|
news :: rally
07/31
ESPN: The price of horsepower
The gray-and-blue No. 18 Subaru STI pulls into the rally pits at the L.A. Coliseum after taking its first practice lap Thursday afternoon. Its left taillight is hanging by a wire, its left quarter panel is mangled and the rear left tire is half its former self. "The alignment's messed up, too," says driver Jimmy Keeney, the 2009 Rally America Super Production class champ who lined up at X for the first time last year. "I hope it's not a strut. Those cost a few thousand a piece. When I hit something, dollar signs start adding up in my head. That's all I can think about until I get back to fix it."
07/30
ESPN: Pastrana wins seventh X Freestyle gold
Travis Pastrana earned his seventh Moto X Freestyle gold medal at the Los Angeles Coliseum Thursday night -- the same place he won his fourth in 2003. Despite persistent rumors that Pastrana would bring his double backflip, which he's only thrown in a Best Trick competition once (at X Games in 2006), to Thursday's Final, the trick wasn't necessary.
Driving Sports: Rally America Changes Name, Adds Rallycross
This year saw many changes in the Rally America series. It gained a new factory team, Ken Bock’s Monster World Rally Team which was backed by Ford, and its been working on a new European-style rallycross series set to make its debut this fall in New Jersey. Today the group behind Rally America made its biggest announcement to date: it’s changing its name to RallyCar and making official plans for a 2011 European Rallycross series, to be called “RallyCar Rallycross.” Wait… wha?
07/29
San Francisco Chronicle: New SuperRally promises chaos for X Games drivers
No one knows what the first X Games SuperRally auto race will look like, but everyone agrees there will be chaos before any medals are handed out. "It's going to be a mess," driver Tanner Foust said, more with relish than dread. The X Games is doubling down in its attempt to promote European-style rally car racing in the United States with the new event Saturday inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
RallyCar: Introducing The X Games 16 "Rally Car Racing" Line-Up
As ESPN’s Summer X Games 16 approaches, the athletes invited for “Rally Car Racing” have begun gearing up for their competition. This year’s invited “Rally Car Racing” list of drivers is a combination of new and returning X Games competitors and Rally America has assembled driver introductions to get you caught up with this season’s top stories. Some are new faces, some are grizzled veterans of the action sports world who have turned to rally in recent years, and some come from halfway around the world who have cut their teeth in other disciplines of motorsports. Some are known for their international competition or videos on the Internet while some are known by their local towns and friends through their grassroots efforts. Regardless, all of the invited drivers are at the top of their class and will be competing on the biggest rally stage in North America – X Games 16.
Automobile Magazine: Subaru Unveils 2011 WRX STI Rally Cars Before X Games Event
Subaru revealed its new 2011 Impreza WRX STI at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, but the race-ready rally versions of the all-wheel-drive wunderkind were just recently unveiled ahead of Saturday's X Games SuperRally in Los Angeles.
LA Times: Travis Pastrana has grim memories of failed trick
At last year's X Games, the motocross veteran tried a double back flip and crashed, causing serious injuries. This year, unwilling to do a simpler stunt, he's not participating in the best-trick competition.
07/27
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Question: what do Finland's Kimi Raikkonen and America's Mike Powell have in common? Answer: both of them are experts at the long jump.
Powell, born in Pennsylvania, broke Bob Beamon's 23-year-old long jump record at the 1991 Tokyo World Athletics Championships, leaping for 8.95 metres. The record still stands today. It's impressive, but not quite as far as a World Rally Car can jump over the famous rollercoaster crests of Rally Finland, which launch the cars into the air like trampolines. The unofficial record is held by Finnish driver Harri Rovanpera, who managed to make his car fly for a whole 75 metres a few years ago. Beat that, Mike. But as spectacular as it looks, Kimi Raikkonen will be aiming to spend as little time as possible in the air on Rally Finland. That's not because he's got a fear of flying (which is just as well as he's competing on 12 rallies scattered all over the world this year with Red Bull). Instead it's because there are certain things that you can't do when you are airborne in a rally car. Notably, brake and steer.
07/26
ESPN: Rally drivers: don't call; they're busy
One week ago, all the top guys in Rally Car Racing had their cars out getting dirty way, way on the east coast at the New England Forest Rally. The calendar plays a cruel joke on them right about now. Count the days: 10 to get all the way from the critical season-ender in Maine and N.H., to LA to set up and start practicing in the Coliseum. In terms of where these racers compete, the events couldn't be further apart. Really.
Rally America: Hanson Caravans To X Games 16
Grassroots rally driver Travis Hanson, out of Michigan, and team will be stopping in Indianapolis while on his way to the X Games in Los Angeles. Hanson, who pilots a Subaru Impreza rally car, will be escorted across the country by various Subaru drivers and fans as he drives to Los Angeles for the X Games Rally Car Racing event in which he will be racing. Hanson will be stopping in Indianapolis at Tom Wood Subaru on 96th Street and Keystone, holding a Subaru meet. Due to car preparation the team expects to leave New Hampshire and be in Indianapolis by Monday evening, but that is subject to change. Follow them on twitter @thanson523 for up to the minute route and schedule details for their trip.
07/23
Newschief.com: Deegan, Foust form new rally car team
Brian Deegan, the high-flying freestyle motocross star who founded the Metal Mulisha, is joining Tanner Foust on the new Rockstar etnies rally car racing team. They will drive Ford Fiesta rally cars in the X Games next week, competing in Rally Car Racing and the new SuperRally event. Deegan has been racing trucks in the Lucas Oil off-road series, winning an Unlimited Lites championship, and made his debut in X Games Rally Car Racing last year, finishing fourth despite mechanical problems. He's also getting into NASCAR. The 10-time X Games medalist said moving more into four-wheel racing is safer than flipping dirt bikes, considering that he has a family and heads a multimillion-dollar apparel company.
Rally America: Moro and Holter Win 2010 Super Production Class Title!
PMR Motorsports’ duo, Patrick Moro and Ole Holter, won the 2010 Rally America Super Production (SP) Class Championship after overcoming a slow start to the season and acquiring the points needed at the recently held New England Forest Rally in Newry, Maine to secure the Super Production Class Title! All year the Super Production Class has been a source of excitement with a dramatic lead change in the standings, new competitors entering events, and top teams overcoming, or succumbing to, mechanical failures that changed the course of the SP battle.
ESPN: Antoine L'Estage new rally champion
The biggest names in U.S. rally competition descended on a rural corner of Maine and New Hampshire last weekend for the sixth and final round of the 2010 Rally America championship, the New England Forest Rally. Everybody who's anybody was there (well, almost -- Dave Mirra was practicing BMX somewhere). The entry list ballooned to 65 mean rally cars that slid and jumped their way through a 100-plus-mile course over two days.
07/22
Autosport (UK): Wilson would welcome Gronholm back
Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson believes Marcus Gronholm could still do a good job for Mini, if he were to return with the German manufacturer next season.
07/21
Autosport (UK): Pirelli concerned by WRC tyre plans
Pirelli's Paul Hembery has spoken out against what he sees a lack of incentive for tyre manufacturers to compete in next year's World Rally Championship. This is the third and final season of Pirelli's agreement to supply a control tyre to the WRC, with the FIA electing for a return to competition in next year's series - despite a barrage of criticism from the sport's teams.
Import Tuner: X Games: Inside 2009 Team Subaru- As X Games 16 invades Los Angeles, CA from July 29-August 1. Take a look back at last year's Team Subaru trio.
Take drifting, put it on a dirt course with a 70-foot jump, time it, add a co-driver to each vehicle and some of the greatest action sports athletes, and you have X Games Rally: one of the greatest motorsports spectacles to be televised in the U.S. And making some of the biggest noise in the rally front is Team Subaru. Besides being the dominant manufacturer on the X Games' podium, it's their drivers who have brought notoriety to American rally, namely Travis Pastrana, Ken Block and Dave Mirra. All action sports super stars, these three X-men--spearheaded by Pastrana--helped to introduce motorsports to the X Games. And going on its fourth year, it's about time we introduce them to the 2NR audience.
07/20
Maxrally: L'Estage ends Pastrana's Rally America title run
Travis Pastrana’s reign as Rally America National champion is officially over after Antoine L’Estage ended the Subaru driver’s sequence of four-straight title triumphs by winning last weekend’s New England Forest Rally, the sixth and final round of this year’s series.
07/19
Rallybuzz: New England: Subaru Rally Team USA event summary
Subaru driver Travis Pastrana dominated the majority of the New England Forest Rally this past weekend at the wheel of his BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI before a problem with his engine stopped him on the penultimate competition stage, forcing him to retire. Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom were able to pull away convincingly from the competition early and built a lead of over three minutes on the event's technical gravel roads that snake through the forests along the Maine-New Hampshire border. Then unexpectedly, with under fifteen competitive stage miles remaining, Pastrana experienced an engine
problem which forced him to stop on stage, ending his run to victory.
Autosport (UK): Citroen to retain Loeb and Ogier
Citroen Racing has confirmed both Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier will drive for the French manufacturer in next year's World Rally Championship - ending Ford's hopes of clinching a 2011 deal with Ogier.
07/18
Rally America: L’Estage Wins New England Forest Rally
The 2010 New England Forest Rally (NEFR), the sixth and final round of the 2010 Rally America National Championship, ended with spectacular drama that kept fans and competitors riveted. Once the champagne popped, it was Rockstar Energy Drink’s Canadian duo, driver Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard, celebrating a New England Forest Rally victory and their claim to the 2010 Rally America Championship title.
Autosport (UK): Mini poised to announce WRC entry
After months of speculation, Mini and Prodrive will announce a World Rally Championship programme this week, according to AUTOSPORT's sources. Mini's first-ever World Rally Car, which will be based on the Countryman road car, has been in preparation for months at Prodrive's Banbury base and the BMW 1.6-litre turbocharged engine recently arrived to turn a rolling shell into a full World Rally Car. Testing of the new machine is expected to begin soon and, as technical director David Lapworth said, once it starts testing it will not stop.
ITV.com: Kimi tight-lipped on F1 return chances
Kimi Raikkonen says he has plenty of options for 2011 as rumours of a return to Formula 1 continue to swirl, but declined to give any hints as to whether he will continue with his rallying career. The 2007 world champion dramatically quit F1 at the end of last season when a planned return to McLaren fell through, and switched to the World Rally Championship with Citroen's Junior team.
06/21
Autoblog: Toyota set to return to World Rally Championship with Prodrive?
In any form of motorsport, manufacturers come and go, but the sport continues to be shaped by the teams and the major players that lead them. So when Subaru packed up and left the World Rally Championship, you knew it was only a matter of time before David Richards and his company Prodrive would be back on stage. Now it looks like that opportunity could come from Toyota.
Pitpass: Richards brings new manufacturer to World Rally and proposes computer selected F1 grids
Way back in April we found out that former Benetton and BAR team principal Dave Richards' company Prodrive will not be applying for the vacant slot to join the F1 grid in 2011. You can hardly blame him. First Prodrive was granted a slot in 2008 which it was unable to take up because the FIA failed to get customer car rules approved. Then Prodrive was declined a slot for this year which is now available again because USF1, the team which was selected, didn't have enough funds to get to the first race. Richards announced that instead of F1, his focus is on Prodrive's return to the World Rally Championship in 2011
06/17
Autosport (UK): Kankkunen set for Finland return
Four-time World Rally champion Juha Kankkunen is expected to contest this year's Rally Finland - 31 years after he first competed on his home round of the World Rally Championship.
06/10
Edmunds Inside Line: Ken Block, Extreme Sports Stars Bound for 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Hoping to become synonymous with extreme "stunts," the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed on Wednesday announced that such extreme sports stars as Ken Block will be showcased at the upcoming event.
06/09
Autoweek: Subaru WRX STI blitzes the Nürburgring
In 18 years of testing the famed Nürburgring, no Subaru has done better. None has gone faster. And none has exuded more confidence under extreme conditions. That’s how Subaru is billing its April 16 blitzing of the arduous Green Hell in a fleet 7 minutes, 55 seconds in a 2011 WRX STI sedan. New video of this test is an enthusiast’s dream, offering the view from the cockpit as this lithe Subie strains and streaks through the forests of Germany. In the right-hand-drive car, the acceleration, gear shifting and odometer are all present. It’s punctuated by imposing engine sounds and break and tire squealing.
06/08
Autosport (UK): Todt denies WRC/IRC merger talk
FIA president Jean Todt has poured cold water on speculation that the World Rally Championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge could join forces. There had been rumours of a merger between the two series - particularly after stories of both championships including the Monte Carlo Rally in their schedules emerged earlier this season.
