: Rally

Fiesta R2 shines as Athanassoulas takes class victory in Spain

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:02:24 GMT

For immediate release: 4 October 2009

Fiesta R2 shines as Athanassoulas takes class victory in Spain

Lambros Athanassoulas marked his return to the Fiesta SportTrophy International with a strong performance that saw him take victory and an impressive 25th place overall as the all-new Fiesta R2 sparkled on its debut at the Rally de España. Five Fiesta R2s and four Fiesta STs entered the event, with Athanassoulas taking a historic win in the newly recognised R2 category, as the M-Sport developed car matched its rivals for pace throughout the tough Tarmac rally. Anthony Martin (25) took second place, also in a Fiesta R2, to ensure a successful first WRC outing for the car.

Despite Athanassoulas' victory, his second career win in FSTi and coming soon after a P-WRC victory in Greece, Patrick Anglade (21) and new co-driver Peter Loth remain at the top of the standings thanks to their third place in the tried and tested Fiesta ST. While Craig Breen (19) and co-driver Gareth Roberts (21) did enough to maintain their challenge for a hat trick of FST titles this year, ultimately taking fourth place. A lack of asphalt experience did not stop Team Abu Dhabi's Ahmed Al Mansoori (22) completing an impressive fifth-place finish with co-driver Killian Duffy (26) in the Fiesta ST ahead of Castrol Ford Team Türkiye Emre Yurdakul's Fiesta R2. Majed Al Shamsi (29) and co-driver Allan Harryman completed the finishers in seventh, another good points haul for the Team Abu Dhabi driver.

Athanassoulas and co-driver Nikos Zakheos got the best possible start to their rally, taking victory on SS1 by five seconds from Breen with Yurdakul grabbing third place on the damp, slippery roads of the Tarragona region to the north of Rally HQ in Salou. Despite developing a brake problem, Athanassoulas further stretched his lead on SS2, with Breen second, ahead of Anglade in third. After his strong start, Yurdakul understeered off the stage, putting him out of the day's action and earning a 25 minute SupeRally penalty.

Breen took his first stage win of the event on SS3 eating back into the lead of Athanassoulas who took second, with Anglade, finding his rhythm on the Tarmac, in third place. Breen notched up another stage victory on SS4, with Athanassoulas four seconds in arrears and Martin in third place.

The battle for supremacy raged on in SS5 with Athanassoulas taking the win with Breen and Martin completing the top three. But it was the end of the rally for Çetinkaya (28) and co-driver Çiçek Güney (27) who rolled off the road sustaining significant damage to their new Fiesta R2. The last stage of the day proved a tough one for Al Shamsi who came off the road, surviving a 25 metre drop. The damage was repaired by his team under SupeRally conditions, incurring a ten-minute SupeRally penalty. It was Breen who ended the day on a high though, taking the win on SS6 ahead of Athanassoulas and Martin to take a 3.1 second lead over his nearest rival into Day 2 an impressive feat after electrical problems had hindered performance for the afternoon.

The tussle for victory between Breen and Athanassoulas continued from the start of Day 2 with Athanassoulas taking the win in SS7 ahead of Martin with Breen in third. But championship challenger Breen redressed the balance on SS8 edging out Athanassoulas and Martin.

The Greek driver took the final stage win of the morning on SS9 ahead of Breen and Martin and the destination of the overall victory looked set to go right down to the wire. It was a dominant performance by the Fiesta R2s.

Disaster struck for Breen on SS10 as he misheard a pacenote and rolled into a rock face, forcing the disappointed Irishman to retire for the day. Athanassoulas went on to take the stage win with Yurdakul second and Martin third.

SS11 saw Martin and co-driver Eric Bourget (24) take their first stage win of the rally, finishing ahead of Yurdakul and Athanassoulas who, with a big gap over his nearest rival, opted to back off for the closing stages of the day. Yurdakul added his name to the list of stage winners on SS12 with Martin in second and the Fiesta ST of Anglade in third. Athanassoulas completed the day with almost a six-minute advantage over Anthony Martin in second with championship leader Patrick Anglade in third.

With his car repaired overnight, Breen, carrying a 15-minute SupeRally penalty, marked his return to the competition with a stage win on SS13 ahead of Athanassoulas and Martin. While SS14 was cancelled for the FSTi competitors after an earlier crash in the stage, normal order was restored on SS15 with Athanassoulas and Martin finishing behind Breen.

Yet another stage win for Breen ahead of Athanassoulas and Martin on SS16 showed that he would have been well in contention for the overall win had it not been for Saturday's error. The Irish teenager followed with victory on SS17 ahead of Athanassoulas, the eventual victor, and Yurdakul in third.

On SS18, it was Yurdakul that prevented Breen from taking a clean sweep of Sunday's stages, coming home ahead of Martin and Anglade as Athanassoulas and Breen both had heart-stopping spins within sight of the finish.

The result from Rally de España now means that Anglade and Breen are locked in battle for championship honours and the pressure is on both drivers for Rally GB in just three weeks' time.

FSTi Rallye de España winner Lambros Athanassoulas said:

"It has been a great rally for us in the end. We had some problems with our brakes but it didn't affect us too much and it was great to be concentrating on our battle with Craig Breen. When he had his problem on Saturday, that meant that we could cruise a little bit, but overall this was much more competitive than my last experience of FSTi in 2006. Three years in the P-WRC have taught me a lot so I know how to judge my pace against such tough competition as Craig [Breen]. The Fiesta R2 is an amazing car and this rally has demonstrated that it is easily the top car in its class. It needs a few small improvements, as would be expected with any new car, but it's very forgiving and the package is excellent. It would have been great to have a day of testing before the event but overall I am very pleased with the performance."

FSTi Driver by driver (Rallye de España):

Lambros Athanassoulas (GRE) - brake problems early on caused him to lose time, leading to a spin on SS3. The problems continued throughout the rally, but, after Breen's error on Saturday, the Greek was able to preserve them more on the closing stages. A near perfect performance was only blotted by a 50 second penalty for exiting service late on Saturday midday after an error by the team. He picked up a puncture five km from the end of SS12, but was able to finish the stage before changing the wheel. A brilliant performance with no prior testing of his new Fiesta R2.

Anthony Martin (BEL) - has limited experience in the Fiesta R2 and struggled to find rhythm on the unfamiliar, wide roads of the Tarragona countryside on Friday morning. Not used to the speed of the R2, he found that his pacenotes were too slow in places. But a better Day 2 saw him adapt to the car and the conditions and post some impressive times. Enjoying a relatively trouble-free rally, he did have to tape his windows closed because of a problem with the opening mechanism on Saturday. The Belgian also incurred a 40 second penalty when delays on the road section saw him arrive late at SS15.

Patrick Anglade (GER) - the championship leader banked on the reliability of the Fiesta ST in the hope that the new R2 would experience teething problems, which, unfortunately for Anglade, never materialised. After a steady start on the slippery roads on Friday, he pushed hard to gain some strong stage results whilst trying to protect his tyres on the abrasive surface. He suffered a set-back on Saturday afternoon after an anti-roll bar linkage broke on SS10 leading to tricky handling for the rest of the stages of the Leg. Another consistent performance from the German keeps him at the top of the FSTi standings.

Craig Breen (IRE) - lost time throughout the rally due to an intermittent electrical problem, which was eventually solved on Day 3. Despite this, his challenge was ended by an accident 23km into SS10 as he misheard a pacenote and hit a rock face. Breen missed out on a clean-sweep of stage wins on Sunday after spinning on the final stage, but is still firmly in contention for the FSTi title.

Ahmed Al Mansoori (UAE) - with no previous experience on Tarmac, Al Mansoori proved that he is a fast learner, producing a string of consistent times over the weekend to take a good points-scoring finish. He ran into problems on Saturday afternoon, breaking a drive shaft after getting caught in a deep cut, losing around one minute, but recovered well to come home as the best of the Team Abu Dhabi entrants and the second Fiesta ST.

