On the bright side of the rally, Petter Solberg holds the lead after the first day with around 15 seconds over Citroen Junior driver Sebastien Ogier. Will we see Petter winning a rally for the first time in many years? That would be amazing!

Here is Kimi’s off:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to motorstvfrance for the video.

All photos are taken by Rasmus Bjerén and protected by copyright. If you wanna share them, please link to this post and do not copy the image or link directly to it!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Mikael Hjerpe for this!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Petter himself and mijn400 for the videos.

Gröndal’s reaction is interesting. Some drivers seems to be complaining about the conditions – and I understand if they have problems driving on snow. It’s complicated – for sure – and it should be! I’m sure I would be quite concerned if I were to drive a rally on it. However, Gröndal’s quote must be some other kind of problem, possibly some kind of overheating in his brain?! He has been driving a full day in the forests with around half a meter of snow all around him – and he can still claim that it’s not a winter rally? Come on, no matter if you reach the gravel – it’s still very much winter and wintry conditions, dear Gröndal. I’ll explain why…

So, here comes a short tutorial about the difference between snow, ice and water – dedicated to Anders Gröndal:

• Snow is a type of precipation consisting of crystalline water ice (Full definition is on Wikipedia). In it’s fully frozen state snow feels really dry.
• When snow melts, it results in fluid water. Quite logically, since it’s small ice crystals. This means, that when it rains on snow or when temperatures raise above zero – the snow on the road (since we’re talking rally here) gets softer and melts to water from the top.
• If the temperature goes down below zero again, the partially melted snow layer will freeze again. The parts of the snow that is fully or partially melted will form a layer of solid ice on the road. This is the ice Gröndal is talking about – and missing.
• If you’ve read all those three points, I guess you don’t find it very difficult. It’s like the very, very basics of winter weather and surfaces. And therefore it’s hard to understand that Gröndal doesn’t understand it. However, to call the current conditions (that for sure will include gravel after the loose snow is swept away) something else than proper winter conditions is just pure bullshit – and now you know why: The ice layer Gröndal is talking about is nice, for sure. But it doesn’t come from winter conditions – it comes from the _lack_ of winter conditions sometimes earlier in time…

So, for everyone of you coming to Sweden. Be cool. Gröndal will have to struggle if he isn’t good enough to drive on proper winter conditions (!) – but you will have a wonderful time with a lot of loose, cold snow out in the forests. It has just never melted since the winter started in early December – but to me that’s more a good sign than a bad!?!

Enjoy!

By the way, to Anders Gröndal: You don’t need to thank me for this guide. Be my guest! And if you still don’t understand – go to some local gas station here in Sweden and buy yourself a “glass” (icecream). Bring it into your cottage or hotel room and see what happens after a while. When it’s half frozen… Go out again and see what happens. Tada! It’s like magic!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Hedlund80 for the videos.

Petter Solberg's car during service while testing in Sweden on Sunday. Photo: PSWRT

Petter Solberg, who has previously done both tests and a few test rallys (Svully Rally Dahbi in Norway and Finnskogsvalsen in Sweden) during the recent weeks, tested his Citroën C4WRC in Sweden once again yesterday. In a short post on his blog Petter said that driving the car was good fun and that it’s really fast. Today Petter is probably checking in for the rally and tomorrow starts the recce that will take place during Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kimi Räikkönen, day 1:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kimi Räikkönen, day 2:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kimi Räikkönen, on-board showing Kimi’s C4WRC after his accident on SS2:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Ludtati for all the videos.

Räikkönen’s experienced co-driver Kaj Lindström commented after SS9 that the difference to Sordo was 0.9 seconds per kilometer, and at the same time stated that the duo knew they were going slowed than they could – partly because the car setting still wasn’t 100% adapted to Räikkönen’s preferences. Even Kimi himself said at the that he didn’t think it would be very difficult to drive faster, since he knew that the car wasn’t really as he wanted it to be.

Personally, I think Räikkönen got a good and really impressive start. An early off was probably just good for him, since that showed him exactly were the limit was and it also took the overall placement totally off his shoulders. With nothing to fight for in the rally, Kimi could put his focus just on improving his own driving and the car while still having the possibility to compare himself to others, stage by stage.