06/06
Rallybuzz: Antoine L’Estage / Nathalie Richard win STPR 2010; Bacon, Lagemann follow
Third was the Subaru Impreza of Ramana Lagemann/Christine Beavis, the highest finishing Subaru (they also won the Super Production class). The one-two finish by Mitsubishi puts a dent in Subaru ’s chances to defend its manufacturers champion. Their effort was made more difficult by the absence of star Subaru factory driver Travis Pastrana, who is on tour with his MTV Show “Nitro Circus” in Australia.
Fullnoise (AU): Travis Pastrana throws down FMX double back flip in Melbourne
The world ’s greatest action sports star, Travis Pastrana, performed the second FMX double back flip of his life last night at the Melbourne Nitro Circus Live show in front of a sold out crowd of almost 14,000 at the Rod Laver Arena.
The Phoenix: Subaru Road Racing Team wins a solid fifth
Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude raced their 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI to a solid fifth-place finish in this past weekend's GRAND-AM Continetal Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport race at the famed, 1.53-mile Lime Rock Park racing circuit, round five of the series.
06/04
Rallybuzz: Subaru Rally Team preview
This weekend's Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, known simply as 'STPR' to the rally community, serves as round five of the 2010 Rally America National Championship and is widely regarded as one of the most difficult events to win on the series calendar. A mettle-testing combination of extremely high speeds and narrow tree-line roads demand the utmost commitment and precision from the nation's fastest rally drivers. To prepare for the rally, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Dave Mirra recently spent two days in Finland training with four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Mäkinen. The duo worked on high-speed car control on the gravel roads of Mäkinen's rally school facility.
Motorsport.com: Watkins Glen: Subaru Road Racing Team preview
Hot on the heels of their best finish of the season, Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) drivers Andrew Aquilante and Bret Spaude are looking forward to taking Saturday's 10:15 a.m. green flag the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at the famed Watkins Glen International road racing circuit near Watkins Glen, N.Y.
05/31
Autosport (UK): Block says own pace notes crucial
Monster driver Ken Block says his retirement from last week's Rally of Portugal has underlined the importance of getting up to speed with making his own pace notes.
05/28
Herald Sun (AU): Daredevil Travis Pastrana top of the world
The undisputed king of action sports not only walks the plank, he does cartwheels on it -- if that's what the crowd wants. For almost a decade, the daredevil phenomenon has delivered the most dangerous two and four-wheeled tricks on the planet. Perhaps none more risky than the world's first in-competition double backflip.
Red Bull: Stage fright
Accidents are part of rallying – and here’s a proper one. Subaru driver Chris Atkinson lost control of his Impreza WRC at well over 160kph (100mph) on the 2008 Rally Great Britain, which actually turned out to be the very last rally for Subaru’s factory team. This might be just as well in some ways, as Atkinson’s Impreza looked distinctly second-hand afterwards. The Australian says that it’s a crash he will always remember.
05/27
Reflector: Mirra drives for Subaru
It remains to be seen if Dave Mirra will be back on his bike when the Dew Tour BMX season kicks off in late July, but the action sports superstar has already proven he’s healthy enough to make an early splash on the rally car scene. Mirra, the most famous and successful competitor in Greenville’s thriving BMX scene, finished third at the Olympus Rally in Ocean Shores, Wash., in late April. The Subaru Rally Team USA driver grabbed a spot on the Olympus podium just a month removed from a battle with bacterial meningitis that landed him in the hospital and forced him to undergo home treatment after his release.
Autosport (UK): Block: Portugal biggest challenge yet
Monster Ford driver Ken Block says this week's Rally of Portugal stages will be the toughest he has competed on in his life. Having retired and returned under superally in both of his two previous World Rally Championship outings this season, the American says his focus this weekend is firmly on getting through all three days without a problem.
05/25
Autosport (UK): Pirelli: Drivers can make a difference
Despite the World Rally Championship running a control tyre, Pirelli engineer Matteo Braga says the drivers can still make a big difference to the performance of their covers on this week's Rally of Portugal. The conditions in the lead-up to the sixth round of the World Rally Championship have been hot and dry, leaving the roads inland from the event's Algarve base dusty and abrasive.
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Markko Martin tests with Ken Block
Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block has been boosted by a short test prior to the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, during which former Ford factory driver Markko Martin sat in with him to give him a few hints and tips. Block completed 70 kilometres at the wheel of the Ford Focus RS WRC on Monday, using gravel roads that were representative of those he will face over the weekend. It was the first time that the American had driven the Focus since the Rally of Turkey more than one month ago.
05/24
Yahoo! Finance: Robin Hood Rally Successfully Completes First Event in Series in Berlin, NH
The Robin Hood Rally, a series where amateur racers race on closed public roads in the heartland of America, successfully completed the first segment of the 2010 series in Berlin, New Hampshire on May 22nd and 23rd. The merry band of 55 men and women spent two days racing Porsches, Ferraris, Corvettes, Lotuses, STIs and other exotic machinery in the area surrounding the Laidlaw property with all proceeds of local tickets sales donated to the City of Berlin
05/20
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Toyota on WRC fact finding mission
Toyota Motorsport GmbH representataives from Cologne are set to attend next week's Rally Portugal to asses the WRC as a possible future option since leaving F1, according to UK publication Motorsport News. They want to be prepared if head office in Japan contemplates a move back to the World Rally Championship, but stress that nothing is certain at this time.
05/18
Yahoo! News: Top-5 Finish in Hard-Fought 24hr Nurburgring Endurance Race - Subaru Proud of BOXER
Subaru’s official motorsports division entered one custom-tuned SUBARU Impreza WRX STI at this year’s edition of the 24hr Nurburgring race, which ended on Sunday the 16th of May. Speaking at the Subaru press conference on Friday the 14th of May, STI President Hiroyuki Karamatsu stated that the team’s main goals were to “showcase the manufacturer’s engagement in pursuing engineering excellence through the use of motorsport activities.” and were also “aimed at developing safe and reliable products that provide driving confidence and to entertain Subaru’s many loyal fans.”
05/14
Autocar (UK): Three Subaru rally cars driven
Autocar has driven three Subaru Impreza rally cars at Prodrive's Banbury headquarters, including a Colin McRae rally winner. First up for Jamie Corstorphine was the Group N Impreza rally car, which can be bought by customers from Prodrive for £150,000. Next was a WRC car from 1997, which was developed and tested by Colin McRae to meet his specific "no understeer" requirements.
05/12
Marketwatch: 24Hrs of Nurburgring race starts tomorrow -- SUBARU Team on starting blocks with WRX STI
Subaru Tecnica International (STI) -- Fuji Heavy Industries' subsidiary dedicated to achieving motor sports excellence - will be entering one custom-tuned SUBARU Impreza WRX STI for a unique speed and endurance test at the Nurburgring, arguably the most famous and demanding racetrack in the history of motorcar racing.
Rallybuzz: Dave Mirra Leads Subaru Charge at Oregon Trail Rally
Subaru Rally Team USA driver Dave Mirra will be the lone team entry in this weekend's 2010 Oregon Trail Rally based in and around Portland, Oregon. A previously scheduled engagement with the Nitro Circus Live tour in Australia precludes Subaru driver Travis Pastrana, the 4-time defending Rally America National Champion, from competing at the Oregon Trail Rally. Mirra currently holds 4th Overall in the 2010 Rally America National Championship standings while teammate Pastrana sits in 2nd having won the last round of the series, the Olympus Rally, late last month.
05/04
Autosport (UK): Rally Japan loss 'will deter teams'
Dropping Rally Japan could cost the World Rally Championship future involvement from Japanese manufacturers, according to the event's clerk of the course Dimar Krivtsov
05/03
Hometown Annapolis: Motocross champ Pastrana co-hosts 'Most Wanted'
Normally, law enforcement officers on extreme sports star Travis Pastrana's property in Davidsonville would be bad news - an injury, a break-in or vroom … a noise complaint. But it was all fun and games - OK, a little education, too - last month when county Sheriff Ron Bateman geared up on Pastrana's tricked-out 20 acres for a taping of the "Anne Arundel's Most Wanted" TV show and a bike ride around the property.
Orange County Register: Foust eighth in Rally Cross debut
San Juan Capistrano's Tanner Foust finished eighth last weekend in his debut in the FIA European Rally Cross Championship at the Pista Automóvel de Montalegre in Montalegre, Portugal.
The Portugal competition marked a new career move for the multi-talented racer and TV host. He is the first American to take on the European Rally Cross Championship and is expected to contest five rounds this year. His next round of the FIA European Rally Cross Championship is at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit May 30-31.
Driving Sports: 2010 Olympus Rally
Exclusive coverage of the 2010 Olympus Rally -- Round 3 of the Rally America Series Championship. Features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Antoine L'Estage, Dave Mirra and others battling in the forests of Washington State.
04/29
Rally America: Tanner Foust To Debut European Rally Cross
Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust will head to Portugal this weekend to debut in his new racing discipline, European-style Rally Cross. He becomes the first American to compete in the FIA European Rally Cross Championship. Foust will pilot a 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive Rockstar Energy Rally Cross Ford Fiesta prepared by champion Andreas Eriksson's Olsbergs MSE Ford team. Foust got his first feel for the vehicle at X Games in 2009 when he drove one of the team cars to a bronze medal.
Autosport.com (UK): Gronholm rules out Portugal entry
Marcus Gronholm will not contest next month's Rally of Portugal, despite speculation of a late entry for the double world champion. Last year's Faro-based event was Gronholm's first World Rally Championship event back since he retired at the end of 2007. The organisers paid for Gronholm to drive a Subaru Impreza WRC on last year's event, when he rolled out after a promising start, and had been ready top put together a similar deal for this season.
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Rugby World Cup costs NZ WRC date for 2011
Logistics and the Rugby World Cup look to have forced Rally New Zealand off the 2011 calendar of the FIA World Rally Championship, but that doesn’t mean that the event won’t be back on the 2012 and future WRC calendars. “Since it was announced that there was a risk Rally New Zealand was to be deleted permanently from the WRC calendar, we have been working to ensure that this was not the case,” says Chris Carr, chairman of the Rally New Zealand board.
04/28
USA Today: Rally car driver Travis Pastrana leaves little to luck
Travis Pastrana took the top spot at the Olympus Rally race in Washington state last weekend, earning his second win of the 2010 Rally America National Championship Series. Pastrana is best known as a freestyle motocross (FMX) phenom, winning his first world title in 1998 at age 14 and multiple gold medal winner at the X Games, highlighted by executing the first backflip and double backflip, respectively, on a dirt bike.
Autoweek: 2011 WRC schedule revealed
Next year's World Rally Championship season is taking shape, as the FIA World Motor Sport Council revealed a 13-round calendar for 2011 on Wednesday. Just like this year, next season will kick off with the snow of Sweden and end in the mud of Rally Great Britain. A few familiar venues also return after a year off, such as Italy, Argentina and Greece.
Autosport (UK): Interview with Alister McRae
Proton driver Alister McRae talks to AUTOSPORT about his full-time return to rallying, coming close to winning the opening round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship - last week's Malaysian Rally – and the year ahead.
EXPN: The fast life; DC Shoes guru-turned-rally-racer Ken Block has a plan to expand his empire
You nod to your left, but you are not at all sure. Ken Block is about to take you for a spin in his one-of-a- kind, 'roided-up rally ride, the one specially modified for stunt driving. You buckle the four-way seat belt, pulling the straps so tight it feels as if you were wearing a 2,800-pound backpack. One last click and you are at Block's mercy. For the next 90 seconds, he is in total control.
04/27
ESPN: Travis Pastrana wins Olympus Rally
Subaru Rally Team USA's Travis Pastrana wins his second event of the 2010 Rally America National Championship Series on the tricky gravel roads of the Olympus Rally held on Washington State's picturesque peninsula.
04/26
Rally America: Travis Pastrana Wins Olympus, L’Estage Still Leads Championship
Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana wins his second event of the 2010 Rally America National Championship Series on the tricky gravel roads of the Olympus Rally held on Washington State’s picturesque peninsula. Pastrana started strong from the very first stage of the event and maintained his lead over Rally America points leader Antoine L’Estage. By the end of the weekend Pastrana won 8 out of the 13 stages and built a 1:42.8 minute cushion over L’Estage.
04/24
Caradvice.com (AU): Subaru WRX STi by SR Motorsport at Nurburgring
Mal Rose is an Australian race driver who knows Germany’s infamous Nurburgring better than most from down under. The 2010 Nurburgring 24 Hour will be the seventh time he has entered the race, and the first time in a Subaru. And not just any Subaru, but rather, a Subaru Impreza WRX STI from the UK team Rimmer Motorsport, which has been race prepared by endurance race specialists SR Motorsport. He will compete in the SP3T class for turbocharged vehicles up to 2.5 litres.
