2 – MalaysiaRound 8 – Valencia

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Round 2 – Malaysia

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PAST CHAMPIONSYear Driver Nat Car 2010 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën C4 WRC2009 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën C4 WRC2008 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën C4 WRC2007 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën C4 WRC2006 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën Xsara WRC2005 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën Xsara WRC2004 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroën Xsara WRC2003 Petter Solberg NOR Subaru Impreza WRC2002 Marcus Grönholm FIN Peugeot 206 WRC2001 Richard Burns GBR Subaru Impreza WRC2000 Marcus Grönholm FIN Peugeot 206 WRC1999 Tommi Mäkinen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution1998 Tommi Mäkinen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution1997 Tommi Mäkinen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution1996 Tommi Mäkinen FIN Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution1995 Colin McRae GBR Subaru Impreza 5551994 Didier Auriol FRA Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD1993 Juha Kankkunen FIN Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD1992 Carlos Sainz ESP Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD1991 Juha Kankkunen FIN Lancia Delta Integrale 16V1990 Carlos Sainz ESP Toyota Celica GT-Four1989 Miki Biasion ITA Lancia Delta Integrale1988 Miki Biasion ITA Lancia Delta Integrale1987 Juha Kankkunen FIN Lancia Delta HF 4WD1986 Juha Kankkunen FIN Peugeot 205 Turbo 161985 Timo Salonen FIN Peugeot 205 Turbo 161984 Stig Blomqvist SWE Audi Quattro1983 Hannu Mikkola FIN Audi Quattro1982 Walter Röhrl GER Opel Ascona 4001981 Ari Vatanen FIN Ford Escort RS18001980 Walter Röhrl GER Fiat 131 Abarth1979 Björn Waldegård SWE Ford Escort RS1800*1978 Markku Alén*** FIN Fiat 131 Abarth**1977 Sandro Munari*** ITA Lancia Stratos HF

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Round 8 – ValenciaRace Guide

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Race Guide

3335

Round 8 – ValenciaRace Guide

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Race Guide

Driver wrc classificationPos Driver Nat Car Points 1 Sébastien Loeb FRA Citroen 1922 Sébastien Ogier FRA Citroen 1673 Mikko Hirvonen FIN Ford 1564 Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Ford 965 Petter Solberg NOR Citroen 946 Mads Østberg NOR Ford 567 Matthew Wilson GBR Ford 408 Kimi Räikkönen FIN Citroen 349 Henning Solberg NOR Ford 3210 Dani Sordo ESP Mini 2311 Federico Villagra ARG Ford 2012 Juho Hänninen FIN Skoda 1313 Martin Prokop CZE Ford 714 Ott Tänak EST Ford 715 Per-Gunnar Andersson SWE Ford 616 Khalid Al Qassimi ARE Ford 517 Dennis Kuipers NLD Ford 518 Armindo Araujo PRT Mini 419 Hayden Paddon NZL Subaru 220 Peter van Merksteijn Jr. NED Citroen 221 Bernardo Sousa PRT Ford 122 Patrik Flodin SWE Subaru 1

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

Manufacturer wrc classificationPos Manufacturer Points1 Citroën Total World Rally Team 3332 Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 2423 M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team 1054 Petter Solberg World Rally Team 835 ICE1 Racing 486 Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team 327 FERM Power Tools World Rally Team 228 Team Abu Dhabi 209 Monster World Rally Team 910 Van Merksteijn Motorsport 811 Brazil World Rally Team 1

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Rally Australia

STAY TUNED TO SPEEDCAFE.COM OVER THE RALLY AUSTRALIA WEEKEND FOR THE LATEST NEWS, RESULTS AND RALLY REPORTS

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Round 2 – Malaysia

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Round 8 – ValenciaRace Guide

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Citroen’s Sebastien Ogier flew on his way to victory in GermanyImage: www.wrc.com / copyright McKlein

Rally Australia

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Rally Australia

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Race Guide

39

Races 3/4 – Adelaide

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Race Guide

23

Races 3/4 – Adelaide

18

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

“It is really difficult to have an idea of how our car will perform in Montreal. There is no doubt that Monaco was a tough weekend for the team but, as always, we will learn our lessons, and be ready to fight again in Canada.”

Recent Grand Prix Form

JAP KOR BRA ABU AUS MAL CHI TUR ESP MON

6 4 7 DNF DNF 9 8 12 6 DNF

Recent Montreal Form

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

2 1 1 1 2 2 - - - 11

NICO ROSBERG

“I’m looking forward to the weekend, and I hope that we can move up and be back competing where we belong. The spirit within the team is great and we will fight for a better result than in Monaco. I am confident that we will be able to do it.”

Recent Grand Prix Form

JAP KOR BRA ABU AUS MAL CHI TUR ESP MON

17 DNF 6 4 DNF 12 5 5 7 11 Recent Montreal Form

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

- - - - - DNF 10 10 - 6

MERCEDES THE BAGMAN’S SAyMercedes GP had been the coming

team in the championship prior to Monaco, with Nico Rosberg in particular starting to extract some real speed from the W02.

Failing to score points in Monte Carlo was no doubt a big surprise to the Brackley-based crew - with both cars chewing through the super-soft compound tyre at an alarming rate in the race.

Thankfully for the team, the form shown in Monaco is unlikely to translate to Montreal, where the super-soft will not be in use, and the aerodynamic requirements are very different.

While unlikely to see the podium, both Rosberg and team-mate Michael Schumacher will be expecting strong points scoring finishes this weekend.

The Mercedes engines and KERS units are among the best in the field, and will play into the German drivers’ hands on the circuit’s long straights.

Nat: GermanDoB: 03/01/1969Wins: 91

Nat: GermanDoB: 27/06/1985Wins: 0

Race Guide