Emre Yurdakul (TUR) - his challenge for a podium place was effectively ended as he crashed off on Day 1. With a heavy SupeRally penalty of 25 minutes, he returned to the action on Saturday but suffered brake problems, which slowed his progress. With testing planned on gravel in the Fiesta R2 ahead of Rally GB, he will be looking for an improvement at the final round in Wales.

Majed Al Shamsi (UAE) - a string of problems began on Friday morning as he missed a gear, damaging the gearbox. His difficulties were compounded as he slipped off the road on Friday afternoon. Despite a cautious start to Saturday, his left driveshaft broke at start of SS12 and he lost around six minutes.

Bader Al Jabri (UAE) - lost time on SS3 as intercom problems prevented him from hearing Steve McAuley's pacenotes for 70% of the stage. Bader demonstrated great potential on Tarmac, his preferred surface despite limited pre-event testing. On Day 2 gearbox problems in the morning left him struggling to select second and third gear. He showed good pace on Saturday afternoon, but, just after SS12, his driveshaft broke, forcing him to limp back to service. Renewed drive problems on the first stage of Day 3 ruled him out of the rally.

Burcu Çetinkaya (TUR) - Suffered the worst possible start to her rally when she was awarded a one-minute penalty for arriving late at the opening stage and then bent the steering arm after hitting a rock on the very first stage of the day. The damage from her SS5 crash proved too significant to continue.

M-Sport’s first Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car begins testing

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:20:17 GMT

Ford of Europe has a rich history of competing in rallies. Probably just as well known are the special homologation vehicles that have been produced over the years. The RS200, Cosworth Escort, Focus RS, and others have been covered in this blog before. This is the latest product, aimed at WRC, IRC, and national rally events worldwide. It's intended as an entry-level product, to equip and encourage teams starting out in professional events that need something more than a converted street car and cannot afford an all-out (and expensive) purpose built AWD race car.

Rally has never even come close in North America to the interest and number of events held in Europe, where it is the #1 spectator sport in attendance. If - and it's a big if - we see this car offered here, perhaps rally as a sport will advance here. So if we're very lucky, we'll see one of these M-Sport Fiesta S2000s compete in North America in the next couple of years.

M-Sport Press Release follows:

For immediate release, Monday 28 September.

M-Sport’s first Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car begins testing

Less than six months after announcing the news that it would be producing a Fiesta S2000 rally car, M-Sport has completed the build of the first car absolutely on schedule and has begun an extensive testing programme. It is a remarkable achievement for the design team at M-Sport to have completed this totally new car on time, in what has been an incredibly tight build schedule. The Fiesta S2000 has today been given its initial system checks close to M-Sport’s Cumbrian base and will continue testing in the UK before heading to mainland Europe for asphalt and gravel tests in the coming months.

The team of designers and engineers, led by M-Sport’s award-winning Technical Director Christian Loriaux, have been able to stick closely to the tight schedule laid out for the them at the start of the project allowing the maximum amount of time for testing the reliability and competitiveness of the new car between now and the end of the year.

Work has progressed so well on the first car that a second body shell is already complete and work to build a second test car should be concluded by the end of October. This will speed up the development process by allowing an intensive course of car and component testing to take place over the coming months using both vehicles and will provide potential customers with a greater opportunity to drive the new car.

Matthew Wilson was at the wheel for the first shakedown and he will be among a number of drivers who will be tasked with testing the vehicle during the condensed development programme scheduled for the rest of 2009.

The team at M-Sport has continued to work closely with Ford of Europe's small car design and development team during the final build process to ensure that Ford’s kinetic design elements were incorporated into the dynamic and aggressive looking car.

M-Sport’s award-winning design team used the experience gained from the development of the record-breaking Ford Focus RS WRC to produce the Fiesta S2000 rally car, which will be aimed at competitors in the WRC World Cup, IRC and national rally championships around the globe. Its homologation is planned for January 2010 and so will not appear in competition this year.

M-Sport Technical Director Christian Loriaux said:

“I have been delighted with how the build of the new Fiesta S2000 rally car has progressed according to the schedule that we laid out at the start of this project. This is a totally new car and the entire design and engineering team here have been very focused on providing both a reliable and very competitive car for our customers. A brand new rally car involves thousands of parts and making sure that they are all designed, manufactured and delivered on time is an incredible achievement and takes a lot of team work. Our production and purchasing departments have done a great job in supporting the design team and ensuring the car was completed on time.”

M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson said:

“The production of a new rally car is always an exciting period for everyone at M-Sport and I’m pleased to see that Christian and his team have finished the build on schedule as planned. The important thing now is that we undertake a strong test and development campaign in order to provide our customers with the best possible S2000 package. I’m sure that this car will also provide a very strong base for Ford’s next generation WRC car.”

Fan tribute to Rallying

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:13:33 GMT

If you like rallying as much as we do, you'll love this fan tribute to the sport. And if you don't know what rallying is, this will convince you to find out.

Music:
Rising Empire Choir #1 - Immediate Music
Gears of War 2 - Heroic Assault
Hans Zimmer Megamix Vol 1 - Theme from Rock (?) and Honour Him from Gladiator

Rally America on YouTube

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:17:24 GMT

There doesn't seem to be any live television coverage of the Rally America events this year... but in return Rally America has a YouTube channel.

Follow the link above to the YouTube channel for Rally America.

This is better than nothing... and of course we don't get any live WRC coverage anymore either (thanks to Speed TV and it's NASCAR focus). Fortunately, NASCAR seems to be finally sinking under it's own weight... perhaps Speed TV will reconsider.

Assessment of Driver's Events in Texas

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:24:25 GMT

For Driving Enthusiasts, Texas is a very nice place to be these days. We have year-round events, a terrific group running HPDEs, and several tracks.

The Drivers Edge (http://www.TheDriversEdge.net/) is the best HPDE group I've seen in my 28 years in this hobby. Thanks to the management of this group, a large body of experienced instructors, and it's "non-denominational" approach ("run what you brung" - meaning no snotty brand-centricity, as in the LSR PCA), high performance drivers education is doing very well in Texas these days. I'm proud to be an Instructor in this group (having abandoned the LSR PCA when their elitism got the better of them).

Texas is also doing very nicely for roadcourses these days: we have Texas World Speedway (TWS: the original, the best, and the fastest) in College Station, Texas Motor Speedway (TMS: for one event a year, with challenging banking on the NASCAR oval) outside of Fort Worth, Eagles Canyon near Decatur (a new track; our first event there is coming soon), and the very well-established and recently expanded Motorsport Ranch in Cresson. Also:

there is another Motorsport Ranch facility near Houston, but design and management issues prevent it's use for these types of events.
there was an announcement of a new facility named "Racers Ranch" to be located east of Dallas, but that project appears stalled and unable to get off the ground for the time being.
and there was also a roadcourse in Corpus Cristi on the airstrip at the US Naval Base, however this has been closed to racers since 9/11 and may never reopen.

When I originally moved to Texas in 1989, TWS was in bankruptcy and there weren't any other roadcourses in the state. Now we have several open, and two more on top of these are also being discussed.

The brand new Harris Hill Road facility is nearly completion and is coming along very well. All paving is complete, and enough is there for a few test laps at slow speed. Follow the link above for more information.

Photos below show the Harris Hill Road pit area, and the general scope of the track. This is particularly nice for me - it's located practically in my own backyard.

In other types of events, we also have an Open Road event (in which we won our class in 2000: http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-events/events-open-road/2000.04-bb/index.htm ), a measured mile event, and of course several SCCA regions running autocross events.