04/23
04/21
The Hollywood Reporter: 'Top Gear' to launch U.S. version in fall
"Top Gear" is crossing the pond. History is teaming with BBC Worldwide Prods. to launch a U.S. version of the series in the fall. The network has made a 10-episode commitment to "Gear," which showcases all things automotive: customization, stunts, reviews and auto-centric celebrity interviews. History's "Gear" will be hosted by comedian and "Rescue Me" co-star Adam Ferrara, stunt driver Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood. Scott Messick will executive produce.
Daily World: Cromie-Picard’s drive to succeed
No pun intended, but Andrew Cromie-Picard is driving down the rally roads life has taken him on. A native of Victoria, B.C., who first got behind a rally car as a graduate student at Oxford University in England, Cromie-Picard is the reigning North American Rally Cup Champion who has found time to drive on two national rally circuits simultaneously, enter a few competitive drift events and hosts a few auto racing shows. Plus, he’s the one who flipped his car end-over-end on national television at X Games 14 in Los Angeles in 2008.
04/20
Jalopnik: Ken Block Gymkhana 3: Starring A Smoking Hot Fiesta
Rallymaster Ken Block wowed us with the drift spectacular Gymkhana I, stunned us with Gymkhana 2, sort of underwhelmed us with Gymkhana 2.1 and is now teasing Gymkhana 3 in his Monster Energy Ford Fiesta.
03/08
Daily World: Hintz duo runs away with overall title
First-day leaders Dave and Rick Hintz parlayed their lead on the roads to Brooklyn to win the 2010 DooWop Rally overall title on Sunday. The Enumclaw-San Diego, Calif., pair piloted their Subaru in 38 minutes, 2 seconds to easily claim the Open division and overall titles.
03/07
Autosport (UK): Citroen denies Solberg followed orders
Citroen denies Solberg followed orders
Citroen team principal Olivier Quesnel has denied rumours that he asked Petter Solberg to run first on the road through yesterday's longest day of Rally Mexico. After leading early in the day, Solberg had been expected to drop time on the second loop of Friday stages to ensure himself the best position on the road through Saturday's nine stages.
03/06
Autosport.com (UK): Interview with Ken Block
After a fine first day in the Monster World Rally Team yesterday, American driver Ken Block retired from Rally Mexico when he went off the road on the first stage this morning. He talked AUTOSPORT through his debut in a Ford Focus RS WRC.
03/05
Autosport.com (UK): Block surprised by his own pace
Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block has surprised himself with his pace on the opening loop of Rally Mexico stages - the American holding ninth overall after SS4.
03/04
USA Today: Entrepreneur, driver Ken Block knows how to rally support
The second stop of the Rally America circuit concluded last weekend with action sports icon and entrepreneur, Ken Block along with co-driver Alex Gelsomino, claiming a fifth consecutive 100 Acre Wood Rally victory in Salem, Mo. "I've loved rally since I was kid," says Block. "I can remember first watching it on ABC's Wide World of Sports."
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Mikko Hirvonen, Ken Block interviews
American Ken Block, driver of the Monster World Rally Ford Focus RS, also heads to Mexico with a 2010 rally win after capturing the 100 Acre Wood Rally in the Rally America series last weekend. However, this race will mark Block's WRC debut in a Focus RS, as he campaigns a limited schedule in that series this year.
02/19
Autosport.com (UK): Atkinson tests Proton Satria
Former Subaru World Rally Team driver Chris Atkinson tested a Proton Satria Neo S2000 in Sweet Lamb on Wednesday. Atkinson is the latest in a long line of drivers to have completed a test of the car which finished second on last year's Rally of Scotland. Proton is currently finalising its second driver plans for this season, with Alister McRae already confirmed as the team leader.
02/18
Autosport (UK): Atkinson keen to support Block
ormer Subaru World Rally driver Chris Atkinson thinks he can help American rally ace Ken Block with his WRC programme, which starts on Rally Mexico next month. Atkinson had been expected to be announced as the driver of a sister Ford Focus RS WRC 08 for the Monster World Rally Team, alongside the American, until the deal fell through late last year.
Autosport (UK): Q & A with Chris Atkinson
Former Subaru World Rally driver Chris Atkinson looked set to partner American rally ace Ken Block in the WRC this season, until a deal with the Monster World Rally Team fell through. He spoke to AUTOSPORT about his plans for this season and what went wrong at Subaru in 2008.
02/14
Telegraph (UK): Team Telegraph complete WRC Rally Sweden in 37th place, exhausted but elated
We have made it back to Karlstad in one piece and I can now say that I have competed in, and completed, a world championship rally!
02/13
Telegraph (UK): Jardine and Cary with a man mountain to climb in Sweden
I didn’t think we would be able to find anybody stronger down in our section of the field than Kimi Raikkonen but I was wrong. Tony and I have been wrestling all day out in Sweden with a veritable man mountain who stands 2metres tall and weighs in at 136kgs: Magnus Samuelsson, formerly World’s Strongest Man (1998), is a Swedish institution and a part-time rally man.
02/12
Telegraph (UK): Will Kimi Raikkonen make it in WRC? The jury is out
I never thought I would find myself sayiung this but I’m beating Kimi Raikkonen in a motor race. After eight stages of the Rally of Sweden, the climax to The Daily Telegraph Rally Challenge, Tony Jardine and I lie in 40th place overall in our Subaru Impreza, ahead of 14 other drivers including the 2007 F1 World Champion
02/11
Autosport (UK): Gronholm gets Burns Foundation role
Double World Rally champion Marcus Gronholm has been appointed patron of the Richard Burns Foundation. The Foundation, which was established shortly after the 2001 champion died from a brain tumour, supports people suffering from serious illness and injuries, and their families. It was relaunched in Sweden this afternoon, where Gronholm was revealed as the first patron. Gronholm was team-mate to Burns for two years at Peugeot, with the Finn regularly admitting the Englishman was his toughest ever rival.
Telegraph (UK): Solid start for Daily Telegraph rally team in Sweden
We have survived the first evening. Better than that, in fact. Not only did we survive, we posted a respectable time in SS1 with Tony driving sensibly at first before putting his foot down as he gradually got used to the sheet ice inside Karlstad’s trotting track arena.
02/10
Autoweek: WRC changes points system to mirror F1
World Rally Championship drivers will score points this season in the same manner as their counterparts in Formula One. The FIA World Motor Sport Council said Wednesday that the top 10 finishers in each of this year's rallies will score on a scale of 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1, the same points system F1 adopted for 2010.
Telegraph (UK):
Team Telegraph encounter last-minute problems ahead of Rally Sweden
It’s Thursday morning, just hours before the start of Rally Sweden, and we’ve hit a late snag that threatens our participation. The Impreza loaned to us by Subaru Norway had a problem with its roll cage which was picked up during scrutineering yesterday and the boys have been working all night to rectify the problem…
Telegraph man Tom Cary pits his wits against Kimi Raikkonen and Co in Rally Sweden
So, it is -17C outside and my latest anxiety is whether to wear an extra pair of long johns over the FIA-approved, flame resistant thermals with which I have been equipped for the climax to The Daily Telegraph Rally Challenge. My fear, you see, is that my long johns may fall foul of race scrutineers; the fascist mob who check that our car and equipment conform to rigorous standards of safety.
02/08
Carthrottle: Prodrive Subaru Impreza N2010
Ah, Prodrive. Back when Subaru contested the World Rally Championship with a factory effort, England’s Prodrive was that “factory”. They also do their racing efforts, like run Aston Martins at Le Mans and occasionally try to nose into F1, but what they really do well is rally cars. Take for example the Prodrive Subaru Impreza N2010.
02/07
Jalopnik: Longest Distance Between Two Points? Road Rallye!
You won't be Travis Pastrana or Ken Block while you're participating in a local Coursemarker/Gimmick Road Rallye, but there are still trophies to be won. Check out The Rallye Club's latest Bay Area adventure. To run a road rallye you don't need to be factory backed by Subaru. Actually, all you need is any means of transportation, from a Ferrari to a Hyundai, a clipboard, a pencil, $20 for the entry fee and a full tank of petrol.
Autosport (UK): Solberg reveals new livery
Petter Solberg has revealed the first images of his all-new livery for the 2010 World Rally Championship.
02/05
Automobile: Subaru Impreza WRX STI - The Earl of Good Woods
You might live next door to the Nürburgring, but that doesn't mean you can take a lap whenever the fancy strikes. But what if you built your own track where you could drive as much as you want, whenever you want, in your own automotive Disney World? That's the dream, right there.
02/04
Autosport (UK): WRC set for 1.6 litre turbo engines
The next generation of World Rally Cars is set to run with 1.6-litre turbocharged engines - with ratification of that decision due at the March meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.
02/03
Crash.net (UK): Block ready to live the dream
Ken Block admits it will be a dream come true when he joins the World Rally Championship field in Mexico.
Block will also take part in the events in Turkey, Portugal, Germany, France, Spain and Great Britain as part of a seven-event programme at the wheel of an M-Sport prepared Ford Focus entered under the Monster World Rally Team banner.
Driving Sports: Extra! Sno*Drift Rally Report, Monster Fiesta, 2012 Viper
Welcome to The Driving Sports Extra, for the first week of February, 2010. This week Ken Block breaks-in his new Fiesta – make that, breaks his new Fiesta – a classic Volkswagen kicks some ass, and will we really see a new Viper in 2012? It was a cold, icy weekend in Michigan. Sounds like perfect weather for Sno*Drift - Round 1 of the Rally American Championship. The only official snow rally on the calendar, this year’s event proved particularly challenging. Why? We’ll let Mitsubishi driver Antoine L’Estage explain: “They got a lot of rain here, turns out it’s like an ice rink. Just a little, thin layer of snow on top of it and, um, yeah, it’s glare ice… you need skates!”
02/01
Subaru Global: Five SUBARU Imprezas get into the action in the IRC's Monte Carlo Rally
The opening round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) - the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo ran from 20-22 January in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The IRC was established in 2007 by a subsidiary of Europe's largest TV channel Eurosport TV in order to give young or amateur drivers the chance to show off their skills; and coverage is exclusive to Eurosport TV. While the event has no FIA title, the 2010 series of 12 rounds comprises of existing regional or national championship events that are chosen for their history or visual appeal. Cars which are eligible to take part are Group N, Super 2000 and Group A up to class A7 (2000cc).
02/01
Jalopnik: Travis Pastrana Wins 2010 Sno*Drift Rally, Hearts of Northern Michigan
Travis Pastrana won Rally America's season-opening Sno*Drift Rally this weekend. It was single-digit cold, the roads were covered in a thick sheet of ice, and Ken Block's brand-new Ford Fiesta broke. Sound like fun? Of course it does.
Rally America: Defending champ Travis Pastrana takes Sno*Drift win
Defending Rally America champion Travis Pastrana skated to victory on Saturday at Sno*Drift, the incredibly slick 2010 season opener. Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom built a solid early lead and continued to put time on the rest of the field over the course of the two-day rally –- despite a badly injured left shoulder.
Autosport.com (UK): Interview with Marcus Gronholm
Double World Rally champion Marcus Gronholm returned to competitive rallying on the national-level Svully Rally in Norway last weekend. Driving a Group N Subaru Impreza, he finished second to Petter Solberg's Citroen C4 WRC, but he did garner some much-needed match practice ahead of next week's Rally Sweden.
Autoweek Racing: UPDATED: WRC's 2010 season will be televised in the United States.
The World Rally Championship's upcoming 2010 season will be televised in the United States. An executive with the HD Theater cable/satellite network confirmed that a deal is in place with the WRC for the channel to continue the partnership it began before Christmas 2009. That deal saw HD Theater televise the 2009 season's events, though the coverage did not begin until after the season had concluded.
01/29
Autosport 9UK): Gronholm to enter Norwegian rally
Double World Rally champion Marcus Gronholm will compete on the Svully Rally in Norway this weekend in an effort to find the rhythm ahead of his WRC return in Sweden next month. Gronholm will join Petter Solberg, Patrik Sandell and Andreas Mikkelsen on the small one-day Norwegian event which runs close to Solberg's home in Spydeberg. Gronholm, who will drive a Subaru Impreza WRX tomorrow, said: "It's just a change to find the feeling before the Swedish Rally. It would have been perfect to have the Focus out here to do the event in, but that was not possible. So instead I have Subaru Cup car.
