Welcome to this week’s issue of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, your free source of rally entertainment.
To download this issue, please click HERE: http://handbrakeshairpins.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/hh-118.pdf
This week’s issue is jam-packed with the latest rally news, event reports from around the world, insightful columnists and breathtaking action photography. As always, please enjoy this week’s read!
Yours in Rallying,
Evan Rothman
Editor
Burnie’s Jason White is back on the top step of the podium after storming through the final day’s stages in his Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Type R, to take the Modern victory in Targa Wrest Point, which finished in Hobart on Sunday. Continue reading ‘Targa Wrest Point Rally won by Jason White’
Saltash IT Director Alan Cookson and co driver Julian Wilkinson from Tunbridge Wells are planning to contest the MSA British Rally Championship for the first time in 2010 in their newly acquired ex-Nasser Al-Attiyah Subaru N15. Continue reading ‘Cookson and Wilkinson to contest British Rally Championship in 2010′
The MSA British Rally Championship has announced that Sunoco will be the official controlled fuel supplier to the Championship for at least the next two years.
Two options of fuel will continue to be available, a specially blended super unleaded “pump” specification and an FIA specification 102 octane, with the former being the control fuel for this year’s BRC Challenge. Continue reading ‘Sunoco has joined British Rally Championship as control fuel’
A change in date has necessitated the organisers of the Toyota Dealer 400, round two of the Absa Off Road Championship on 16 and 17 April, to move into fast forward mode.
The event, in previous years the penultimate race of the season, fell in a high fire risk window that often proved problematical. That issue has been alleviated by bringing the event forward, but it has placed a heavy burden on the organisers. Continue reading ‘Toyota Dealer 400 Off-Road Race plannig is already underway’
Skoda Auto continues its successful project Fabia Super 2000 by building a team for Czech rally Championship. The official partner of the team is Delimax, a major Czech-based food manufacturer.
The company’s Fabia Super 2000 for the International Championships of the Czech Republic will be used by a prospective crew made up of Pavel Valousek and Zdenek Hruza. Continue reading ‘Skoda enters Fabia S2000 team to compete in Czech Rally Championship’
Van Merksteijn will take part in the World Rally Championship Rally of Sweden from 12 – 14 February. The father-and-son Van Merksteijn pairing will start for the second time in this famous and unique rally which has in its history been won only once by a non Scandinavian driver.
It has been a long time for Peter van Merksteijn that he was behind the wheel of the Ford Focus WRC. After the Rally of Portugal of April 2009, the Dutch entrepreneur has not competed in the rally sport. Together with his Belgian co-driver Erwin Mombaerts he will start in Karlstad driving the Focus WRC with number 65 for the second time, this time with the blue Mistral livery on the car. Peter enjoyed the 2008 edition of the Rally of Sweden so much that he immediately announced that he would return to Varmland the next time. In 2008 Peter missed the Colin’s Crest Award for the furthest jump on special stage Vargasen by just a few decimeters which will be run twice on Saturday. Continue reading ‘Van Merksteijn to start WRC Rally Sweden in Ford Focus RS WRC’
In collaboration with the BFO Family Office, the largest independent financial service in Belgium, Skoda Import Belgium is again involved in rallying for 2010.
The new team is called the BFO-Skoda Rally Team and uses the experience of five times winner of the Ypres Rally, Freddy Loix.
Along with his co-driver, Frederic Miclotte, Freddy Loix will be driving a Skoda Fabia Super 2000. This high-performance car will be prepared by the Rene Georges Rally Sport team (RGRS;www.renegeorges.be).
Loix said: “I’m very happy with my new car and my new sponsor because it is not easy to find a partner to help you. BFO is a Belgian company so I will also do some Belgian championship events.
“I only have good experiences of the Rene Georges team. Although I have not driven the Skoda yet, I have been speaking to a lot of people who say it’s an easy car to drive. I think it can be a very interesting season for me,” he added.
The BFO-Skoda Rally Team will participate in the 2010 Belgian Championship Rally and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The complete schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
- Credit: www.rallybuzz.com
Daniel Barry is planning to enter a rally in the United Kingdom or Ireland in order to stay match fit ahead of his next appearance in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).
Barry, who finished 21st overall on his debut in the series on Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo last month, isn’t due to contest an IRC event until the Geko Ypres Rally in Belgium from 24 – 26 June.
The Mitsubishi Lancer driver said: “Ypres is the next event. There is a big gap until then so I will probably fit a small rally in between to keep our hand in.”
Barry said the Monte Carlo event had proved a tough start to his IRC campaign, especially after he was forced to complete a 100-kilometre road section with only first and second gears after the gearbox blew on the fourth stage of the rally.
“It was the toughest test of endurance I’ve ever experienced,” Barry said. “I’ve done entire rallies that were shorter than the 45km stage on leg one. The longest straight in that stage was about 200m, so there was no let up from start to finish. Anyone who got to the finish deserved a medal.”
After Ypres, Irishman Barry is due to contest a further four IRC events, including the Tarmac rallies in Czech Republic and Italy and the gravel-based RAC MSA Rally of Scotland.
- Credit: www.rally-irc.com
Readers of the February issue of “Pacenotes” magazine will be greeted by BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Driver and the Irish Young Rally Driver of the Year as Mikko Hirvonen and Craig Breen share the front cover.
Inside this month’s magazine, “Pacenotes” were on hand as Craig Breen gets one-to-one tuition from Mikko Hirvonen in a 2008-specification Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.
Ford Followers will also have plenty of reading as “Pacenotes” includes:
• History of Fordin the FIA World Rally Championship.
• Interview with BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Driver Mikko Hirvonen.
• Team Profile: A Visit To M-Sport.
• Ford Fiesta – S2000.
• 2010 Rally Monte Carlo Review.
- Credit: www.rallyprint.com
A number of quality Sno*Drift videos have been posted to the Rally America YouTube Channel to keep you up-to-date on all the action!
You can see the great highlight and recap Sno*Drift video, complete with footage from the Monster World Rally Team and Dave Mirra’s last stage crash at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jutmck19aE&feature=channel
Take a ride with overall 2nd place Sno*Drift winner, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, in their Mistubishi EVO X on the rally icy stages (Be sure to slightly turn down your volume before video starts. It can be a little loud at first):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh1VGDEvBw
The Sno*Drift 2 Wheel Drive competitors organized a Sno*Attack purse at last weekend’s competition. See how the 2WD teams did and who walked away with top honors!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhO_T6odkWQ&feature=channel
- Credit: www.rally-america.com