What we don't have in Texas is an established and continuing road rally program: a few groups such as the Miata Club and Texas A&M SportsCar Club run a (very) few events between them. A group in Dallas also ran a navigator's school once to my knowledge. What we need is a dedicated Rallymaster who will establish and run a continuing event. The best example I've seen of this is the "Discover America Rally": (http://www.rallywny.com/rallywny/DARflyer2007.htm ) in Western New York. I entered several Discover America events when I lived in that area back in the 70s and 80s. The husband and wife team who run them, Tom and Karen Krajewski, make a strong commitment to running the event every year. Running a rally means becoming intimately familiar with hundreds of back roads and their oddities and nuances (all the better for challenging route navigation) and driving them continuously in advance of the event. And it means dedicating probably a hundred hours of hard work towards it every year in order to make sure it comes off well, which, snowstorms allowing, it has for 30 years straight. These types of folks are hard to find... keeping them at it is even harder. I'm hoping somebody in Texas steps up to the plate one of these days - and that many of us make a commitment to help them run the events year after year.

Website with RSS feed: FlatOverCrest.com for rallyists

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 11:44:21 GMT

Interested in rallying? A pair of enthusiasts in Canada have created a new site dedicated to rallying in North America, with additional worldwide coverage.

Great site, lots of videos and excellent imagery.

Website: http://www.flatovercrest.com/
RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/flatovercrest

Early November in Buffalo... 25 years ago

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 23:17:04 GMT

Going back in time to Buffalo NY, 25 years ago. November in Buffalo is a time I remember well...

Being a car-nut, it meant that the summer racing season (autocross and Open Track events) was over and it was time to put the car away for the winter. Of course, I stretched it out for a few weeks from the first sub-zero day until the first snowfall, since I certainly preferred driving my nice summer car instead of my old winter car. But at some point the first snowfall comes and it's time to switch cars. My summer cars were Mustangs, and my winter cars over the years were a mix of German Mercury Capris and American Ford Escorts. The Capri will be the subject of an entire post in the near future... I believe I picked up the car just before the winter of 1981. I'd run 4 snow tires and get by ok; although obviously traction wasn't perfect in this rear-wheel drive car. At the time I was a college student, so money was in short supply and the tires weren't always in great condition. The Escorts came later and were much better winter cars - they could run all year with just all-season tires and of course front-wheel drive made for far better traction.

So the major downside was that I had to put the good car away and get out the old car. If there was an upside, it was that this time of year was also a really great time of year for TSD (time-speed-distance) car rallies. I was a member of the Southtown Rally Club (as I think it was named - if it exists anymore I can't find it) for a number of years, as well as another rally club. We ran rallies all year round, but the fall and winter were the best of times because the climates and roads got progressively more challenging.

The object of a TSD rally, if you haven't been on one, if to match the time and mileage of the route setup by the rally master. A route you identify as you are driving it from the provided instructions. It isn't a speed event, but it is about maintaining an average speed on the public roads it was run on. You have to decipher instructions and follow the route the rallymaster created - solely with instructions such as "turn left at 3.2 miles past last turn". Periodic checkpoints would check your progress and time. Off-course checkpoints would catch you if your measurements were off - for example if you saw a turn at 3.1 miles and took it. Many participants found themselves completely lost if they didn't interpret the instructions correctly.

The fall rally season would start in the October timeframe with an all-day rally that ran over several counties south of Buffalo for a couple of hundred miles. This would start in the morning and run until dinner time, when the prizes for most accurate time and navigation would be handed out. The rally was named "Discover America", the rallymaster and event organizer was Tom Krajewski, and - incredibly - it's still running these days. I remember that my Ford dealer in Arcade NY was usually a sponsor. The owner, Les Halazi, enjoyed rallying a lot. The first time I met him, he was driving an untitled Ford Futura right off the showroom floor (it'd be sold with a couple of hundred miles on it).

The next big rally of the season was the annual Halloween rally, which besides navigational challenges included stopping by graveyards to pick out clues. Prizes were given for the most involved costume. In 1981 (or 1982?), my friend and I went as the the Bell Hoop Elves from the Wizard of Oz. Weird costumes, and it took a lot of nerve to wear them. But it was a purposely calculated risk (and also there weren't any other costumes to rent by the time we got around to picking out some) and we won the best costume award because of it. I've got a picture, but it will *never* be seen in public. I remember that we had to drape the back of the hoop over the back of the Recaro seats in my Mustang in order to drive. Furthermore, on the way home that evening after the rally party, some kids thru some rocks down on my car from an overpass. Once I got out of the car, I gave chase in the outfit - I can't imagine what they were thinking!

The winter rallies would get progressively tougher - the conditions would worsen, snow and ice would be the major problem. I remember that the driving was just as tough as following instructions. By the time the snow really piled up around the end of November and beginning of December, we were well tuned "winter drivers" and could handle anything as long as the road was passable at all. And sometimes it barely was... one rally post-Thanksgiving in approximately 1982 had us driving a Camaro with 2 old snow tires down roads in the southern counties that had walls of frozen snow and ice over 10 feet tall on each side of the road. It was literally driving down tunnels... it was outright hazardous... and the car was not at all prepared for it. Nonetheless, we tied for first place overall... and the jerks organizing the rally gave the prize to the other car solely because it's owner had prepared for rallies with a professional rally computer and 4 snow tires. We felt we should have gotten the first prize because we had a far tougher driving experience in a far more challenging car that obviously took a lot more skill to overcome. But our prize was a 20 pound turkey... and neither of us had any need for that.

So while the season was tough, and getting a lot tougher, all of us made the most of it and managed to continue in our motorsport hobby, such as it was. And that's how it worked in Buffalo - whatever your interests were it was important to dive right into them or else you ended up hibernating all winter and hating the climate even more. That's why you see Buffalo Bills fans sitting in their open stadium (under any conditions - even wind chill well below zero) and enjoying their game. And that's why we went out and drove challenging roads all year round, no matter the weather. Call it making lemonade out of lemons, it was good times.

Pikes Peak on YouTube

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 23:40:44 GMT

If you haven't seen Pikes Peak, make plans. The event will literally not exist in this form one day soon, as the 'peak will inevitably get completely paved over.

There are many more videos on Pikes Peak - use the search function.

Pikes Peak site: http://www.ppihc.com/

I'm also cross-referencing this in the Rally category, since many rallyists participate and do very well.

Ford RS200

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 13:30:24 GMT

How about an RS200 for today? That's the question on Car Design News: http://www.cardesignnews.com/

RSS Feed here: http://forums.cardesignnews.com/eve/ubb.x?a=ci&;ci_id=828608522&feedType=rss2

This relatively new site allows amateur and aspiring car designers to post and discuss their own drawings. How many of us have tried to draw our own dream cars? This site helps you do it. It's a great site, worthy of a daily read.

Don't know what the Ford RS200 was? Shame on you! I've got books and original brochures in my library - but you should see the Rallye Stars site: http://rallye.stars.free.fr/autos/rs200/album/album_rs.htm to catch up. It's in French, so use one of the translation services such as http://babel.altavista.com/tr if needed.

Archives: TSD and Pro Rallies

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 12:36:18 GMT

A nice little article in the Detroit News on road rallies brought back some fond memories: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/AUTO03/603150396/1149/AUTO01

This is how I got started in the hobby a lot of years ago: driving and navigating in TSD rallies, followed shortly thereafter by spectating and later in various worker postions (up to Stage Captain) in SCCA Pro Rally.

The typical TSD rally was an all-day Saturday deal: meet in the morning at the start (usually at a car dealership), get the route instructions a minute before leaving, then drive for several hours. Following the route instructions as best we could. TSD instructions are tricky - for example an instruction might be given to turn left in 4.8 miles from your present position. You may drive 4.6 miles and find a left turn that you assume to be the correct one - only to find that the turn further up the road at 4.8 miles is what you really wanted and that you didn't calibrate your own speedometer to that of the Rallymaster.