What I doubt a little bit more is the easiness of going faster. Kimi seems perfectly comfortable by being slower as he knows it’s “the car settings’ fault”. That’s probably perfectly true, but that’s also half the challenge in rallying. You must get a good setup of the car that works from stage to stage. Of course F1 is also much about fine tuning of car settings, but the conditions there are often a little bit more stable. In rallying you’re driving for a longer time and over longer distances, and conditions may vary much or extremely much (Rally Monte Carlo is the perfect example). That’s a part of the challenge and shouldn’t be underestimated.

However, to sum it up I’m really impressed by Kimi’s performance – and it will be a big pleasure to see his developments throughout the season. Go Kimi!

Petter Solberg on the start ramp of Svully Rally Dahbi today. Photo: PSWRT

The Norweigan Svully Rally Dahbi were ran today, and as expected Petter Solberg won the rally with a huge margin to second placed Marcus Grönholm. However, as the rally primarily was an interesting test for the upcoming Rally Sweden – some things were more interesting than the end results:

• Solberg, who sealed a sponsorship agreement with energy drink Mad-Croc earlier this week, were happy with the car and had adjusted settings that made him even more comfortable with the Citroen C4 WRC than last weekend in Sweden.
• Marcus Grönholm won the fight over both Mikkelsen and Sandell – all running in Subaru Impreza group N cars, were Grönholm had the oldest one of them. However, the battle between Mikkelsen and Sandell were quite close despite Mikkelsen being the one most used to his car. That is interesting since Mikkelsen is often considered more of a “raw talent” than Sandell.
• Swedish young shot Pontus Tidemand were impressive managing to keep up the speed with Patrik Sandell and finishing just 1.2 secs behind. There you can talk about a raw talent, and I’d be surprised if we don’t see Pontus in the international arena within a few years!

Daniel Carlsson with co-driver Bosse Holmstrand enjoying perfect snow conditions of solid ice covered with a thin layer of loose snow in Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2006. Photo: Rasmus Bjerén

With more than two weeks left before the rally kicks off it’s too early to judge how the weather situation for Rally Sweden will be, but considering the discussions that has always been before the rally in recent years, I can’t avoid thinking about how promising it looks. It has been cold weather since early December in the rally region (and in almost whole Sweden) and currently reports are talking about ca 40 cm’s of snow in the area. That may of course vary locally, but there is snow – no doubt. And then, looking at the forecast for the next 10 days, it shows more snow the next few days and cold weather for the whole period.

The only thing that could improve is the icyness. The snow came immeditely as the temperature had gone sub-zero – and since the snow isolates the ground, that means that the ground isn’t frozen as much as it would preferably be. Without a layer of ice and/or frozen ground, the car will fast blow away the snow and reach the ground that gets muddy and teared up. If it came a short, very short, melting period followed by cold weather again – the snow surface on the roads would get packed, partially melted and then freezed back to ice. That, with a thin or thick layer of fresh snow on top of it would make up the perfect conditions for a winter rally with snow spraying behind the cars, studs staying in the tires and a great winter atmosphere.

However, I think the current conditions are certainly good enough – and better than most times – for a fantastic winter rally. So, let’s not worry and just hope the fantastic conditions stay for the next few weeks, and everything will be just amazing! I have a feeling that Rally Sweden 2010 will be remembered as the best for quite a few years…!

If more movies of Petter in Finnskogsvalsen appear later, they’ll be added to this post – so check back for latest.

NEW! Video with service and some action shots.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to bakkis2 for this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to cnygge for the video.

Driving on SS2:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The interview:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Quotes from Petter’s interview:

• “This is most a way to test on many stages and get back to the feeling again”
• “I have one goal this year, and that is to beat Sebastien Loeb. I’m a privateer now and that’s tough, many people probably regard it impossible, but I will try my best and I have a 2009 spec car that should be at least almost the same as the one Loeb will drive. I will do my workouts,eat good and try to get more testing than Sebastien. He will do 15 test days this year, so I have planned 26.”
• Asked on the differences between Petter’s car and the 2010 Citroen works car, Petter says: “Sebastiens gearbox is 4 kg lighter than mine. I could get it, but it would cost me 8M NOK (ca €912.000) more, so I thought I’ll have to lose 4 kg’s myself instead.”
• Talking on when Petter left Subaru, he says: “I had a good time with Subaru and we had many good years, but it came a time without that right philosophy, and then you’ll have to do something. They’ll probably come back some time – but when you don’t fight to win anymore you can’t do anything else [than leaving]. Now it’s Citroen and times have changed, but that’s life. It changes and you can just look forward.”
• “The Citroen and the Ford is very similar cars, but I have a feeling the Citroen is better. Especially since this year’s WRC has many asphalt rallies, where the Citroen is clearly better.”
• “I have one team in Torsby and one in France. The French team is currently preparing my other car for Mexico, and it will be loaded on the containers on Monday. At the same time, Pernilla is working on clothes and other things. Everyone in this team is working all around the day now, very hard.”
• “This is the life of my family and also my wife Pernilla’s family. We all want to win and we’ll try to do it…”