PR Newswire: Subaru Road Racing Team Debuts New Impreza(R) WRX(R) STI(R) at Daytona Raceway
Subaru of America, Inc. opened the 2010 road race season today with a strong 15th place finish out of 41 entries in the Grand Sport class of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series at the Daytona Raceway. The Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) is fielding two Impreza WRX STI racecars in the series this year. SRRT campaigned a single Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B in the series' Street Tuner class in 2009, taking second in both the Drivers' and Team Championships, along with 3rd in the Manufacturer chase.
01/27
Crash.net (UK): Block to join WRC fold in Mexico
Ken Block and the Monster World Rally Team will compete in seven rounds of the World Rally Championship in 2010, it has been announced. Block will begin his campaign in a Ford Focus RS prepared by M-Sport – the team behind the works Ford programme – in Mexico. He will then travel to Turkey, Portugal, Germany, France and Spain, before finishing the year off on the Rally GB.
The Score: Exclusive POV Angles Of Travis Pastrana’s Jump
I’m sure most of you have now seen the infamous New Year’s Travis Pastrana jump but check below for some never-before-seen angles from Travis’ jump, shot with GoPro’s HD Hero camera.
01/26
Jalopknik: Ken Block's New Ford Rally Car Is Monstrously Cool
Ken Block's Rally America Fiesta wasn't scheduled to break cover until Wednesday, but a few images leaked out early. As a response, the Monster rally team released two high-res shots and a funky-jam video. Excuse us while we geek out.
01/25
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Piero Liatti to contest Dunlop Otago Classic Rally
The Dunlop International Classic Rally of Otago has been boosted with the announcement that former Subaru, Hyundai and SEAT World Rally Championship driver, Piero Liatti, will contest the 2010 event, to be held on April 10 and 11. The Italian was the 1991 European Rally Champion, but by far his biggest moment in rallying came when he defeated the sport’s best drivers to win the 1997 Monte Carlo Rally in a Subaru Impreza.
1/22
Rallybuzz: Ostberg to use older Subaru S12b model on Rally Sweden
Norwegian driver Mads Ostberg has taken the unusual step of switching to an older version of the rally car he used in last year's World Rally Championship for the opening round of the 2010 season, Rally Sweden. Accompanied by co-driver Jonas Andersson, Ostberg will tackle Rally Sweden in an S12b spec Impreza WRC2007 - the last of the saloon bodied Imprezas - having decided against the S14 WRC2008 hatchback he campaigned throughout 2009.
Rally America: Sno*Drift Kicks Off 2010 Rally America Season
Storylines abound in the upcoming 2010 Rally America Season that opens in two weeks with Sno*Drift, the series’ traditional “bad weather” event, January 29-30 in Atlanta, Michigan. The Sno*Drift Rally is held in the middle of winter in northeastern lower Michigan. It takes place where snowmobiles and Elk probably outnumber cars. Winter conditions in Michigan are hard to predict, but some combination of fresh snow and glazed ice can always be expected. The conditions at Sno*Drift are the most immediate storyline in the Rally America news cycle. But there are more including a change in the Rally America format. Last year there were nine events on the calendar in forests from Maine to Washington plus the highly visible and invitational X Games 15 competition in suburban Los Angeles.
Gaylord Heraldtimes: Sno*Drift Rally revs up for Jan. 29 start in Lewiston, Jan. 30 in Atlanta
The annual Sno*Drift Rally, the first in a series of six car races that will be held across the country as part of Rally America, will take place on Friday, Jan. 29, in Lewiston and Saturday, Jan. 30, in Atlanta. It is the only race in the series that is held on icy snow-covered roads.
Crash.net (UK): IRC: Hirvonen maintains Monte advantage
Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead the 78th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, following a dramatic second day's action in the Haute Loire region of France.
The Finn, driving the M-Sport Fiesta S2000 in competition for the first time, heads the overall standings by 47.7secs following Thursday's six stages, with Juho Hanninen second for the works Skoda Motorsport team and 2009 winner Sebastien Ogier battling from fifth up to third, courtesy of three stage wins in his Peugeot 207 S2000.
01/19
Automobile: Prodrive Unveils 2010 Subaru Group N Impreza Rally Car
Prodrive, the British king of turning Subaru Imprezas into rally-winning weapons, today unveiled specifications surrounding its new Impreza N2010 FIA Group N rally car. “The engine and suspension changes make the N2010 far more competitive,” said Graham Prew, Prodrive sales manager. “On gravel the Impreza is certainly a match for any Super 2000, but it is on tarmac that the additional engine performance will really come into its own and make the N2010 a competitive alternative to a Super 2000, but at about half the price and with significantly lower running costs.”
Business World Online: Saving grace
Of all kinds of motorsports, rallying on unmade roads teaches car makers to produce powerful cars that have adherent handling and a comfortable high speed ride. Properly filtered to mainstream cars, rallye-bred cars come to market with comfortable seats, great driving positions, panoramic visibility, supple rides, reliable suspensions, instant power, durable under-chassis and precise handling. Car enthusiasts savored this great driving feel as rallying Citroens, Peugeots, Mitsubishis, Suzukis and Fords filtered the lessons learned to mainstream cars.
Twenty-five years ago in these islands, Subaru was only known and pronounceable to boys with colorful names like Blu, Dinggoy, Paeng, Robbie, Mandy, Vip and Art“ rallye drivers who drove dirt tracks in the dead of the night.
Jalopnik: VIDEO: Hitler Discovers Ken Block Now Races For Ford
Just when we thought we were done with Downfall parodies, some hilarious nut puts together a video of what happens when Subaru fanboy Adolf Hitler discovers Ken Block now races for Ford. (Hat tip to Chris!)
1/16
Motorsport.com: Subaru increases support program
Subaru of America, Inc. announced today increases to its contingency award payouts for Subaru drivers in the 2010 Rally America National Championship. The Subaru Rally Support Program, which was created in 2005, continues to be the most lucrative contingency program in North American rallying, with over $20,000.00 available per event for eligible Subaru drivers to earn. The program will again focus support on the popular Super Production class (SP) within the Rally America National Championship where the top finishing eligible Subaru SP driver can now earn $7,000.00 at each round.
Scotsman (UK): Subaru's pioneer is a great estate
OUTBACK, outlaw, back roads, Australia, Sonoma, Wester Ross, north country moors: connotations thrown up by Subaru's Outback. It is a chunkier version of the Legacy estate, with the same flat or boxer engine and all-wheel-drive. This is the fourth version of the model that Subaru says pioneered "crossover" .
1/15
Fullnoise (AU): The Circus Is Coming To Town
The largest, most daring and downright craziest travelling action sports show has teamed up with the biggest freestyle motocross magazine in the world to bring you the must-see event of the year - Travis Pastrana’s Nitro Circus and Freerider MX Magazine are presenting The Nitro Circus Live Tour. Starring the world’s greatest action sports star, Travis Pastrana, winner of 14 X Games medals, Nitro Circus Live will be a two-and-a-half-hour, fully-choreographed, action sports, theatrical spectacular. GAS, the promoters of Super X and the creators and producers of the Crusty Demons live shows from 2003 to 2009 have teamed with Godfrey Entertainment to promote Nitro Circus Live, worldwide.
1/14
ESPN: Subaru Rally USA announces drivers
Subaru Rally Team USA announced today that reigning four-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana and BMX Freestyle legend Dave Mirra will both return as factory team drivers. Subaru Rally Team USA will contest the entire 2010 Rally America National Championship, ESPN's X Games 16 Rally Car Racing event as well as participate in Rally America's new and highly anticipated European-style rally cross exhibition events. Pastrana and Mirra will each pilot a 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car prepared by Subaru technical partner Vermont SportsCar.
Yahoo! Finance: Able Planet Sponsors Rally America to Promote "i am able" Campaign
Able Planet joins the Rally America team as a Contingency Sponsor of the 2010 Rally America National Championship to provide financial support to the organization and award valuable prizes to this year’s competitors who will be eligible to receive a wide range of award-winning headphones and headsets with Able Planet’s patented technologies that provide superior sound quality and speech clarity.
Consumer Reports: Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru jump in brand perception
Despite experiencing one of the most turbulent years ever in the automotive market, Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru have benefited from a dramatic increase in overall brand perception among car owners. According to Consumer Reports 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey, all three saw at least a 30-point increase in their overall perception scores over last year's scores. The scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: Safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green
1/11
Driving Sports: Ken Block Interview: Part 1 – The Team
Ken Block talks to Driving Sports in an exclusive interview. In this first part of the interview, he responds to critics in the Subaru community, talks about his Ford Fiesta rally car, how he fits into the M-Sport picture and more
1/09
Hometown Annapolis: Man gets 10 years for bike theft. Pastrana closed his property to strangers after June incident
A county Circuit Court judge sentenced a Baltimore gang member to 10 years in prison for stealing four motorcycles - including one prized trophy bike - over the summer from outside the Davidsonville home of motocross superstar Travis Pastrana.
The theft prompted the 26-year-old X Games phenom to close his property to the general public. "He always had an open-door policy for people to come and enjoy themselves and all of the facilities," Robert Pastrana, Travis' father, said Monday in county Circuit Court in Annapolis, according to a recording of the proceedings. "(But) all of that has changed. When he is out of town there is no trespassing whatsoever. There is extra security. Extra locked gates."
1/06
Crash.net (UK): Monster World Rally Team confirms WRC entry
American driver Ken Block is to join the World Rally Championship for selected events in 2010 after confirmation of the creation of the new Monster World Rally Team. Block will compete in a Ford Focus RS prepared by M-Sport – the team behind the works Ford programme - with the first year of a multi-year programme being focused on helping Block get up to speed with the WRC. As well as his WRC programme, Block will also compete in the Rally America Championship and X Games XVI in a Ford Fiesta prepared by Olsbergs MSE.
Jalopnik: Ken Block Ditches Subaru, Will Rock Ford For WRC, X Games
It's official. The amazingly talented Ken Block, he of the sideways Subie, is ditching the AWD brand to race a Ford Fiesta in Rally America/X Games and a Ford Focus on the bigger World Rally Championship stage. Reports late last year indicated this was in the cards and we're happy to hear the guy who is out doing this will get a chance to race in places more exotic than Salem, Missouri and Northern Michigan. Above, a primer to everything Ken Block has done in 2009, below the first preview of Block inside the new Monster World Rally Championship Focus.
Autoweek: Ken Block to campaign a Ford Focus next season in WRC
Ken Block has forsaken Subaru and will campaign a Ford Focus next season in the World Rally Championship and a Fiesta in Rally America and the X Games. This is an impressive addition for Ford's rallying efforts internationally. The Blue Oval has won three WRC titles, but an American has never run a full season in the grueling series.
01/05
USA Today: USA's Block to race on rally circuit
The Long Beach native will flaunt his abilities on the sport's biggest stage this season in joining the World Rally Championship series. With backing from Ford, Block hopes to become the first American to compete full time in the WRC, which is the rally equivalent to NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.
CNN: Gordon wins stage as Peterhansel extends lead in Dakar Rally
American driver Robby Gordon won the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally by just one second from Stephane Peterhansel, who extended his overall lead to more than seven minutes in South America on Tuesday. NASCAR star Gordon claimed his first victory of this year's race, and his third overall, as he snatched the quickest time on the shortened 163 kilometer stage from Fiambala in Argentina to Copiapo in Chile. It was cut by 40km as some competitors arrived late following Monday's leg.
RTE Sport (IE): Raikkonen ready to rally
A rejuvenated Kimi Raikkonen has revealed winning the World Rally Championship would be of far greater significance than his Formula One title. After failing to secure a seat in F1 for this year, Raikkonen will drive for the Citroen Junior Team in the WRC, competing in 12 of the 13 rounds. After nine years in F1, the Finn is certainly invigorated ahead of the opening rally in Sweden that starts on 10 February, admitting to 'finding a bit of the young Kimi in me again'.
01/04
Car and Driver: Pastrana New Year’s Eve Jump: How Far Did He Fly?
This past New Year’s Eve, many of you probably watched the annual Time’s Square ball drop or went to the bar with all the (other) inebriated yahoos. But those that tuned into the Red Bull event in Long Beach, California, caught quite a show put on by Mr. Pastrana.
Jalopnik: Freeze Frame: Travis Pastrana’s 269-Foot New Year's Eve Jump
Unless you live under a rock, you saw Travis Pastrana ring in 2010 by launching his Subaru rally car 269 feet across Long Beach Harbor at 95 MPH. Now here's the jump in high-res time lapse and high-def video glory.
01/02
Mail & Guardian (UK): Drivers line up for Dakar Rally
Considered the most dangerous race on the planet, the Dakar Rally starts on Saturday with 378 drivers taking part in the second edition staged in South America because of security concerns. Dunes, desert, mountains and other hostile terrain lie in wait for 138 cars, 161 motorbikes, 29 quads and 50 trucks in the 16-stage race that covers 9 030km across Argentina and Chile before finishing on January 16 in Buenos Aires.