Now you've got to get back on course. TSD rallies are run on public roads, and the average speeds are always well under the posted speed limit. The object here is precision navigation, and your score is based on precisely following a set of route instructions. Timing is based on how closely you followed the route at the prescribed speeds, and wins are often by mere seconds.

Rallies often end up at a restaurant out in the middle of nowhere - which you have now successfuly navigated to - and where you'd have a drink and dinner with your friends while you awaited the results.

I did dozens of these for my first few years in the hobby. Usually as the driver, although sometimes as a navigator. The instructions were complicated and challenging - and often the roads and the conditions were equally so. Readers will remember that I am originally from Nifelheim (the Norse Hell, the first step in my own personal Dante-esque divine comedy) and we did these rallies year-round - no matter what the conditions were.

I remember one rally in the dead of winter on isolated roads south of town - many roads had just been plowed out and had a 6 foot or higher snowbank on either side of the road. In this rally, we took a friends Camaro that didn't have 4 snow tires. The driving was extremely difficult, much less keeping up to any kind of speed. At the end of the day, we were somehow in first place overall. Due to precise navigation, but also due to my somehow keeping that stupid car on the road. It was probably the most difficult and dangerous peice of driving I've ever done.

There are dozens of classic stories about these events, including the infamous Halloween Costume Rally in which I was somehow persuaded to dress up as a Bell Hoop Elf from The Wizard of Oz. Needless to say, my navigator and I won the costume contest out of sheer outrageousness (the Rallymaster said quote "I can't believe you have the b**** to wear that"). The rest of the rally involved the usual course navigation as well as several excursions into cemetaries to get clues as to the next turn. Getting in and out of my Mustang Indy Pace Car (which featured full Recaros) was very difficult in these costumes, so we didn't do too well in the rest of the event. I have a picture of us in the costumes (which shall never be seen in public)!

Sadly, I recently found that the club which ran these events in that area has gone defunct. That's too bad, they were a lot of fun.

I also attended an SCCA Pro Rally in the very first year of my involvement in the hobby (and as many more as I could after that). This was the Happiness is Sunrise rally in Pennsylvania, a defunct event but known back then at the time as one of the best (thanks to Tom K for the ride there and for the introduction to the hobby). It isn't run anymore, but the more popular and longer-lived Susquehannock Trail ProRally (STPR) on the same roads in Pennsylnavia is still running (although the SCCA has ducked out, a new organiztion has taken over) and as healthy as ever. Run in early June, it's probably the best event for spectators in the United States. I've attended several, and helped run several. It's a classic, and probably the best in the country.

Professional ("Pro") rallying is done off-road, in closed-off sections of land - usually public forests. They typically start at noon and finish the next morning. Unlike TSD rallies, because the event is on closed roads, it's run at full speed and purely for the fastest time. On unpaved dirt roads. This is the *real* thing, the most original and purest form of racing.

Car preparation for these events is governed by a thick rulebook. Most of the required modifications revolve around safety - after all, the cars will be at high speed on unpaved roads - often jumping over rocks and bouncing off dirt banks. Performance modifications are also allowed. The car themselves are typically small and FWD, althouth AWD Audis, Mitsubishis, and Subarus rule. Detroit "tanks" are never used (although in the link you'll read about Don Rathgerber, a Ford engineer who ran a Mustang for several years - I've seen it and have talked to him several times) because they are too heavy and poorly balanced. Early Volvos are a classic example. Today, Golfs, Evos, and STIs are typical.

Spectating at one of these events is one of the best things you'll find in the motorsports hobby. Organizers will provide maps for spectators so that you can reach different parts of the course. While I moved away from the Northeast for good many years ago, I did manage to get back to Pennsylvania for an STPR event in 1992 (in my trusty SHO Taurus) and later to an event in the Olympic mountains outside of Seattle in 1997 (in another SHO Taurus). With some luck in my schedule, I may get to STPR this year.

In 1992, I did have luck in my schedule and I even got to the event early to watch the tech inspection. On Saturday, the first event of the day is the annual chicken BBQ run by the village of Wellsboro for the spectators (if this doesn't do it for you, there is an annual rattlesnake festival the same weekend just outside of town. BBQ rattlesnake is good!). Or you can hit the famous Wellsboro Diner - an original 20's style dinner with lots of chrome and stainless: http://www.visitpa.com/visitpa/details.pa?name=Wellsboro+Diner

Then the rally begins with a "park ferme" around the town square for the residents. Then it's off to the roads in the nearby Susquehannock forest.

In order to spectate, plan on having a small and manueverable car - and one that gets decent gas mileage. You'll be surprised how few gas stations are open in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. At one event (around 1983?), we were lucky enough to find a gas station open late at night - and even more suprised to find it run by an old woman in her eighties who knew my Grandmother (who was originally from northern Pennsylvania). Maneuverability is also needed because spectator parking is alongside narrow roads in the forest - with minimal turning room.

My first spectating point was the infamous "water crossing" - where the racecars hit a shallow patch of water at full speed (stalling out if not done properly). Unfortunately this year, due to heavy rains, the water crossing was about 6 feet deep and this small section of the rally had to be moved. I then spent the rest of the day and night chasing the rally around the Susquehannock region and spectating at several points.

One of my favorites spectating sites was next. Imagine this - it's pure black and quiet. You are huddled together with other spectators on the side of a mountain, hanging on to a tree so that you don't slip down onto the road. In the distance you hear the sounds of a performance engine revving up and down - as the racecar goes up and down road. Suddenly, the night lights up and the rally car flashes past you (mere feet away) at high speed. And, on this particular turn, it has to execute a 180-degree hairpin turn and head back up another hill. The bottom of the hairpin has a one-lane wooden bridge across a creek. The top drivers execute the turn with wildly varying states of perfection. Inevitably, one car doesn't make it and ends up in the ditch. Another hits that car. And another barely makes it, scrapping off their rear bumper against the side of the hill.

Unlike years past, I gave up at about 3 AM in the morning and headed back for my hotel - enjoying one of the best drives I've ever had as I wound my way out of the forest and back to town (probably a 60 mile drive). It was completely dark, moonless, warm, and dry. Some of the roads were dirt, and others were pavement. All were complicated to navigate (nowadays I'd use GPS). Another spectator in a beemer had the same idea, but my FWD SHO was a far better car on these roads.

If you're up at 6 AM, you can attend the racer's breakfest and awards ceremony. I wasn't up to it this year, and I needed to get back to my office anyway. I recommend it if you can manage it, and it'll give you a chance to see what remains of the rallyists cars after a long hard night of racing.

These years were possibly the highpoint of my racing hobby. Every weekend from the 1st of April to the end of October, there was either an autocross or an Open Track event, along with a Pro Rally in Ohio and the one in Pennsylvania. The winter was spent at TSD rallies or locked inside the house after shovelling snow all day. The winter part is the part that I don't miss at all, although I'll admit it would have been a lot easier with an AWD car and in a part of the country that wasn't so economically depressed. You can also read about my misadventure of autocrossing on ice in an earlier post this past month. My winter racing (TSD or on ice) was an attempt to keep away from falling victim to the Stockholm Syndrome the locals suffered. The worst example of that was the betting pools that took place the year the total snowfall approached 200 inches.

I've been on only a few TSD rallies since those years, most recently a Miata club event in Central Texas (2nd place overall). Fond memories of that include being chased by cattle on Willow City loop (not a city at all, and the loop is a 30 mile winding "farm-to-market" road in the middle of nowhere that goes thru people's back yards and has live cattle wondering about). Possibly being in a red car with cow-skin seat covers (hey, this is Texas) caused the animals to go mad.