Petter Solberg's car in service during Finnskogsvalsen. Photo: PSWRT

Petter Solberg were fastest through the stages in Swedish local competition Finnskogsvalsen today, as expected (I dare to say this despite the last stage is still running, since Petter is through with a normal time and his advantage on the previous stage is 3min 56 seconds). The Norweigan drove his Citroën C4WRC through a little bit more than 80 km’s of competitive stages and seemed to be really happy about the car. Since he recced and made his own notes for the rally, which is not allowed, Petter took part out of the competition and couldn’t win the rally. This, however, is probably nothing that will give Petter problems sleeping tonight – since the rally was first and foremost a test of his new car before Rally Sweden.

At the same time, a number of big names competed in the Norweigan Championship round Mountain Rally in Norway. Anders Gröndal took the victory from second placed Henning Solberg, who were haunted by mechanical problems in his competitive debut with new co-driver Ilka Minor. Mads Östberg with his Swedish co-driver Jonas Andersson led the rally until he hit a snow bank, forcing him out of the competition. Third was Sveinung Bieltvedt, in a Subaru Impreza.

Of course even Henning, going with a Ford Focus WRC05, used the rally primarily as a preparation for Rally Sweden. In this, he was joined by Andreas Mikkelsen and Eyvind Brynhildsen, among others. Brynhildsen scored a fourth place in his Skoda Fabia S2000 while Mikkelsen scored fifth going with his Subaru Impreza – after being penalised with 1min 20s after having to change gearbox in service. Looking at Mikkelsens time if he wouldn’t have had the penalty, he was only a few seconds after Brynhildsen in his S2000, something that maybe indicates that Mikkelsen can be really, really fast when going into the Fiesta S2000 in Sweden!?

Photos from Finnskogsvalsen at Backmans Foto
Results from Finnskogsvalsen 2010 at Resultatdata
Results from Mountain Rally 2010

Here is the video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve previously posted a clip of the crash from Eurosports footage here.
Thanks to dbe07 for the video.

Sebastien Ogier was 2nd placed going into the last loop, but on his way to the penultimate special stage his car broke down and he had to retire. This gave Juho Hänninen the 2nd place after a solid but not stunning drive throughout the weekend, where many people removed themselves from the chance of winning by making mistakes, including Meeke, Sarrazin, and others.

The standings after SS15 – and most probably the final results – are:

1. Hirvonen / Lehtinen, 4h32min 58.5s
2. Hänninen / Markula, +1min 51.4s
3. Vouilloz / Veillas, +3min 19.1s
4. Sarrazin / Renucci, +7min 25.5s
5. Kopecky / Stary, +8min 48.7s
6. Wilks / Pugh, +9min 24.5s
7. Magalhaes / Magalhaes, +9min 45.4s
8. Vigion / Prevot, +13min 33.5s

Follow the links to read more:
Results
Eurosport videos from Monte Carlo
Rally Monte Carlo 2010 on YouTube

Petter Solberg is testing his Citroen C4WRC near Torsby in Värmland today. Photo: PSWRT

Petter Solberg just updated his blog with the following quote:

- Just did the first run, and this car is just unbelieveable! It’s totally different from the car I had last year. I mean, the balance is so good and the grip is amazing. Just one thing to say now; Rally Sweden – here I come!