01/01
USA Today: Travis Pastrana sets world record for jump in rally car
Travis Pastrana ended up in the water again. The daredevil shattered the world record for the longest jump in a rally car on Thursday night, making a nearly perfect flight of 269 feet from the Pine Street Pier onto a barge anchored in the harbor.
12/31
New York Times: Pastrana Attempts Rally Car Jump Record
On New Year’s Eve, Travis Pastrana will “test the laws of physics” and get airborne in a Subaru Impreza STI for Red Bull’s annual New Year’s event, “Red Bull: New Year. No Limits.” The goal is to break the 171-foot world record for the longest distance jump in a rally car.
12/30
Tom's Hardware: DiRT 2: DirectX 11 Game Performance Compared And Analyzed
The auto-racing genre is split into either one of two categories: simulation versus arcade. On one hand, there are wildly unrealistic and fun-centric titles, such as the Burnout series, and on the other hand there are ultra-realistic simulations, like the Gran Turismo series. Meanwhile, die-hard fans of one game will probably not appreciate the other as much as you might think. Codemasters, in particular, has been toiling to find a middle ground between these extremes. While its older TOCA Race Driver series leaned further on the simulation side of things, GRiD developers worked hard to find a balance between mindless fun and a realistic simulation. DiRT 2 continues the trend. While the fantastic driving model should satisfy the simulation purists, the playing experience can be tailored to arcade-like tastes by turning damage off, changing the difficulty, and using the flashback feature that lets you reverse time and undo your critical mistake. With these options, anyone can be a winner. And the simulation elite can truly be proud of their accomplishments under the most difficult and realistic settings
12/29
New York Daily News: Daredevil toasts leap 'Year': Travis Pastrana, host of MTV's 'Nitro Circus,' on eve of 200-ft. jump
Travis Pastrana could die on New Year's Eve. Or, possibly, end up in the drink.
"We'll try to avoid that," says Pastrana, the host of MTV's "Nitro Circus," and a fixture at ESPN's "X-Games." Pastrana will try to break the world record for car-distance jumping on ESPN's "Red Bull: New Year. No Limits," airing Thursday at 11:15 p.m. He'll do so in Long Beach, Calif., where he'll attempt to jump 200 feet from a pier to a barge.
ESPN: 2010: Year of the Barge Jump
Travis Pastrana's New
Year's Eve stunt will once again bring action sports to the mainstream.
"If there is even a five mile-per-hour headwind," Travis Pastrana casually explained, "I could come up 40-feet short." When he says "I," he means it. As in I will be in a rally car that'll speed off a ramp, fly over water, and land on a floating barge about a football field away. "I'm looking for something so far outside the box that people's jaws will drop."
12/28
Long Beach Gazette: New Year’s Eve Stunt Draws Attention
The stunt involves building a special ramp at the end of the Pine Avenue Pier and a bringing in a barge that will float in the harbor more than 200 feet from the end of the pier. Pastrana will do a warm-up lap in the car, then make one hard charge starting close to the Ferris wheel at the Pike, flying past Gladstone’s onto the Pier, then into the air. “I’m going to get up to 95-100-ish mph, and yes, I’ll have enough room to get to that speed,” Pastrana said. “It’s crazy that a 5 mph headwind will affect the car’s jump by 40 feet, so I’m going to have to be adjusting up to the last second.”
Autosport (UK): Hirvonen eyes asphalt boost
The 2009 championship runner-up plans to spend more time with driver coach Rob Wilson – and hopes to actually take him out in a Focus RS WRC car. "When I'm driving on gravel, I always know what the car's going to do, but it's not so clear on tarmac," explained Hirvonen. "I definitely need more time with the car testing for asphalt. And I need more time with Rob [Wilson].
12/25
Subaru Motorsports Magazine: Subaru Forester to P{articipate in Dakkar 2010
A pair of SUBARU Forester entries will take part in the Rally Raid Adventure, 'Dakar 2010' which will kick off on the 1st of January 2010 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and run across the Andes, through Chile's demanding and rough stages, finally arrive back in Buenos Aires on the 17th of January. The total distance is approximately 9,000 kms.
12/17
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Cody Crocker happy with stellar 2009 season
Subaru rally driver Cody Crocker is taking a much needed break as he looks back on his record-breaking 2009 season, which saw him claim an unprecedented fourth consecutive Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title.
For Crocker, standing on stage with World Rally and Formula 1 champions at the FIA Gala Dinner in Monaco is a long way from his debut season in a Mazda RX5, way back in 1994. But that’s where the Victorian found himself last week, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Sebastien Loeb.
12/14
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Chris Atkinson’s chances of contesting the 2010 World Rally Championship are still alive and well, despite the Queenslander having only contested one round of the 2009 WRC.
Atkinson and American star, Ken Block, are working hard on a program that would see them run a two car Ford Focus team with backing from Monster Energy Drinks.
“We are still negotiating all contracts,” Ken Block told RallySport Magazine today.
“We should have everything wrapped up and announced in early January.”
12/11
TheScore.com: Travis Pastrana's World Record Rally Jump... And Crash
It's real, and it's spectacular. Travis Pastrana has been practicing short distance jumps in preparation for his record setting rally jump... and not all of them have gone so well. He's fine. The car, not so much. This New Year's Eve, Pastrana will star in Red Bull: New Year. No Limits. Travis will attempt to shatter the world record for distance jumping in a car at the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor.
12/10
Sydney Morning Herald (AU): Atkinson targets six-pack return
Australian former Subaru driver Chris Atkinson is set to return to the world rally circuit for at least six races next year, World Rally Circuit promoters said on Wednesday
12/09
Autosport (UK): Digital media key to WRC growth
"The holy grail is to deliver a real, simultaneous live race experience where you'll be able to go after Sebastien Loeb at the same time on the same stage, and compare your performance against his. In addition you'll be able to have his live on-board camera footage integrated into the live game-play experience."
12/06
Autosport (UK): Subaru registers for 2010 IRC
A Subaru Impreza actually won the very first round of the IRC: the 2007 Safari, which was claimed by Conrad Rautenbach. However, as Subaru was previously not registered, he did not score championship points. While conventional Group N cars have struggled against their Super 2000 counterparts recently, Subaru is hoping that the new 2010 rules - which allow turbocharged Group N machines a bigger restrictor - will redress the balance.
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Subaru to join 2010 IRC line-up
In the 2009 campaign, seven manufacturers were represented: Abarth, Honda, Peugeot, Proton, Ralliart, Skoda and Volkswagen, with Subaru now added to that list.
12/5
The Checkered Flag: Rally’s stock is going up in 2010
Then, came some rather unexpected but welcome news for Rally enthusiasts such as myself. Ever since Subaru pulled out of the WRC in 2008 leaving Petter Solberg without a ride until he secured a Citroen C4 deep into the 2009 season, the only Rallying Subaru fans have really had, has been Ken Block pulling Kung-Fu-Gymkhana stunts in his STi.
12/04
Autoweek: Räikkönen will race in WRC
After weeks of speculation, the news is official: Kimi Räikkönen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, will join the Citroën Junior Team for 12 of 13 rounds on the World Rally Championship next year. The Finn will skip Rally New Zealand, the only event the Citroën Junior Team will not contest next year. The Citroën Junior Team--until now run only as a "customer" team--will reinforce its ties with energy-drink giant Red Bull next year. It will now run as a second factory team, with Räikkönen joined by up-and-coming Frenchman Sébastien Ogier. Both cars will run in full Red Bull livery.
F1: Raikkonen confirms WRC drive for 2010
Kimi Raikkonen has ruled himself out of a Formula One drive for next season following confirmation that he will compete for Citroen’s Red Bull-backed junior team in the 2010 World Rally Championship (WRC).
11/09
Jalopnik: Ken Block's Tracked Subaru STI Begs For Snow
This is Ken Block's latest toy, a 400HP Subaru WRX STI, stripped and caged and outfitted with a set of Mattracks all-terrain tracks debuted today at SEMA. Is it badass? Yes. Would we sell our eye-teeth for one? Probably.
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Mini and Prodrive plan WRC return
A new Mini Crossover model is expected to be delivered to Prodrive's UK workshops before the end of the year, as rumours about a World Rally Championship program continue. It is understood that Prodrive will will take charge of Mini's return to rallying, with BMW expected to make a formal announcement in April about plans to contest the WRC from 2011 onwards. The source stated to Motorsport News in the UK that Prodrive had completed the preliminary design work on the car.
Autosport (UK): Prodrive quiet on WRC future
Speculation remains rife that Prodrive is working with Mini on a Crossover WRC, but any official confirmation of the deal has now been stalled until the spring.
Mibz: Subaru Legacy B4 GT300, A Super GT Car At The Tokyo Motor Show
Even though this is not a 100% debut for the Subaru Legacy B4 GT300, this car attracted the glances of the visitors here at the Tokyo Motor Show. The wide fenders, carbon fiber spoilers and everything you will find on a race car caught the attention of the viewers.
10/06
Dirtnewz: Round 9 of Rally America Championship Returns To Lake Superior Performance Rally
For the last 5 years the 9th and final round of the Rally America Championship Series will return to picturesque Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on October 16th and 17th. The peak of Fall colors will be in full force providing a striking backdrop to rally cars tackling the tough gravel roads and the famous Brockway Mountain Stage, a perennial favorite among some the nation’s top rally drivers.
The Phoenix: Aquilante makes final push for first place in racing series
Serving as the final round of the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge road racing series, VIRginia International Raceway sets the scene for championship-seeking drivers Andrew Aquilante and Kristian Skavnes, co-drivers in the Subaru Road Racing Team's (SRRT) #111 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B.
Marketwire: Subaru's Richard and Ockwell Win Pacific Forest Rally
Reigning Canadian rally champions Patrick Richard and co-driver Alan Ockwell drove their Impreza WRX STI to first place in the Pacific Forest Rally to keep alive their ambitions for another Canadian championship title in 2009. The pair hung on to their lead even after a delay leaving the service area on the second day cost them a 50-second penalty.
09/30
Motorsport.com: Ken Block Returns to Scotland for the 2009 Colin McRae Forest Stages
Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino will participate once again in the 2009 Colin McRae Forest Stages in Scotland this weekend. Block will be at the wheel of a sister car to his usual Rally America National Championship vehicle, a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI built to Rally America's Open Class specifications. As the high-powered Vermont SportsCar-prepared, #43 Subaru STI does not conform to any of the car specification classes featured at the McRae Stages, the final round of the Scottish Rally Championship, Block will run as course-opening car for exhibition only.
Motorsport.com: Rally Catalunya: Subaru Rally Team Spain preview
The Subaru Rally Team Spain will take part in the Rally RACC Catalunya-Costa Dourada, the Spanish round of the World Rally Championship which will be held this weekend based around Salou on the Catalonian coast. The works team of Subaru Spain will enter two KRS prepared Imprezas Prodrives for Egoi Eder Valdes-Daniel Lucas and Marcos Barquin Diego-Vicente Diego.
Autonet.ca: Targa STI vs. production STI
This year, Subaru Canada entered a race-ready WRX STI prepared by Stewart Hoo’s team at Can-Jam Motorsports in the eight annual edition of Targa Newfoundland. I was driving this car in my third consecutive pilgrimage to the Rock with Keith Townsend as my original co-driver. Keith and I spent weeks preparing and synching up for the event, including long drives in Newfoundland to identify and analyze the rally’s major difficulties.
Autosport.com (UK): Rally star Airikkala dies
Former World Rally driver Pentti Airikkala died yesterday following a long illness. The Finn, 64, contested 36 WRC events between 1973 and 1990 and took his only victory on Rally GB (then the RAC Rally) in 1989. He later made a one-off return to Rally GB in 2003.
09/10
Motorsport.com: SPAIN: Subaru RTS Rally Principe de Asturias preview
Everything is ready for Subaru Rally Team Spain to face one of the more important rallies of its 2009 , the Principe de Asturias, to be held this weekend, and is a round of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and the Spanish Tarmac Rally Championship.
Motorsport.com: Rallye Defi: Series round four preview
Top Canadian rally teams in race for crucial mid-season points at 2009 Rallye Defi Just past the halfway mark in the 2009 season, Canada's top rally teams descend on the Mont Tremblant region of Quebec, September 11-12, to resume an exciting points battle in the Canadian Rally Championship presented by Subaru and supported by Yokohama.
Rallysport Mag (AU): Patton completes first ever rally
Extremedriving.net has fostered the breeding of yet another rally champion in a WRC, which follows in a tradition first started in 1992 with Andrew Pinker, who went on to run second in the British National Rally Championship, as well as 2nd in the USA National Championship more recently.