I've got a lot of pictures (and some video) of the HIS and STPR Pro Rallies that I'll put up on the site someday. And some of the Olympic rally in Washington, which include the first Mitsubisho Evo I'd ever seen as well as a Pro-Rally Supra. I'll add this to my to-do list (organized courtesy of OneNote 2007) and come back and illustrate this story more fully.

Ford Rally School in Britain

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 10:41:09 GMT

NEW FORD RALLY ACADEMY OPENS AT SILVERSTONE

"The Ford RST Rally Academy at Silverstone will be key to recognising and developing Britain's rally stars of the future. This unique training programme allows kids as young as 10 to learn the art of rally driving in a perfectly safe and controlled environment. Today's young stars have all driven cars on a computer screen. Now at Silverstone they can experience what it really feels like to kick up the gravel and power drift a rally car - no computer in the world can match that sensation." Jost Capito, Director Ford TeamRS

BRENTWOOD, Essex, 15 March, 2006 - Ford Motor Company today launched the Ford RST Rally Academy in conjunction with BR Racing. Based at Silverstone, the home of British motorsport, the scheme aims to pave the way for young hopefuls to learn the basic skills of rallying, even before they are legally allowed to drive.
The Ford RST Rally Academy will replicate the role that karting plays in the early development of racing drivers, and provides a springboard into the world of rallying.
Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said: "Our Silverstone Motorsport Academy is renowned for the incredibly high standards of training and tuition it offers, and we are always looking at ways to support motorsport at grass roots levels. The Ford RST Rally Academy is a perfect example of this. Working with Ford, Silverstone offers the very best instruction and training to develop British rally champions of the future."

Ford Rally Sport Trainer (RST)
At the heart of the Ford RST Rally Academy is the purpose-built Ford Rally Sport Trainer (RST) a rugged two-seater rally car based on a specially designed tubular steel spaceframe, strong enough to withstand rollover and side impacts. To deliver high levels of occupant safety the structure was built following guidelines from UK's motorsport governing body the MSA. The Ford RST is the only dedicated training vehicle ever to be awarded MSA certification.

Every vehicle is left hand drive and based on standard, fully tested Ford components. The Ford 1300cc power unit sits behind the driver for ideal weight distribution. The gearbox has a conventional H pattern gearshift and drives the rear wheels. This configuration delivers a high degree of real feel to the driver. This chassis feedback, coupled with the motorsport handling setup, reassures the driver and encourages driving on the limit. Students are quickly able to experience the sheer exhilaration and satisfaction of being able to drive in the spectacular rally style by sliding the car easily through corners, kicking up gravel and power-drifting from one direction to another.

The Ford RST Rally Academy
BR Racing was created by Ex-Ford Motorsport rally engineer Peter Beattie, who runs the Academy. "The Ford RST Rally Academy is all about learning new skills" said director Peter Beattie. "We will be taking teenagers and teaching them not only driving techniques but everything else there is to know about rallying, from signing-on, scrutineering, basic maintenance and navigation pace-notes. The student skill levels are always mixed so we make sure every one of our students learns at their own pace and most importantly has a good time doing so."

Triple World Rally Championship celebration for Ford of Europe

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 01:09:43 GMT

Triple World Rally Championship.

February 6, 2006 Ford of Europe has many reasons to celebrate overnight for Marcus Gronholm's win in the Uddeholm Swedish Rally in Karlstad; it was Ford’s 50th win in the World Rally Championship, Gronholm’s 20th WRC win (moving him to equal fifth on the all-time list) and it happened on his 38th birthday. The Finn admitted that he isn't so interested in his age anymore but his second win of the season in the Focus WRC06 was the primary reason to celebrate, having dominated the event and led from the first stage. However, of more interest to Ford its lead in the drivers championship and the manufacturers championship. It was a particularly sweet victory for Ford as despite its long and illustrious rally history (the Zodiac, Zephyr, Falcon, Anglia, Cortina, ad infinitum), the last time the marque won in Sweden was in 1978, with Bjorn Waldegard at the wheel of the Escort RS1800, when the WRC was just five years old. Gronholm’s win, and the exclkusion of the third of the big three competitors in WRC, Subaru’s Petter Solberg, the bookies have now firmed Gronholm to 2.25 (5/4) clear second favourite for the drivers championship, though current world champion Sébastien Loeb remains odds-on favourite for the title at 1.70 (approx. 6/4 on). Solberg has now drifted to 8.00 (7/1) and Subaru’s Australian prodigy Chris Atkinson is fourth favourite at a staggering 80/1. Clearly the championship is a three-horse-race after just two events of the 16 event series...

[Continue at source]

Source: Gizmo: Automotive

Prodrive to build road cars

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:27:29 GMT

British company Prodrive might be best known as the engineers behind Subaru’s highly successful World Rally Championship team, but they also harbor serious ambitions to further diversify into road cars.

[Continue at source]

Source: AutoWeek - Latest News Feed

Ford reaffirms WRC commitment at Rallye Monte Carlo

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 17:20:05 GMT

Ford has reaffirmed it's comittment to international rallying via the WRC. Ford has a very long history with the sport, perhaps the longest. Ford also reminded the WRC what was required from it, helping format a schedule that would maximize spectators as well as television coverage.

Continue at link: www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=26320&newlang=eng&topic=26&catid=0 "Two drivers, Two cars... Drop the flag...It's all good!"

Paddock talk is to me a new website, focusing mostly on European-type racing, but also including Champ and IRL (as well as, unfortunately, NASCAR). Separate RSS feeds exist for each type of racing.

All-New Ford Focus RS WRC 06

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:43:58 GMT

FORD'S NEW RALLY CHALLENGER LAUNCHES AT 2005 BOLOGNA MOTOR SHOW

**The all-new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car 06**

BOLOGNA , ITALY , 1 December, 2005 – Ford of Europe today officially unveiled the all-new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car 06 at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy . The car will be Ford's challenger in the FIA World Rally Championship from 2006 onwards and was unveiled in the eye-catching livery in which it will make its full competitive debut in January's Monte Carlo Rally.

It is based on the high-performance Ford Focus ST road car, which is being launched across Europe this autumn. The new Focus RS WRC 06 has been designed and built in less than 11 months by an experienced and innovative engineering team led by Christian Loriaux, technical director at British-based company M-Sport which operates the Blue Oval's WRC programme. His team has worked closely in the development with Ford TeamRS, Ford of Europe's performance road car and motorsport arm.

Four-year commitment

Just over 12 months ago in Brussels , Ford of Europe announced a four-year commitment to the World Rally Championship, confirming the sport as the company's primary motorsport activity. A key aspect of that agreement was the introduction of an all-new Focus RS WRC based on the new-generation road car. It continues a family tradition that has seen the model provide the backbone of Ford's motorsport activity since 1999.

The all-new rally car unveiled in Bologna this morning will be driven in the 2006 championship by double world champions Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen and fellow Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen.

"Twelve months ago Ford carried out a long and comprehensive review into the motorsport scene and the company's involvement in it," said Jost Capito, Director of Ford TeamRS. "It showed there was a strong business case for Ford's continued involvement and proposals from the sport's governing body to reduce the costs of competing in the WRC encouraged us to continue long-term."

Capito added: "What we have unveiled this morning is Ford's future in the WRC. We have a strong and experienced team operating from world-class facilities at M-Sport's Dovenby Hall premises. Now we have the car that we believe will carry us forward to new levels of competitiveness and a driving team that is capable of bringing world titles to Ford."

All-new design

Following in the footsteps of the 2003 Focus RS WRC, the new car incorporates the latest technology and benefits from pioneering design ideas from Loriaux and his 14-man M-Sport-based team. They had access to computer-aided design facilities and shared information and analysis with mainstream Ford engineers across Europe in their quest to design a winning car.