It’s interesting to see that Petter is so happy immediately, since it means that he maybe really have managed to get the right stuff out of the Citroën factory – something that almost no privateer has previously managed to do. Citroën have always been very keen of protecting their works drivers from concurrence by providing engine mappings and parts that has obviously been not as good as the works stuff. Ask Petter about last year, Manfred Stohl, Daniel Carlsson and many other people…

If Petter has the right stuff – he can finally become a contender again and maybe be one of the guys on top in the championship. That would be an amazing boost to the WRC. However, still that’s just dreams, but let’s hope for more good reports from Petter.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to dragracing3 for the video.

Many people following the rally reports from Rally Monte Carlo today have probably noticed and wondered about the fact that Ogier was so angry after going off the stage – and how the hell spectators can come to the idea to put snow on the road just to sabotage for the drivers (If you don’t know what I’m talking about – watch the video!). I can’t answer that question, but it’s certainly a big problem for the Rally Monte Carlo organisers that they need to solve. This has been going on for quite some years now, and I have a feeling they’ve already tried – but I’m not sure they have tried as hard as they should…

It doesn’t even need to be explained how dangerous it is to throw snow on the road when a car potentially going on slicks are approaching assuming conditions are like they were just a few hours before when the ice note crew went through. In road traffic you should have margins for such things – but not in rallying. That’s what rallying is about… Driving without that extra margins, using the skills and the interaction between driver and co-driver to get the car through the stage as fast as possible… The spectators doing those things have no interest in rallying, they are just losers. But in the end – if the spectators can’t handle it themselves, it’s the responsibility of the organiser to get it solved.

With that said, I love the Rally Monte Carlo and that has been even more clear to me in 2009 and 2010 with the beautiful live TV coverage. But I can actually say I’m happy the event is out of the WRC as long as this problem stays as big as it is (=more of standard than exception during the rally). Get guards out to the important twists, damn organisers. I know it’s quite many but what else can you do? If you can cover everything live on TV, you can probably find one guard per turn too. This makes the rally both dangerous and a farce for crews, spectators and marshals.

I really hope this gets better!

And as a note… Mikko Hirvonen leads the rally with 41.9 seconds over last years champion Kris Meeke and 1.04 before Juho Hänninen. The action continues tomorrow – and everything is broadcasted live. Just hope the morons have been sent home then, the rally is too good to be disturbed by such shit..!

Now, let’s look forward to a bright Rally Monte Carlo with hopefully difficult conditions of tarmac, melting snow and ice – and hope that this doesn’t mean discussions and speculations if a Fiesta wins the rally.

Obvoiusly, it would be a big drawback for M-Sport and their reputation if they wont be able to start the event. Besides Mikko Hirvonen even Julien Maurin is supposed to start the event in a Fiesta Super2000. However, Malcolm Wilson have previously seemed to have a magic skill (or wallet big enough to fly parts and people all over the world?) to solve problems, and I hope and also think that he will do that even now.

The story will go on during the afternoon…

Download the list here

At the same time, more info has came about Chris Atkinson – who was rumoured to be included in a 2 car Monster World Rally Team before the announcement came. Paul Turner, manager of Atkinson, confirms that discussions with the Monster team have been held for a long time, but he also says that it’s unlikely for Atko to show up as a driver in the team before 2011. However, he and Atkinson seems to be working hard to get Atko in the ultimate position for next year by placing Atkinson as an advisor and gravel notes crewmember this year. If that is just their hopes or a completed deal is not known though.

The new target for 2010 is likely to be S-WRC and the Super2000 class. The team reckons that they won’t be able to get a Ford or Citroen car, and I guess they consider S2000 a good warm-up for the 2011 WRC1.6T regulations. The team hopes to have a Super2000 alternative ready for Rally Jordan in the beginning of April.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we got another Fiesta in the S-WRC from Rally Jordan on…

Magnus Samuelsson, probably the strongest man in a rally car?! Photo: Gustafssons foto

Now it’s confirmed. As I revealed earlier today, Magnus Samuelsson (World’s Strongest Man) will start Rally Sweden 2010. The team aims to start in the World Rally Championship round, but since they still don’t have a full budget a Swedish Championship start may  be the case instead. Magnus is backed by Fredrik Eljas and Olof Eljas, and the later of them will be responsible for giving Magnus the training needed (not physical, huh!?!) to do the start.

The team will run a 280bhp Subaru Impreza group N of latest spec. Magnus Samuelsson himself comments the start as follows:

- This is my dream as a young boy coming true. I’ve tried “folkrace” before but the dream has always been to drive a real rally car. It will be a true adventure and just the thought of being at the start line along with Loeb and the other boys is breathtaking.