Rallysport Mag (AU): Repco Rally Australia ramblings
The form of Sebastien Ogier was a joy to watch, as was his pre-event tyre change practice. Ogier and his co-driver, Julien Ingrassia, sat in their car with helmets and seat belts on, then proceeded to get out of the car, change a front wheel, put everything back in its place, then get back in the car with their seat belts on. They completed the job in an incredible one minute and 22 seconds!
09/07
Autosport.com (UK): Q & A with Petter Solberg
Although he had achieved several giantkilling podiums in the 2006 Citroen Xsara with which he started the season, Petter Solberg knew that if he wanted to win rallies again, he needed a higher specification car. After testing newer machinery from both Ford and Citroen, he announced today that he will drive a Citroen C4 in Catalunya and Britain, and then explained his reasoning to AUTOSPORT.
Jalopnik: Gymkhana 2.1: Block Vs Dyrdek, As Seen On MTV
MTV aired a very special episode of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory last night in which he and guest Ken Block tackled some of the serious issues facing our country. Here's the full video.
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Petter Solberg To Race A Citroen C4 WRC
Following Subaru's sudden pull-out from the sport, the 2003 World Rally Champion opted to found his own operation and enter this season's championship at the controls of an old 2006 Citroen Xsara. Although the car did bring him onto the podium on two occasions, it could not compete for victory against modern machinery.
08/06
Sports Illustrated: Pastrana wants to ring in 2010 with record car jump
Red Bull's New Year, No Limits series is moving from Las Vegas to La-La-Land, and this time it'll be Travis Pastrana's turn to try to wow the crowd. Pastrana will try to break the world record for the longest jump in a car. A handful of Los Angeles landmarks are being considered for the New Year's Eve stunt by the freestyle motocross star and rally car champion. Considering that this is the guy who at 15 celebrated an X Games gold medal by jumping his motorcycle into San Francisco Bay, almost anything might go.
Gamers.com: DiRT 2 Hands-on Preview
Rally racing has always been successful worldwide, but for some reason, it never reached a high level of success in America. It's a funny because, as any off-road or motocross enthusiast can attest, the thrill of tossing vehicles around with clods of dirt and asphalt spewing from their tires is universal. That's where DiRT 2 comes in. Free of affiliations to a specific motorsport organization, DiRT 2 spins the proverbial globe, stops it with a fingertip, and drops you there to rip through the local landscape in a number of different souped-up rides.
RallySport Magazine (AU): Moscatt makes tough decision and quits dream WRC job
Australian co-driver, Dale Moscatt, has made the tough decision to walk away from his lucrative ride in this year's World Rally Championship alongside 18-year old Russian sensation, Evgeny Novikov. Although still contracted to Evgeny in the Citroen Junior World Rally Team, it seems Moscatt made the decision after the Russian put their Citroen C4 off the road on numerous occasions in the past two rounds of the WRC, in Poland and Finland.
Autosport (UK): Solberg eyeing Ford for Rally GB
Petter Solberg is working on a deal to drive a Ford Focus RS WRC 08 on Rally GB in a bid to win a round of the World Rally Championship for the first time in four years. Solberg won the event four consecutive times between 2002 and 2005 and is hoping to negotiate a deal with Ford team director Malcolm Wilson to drive a car which could end the longest winless streak of the Norwegian's professional career. Solberg hasn't won since Rally GB in 2005.
Crash.net (UK): X Games 15: Silver for Pastrana
LA Times: Marquee event comes to abrupt halt on X Games' final day
Doors flew open, bumpers tore loose, and cars spun wildly and zipped around a Home Depot Center course that resembled some bizarre outdoor pinball machine during the X Games' marquee event on its final day Sunday.
IGN: Dirt 2 Becomes Sponsor of Subaru Rally Team USA
UK videogame publisher Codemasters is jumping into the race as DiRT 2 climbs behind the wheel as an associate sponsor of the Subaru Rally Team USA for the 2009 season. DiRT 2 will sponsor seven races for Ken Block, Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra from July through October, including the Los Angeles X Games July 30 – August 2.
07/06
Autoweek: Brack, Foust, Deegan to drive Fiestas at X Games
Drivers Kenny Brack, Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan will drive rally-prepared Ford Fiestas in competition at X Games 15 in Los Angeles in late July. The Fiestas will be fielded by Sweden's Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution. That is the same group that is bringing rally-prepped Fiestas to Colorado's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in July.
Jalopnik: Top Gear: Ken Block Takes James May Sideways
Ken's a master of sliding sideways in his specially-equipped Subaru. And as you can see, he gives May the ride of his life — even if he doesn't have the guts to say it. And by guts, we mean of course playing his role as the anti-stereotypical "Captain Slow" by decrying his inability to drive fast in a straight line. Whatever — USA! USA! USA!
Autosport (UK): Solberg linked to C4 for Rally Finland
Petter Solberg has been linked to a Citroen C4 WRC drive on the forthcoming Rally Finland. The Norwegian has been offered a 2008-specification car from Citroen, but Solberg and the French firm have, as yet, been unable to agree terms for the use of the machine on the Jyvaskyla-based event. The certainty, however, is that Solberg will not use the Peugeot 307 WRC he tested in France last week.
Northern Star (AU): Atkinson hopeful for Repco Rally
WITH 61 days to go until the start of Repco Rally Australia, this country's best rally driver, Chris Atkinson, still doesn't know whether he'll make it to the starting line. The Gold Coast driver, whose Subaru team withdrew from the World Rally Championship in January, says if he doesn't find a sponsor and get a car shipped here within the next three weeks he won't make it.
Squamish Chief (CA): Rocket Rally sets record
Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Patrick Richard took a hard-fought victory at the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs in Quebec, beating the entire field of 48 cars and solidifying his overall lead in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship. Driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Squamish-based Richard and co-driver Alan Ockwell of Toronto took the lead after the fourth stage and never looked back, marking Richard's second overall win in a row, and third overall win at this particular event.
06/22
Autoport.com (UK): Solberg to test Peugeot 307
Petter Solberg will still test a Peugeot 307 WRC, despite the upturn in performance from his Citroen Xsara WRC on last week's Acropolis Rally. The Norwegian was fighting for the lead when the front-left suspension on his Xsara collapsed. He will use the same car on next week's Rally Poland, but a switch to the 307 for Finland remains an option.
06/15
Autoweek.com: Ken Block takes first place in Pennsylvania rally
Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block has not had the cleanest record at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro, Pa. His car broke last year, he crashed the year before that and he rolled his car this year. However, his luck may have changed. Block set the fastest times on the opening stages of this year's rally, helping him to finish with his second win of the season over the weekend.
New Zealnd Classic Car: Subaru's STI division celebrates 20 years of success
For over 20 years now Subaru's motorsports division STI (Subaru Tecnica International) has been creating championship-winning rally cars and exciting road-going versions that have caught a strong following globally. Now, to commemorate its work with Subaru models, the STI division is getting its own special museum in Tokyo with a number of exclusive STI models on show to keep fans happy whenever they visit.
Wellsboro Gazette: Block/Gelsomino hang on for Rally win
Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, from Rancho Sante Fe, California set the fastest times on the Friday, June 5, opening stages of the Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® presented by Citizens & Northern Bank at Wellsboro and never looked back, taking his second win of the season on Saturday, June 6, at the 33rd running of this notoriously tough event. Of the 26 teams running in STPR®, 11 did not finish.
Nihon Car: Subaru STI Legacy B4 Will Soon Compete in the Japanese GT300
If so far only Cusco Racing ran an Impreza in the GT300, Subaru and STI are planning to soon launch a modified Legacy B4 (sedan) to compete in this category.
Autosport.com (UK):
Rovanpera to make rallying return
Former Swedish Rally winner Harri Rovanpera will return to the sport at next month's Rally Mexico. Rovanpera, who has not competed since completing his Skoda contract at the end of Rally GB in 2006, will drive a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX in the Rally of Nations element of the Leon-based event.
Q & A with Robert Reid
2001 World Rally champion co-driver Robert Reid has landed on his first foreign round of the WRC for 18 months in Greece this weekend. AUTOSPORT caught up with him.
Squamish Chief (CA): Local rally racer leads the pack
Winning all but one of the event's 13 scheduled stages, Richard and his co-driver Alan Ockwell of Toronto, cruised to the win in their Subaru WRX STi with a stunning margin of over six minutes to their nearest competitor, Andrew Comrie-Picard of Toronto
05/12
Rally America: Oregon Trail Rally Lands in Portland and Mount Hood Area
The battle for top points in the Rally America championship is heating up the Pacific Northwest as the series moves to Oregon for the fourth round, the Oregon Trail Rally (May 15-17). A tight race at the top of the standings sees NOS Energy driver Andrew Comrie-Picard with a three-point lead over Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana and Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust -- who are tied for second-place.
Hood River News: Big-time race hits country roads of Hood River Countie
An exciting event is set to hit the back roads of Hood River County this month, and with 50 top-notch rally racing teams tearing through the forested roads of the east-side hills, the May 15-17 Oregon Trail stage of the Rally America Championships promises to be yet another world-class competition to come to Hood River this year.
Dalles Chronicle: National rally racing arrives in Columbia Gorge
Area residents will have a chance to see rally racing on a national competition level this weekend when Rally America hosts the fourth round of its national championship series in the Hood River area. This is the first time there has been a national rally competition this close to home. Ananda Siverts, marketing director of Rally America, said many top racers are from the Pacific Northwest area and are looking forward to racing this particular circuit. Spectators are also looking forward to the photo opportunities.
Motorsport.com: Laguna Seca: Subaru Road Racing Team preview
Currently sitting runner-up in the Drivers' Championship, Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) drivers Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., and Kristian Skavnes, Sparta, N.J., and team members head cross-country and westward to historic Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, Calif., for round 4 of the Grand-Am
KONI Sports Car Challenge series which can represent a complex logistical challenge for East coast-based teams.
Motoring (ZA): BMW v. Subaru track day - let's see how good you are!
Battle lines have been drawn as BMW Car Club Gauteng prepares to defend its title against Subaru drivers at a Kyalami Track Day Challenge scheduled for Saturday, May 23.
Motortrend: Team Cannonball's Nissan GT-R Wins 2009 Tire Rack One Lap of America
But the battle for third continued with Tony Wiesenhahn and Tony Barber's Subaru WRX leading Catesby Jones and Jose Collado's BMW M3 by 15 points. The Subaru managed a 0.977 g average through heavy winds, taking sixth in the event. Jones, set in do-or-die mode, pushed the M3 hard, looping the coupe across the finish line. His efforts were rewarded with a 1.021 g average, second in the event, and enough points to steal third.
New Vision (UG): Rally fraternity to give Kurji final salute
RIYAZ Kurji will be led to his burial today by a procession of Subaru rally and street cars. The Subaru was his favourite motor rally car. The popular and fast driver died in an accident in the Pearl of Africa Rally on Saturday.
All Africa: Rwanda: Kurji Wins Pearl of Africa Rally
Kurji died on saturday after losing control of his car (Subaru) in the 11th Competitive Section in Malangala. He reportedly hit an anthill,and then a tree.
Rally Sport MNagazine (AU): More WRC rounds for Prodrive in 2009
Following Marcus Gronholm and the Prodrive Impreza’s strong run during the first day of Rally Portugal, Prodrive is aiming to do further WRC rounds in 2009. Despite only having little time behind the wheel of the Prodrive Impreza WRC2008 and not having competed for nearly 18 months, Gronholm comfortably held second place during day one of Rally Portugal. Having got to grips with his pace notes and becoming increasingly comfortable with the car, Gronholm was aiming to pick up the pace on day two with a target of a podium finish. Unfortunately, he ran wide on a corner early in the first stage of the day, clipping a tree and rolling the car. The resultant damage to the engine forced him to retire.
04/30
Motorsport.com: Millville: Subaru Road Racing Team preview
When the green flag flies Saturday afternoon to begin the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the Subaru Road Racing Team and its drivers will start the race sharing the points lead in the coveted Team and Driver Championships.The two factory drivers of SRRT's #111 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec.B sedan are Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., and Kristian Skavnes, Sparta, N.J., who raced earlier this season to a second place finish at Daytona and a fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Aquilante qualified the car on the pole in both races.
Rally Sport Magazine (AU): Subaru to contest Nurburgring 24-hour race
Subaru Tecnica International (STI) has announced that it will compete in the world-famous Nurburgring 24-hour race next month (May 21-24). The gruelling race is now known as the ADAC Zurich 24 Hour Race and STI is aiming for a class victory, using an Impreza WRX STI driven by Japanese drivers Kazuo Shimizu, Toshihiro Yoshida, Naoki Hattori ad Koji Matsuda.