The transition from the outgoing rally car to the new model, which had to be designed with radical regulation changes for 2006 in mind, required a clean sheet of paper from the start. The previous model was highly successful in its own right, but the team worked to a brief that demanded improvements in key areas such as engine, transmission and suspension. A crucial priority was to achieve weight savings, an arduous task as the base model was heavier than the base for the previous Focus RS WRC and new regulations banned the widespread use of titanium.

After successful initial testing in Britain, the team moved to the second level of the car's test and development programme by taking two cars to last month's Rally Australia to evaluate it in a competitive environment for the first time. It was rewarded with victory on two speed tests and a sixth place finish.

The introduction of the Ford Focus RS WRC 06 presented M-Sport and Ford TeamRS with a string of challenges and opportunities – not only because of the new model itself, but because in 2006 rallying is introducing a series of technical changes designed to reduce cost. The design team had to keep a close eye on these rule changes throughout the 11-month development of the car.

"Everyone involved in the programme has worked incredibly long hours to ensure the new Focus RS WRC met its build targets," said BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson. "It was a tight schedule and we made it even tighter by taking the decision to test the car on Rally Australia . We're delighted with the way it performed there and we gained data which will prove valuable in our preparations for the 2006 season.

"It is unrealistic to expect us to win a world title next year. The car is too new for that. But I fervently believe that we will win rallies and lay a solid platform for a world championship bid in 2007 and 2008. In Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen we have signed two drivers with the ability to maximise the potential of the Focus RS WRC 06. Behind the scenes, we have the strongest infrastructure in place at M-Sport, both in terms of personnel and facilities, since we took over the programme at the end of 1996 and that gives me the confidence to predict an extremely bright future," he added.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Engine:	Ford 2.0-litre Pipo built I4 Duratec WRC engine. Four cylinders, 16 valves, two litres. Pi electronic engine management system. Garrett turbocharger (with FIA required 34 mm inlet restrictor). Air intercooler. Catalytic converter.
Power:	300 bhp at 6000 rpm
Torque:	550 Nm at 4000 rpm
Transmission:	Permanent four-wheel drive with M-Sport designed active, centre differential. Pi electronic differential control units. M-Sport / Ricardo five speed sequential gearbox with electro-hydraulically controlled shift. M-Sport / Sachs multi disc carbon clutch.
Suspension:	Front and rear: MacPherson struts (front) and Trailing-Arm (rear) with Reiger external reservoir dampers, adjustable in bump and rebound. Fully adjustable fabricated steel links. Front and rear anti-roll bars. Cast steel uprights. Ceramic wheel bearings.
Brakes:	*Gravel (front and rear):* 300mm Brembo ventilated discs with Brembo four piston monoblock calipers.
	*Asphalt (front and rear):* 370mm Brembo ventilated discs with Brembo eight-piston monoblock calipers.
	Hydraulic handbrake; Adjustable front / rear bias.
Steering:	Power-assisted high-ratio (12:1) rack and pinion. One and a half turns lock to lock.
Wheels:	*Gravel:* 7in x 15in (magnesium) wheels with BF Goodrich 650mm tyres.
	*Asphalt:* 8in x 18in (magnesium) wheels with BF Goodrich 650mm tyres.
Bodyshell:	Unitary construction. Unique composite side panels. Welded T45 steel safety roll cage. Aerodynamic rear wing. Unique front ‘bumper' treatment.
Electronics:	Full Pi chassis and engine data acquisition for on-event diagnostics and performance development.
Fuel tank:	FIA FT3 tank, 94 litre capacity, located centrally.
Dimensions:	Length: 4362mm. Width: 1800mm. Wheelbase: 2640mm. Weight: 1230kg minimum.

ALL-NEW FORD FOCUS RS WRC 06: TECHNOLOGY AND INTELLIGENT SOLUTIONS

Here are the key technical elements of the new Ford Focus RS WRC 06, along with Christian Loriaux's thoughts on the solutions that he and his team of engineers developed:

Engine

Although the Focus ST model on which the World Rally Car is based uses a 2.5-litre, five-cylinder engine, rallying rules do not permit an engine of that size. However, the regulations do allow teams to use another engine from elsewhere in the Ford Focus model range, so M-Sport opted for the 2.0-litre Duratec unit, with the addition of a turbocharger and the mandatory 34mm inlet restrictor. French engine specialist Pipo Moteur was employed to assist with the initial development of the new unit. M-Sport also used its own in-house transient dynamometer and made use of data from Ford TeamRS to fine-tune the specification. One advantage over the outgoing rally car is that the new engine has an all-alloy block. This allows for a reduction in weight and also a transfer of weight away from a relatively high position, thereby helping to lower the car's centre of gravity. "We worked closely with Pipo to come up with a design," said Loriaux, "but once the first version of the engine arrived we put it straight onto our own dyno and completed more tests. After that, and more discussions, we changed the design of the crankshaft."

Suspension

The new Focus RS WRC 06's suspension is a further development of the type used on the 2004-specification car, although rule changes forced M-Sport's engineers to make revisions.

To help reduce costs in world rallying, the use of expensive materials such as titanium is now severely restricted, and Ford's engineers had to find a substitute that was strong without adding too much weight. The suspension continues to use Reiger dampers. Representatives from the Dutch firm liaised with Loriaux and his staff during the design phase, and were also present during the first few kilometres of testing to help with the initial set-up. "Under WRC rules there are such tight restrictions on the amount of power that the engine can produce that elements like the suspension have become even more important," said Loriaux. "We worked hard to strike a balance between handling and traction." Suspension parts were tested on a 2004-specification Focus RS WRC in rough conditions before the design was finalised.

Transmission

M-Sport's transmission consultant Ricardo played a key role in the development of the new car, since the new rules forbid the use of computer-controlled front and rear differentials. Instead, only the centre differential features this level of technology, with regular mechanical units at the front and rear. The fact that more of the system is now beyond computer control has only heightened the importance of arriving at a robust initial set-up. "Some of the restrictions on materials affected this side of the design too," said Loriaux. "The propshaft is now steel, for example. But that means it has to be slightly wider to retain strength, so the transmission tunnel had to be made slightly larger to accommodate it."

Bodyshell

The new Ford Focus RS WRC 06 is based on the Focus ST road car. It is larger than its predecessor, presenting engineers with the challenge of keeping overall weight increase to a minimum. In addition, the new car's width is 1800mm, the precise maximum specified under World Rally Car regulations.

"We liaised closely with Ford TeamRS on the shell," said Loriaux. "We used the ADAMS software model to help with our initial design and that allowed us to experiment with the car's layout and see how changes to one specific component might affect the other parts. We also worked hard on the aerodynamic side, because the new car has a larger frontal area. We tried to compensate for this as much as possible and to reduce drag on faster sections. On the other hand, the more steeply-sloped rear hatch of the new car plays back into our hands, in terms of making the rear wing more efficient."

Gearbox

The Ford Focus RS WRC 06 features a considerable amount of change in its gearbox from the previous model, not only in specification but also in layout. The original Focus WRC (introduced in 1999) mated a longitudinal gearbox to a transverse engine, an engineering feat in itself. But for the new car, Loriaux decided to use a transverse gearbox along with the transverse engine. "I think there are benefits in packaging but also there should be less loss through friction," he said. The new Ricardo-developed gearbox will have five gears, not six like the outgoing model. "Reducing the number of gears allows us to make a small weight saving and also a saving in terms of size of the gearbox itself," said Loriaux. "We think that with the 34mm air restrictor on the turbocharger, as specified by the rules, the engine's low-down strength and torque mean a five-speed unit will be as effective as a six-speed one. After all, with six speeds you do lose a little more time through more frequent changes anyway."

Weight distribution

Loriaux is renowned for his innovative design approach to lowering the centre of gravity in rally machinery. Many of the trends seen on today's cars, such as the crew sitting particularly low in the cabin, can be attributed to Loriaux's earlier designs. From the earliest drawings of this new car, he has again been determined to set new trends.