Read the article (in Swedish) at RallySweden.com

The question for me is how the entry will be solved? Magnus is not entered in the WRC round, nor the Swedish Championship. In the Swedish Championship part Hasse Gustafsson is entered with an Impreza – but I doubt the driver can be switched after the entries close. I think that the organiser can accept a late entry if the other competitors in the class accept it, and maybe that’s the way to choose. Or, they may blame the fax and say the entry got late because of their technical problems? A reason that may also be completetly true, of course…

Read more about Magnus Samuelsson on his own website

Here is an extract from the entry list in the rally:

Click here for the full entry list for Finnskogsvalsen

Obviously the recruitment will be a major boost for Brynhildsen. He has already had an experienced co-driver in Giraudet, but he will now have a fellow countryman, speaking his own language and with heavy experience alongside himself. Also on the marketing side, I think Cato will be good with contacts and his familiar face to media. The only negative aspect I think is the important contacts that Denis Giraudet has, especially since he’s a frenchman – and it’s widely known that the French guys in rallying appreciate to work with their countrymen. This means that Brynhildsen (this is on a very inofficial basis) loses some contacts and goodwill among the French actors in rallying, that Cato maybe cannot weight up.

No matter what, it will be really interesting to see what the Norweigan duo can do. Both are real talents and under the right circumstances I think they really can surprise!

Here is the video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to poupondu34400 for the video.

Solberg expects to have his budget complete in the end of next week, and announce his team and sponsors after that. Until then, read todays announcement here.

Patrik Flodin himself, that is now the first ever non-Russian Russian Champion (nice scentence, huh?), says:

- It will be incredibly fun to drive on home soil again. I’m really looking forward to the rally!

Read my interview with Patrik from the 4th of January here

Go to my previous post about Guy Wilks
Read more on Guy Wilks website

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to femtyfem for the video.

Tomorrow is the final day for entries to Rally Sweden, and a lot of things should conclude during today and tomorrow. One of the things expected to be announced today is the car for local driver and rally wildcard PG Andersson. As I have previously reported, he is currently considering wether to go for his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in group N or a rental Super2000 car.

Gardemeister himself plays down his chances in the rally, and even though I think Gardemeister has potential to do a really good race – I have to agree he’s unlikely to win the event. Only half a day of testing and the fact that the Punto is a weaker car than the Peugeot and the Skoda (and possibly even the brand new Ford) wont favour him, but Monte is Monte and under the right (or wrong?) circumstances anything can happen.

- If things work out then I will have a girl in the car with me this year. It will be good for me, and for the sport too – at the moment there are no females competing at this level.

Thinking logically there are not much girls to choose from, as Henning is completely right in that no females are competing at the very highest level in the world. I can only think of two girls that are close enough to Henning to be potential, and they are Veronica Engan and Maria Andersson.

However, Veronica Engan is very less likely than Maria Andersson. Maria just quit her cooperation with Anders Gröndal – and the replacement is noone else than Veronica Engan. It seems unlikely that Veronica would quit after just one rally. But more important, I consider Swede Maria Andersson by far more expecienced. She has been doing a lot of drives in the Production World Rally Championship with Patrik Flodin, one or another WRC drive with Flodin, a season with Gröndal in a WRC car and also one or another WRC drive with George Tracey a few years ago. Besides that, she has partnered Mikkelsen in WRC and Brynhildsen in group N occasionally.

Engan has mostly been doing a group N drives with Brynhildsen, and even though I don’t have her complete record I think that the experience of Andersson makes the choice quite easy. In the end of the day, I can’t imagine that Henning talks of anyone else than Maria Andersson for his WRC challenge 2010 – given that it’s a girl.

- Joining the IRC allows us to offer our customers the chance to make the most out of their participation on the series, as well as the opportunity to showcase our products in new markets. Initial testing with the Ford Fiesta S2000 has gone extremely well, and we’re very much looking forward to seeing our car make its competition debut with Mikko Hirvonen in Monte Carlo later this month.

This is Mikko Hirvonen testing the Ford Fiesta Super2000 in December last year:

Click here to view the embedded video.