Yahoo! Finance: Loeb Declares HANS Device Support - Wrecks Solidify Testimonial
Vojtecha Stajf also paid testament to the safety a HANS Device can provide when he survived a 90+mph (150 kph) crash that shredded his Subaru Impreza WRX STi during this month's European Rally Cups Race in the Czech Republic. Stajf said that his HANS Device and the rigidity of the roll cage saved him from serious or fatal injury.
04/11
Turbo & High Tech Performance: 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STi - Japan's Dream Team Collaboration
Have you ever asked yourself just how much work goes into build-ing a serious time attack machine? We aren't talking about bolting on parts from a tuning catalog, but a full-on, top-spec professional project. The car you see here is the perfect example of such a build, and this is the first time this car has graced the pages of any magazine. We teamed up with the guys at Tomei, Cusco, and Voltex to bring you an insight on how this new Team Tarzan Time Attack GDB Impreza has come to be.
Jalopnik: Tanner Foust's Scion tC Drift Car: V8-Powered, RWD, Ridiculous
This car could not be less like a real Scion tC if it tried and, for drifting, it's probably a good thing it isn't. First, the car has been converted into a more drift-appropriate rear-wheel drive setup. Gone is the dinky four-banger, replaced instead with a Toyota NASCAR V8 putting out 650 HP and 450 lb-ft of torque through a four-speed shifter. The car was prepped by AEM and is a beast to behold.
03/31
ESPN: Interview: Checking in with Kyle Sarasin
Having a US driver in the WRC in the next five years would be a huge step for US rally, and I hope I'm part of that, but I think it is important to adopt a more WRC-like format, most importantly two-pass recce. Due to the down economy rally will suffer like every other motorsport, but being the 2nd most popular motorsport on earth just behind F1, it will find a way to survive and continue to be the best sport on earth.
03/30
New York Times: Racers Try to Find Their Way Onto a More Beaten Path
The drivers gathered under a dim yellow bulb in the fire station assembly hall, beside the Girl Scout cookie display, where a middle-aged woman was holding out a deck of cards as a magician would. Pick a card, any card. Race positions were at stake.To either side stood Travis Pastrana and Ken Block, Team Subaru, the most famous, financed and fearsome national force in rally, a motor sport that turns street-legal hot rods loose on closed roads.
Motorsport.com: North Wales: Bulldor Rally summary
After a titanic battle, the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales has been won by Irishmen Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 as they finished a narrow nine seconds ahead of former champion Mark Higgins and co-driver Bryan Thomas in their Subaru Impreza N11 on the 82-mile Bala-based event.
3 News (NZ): Subaru’s Mason and Gilmour look forward to Hawkes Bay rally
Richard Mason and co-driving wife Sara Gilmour were the form horse last year, winning four of the six events in their Subaru Impreza WRX STI. But retirements in the other two rounds of the series saw them finish runner-up in the title race.
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Gronholm Ready For Rally Comeback
Marcus Gronholm is looking forward to his WRC comeback at Rally Portugal following a successful pre-event test in his new Prodrive-prepared Subaru Impreza World Rally Car. "I have the same feeling I had when I last drove competitively nearly 18 months ago," the Finn declared. "The test was good, the car ran well and we made some improvements to the set up of the car," he explained. "All I have to do now is to remember how to make my pace notes!"
Autoweek: WRC star Sebastien Loeb on verge of quitting the sport
“Sébastien’s contract is up at the end of this year. There’s really nothing for him to prove to stay on in WRC,” said a source close to Citroën. “He has won every rally and broken every record. Maybe he can leave at the end of 2009 and start racing straight away next year.”
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Showroom models to provide base for WRC action
The Subaru Impreza WRC, Ford Focus, Citroen C4 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution that vie for every WRC round are based on popular small cars available in Australia at prices starting below $40,000.
But their cost may be as much as $1 million by the time they reach the start of their first competitive special stage. Thousands of hours of computer-aided design, meticulous construction and on-road testing turns them into pocket-rockets capable of accelerating as fast as a Ferrari while even in their highly-developed state remaining fully road-legal.
03/25
Autosport (UK): Prodrive unveils Gronholm's Impreza
Prodrive has revealed the Subaru Impreza WRC2008 that Marcus Gronholm will drive in the Rally of Portugal. The two-time world rally champion, who will return to the WRC for a one-off in Portugal, will drive the car in Wales this week and will have a two-day test in Spain next week to familarise with the machine.
Bleacher Report: The Story of the Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRCs
I see the red taillights blazing, I hear the distinctive thrum from the flat-four boxer engine, I feel the whoosh of wind as Petter Solberg deftly maneuvers his Subaru Impreza WRC2008 around a tight hairpin by jabbing at his car’s handbrake. The mud now spraying in every direction, the spectators are not deterred in the least. All eyes are focused on the bright blue hatchback dancing towards the horizon, making the zigzagging road that lies ahead magically straighten out. The Norwegian driver snatches second gear, then third, then fourth, as he rounds a sweeping right turn bend to disappear out of sight over a rise.
03/17
Autoweek: WRC will switch to non-turbocharged, Super 2000-based cars in 2010
Tuesday's meeting of the FIA World Motorsport Council in Paris was aimed mostly at changes to Formula One, but the council also confirmed that the World Rally Championship will look much different beginning next season.
The Auto Channel: Subaru Impreza WRX Debuts at Sebring World Challenge Race
Andrew Aquilante and Phoenix Performance will give the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX its professional sports car racing debut on March 20 at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway, in the opening round of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship. Andrew Aquilante raced his way to the Touring 1 class National Championship in SCCA’s 2007 National Championship Runoffs, a drive which earned the then-19-year old the coveted SCCA President’s Cup. He began racing professionally in 2008.
03/09
Motorsport.com: Spain: Subaru Rally Team Spain launched
The presentation of the SUBARU
RALLY TEAM SPAIN, was held on the evening of Friday the 6th of March in Suances (Cantabria), heralding the official start for the team that will represent Subaru Spain in the 2009 Spanish Gravel and Tarmac Championships.
Manila Standard (PH): Team Subaru gears up for Asia-Pacific rally ’09
With two consecutive years of wins at the Asia- Pacific Rally Championship, the Motor Image Rally Team is not resting on its laurels. Achieving the manufacturers’ title and the driver’s championship in both 2007 and 2008, it is charging into this year’s APRC season with a new assembled-in-Singapore car and an exciting new driver. The first female driver to compete in the APRC series, 29-year-old Emma Gilmour will be starting with her first leg in Rally Queensland, Australia, next month. Returning champion Cody Crocker, who continues to be the man to beat, will be the first driver to win the APRC championship four times in a row if he scores another championship this year. Both cars will compete under a new name—Motor Image Racing Team.
03/02
ESPN: Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block wins Rally in the 100 Acre Wood event for fourth consecutive year
For the fourth year in-a-row, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block has won the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood event, hosting round two of the 2009 Rally America National Championship, in dominating fashion. Block was uncatchable behind the wheel of his 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI on the fast and flowing Missouri roads, cruising to victory by over forty seconds.
Rally America: Ken Block wins again at 100 Acre Wood
Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block took the win at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in southern Missouri this weekend. “I love the flow of the stages of this event,” said Block at the finish. “I love the high speeds.”
Block’s flat-out style is well-suited to this fast and flowing event and he’s proven tough to beat here. He and co-driver Alex Gelsomino have now won this event four times in a row.
The Star (MY): The Gilmour girl
LISTENING to Sweet Child Of Mine by Guns N Roses just before a race may calm her nerves, but rally driver Emma Gilmour is all adrenaline once she revs up the engine. The New Zealander from Dunedin is the first female driver to compete in the upcoming Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) with the Motor Image Racing Team (MIRT).
02/23
Autoweek: Prodrive starts listing service for used race cars
Like many race teams, Prodrive, which spearheaded Subaru's World Rally Championship team, sold its cars after retiring them from competition. Some would go to other teams, who would run them competitively, or to collectors. Additionally, Prodrive sells fully prepared new Subaru-based Group N and WRC rally cars to customers.
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Pirelli Gravel Tyre Gets Okay For Asphalt Runs
Next month's third round of the WRC season, the Cyprus Rally, will be the only mixed-surface event held this year. Friday's stages will take place on asphalt, while Saturday's and Sunday's will feature the traditional gravel runs. In an effort to reduce costs only one type of tyre may be used during the event, and logic dictated that the gravel option takes precedence. There were some worries regarding the gravel tyre's ability to withstand the wear of racing upon heated tarmac, therefore tests were ordered to determine the durability of the hard compound.
Crash.net (UK): Gronholm to make WRC comeback
“Prodrive approached and offered me a chance to compete in Portugal with the Subaru Impreza WRC2008 rally car,” Gronholm said. “After having a test in Norway, I decided to take the challenge.” Gronholm added however that his decision to compete in Portugal wasn't a sign that he planned to return to the series on a full-time basis – although he will consider his feelings after the event.
02/21
Bleacher Report: Rally Battle Set for Missouri at Rally America's Round Two
Round two of the Rally America Championship heads south from the frozen tundra of Michigan to scenic Ozark foothills of southern Missouri in southern Missouri Feb. 27 to 28. It is early spring in this region, but the teams must come prepared for anything when it comes to the weather. Anyone who attended last year can attest to that as a freak storm blanket the region with a thick layer of ice in the days before the rally.
Motor Authority: Subaru's first WRC rally car for sale by Prodrive
A piece of motorsport history is up for grabs via Prodrive's new carsales site. Subaru's first-ever Impreza World Rally Car (WRC) is on sale for an asking price of £85,000 ($121,813). That might seem like a lot for a stripped-out, heavily used track/rally stage-only Subaru Impreza, but with the McRae/Grist names on the window and the actual racing heritage of this car, it's likely a fair price.
BBC (UK): Rally star's £50,000 car stolen
A £50,000 car belonging to one of Wales' young rally stars has been stolen from a garage in Powys. Jason Pritchard's Subaru Impreza was taken over the weekend from his parents' business in Builth Wells.
Motorsport.com: Subaru Rally Team Spain formed
Subaru Spain will have an official presence in both the Spanish and Gravel Rally Championships for 2009 where they will be represented by a new team, SUBARU RALLY TEAM SPAIN. The project includes participation in both of the national rally series competing with a three driver line-up driving the new Subaru Impreza - Prodrive 2009, group N. The program also looks to the participation in two events outside Spain, rounds of the World Rally Championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).
Autosport (UK): No cause determined in McRae crash
Air accident investigators have been unable to determine a definite cause of the helicopter crash that killed 1995 World Rally champion Colin McRae and three others. But the official report into the tragedy did criticise risks taken by McRae during the flight, and revealed that he did not have a valid flying licence at the time.
02/09
Jalopnik: 2009 Sno*Drift Rally: Michigan's Great Motorsport Secret
The rally went down as a classic snow rally with plenty of snowbank-Plinko and lots of off-course sliding. Spectators were quick to jump in and assist when drivers chose to jam their cars firmly into the stout, powdered walls. Our rookie favorite of last year Kyle Sarasin was stuck in an old front wheels-driven Mitsubishi Eclipse after his previous yellow Subaru-wielding team was disbanded. The title of Most Jalopnik Rally Car of this event was taken by Greg and Tom Woodside in their turbo 1987 Dodge Shadow.
Crash.net (UK): New Pirelli ice tyre rolled out for Norway
Pirelli's re-designed Sottozero 'ice' tyre will make its debut on Rally Norway this week, the second round in the 2009 World Rally Championship. Up until now virtually all WRC ice tyres have been constructed in very narrow 16 inch diameters with the objective of providing a long and thin contact patch capable of biting deep into snow, whilst still providing good traction capability.
Carsrally.ca: Antoine L’Estage wins season opening showdown at Rallye Perce Neige
Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard of St Jean-sur-Richlieu, Que., started the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship presented by and supported by Yokohama, with a win at the legendary Rallye Perce Neige The rally featured an exceptionally strong field that included six former winners, and some of the most trying conditions this rally has ever seen.
Crash.net (UK): Petter Solberg World Rally Team launched
Petter Solberg officially launched the new 'Petter Solberg World Rally Team' today ahead of Rally Norway, the second round in the 2009 World Rally Championship. Hollywood', who of course was left in the lurch back in December when Subaru canned its WRC programme at short notice, has been working flat-out since then to put together a programme and he confirmed a few weeks back that he will use a Citroen Xsara WRC car in Hamar.
Crash.net (UK): Petter Solberg: I’m ready for Norway!
Petter Solberg has promised he will do everything he can to 'fight' on Rally Norway this coming weekend, when he makes his debut appearance in the 2009 World Rally Championship.