"A low centre of gravity helps with handling, balance and steering feedback," said Loriaux. "We've tried to make the engine as low as possible and with no compromises in the layout, to help achieve that." Some of the more radical solutions will remain secret, but no element of the car's layout or design has escaped intense scrutiny as far as weight distribution is concerned.

ALL-NEW FORD FOCUS RS WRC 06: 12 MONTHS FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY

The Ford Focus RS WRC 06 that will contest the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship has been conceived, designed, built and developed in a staggeringly short space of time. Less than 12 months after Ford reconfirmed its long-term commitment to world rallying, the Focus RS WRC 06 made its debut and set fastest stage times on Rally Australia, the closing round of the 2005 championship.

How did BP-Ford World Rally Team technical director Christian Loriaux and his team of designers and engineers at M-Sport and Ford TeamRS manage this feat? This timeline explains how they condensed a project that might have taken 18 months into less than 12 – and set technical benchmarks along the way:

November 2004

Ford of Europe confirms its commitment to the FIA World Rally Championship until 2008. In the vast workshops of M-Sport there are celebrations. And yet, at the same time, the team knows it will have barely a year to produce a brand new car, fit for new regulations that involve complex changes to the specification. The hard work is just beginning.

At M-Sport's Dovenby Hall base in north-west England, technical director Christian Loriaux and his 14-man team set up base in a closed-off area of the factory. There they will have access to computer-aided design facilities that will allow the team to share information and to analyse data with Ford engineers across Europe. They also support the testing of parts and theories on an extreme hydraulic rig.

All development work on the 2004-specification Focus RS WRC has ceased. Instead, Loriaux and his team will work solely towards the debut of the new-shape Focus RS WRC in time for the 2006 season.

January 2005

Loriaux has had access to design drawings of the new Ford Focus road car for a few weeks and the team begins to start work in earnest. They soon realise that as with the road-going Focus, the transition from current rally model to new will involve precious little carryover. "You'd think with only nine months for the project that we'd be taking over a lot of the current car," he says. "But we've got elements like a brand new engine and a brand new transmission, and those are big bits on a rally car. There are a lot of key areas where we will see a big jump from the current car in terms of ideas and solutions."

After consultation with Ford TeamRS, the new car will be based on the forthcoming three-door Focus ST model, although World Rally Car rules will allow the team to use an all-alloy Duratec 2.0-litre engine from elsewhere in the Focus range, instead of the ST's 2.5-litre five-cylinder unit. The evolution of road car design, most notably the increased size of the new-shape Focus, presents Loriaux and his engineers with an interesting challenge – using a larger car but keeping the overall weight to a minimum.

In addition, new rules to be introduced in 2006 mean the car will not be permitted to use computer-controlled ‘active' front and rear differentials. M-Sport's transmission partner, Ricardo, starts work on concepts for the solution, in close collaboration with M-Sport's own transmission engineer.

February 2005

M-Sport's designers are in constant contact with Ford TeamRS and Ford engineers in Cologne, Germany, and Dunton, England.

Ford's road car engineers have the powerful ADAMS software model at their disposal, and it is proving a useful tool as Loriaux and his team strive to come up with the best concept for the new car's layout.

"I know what I want in terms of suspension kinematics for the car," says Loriaux. "With the ADAMS model we liaise with Ford in Germany and they can supply us with useful information. We tell them where we're allowed to fit suspension points under the rules, for example, and give them my ‘menu' of what I want to achieve and they come back with a solution. Of course, there are always compromises to be made and with the ADAMS model they're able to make me aware of them and of other potential solutions."

Loriaux's team begins an intensive period of exchanging data on the position of the engine, gearbox, differentials, suspension, fuel tank and driver and co-driver with Ford personnel in Cologne.

March 2005

M-Sport starts to develop a radical theory – and one that makes its already-tough deadline look even harsher. Instead of the Focus RS WRC making its debut in Monte Carlo 2006, the team decides to aim for a 'test' debut on the closing round of the 2005 season in Australia. The decision is made more complex because the long-haul nature of the event forces an extra week of travel time to be factored into the schedule.

Loriaux and his team now need to have the car running – testing, in anger and preferably on loose surfaces – by mid-October. The ADAMS software model work continues – and M-Sport also has a three-door Focus bodyshell on a jig to assess the stiffness and performance of various roll cage options.

April 2005

Work with Ford TeamRS and the Cologne road car department leads to the basic concept being finalised by late spring. It emerges that the car will use a transverse gearbox, a more conventional system compared with the radical solution fitted to all Focus WRCs since 1999. "We think the advantages in weight distribution and loss of friction make it worthwhile to go transverse," says Loriaux.

May 2005

A new 10-tonne hydraulic actuator arrives and is swiftly put to good use, hammering suspension and chassis parts to test the theories in a monitored, controlled situation. This way, M-Sport engineers are able to corroborate the data provided by Ford TeamRS engineers, proving the theories and finalising the basic layout. A three-door bodyshell is now under preparation and the roll cage design is all-but-finalised. Layout is one thing - the detail work starts here.

June 2005

The toughest month for M-Sport's design team. If the Focus RS WRC is to run in September and be ready for its target of Rally Australia in mid-November, they need to finalise the detail design work on many of its parts this month. As such, late nights in the office become commonplace, with no-one leaving before midnight. "It's been hell," admits Loriaux. "I feel for the guys because they know the end of the project is in sight but they have to get through the toughest part of it now if it's all going to happen."

Loriaux is keeping a close eye on suppliers to ensure parts will arrive on schedule, ready to be fitted once the first fully-prepared roll cage is available. The cage has already passed one important test, though – inspectors from motorsport's governing body, the FIA, have approved its design and safety in a two-part examination. And the first version of the new engine has arrived back from M-Sport's development partner, Pipo Moteur in France.

Using a multi-million pound transient dynamometer, the team's own engine specialists start to analyse performance and suggest modifications. In the end, a new crankshaft design is suggested, potentially delaying the engine by a month.

While development of the Focus RS WRC 04 has ceased, competition in the 2005 world championship has not. Loriaux uses this to his advantage by trying some of the 2006-specification suspension parts on a current car during testing for the notoriously rough Acropolis Rally in Greece.

July 2005

Designers continue to rack up long hours – their work continues to keep them in the office until midnight. The first components start to arrive. The Rally Australia deadline is still looming large and although M-Sport has caught up ground on its delay, non-design staff are also hard at work until 11pm every working day.

August 2005

Loriaux spots a potential delay. M-Sport and Ford TeamRS engineers have spent much of the summer finalising the new car's rear suspension design, but while they are delighted with the results of their collaboration, the time taken to reach a decision means that delivery of the rear uprights is going to be perilously close to the deadline for testing pre-Rally Australia.

Accordingly, M-Sport starts a separate build process on a back-up design, using its in-house machining capabilities to carve parts directly from a 60kg block of aluminium. "We can't take the risk that this part will delay the project," says Loriaux. "A car with two front wheels and nothing at the rear won't be much use as we try to get ready for Australia."

September 2005

The first bodyshell arrives, so M-Sport's mechanics can finally start to fit the relatively small stockpile of parts that are already prepared. A mock-up of the Focus' 2.0-litre engine arrives early in the month – it allows engineers to check its dimensions and all connections. However, M-Sport had set itself a target of having the car running before the end of September, and while a working motor arrives on schedule, its timing is tight. Determined to reach their goal, engineers complete the final elements of the basic installation late in the evening of September 30. In the dead of night, the car fires up for the first time. The Focus RS WRC is still restricted to M-Sport's workshops, but it is now a running car.