First off, the safe names are Federico Villagra in Munchis WRT, Ken Block in Monster WRT, Petter Solberg in Solberg PSWRT – and the almost safe (?) Matthew Wilson in Stobart WRT. So far no problem. But then comes Henning Solberg as expected in Stobart – and that’s a little bit more uncertain. I know that Henning targets a seat in the WRC again, but I also know that this very much depends on a renewed contract with Expert for 2010. The second questionmark is Gigi Galli and PG Andersson – where one of them or even both are said to be joining the PSWRT. I know nothing about Galli, but when it comes to PG I know he was in discussions regarding the PSWRT early this autumn – but then he has announced that he probably can’t collect the money needed. I’ll get back with a small post on PG’s future later today.

So, it would be really intersting to know what facts are behind the article. If Evans get three right out of three on the uncertain things, it would be like heaven to any rally addict. I guess the future will show…

Here is a clip of a close moment for Wilks in the Skoda during last years Rally of Scotland:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video by CalumFraser.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The world is upside-down for Henning? Cato Menkerud splits with the Norweigan driver and no deal is still signed for the WRC 2010. Photo: Rasmus Bjerén

Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud splits their co-operation after many years together. According to Norweigan media, the decision was taken this week – and the older brother Solberg now has to find a new codriver for his WRC challenge. If there will be one, this is – nothing is still known about Henning’s plans and rumours have placed him in rallycross instead of WRC this season.

According to Norweigan newspaper VG, Henning and Cato has been dissentient for a long time regarding what the next step should be in their World Championship plan. Cato Menkerud claims that the two are still good friends, but says:

- We’ve worked together for many years, but the cooperations hasn’t been as inspiring lately.

Henning, who has been driving with Menkerud since 2002, says:

- We’ve been keeping on for many years, and there’s nothing wrong.

According to VG, Solbergs plans for the season are still to be decided – and there is no deal signed. Menkerud is looking for a new driver to co-drive, and two different drivers should be more interesting than others.

No matter the results, the addition of Ken Block and the Monster WRT is a huge boost for the championship. Ken is a superstar in America, which is a very important market for car manufacturers as well as for most global brands. Rallying has always been seen as a European sport over there (Block also says that himself to USA Today), and with a boosted interest there – doors may open up for wider US TV-coverage, new investors in the sport and a better reputation of the championship world-wide. Also, if Block stays in the championship and if maybe even Pastrana joins, I would be surprised if we didn’t get a US round of the championship within five years.

Besides that, I’m quite sure that the Monster WRT will uppen the level of the marketing and PR connected to the World Rally Championship. I’m not a big fan of many US motorsports, with Nascar as a good example, but the skills in PR and marketing is better in the US than anywhere else. Already today with the launch you can notice that everything is prepared; presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (with a launch clip!), branded clothes and connections to all important sponsors. To underline the difference, just read the main goal of the Monster WRT:

“To become the most visible team in the sport, both through our efforts in racing and creative marketing”

Some people may consider this goal bad as it puts the sports performance a little bit to the side, but hey? Anyone that has been involved in rallying on a higher level knows that the money in the sport (which is necessary for the championship to exist) comes from sponsors that aren’t in the sport just for fun – they wanna make business out of it. So in fact nothing has changed, it’s just a more straightforward way of seeing it.

As a conclusion, I’m really excited to see Block and Räikkönen in the World Rally Championship. Core rally drivers like Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Grönholm and the other guys must exist and will always exist – but to broaden the view and get superstars from other disciplines and championships into the sport will just improve the championship and also create better potential for the core guys to become big stars. With a huge boost in star quality and a new formula (WRC1.6T) coming up for 2011, I  can’t wait to see the future of the World Rally Championship seen over a few years. If you as me, I think it’s brighter than ever!

The charge by Block, who is the first American ever to do a larger assault for the championship, seems to be on a long term, since he says that he’ll not promise any podiums the first year:

- Racing in the WRC has always been a dream of mine, but, I’m not going to promise podiums in my first year. I’ll be going up against the best drivers in the world. My main objective for 2010 is to develop into a competitive driver for 2011, and beyond, says Block.

Sad enough, Block – who is co-founder of DC Shoes and a former snowboarding, skateboarding and motocross star – is set to skip Rally Sweden and start of his WRC challenge with Rally Mexico in March. No matter what, the WRC will really be boosted this year with two superstars in Raikkonen and Block joining the championship.

