The world of rally racing is filled with edge of your seat excitement and some of the most fearless drivers in the world. In this particular instance it was the Russian rally driver Evgeny Novikov who managed to make his co driver pray to the deity of his choice as their yellow Citroen C4 was sent skyward after launching off a jump with a little too much zest during a special stage in the recent WRC Rally Finland.
The Japanese automaker Toyota will bring a handful of their remarkable racing cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 3-5. The three day event is Europe’s answer to Monterey Historic Races that take place every year at Laguna Seca. The event allows racing enthusiasts to get an up close look at everything from classic competition cars to the racecars of tomorrow and allows these machines the opportunity to do what it is that they do best when they race against the clock and the hill.
The sombrero wearing import carmaker will be showing off a Lexus LF-A super car and a TF108, last year’s unrestricted F1 car complete with the German Timo Glock behind the controls. Making almost as much power as the F1 machine, Toyota will also bring a four wheel drive Celica GT4-X developed by English based tuners Fensport. The Celica makes 700 HP and can make consistent 10 second quarter mile passes all day long.
Rally enthusiasts will be happy to know that their will be a pair of classic Group B Celicas as well as the car that won them the Manufacturer’s Championship in 1999, a WRC Corolla. Alain Prost’s championship ice racing Toyota Auris will also be on hand, the car is built to look like the compact city car, except the racecar is built from carbon fiber and features a tuned 3.0 Liter V6. There will also be a couple of Can-Am and Le Mans racers on hand as well.
However, it will be Gazoo Racing’s V10-powered Lexus LF-A endurance racer, coming straight from competing in the Nurburgring 24, along with an IS-F that competed in the same race twice around the clock, that will be one of the main attractions on the hill climb course, making an appearance at the Earl of March’s annual gathering.
It seemed as though Team Suzuki was powered by the spirit of Te Hutewai; who, according to Maori folklore, “was the fastest runner of his day”. It was fitting that this leg of the WRC New Zealand took the racers along the scenic Te Hutewai Coast, named as such in honor of the legendary sprinter, and the Whaanga Coast.
Both SX4s performed superbly, with the only problem being a couple of flat tires for driver Per-Gunnar Andersson who recounts "...a couple of kilometres into the stage we got a puncture, so we had to do the whole stage like that. Then later on, we got another puncture and dropped more time. Okay, this wasn’t the best way to end it, but it has been a great rally for the whole team – and our faultless SX4 WRC.” In spite of what happened, the two-time Junior World Rally Champion still managed to secure a total of seven points and climb to sixth place.
By far, this is Suzuki’s best WRC finish yet. And they did it without any technical faults, whatsoever, across more than three hundred grueling kilometers and over a period of three days. This was in stark contrast to their lackluster performance last year. It looks like Andersson and fellow driver, seventh placer, Toni Gardemeister, as well as the rest of Team Suzuki are doing everything right.
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager, summed everything up with the following statement: “As you can imagine, I’m pretty delighted with the way things have gone. This is a great payback for all the incredible hard work everybody in the team has put in. We have all worked tirelessly towards seeing the Suzuki SX4 WRC show this kind of reliability and pace. There’s more to come, but for now we’re all just going to enjoy this result. Fantastic!”
Round 12, the Rallye de España kicks off on October 2 in Spain.
Subaru today revealed full details about the 2008 Impreza World Rally Car. It will be powered by a flat four-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 300bhp @ 5500rpm and a peak torque of 650Nm @ 3000rpm. The engine will be mated to a six-speed electro-hydraulic transmission.
The Impreza WRC also features front and rear MacPherson strut suspensions, Bos fully adjustable shock absorbers, AP Racing 310mm ventilated discs and six-pot calipers front and rear. For asphalt use, front brakes are 378mm ventilated discs with six-pot calipers.
With a weight of only 1230kgs, the car includes a LCD color monitor with eight selectable data screens, Kenwood radio equipment. It sits on 15" diameter for gravel, 18” for tarmac wheels and Pirelli tires.
Sebastien Loeb had no problem winning the Monte Carlo rally for the fifth time in his carrier, a record that is actually quite hard to smash.
But how many of you knew that Loeb was close to a tragedy in Monte Carlo? During some special racings made on Saturday, the world champion was close to smash one of the police officers from the race. The guy crossed the road without checking first and Loeb passed at a very high speed at not even 10 centimeters from him!
Can you imagine what could have happened in there?
FIA has announced at the end of last week the 2008 World Rally Championship calendar is as follows: World Rally Championship
Date
Rally
24 - 27/01
76e Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo
08 - 10/02
Uddeholm Swedish Rally (...) > More
The story behind the Impreza’s success is best told by the raw statistics: six World Rally Championship titles and 46 outright rally wins. The Impreza has been the defining car in Subaru’s elevation from relative obscurity to a legend in world rallying. From its inception in 1993, the Impreza has provided a sensory assault on motorsport fans across the globe.
Subaru’s blue and yellow livery is now as iconic as the flat-four engine note which trumpets the car’s (...) > More
The starting point for the new rally car is the 2006 model Subaru Impreza road car. As the basis of a rally winning machine, few cars can match the competitive pedigree of the Impreza. First launched in 1992, the road car has developed in tandem with its rallying counterpart and over the last twelve seasons, and 46 WRC victories, lessons learned on the rally stages have been fed back into the production model.
Already renowned for its agile handling, leech-like roadholding and symmetrical (...) > More
SUZUKI held tarmac tests for the SX4 WRC early June in southern Europe. The European tests already started in April, but this was the full-fledged start of the tarmac tests.
The SX4 WRC brought in for testing was further evolved from the earlier prototype design; in fact, its specifications are already close to what is planned to be fielded in this season’s WRC test entry.
Through five days of driving tests, the team confirmed the performance and reliability of the improved machine; then (...) > More
The C4 Citroën Sport concept car was a vehicle symbolising the renewal of the Marque. It was the result of cooperation between engineers from the styling and sports departments. In the first instance, the project completely disregarded regulatory requirements. A true exercise in style, it met the challenge of developing a futuristic vision of a new car. A car to replace the Xsara WRC, winner of three world "manufacturers" crowns between 2003 and 2005. In the expert hands of Citroën Sport’s (...) > More
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