October 2005

In the first week of October, and again under cover of darkness, M-Sport engineers give the Focus RS WRC 06 its first taste of the outdoors by driving slowly around the company car park. The following week, the car is taken to Kirkbride Airfield in Cumbria for its initial shakedown. Engineers, including Loriaux himself, and M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson are there to help with the initial mileage. It proves encouraging enough for M-Sport to change its early testing plans – a proposed first asphalt test is replaced by an immediate switch onto gravel.

On October 18, with double British rally champion Mark Higgins behind the wheel, the Focus RS WRC 06 starts its first serious test in Whinlatter Forest, Cumbria. It goes on to compete almost 500km during its first three days, and more than 200km the following week.

Higgins is encouraged by the initial mileage. "The main aim is to rack up mileage before Rally Australia to identify any major shortcomings," he says, "and it's good that we've been able to do so much of that straight out of the box. Sometimes with a new car you lose days at a time but while we've had to keep an eye on progress and bear in mind that this car is scheduled to go to Rally Australia, we've still been able to push hard enough to find out a lot about how the car's going to behave on the stages."

Loriaux is thrilled at the car's early performance, but knows that sterner tests lie ahead. "I can hardly believe we've managed to get the car running so quickly, from a blank design board to here in only 10 months," he says. "But at the same time, I look at the car and I can't imagine it's going to Australia in a couple of weeks. We desperately want to get the mileage in competition because you can't substitute for that experience, but it's going to be tough."

November 2005

With fewer than 1,000 kilometres of gravel running to analyse on engineers' laptops, two examples of the Focus RS WRC 06 are shipped to Australia for the final round of the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship. Ford and M-Sport view the event as an extended test session for the car, since neither driver – Toni Gardemeister or Roman Kresta – has conducted any of the initial mileage.

Despite this, the car performs with relatively few problems and both drivers manage to set a fastest time – even though the 2006-specification transmission on the car is, in theory, less technically advanced than those fitted to the Focus' 2005-specification rivals. It is a tremendous achievement for M-Sport, Ford TeamRS and all the project partners.

Team principal Malcolm Wilson is delighted. "It's been a fantastic weekend," he says. "We came here to test and the most important target was to last the full distance with the car so we could learn as much as possible. Toni's car stopped on the penultimate special stage but the fact that we scored two fastest times is remarkable for a car which has been designed and built in such a short space of time. It has been a great effort from the whole team and we've shown the potential of the car for the future."

December 2005

The Focus RS WRC 06 will now undertake asphalt and snow tests in preparation for the start of its first full FIA World Rally Championship campaign, on the Monte Carlo Rally which takes place from 20 - 22 January, 2006.

A RACING RETURN FOR THE FORD FALCON FUTURA SPRINT

Fri, 26 Nov 2004 00:58:10 GMT

Ford Press: Ford Falcon Sprint Returns

A RACING RETURN FOR THE FORD FALCON FUTURA SPRINT

GOTHENBURG, November 2004 – In the early 1960s the Ford Falcon Futura Sprint competed successfully in the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Last month, the same car made its comeback in the famous Mexican road race event La Carrera Panamericana.

Starting on October 23 and finishing on October 31 2004, the Ford Falcon Futura Sprint competed with a Swedish team of driver Mats Lindén and co-driver Ralf Christensson.

“When people realised what car I had brought to Mexico, they thought I was mad”, laughs Mats Lindén who is a former Swedish circuit racing champion. “One person even said that I was a lunatic racing a museum piece…”

Renovated Legend

The car is a Monte Carlo rally legend, having won all the stages in the 1963 event with Swedish driver Bo Ljungfeldt at the wheel. But he missed the overall victory by incurring penalty points during the transport stages because of deep snow on the way to Monte Carlo. Ljungfeldt is still the only driver to have won all the stages at Monte Carlo. Formula One star Graham Hill raced a similar car in the 1963 rally.

Some 40 years later, Mats has renovated the Futura Sprint and it was prepared to race standards before sending it across the Atlantic.

“It was a bit of a last minute job”, he confides, “Which gave us some problems during the first three days in the Carrera race. I had adjusted the ignition for the high altitudes in the mountains here and I had also made ventilation improvements in order to get the best possible airflow in the heat. Then I lost fourth gear and burnt out the clutch during the first stage of the race. It took us two days before we could get it fixed after working night and day”.

On the fourth day, however, it was time for the 4.7 litre Ford V8 to show its mettle. Mats started by being seventh in the class, a result that improved to second place after five days.

“The car went like a dream”, says Mats, “I have driven many race cars, but this one is definitely one of the best. It is rock steady on the road with lots of power since it only weighs 1,000 kg.”

Mats finished the gruelling Mexican road race at the legendary “La Bufa” stages where he ended up third in class despite this being his first attempt at the race. He is keeping the old factory Ford in the US for further race entries next year.

“We’ll see what comes up, but I will go back to Mexico for sure”, Mats says. “It is the last real road race in the world and it can only be held in a country like Mexico where there are lots of genuine race fans. We drove some 3,000 km from the south up to the Texas border at Laredo where the race ends”.

Facts on the Ford Falcon Futura Sprint entered in the Mexican
“La Carrera Panamericana” race:
Type: 2-door pillarless saloon coupe
Engine: Ford V8, 4 727 cc
Year of make: 1963-64
Overall weight without fuel: 980 kg
Clutch: Dry-plate
Gearbox: Borg-Warner 4-speed plus reverse gear
Tires: 6.50/6.70 x 15”

The Falcon Futura Sprint is homologated by the FIA for Historic car races in the Competition Touring Car class, period 1962–65.

Ford Press: Focus Touring Car Reveiled

Fri, 26 Nov 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Ford Press: Focus Touring Car Reveiled

HOTFIEL CHOOSES FORD FOCUS FOR WTCC IN 2005

ESSEN/COLOGNE, 25 November 2004 - The Hotfiel Sport team, based in Kirchlengern near Herford, Germany, will campaign two new Ford Focus Touring Cars in the inaugural 2005 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

The new Focus has been developed as a touring car kit by Ford TeamRS for customer teams to race under the new Super 2000 Touring Car regulations. It will allow Ford's existing and potential customer teams to compete in that category at the highest level, with an affordable budget and a competitive car. Hotfiel is the first team to announce its plans.

Hotfiel has confirmed that it intends to compete with the new Focus in all 10 of the 2005 WTCC events starting on 10 April in Monza, Italy. The other races will be staged in Oschersleben, Istanbul, Spa, Magny Cours, Brünn, Silverstone or Donington, Mexico City and Valencia before the final race in Macau.

The racing version of the Ford Focus 150hp Duratec alloy engine has been combined with a mechanical sequential six-speed gearbox and boosted to around 270hp in accordance with the new regulations.

A First Step

"We're delighted that Hotfiel has taken the initiative to enter the new Ford Focus in 2005, and we will be watching their progress with great interest," said Ford TeamRS Director, Jost Capito.

"We hope this will inspire other teams to develop their own programmes using the new Ford Focus," Capito added. "Ford's main motorsport activity remains the FIA World Rally Championship with the Focus RS WRC, but we will continue to encourage privateers who realise the strength and competitiveness of our cars across a wide range of motorsports."

Fiesta ST Cup Continues

"Ford has not forgotten the grass root motorsport categories, where our products have been the choice of competitors for many years,” Capito said.

"In Germany, the Ford Fiesta ST Cup has enjoyed huge success over the last two years, with grids of more than 30 cars for each race. This series will continue into 2005 as part of the “Beru Top10” events. Furthermore, we are exploring interest elsewhere in this branch of motorsport, with a view to possibly taking the category into other countries, both within Europe and further afield," Capito added.

Sad news for WRC - PEUGEOT/CITROËN QUITS RALLYING

Sat, 06 Nov 2004 02:43:14 GMT

Five years of factory effort - resulting in many successes - to end after 2005: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=9406