I’ll get back later on with more info and some reflections on Ken Block and his chances in the championship.

Monster World Rally Team launch video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

More info at: http://monsterworldrallyteam.com/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Rigipepa and RallyZone.cz for the video.

Flodin admits that times are tough, but still shows a glimpse of optimism:

- Currently I’ve got nothing to announce. For a full WRC or IRC campaign it looks dark, but I’m trying to get together a start in Rally Sweden and then we’ll see. Nothing is decided about the car, but I’m looking at renting a Subaru or Mitsubishi grp N. I’ve got some local sponsors onboard but nothing is finalised with the big ones.

Even though a larger programme looks dark to the Swede, he underlines that things may happen later in the season. Many drivers are switching for IRC, but Flodin is still looking primarily for the World Championship:

- I’d like to do the World Rally Championship, and the dream would be a Super2000 car… The new class [S-WRC / WRCCup] would be perfect for me.

So, I guess we just have to wish Patrik good luck and hope we’ll see him in Rally Sweden and more rallies during the year.

In Hamar Dagblad, the young Norweigan says that his goal is to win the IRC this year, have a works seat in 2011 and win the WRC in 2012. A tough goal, if you ask me – but why not?

Patrik Sandell, photo: redbullrally.com

According to the local Swedish website Zport, Patrik Sandell is currently doing final negotiations with Red Bull and Skoda about a drive in the 2010 S-WRC. The Swede says that he “hopes” that everything will work out before the last entry date on the 4th of January. However, he doesn’t seem too worried – since he has just left for a vacation in Thailand. I think we’ll see Patrik in the Skoda, questions is just what they’re waiting for…? I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a 2 car team from Red Bull next year.

Ford Fiesta Super2000, Photo: MSport

Andreas Mikkelsen is close to seal a deal for 2010, most probably in the Ford Fiesta Super2000. However, according to NRK the young Norweigan is also talking to Skoda – so nothing is for sure. What seems to be totally sure is that Mikkelsen will start in Rally Sweden in February, and it seems that he is aiming to do the S-WRC championship. Nothing is known about any IRC participation, but my guess is that Mikkelsen will stick with only S-WRC. The Norweigan treats 2010 as another year-in-between (2009 was his first) and expects to be back in full power in 2011 able to expect even the top guns of rallying, where he mentions Loeb and Solberg as the men to beat.

I’m not sure if I believe he will be able to challenge those guys in 2011 no matter how big differences there are on the 1.6T-cars compared to today’s WRC cars – but for sure Mikkelsen has all chances to do a good season this year if he get’s a good car. Let’s wait and see…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to rallyelange.

Brynhildsen will start the year by doing the local events Sigdalsrally and Mountain Rally and then continue with the S-WRC season in Sweden, Mexico, Jordan, Portugal, Germany, France and Wales.

If it does, I wouldn’t complain… Nothing is better for rallying than stars with already big names entering the sport. However, I think Kovalainen would have to watch out – none of the F1 guys will have an easy ride in a brand new car and in a so different sport. Probably they would both be happy not to be in the same class – so they at least don’t have to be compared to each other…

Picture: Sebastien Ogier in last years Rally Monte Carlo, photo: ircseries.com

According to French site Auto-Hebdo, last years winner of the Rally Monte Carlo Sebastien Ogier will drive a Kronos Racing backed Peugeot 207 S2000 in this years edition of the rally. Also the French asphalt ace and mixed rally/circuit driver Stephane Sarrazin will join the team in the same type of car. Not very much information is available, but for sure is that the Rally Monte Carlo will be a true joy for anyone interested in rallying considering the impressive lineup of drivers the event is starting to collect.

I’m not sure if a long stage like Baumholder is stunning news, but there’s an interesting principle in it because it’s fun, and most important; it’s allowed. In the last years we’ve seen some comebacks of stuff associated with ralling in the past, that brings diversity to the WRC. Previously, the FIA and rights holders have seemed to pack everything together to one streamlined package by stipulating some stupid rules, making each and every rally as similar to the other ones as possible. Now they’re slowly switching to another way, that organisers should be free to bring more personality to events. One thing is the possibility to run night stages, one thing is the new thing that an event can be run over 2,3 or 4 days and another one is that the total distance of special stages now can be between 300 and 500 km’s with no upper limit on a special stage’s length – more than that it can’t be more than 80 km’s of competitive stages between services.