Crash.net (UK):Petter Solberg - PSWRT: Q&A
Petter Solberg will compete in a Citroen Xsara WRC car on Rally Norway this week, the second round in the 2009 World Rally Championship. Crash.net Radio's Rob Wilkins caught up with him to find out how his preparations are going...
02/04
Reuters (UK): Mitsubishi quits Dakar Rally to cut costs
Mitsubishi will pull out of cross country rallying, including the Dakar Rally which the Japanese team has dominated in recent years, as part of cost-cutting measures caused by the global economic downturn.
Motorsport.com: Perce-Neige: Series round one preview
The Canadian Rally Championship is set to start this weekend on the snowy roads of the Rallye Perce Neige Maniwaki, presented by Subaru and supported by Yokohama and takes place in Maniwaki, Que., north of Ottawa. The event has run for over 40 years and has been on the national calendar for close to 35 years.
Rally America: Subaru Rally Team USA’s Travis Pastrana takes first 2009 win
Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana scored the first victory of the 2009 season with a decisive win at Sno*Drift in northern Michigan. Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom built a healthy lead from the start, ending Day 1 with a 52-second lead over challenger Tanner Foust. By the end of the contest, the duo had extended the gap to a minute and 49 seconds.
Autoweek: Rally spectating isn't for everyone: A column by Roger Hart
Standing knee-deep in snow in 10-degree temperatures in a northern Michigan woods tells you all you need to know about why rallying isn't a big spectator sport in America. No grandstands, no corn dogs, no margarita bars in sight (although I saw more than a few cold, cold Miller Lites being hoisted by some fans). But those extreme weather conditions and the minimalist environment, plus the exhilaration of chasing the rally cars around to various stages, is one of the reasons I'm so drawn to the sport. That, and the admiration of the skill it takes to control a car at speed on low-friction surfaces, is what draws me out into the woods.
Dirtnewz: Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana scored the first victory of the 2009 season with a decisive win at Sno*Drift in northern Michigan
Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom built a healthy lead from the start, ending Day 1 with a 52-second lead over challenger Tanner Foust. By the end of the contest, the duo had extended the gap to a minute and 49 seconds. “It’s a great way to start the season, with points under my belt,” said Pastrana. “But every mailbox looked like a deer on that last stage.” Deer have become something of a theme for Pastrana and Edstrom at Sno*Drift. Last year at this event, Pastrana and Edstrom lost their lead when they struck a deer on the second-to-last stage and were unable to finish.
Crash.net (UK): Adapta adds second entry for Norway
The Adapta World Rally Team has revealed that it will enter a second car into the Norwegian round of the World Rally Championship. Anders Grondal and co-driver Maria Andersson will line-up alongside Mads Ostberg and Ole Kristian Unnerud for the second round of the WRC season and the 24-year-old said he was pleased to have been given the chance to drive the Impreza WRC2008 in his home event.
01/30
Alena News: Sno-Drift Rally begins today, runs through weekend
The drivers in Northeast Michigan have battled icy and snowy roads since early November. This weekend some of the world's best drivers will navigate some of those same roads and conditions with a chance to pocket a large pile of dough. The Rally America racers will visit Lewiston, Atlanta and Hillman and vie to earn the title of Sno-Drift Rally Champion. "Racing on ice and snow is really not much different than racing on gravel," three-time defending champion Travis Pastrana said. "I really didn't get a chance to drive cars in the snow much because I spent every winter in Florida since the fourth grade racing motorcycles."
Autosport (UK): Interview with Chris Atkinson
Yeah, then things got a bit worse. I took off the lamp pod at the start of the second stage and then I simply forgot to put the bonnet pins back in. I went into the stage; off the line: first, second, third and then bang. The bonnet came up and smashed the screen. I had to stop and bolt it back down. It comes as a massive shock when that happens. I couldn't believe it. That made it even harder to drive in those conditions. The screen started to mist up, there were cracks everywhere, I just couldn't see. And all the time, the road's really narrow, it's pouring with rain and you're trying to find braking points and to get the car turned into the corners. I was glad to get into service.
01/28
International Herald Tribune: WRC starts without Subaru, Suzuki
Defending champion Sebastian Loeb begins the chase for his sixth title on the muddy, twisty roads of Ireland on Friday when a 12-race World Rally Championship, which has lost a third of its teams after the pullout of Subaru and Suzuki, starts up in wet and wintry conditions.
Autoweek: Mitsubishi Evolution, Subaru STI moved to Touring Car group
Following sweeping technical-regulation changes to the 2009 Touring Car category in the Speed World Challenge series, SCCA Pro Racing announced the reassignment of two models to the class. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (both the VIII and IX) and the Subaru Impreza STI move from the higher-powered GT group to Touring Car.
Autosport (UK):
Atkinson downplays Ireland chances
Chris Atkinson says he doesn't expect to challenge at the front on the first day of Rally Ireland tomorrow in his first event for Citroen, despite setting competitive times in today's shakedown. The Australian was just half a second slower than five-time champion Sebastien Loeb earlier today, but just wants to concentrate on getting used to the C4 tomorrow.
Mosley: S2000 still possible for 2010
Mosley refuted the argument that Super 2000 cars were not spectacular enough, with five-time world champion Sebastien Loeb even stating that he would walk away from the sport rather than compete in a championship run for S2000 machinery.
Bloomberg: Rally Racing on Black Ice, Doing 360s for Fun: Jason H. Harper
The car is out of control. A moment ago I blasted into a curve too fast and now we’re spinning on a sheet of black ice, careening sideways. I’m sawing the steering wheel, desperately trying to catch the slide. Boom!
01/23
Autosport (UK): Atkinson interested in IRC drive
Former factory Subaru driver and Monaco resident Chris Atkinson was an interested spectator on this week's Monte Carlo Rally - with the Australian admitting he would be interested in a drive in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
NZ Performance Car: Proton to replace Subaru in WRC?
Before Subaru entered the WRC way back in the Nineties, it was little more than a small Asian automaker. Its rallying efforts helped to put it on the map but Subaru has decided to ditch the WRC this season. So another little-known Asian automaker may be ready to pick up what Subaru no longer wants. That company is Malaysian automaker Proton.
Motoring (ZA): Chaos as Monte Carlo rally quits WRC
The 2009 rally season will start this week in confusion after the sensational "transfer" of the legendary Monte Carlo rally from the World Rally Championship series to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge The WRC title remains the sport's crown jewel. The two-year-old rivalry between the two series has reached new heights with the decision by Monte Carlo to jump ship from WRC to IRC, under whose banner it will take place this week with 64 drivers taking part.
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Solberg To Test Le Mans Series Car
While one Le Mans Series Courage-Oreca Team car will be running a new V10 AIM engine during its upcoming test run, a second car appearing on track is sure to attract attention as well since former Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg will be at the wheel!
.01/20
Autosport: Solberg discussing 2010 Proton drive
Petter Solberg is in talks with Proton over a potential World Rally Championship programme in 2010. The 2003 world champion met with the Malaysian manufacturer's directors last week and is believed to be looking at a part-time campaign this season, coupled with testing and development work on the Satria S2000 for next year.
NGV Global: Sensational 2009 Premiere for Subaru CNG Rally Team
Fourth place in the overall standings in Austria's first rally event of the year underlines the successful test deployment of the Stohl OMV racing team's new Subaru Impreza MY07, powered by compressed natural gas (CNG)
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Subaru, Suzuki were given 'reasons to get out'. Prodrive chairman David Richards argues the FIA gave Subaru and Suzuki 'reasons to get out' of the World Rally Championship with the way the current regualtions are - and argues that Super 2000 is 'not the answer in itself'. The blame for the withdrawal of both Subaru and Suzuki from the World Rally Championship at the end of last year can be laid squarely at the feet of organisers the FIA, argues David Richards
Rally-America: Sno*Drift Kicks Off 2009 Rally America Season
Bringing good news to the motoring world in otherwise trying times, the nation's top rally racing drivers will kick off the 2009 Rally America National Championship Series at the demanding Sno*Drift rally from Jan. 30-31 in Atlanta, Mich.
RTE (IE): John Kenny's Motorsport Blog
The big fall in entries for Rally Ireland, which takes place from 29 January to 1 February, is not unexpected.
Two years ago, Rally Ireland, now the first round of the 2009 World Rally Championship (WRC), attracted a full entry list of 90 crews plus reserves.
Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland: Prodrive set for job losses after Subaru pull-out.
David Richards' independent Prodrive operation faces having to put almost 200 people out of employment as a result of a 'significant' loss of work following Subaru's shock withdrawal from the World Rally Championship. Prodrive is the latest motorsport company to announce redundancies, it has been revealed - as the company reels from Subaru's withdrawal from the World Rally Championship and as many as 600 job losses at Aston Martin.
01/10/09
Rallysport Magazine (AU): M-Sport Focus for Solberg in 2009 WRC?
Petter Solberg says that he has been offered a drive in this year's WRC, but will wait until tomorrow to make up his mind if he will accept it, according to reports in the UK.
01/09
Crash,net (UK):
Solberg: I'll only return if I can win!
Out-of-work Subaru refugee Petter Solberg has admitted that he is desperate to return to the World Rally Championship for his home event in Norway next month - but only if 'everything is right' and he can fight for victory.
Richards hopeful of Subaru return one day.
Prodrive chairman David Richards admits that Subaru's sudden withdrawal from the World Rally Championship last month took even him by surprise - but he hopes that the manufacturer may be back again one day...
Mills set for coaching role with Rally Elite.
Phil Mills will join the MSA British Rally Elite scheme this year it has been confirmed, as a performance and coaching adviser. With Robert Reid having moved up to become MSA performance director in 2008, a new elite skills coach was required for the rally scheme in 2009. Mills will thus combine his duties as Petter Solberg's co-driver with helping to develop Britain's best young rallying talent as a performance adviser to the programme.
Autosport.com (UK):
Solberg wants to return for Norway
Petter Solberg says he is determined to secure a new drive in time for his home event in Norway on 13-15 February. The Rally Norway organisers have extended the closing date for entries until 13 January, giving Solberg an extra week to find a seat.
Q & A with Petter Solberg
Subaru's sudden departure from the World Rally Championship has left 2003 title-winner Petter Solberg on the sidelines. During a visit to the Autosport International Show, he spoke about last month's shock news, his search for a new drive, and the current state of the WRC.
Solberg reckons WRC can recover
Former champion Petter Solberg believes the World Rally Championship has the potential to recover from its current crisis but has called for better promotion of the sport.
Sports Illustrated: How good would Robby Gordon be if he gave up off-road racing?
Robby Gordon celebrated his 40th birthday last Friday in Argentina, where he was overseeing final preparations for Team Dakar USA in the Dakar Rally. An owner-driver just as he is in Sprint Cup, Gordon has put together an impressive effort to win the marathon of endurance races, transplanted this year to South America from Africa because of security concerns.
Motortrend: Prodrive to Celebrate 20 Years of Rallying
There will be no bright blue Subaru-sponsored Prodrive-engineered Impreza WRX STI flying down dirt roads in the 2009 season of WRC. After 20 years of participation, Subaru pulled out of the championship citing tough economic times. Still, to celebrate its time in the series, Prodrive will create a commemorative display for the Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK.
01/05
This is South Wales (UK): New year starts badly for motorsport
Some have further speculated that these factors may have influenced Fuji Heavy Industries — owners of the Subaru car manufacturing business — to pull the plug on a WRC campaign amid fears that a Prodrive F1 effort would compromise development of the 2009 Impreza S15 model rally car, and prevent an improvement of the relatively poor performances of the Impreza S14 experienced throughout the 2008 WRC season.
Sports Illustrated: Dakar restarts in South America
Transferred from Africa by the threat of terrorism, the Dakar Rally starts on Friday with a symbolic drive in Argentina's capital before heading out on an adventure that will also take in Chile. The first Dakar Rally to furrow the soil of South America will last 14 stages and 5,949 miles before it rolls back into Buenos Aires on Jan. 18.
Rallysport Magazine (AU): Atkinson eager to drive Citroen C4 WRC
Reports in the UK suggest that Chris Atkinson has inveseted money he received from Subaru, following their withdrawal from the WRC, to rent the best car available to him, which was a PH Sport Citroen C4 WRC.
The Age (AU): When the wheels wobble, a crash usually follows
IN SPORT, there's a fine line between irony and tragedy. Like it's ironic if, after all Stevie Gerrard's done for Liverpool, he's the man who derails Anfield's best chance at a Premier League title in 19 years because he belted a pub DJ who refused to play Phil Collins. Unless you're a Reds fan, that is, in which case it's tragic.
More Rally News...
|