All those things opens up for a better WRC, where Monte Carlo for example can run their classic night stages, where Germany can have the Baumholder stage and where organisers can profile themselves with a short, intensive 2 day rally – or a marathon rally with 4 days. To bring back old stuff doesn’t at all mean you take a step back, I think this is a perfect step forward where modern stuff like super special stages, stages run twice and other things can be combined with the old classic’s thats deeply rooted in the minds of many fans. Thumbs up to FIA for finally taking some actions to improve the championship!

You can reach the calendar in the following formats:

World Rally 2010 – XML format

World Rally 2010 – iCal format

World Rally 2010 – HTML format

If you don’t know how to use the formats listed above, don’t worry. Your calendar software help can probably help you, or if you use Google Calendar, try this link: Subscribe to public calendars – Google Calendar Help.

Besides good tendencies on the coverage, the competition has really seen a boost this year. Of course I’m much thinking of the superb performance of Mikko Hirvonen, who managed to maintain really thrilling competition until the very last round of the WRC. It was quite a few years since we saw that – and no matter what happens in 2010, we know that 2011 will be a hell of a year when all the current drivers will need to adapt to new cars – the WRC1.6T spec.

Also, Petter’s new team has been a great success. He hasn’t been on the top of the podium, but honestly noone expected that – especially not in the Xsara (I’ve written a lot about this, for example: Xsara WRC – Petter’s smart disappointment). But what does that matter? In the media and on the TV coverage, Petter has been a regular and his new team has been a good injection to the championship. I’m the first one to admit I’m impressed by what he has put together!

So, that’s just a few of the highlights in 2009, but to sum it up everybody expected a middle-year – and in many aspects it was. But it was also a starting point where the championship reached it’s bottom somewhere in the shift 2008-2009, and then a lot of good things started to happen.

For 2010 I’m looking forward to having Kimi Räikkönen in rallying. Of course he will struggle a bit before he starts to set really decent results, but his star-quality is exactly what the WRC needs. We must admit that even if Loeb may be the best driver in the world to us, a Formula 1 driver attracts 10 times the coverage. Let’s hope that Kimi succeeds to such an amount that he decides to stay in rallying. Actually, I’d be surprised if we wouldn’t see him back in 2011…

In 2010, we will also see the comeback of Marcus Grönholm for a one time outing in Sweden – that will rock. Added to that, FIA has started the S-WRC championship for Super2000 cars. I guess this isn’t ground-breaking, but it’s a good thing to help some drivers keep their names up until 2011 – when they can compete (with money and skills) about a WRC1.6T seat. At the same time, IRC will probably go for a new all time high this year, as I’m sure many drivers will take the chance to do the same thing there.

Well, that’s a few good points looking back at 2009 and forward to 2010. I’ve left a lot out, I know that, so feel free to add your highlights and thoughts in the comments. As always, it’s much about money. We need to get even the good drivers into the WRC1.6T in 2011, not just the rich ones. All kinds of coverage must get better, and let’s hope that we get to see effects such as the Meeke-effect in GB after his superb IRC performance in more countries.  In total, I think a lot of steps has been taken this year to allow for that. 2010 may be the second year-in-between and a start of the climb up, so let’s use it to start even more good things to make the sport better. I think the future of rallying is bright, and it will start for real in 2011…

Now I’m taking a new step, and I hope to come back with MaxAttack on a good level. However, I don’t know how much time I’ll have – so I really can’t make any promises. In numbers I think a good guess is a few weekly posts, compared to the daily posts that was my goal in the first half of this year. Here, you are really welcome to help me by e-mailing me your news tips, rumours, thoughts and insights that may save me some time; rasmus [ at ] maxattack.net.

I’ll be back really soon looking back at the 2009 season and a look forward to 2010.

My opinion is that getting PG into a good team in the WRC and with a mentor such as Petter would be really great and that is of course big news. However, one should remember that the amount of money still missing  is huge, and from what I know it forms around half of the budget of a Super2000 season. This means that the news is still just half a seat and there is a long way to go.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that PG and Petter get everything well together!

Pros:

• Car manufacturers get more time to develop their Super2000-cars – and also test them in the championship for real before the competition gets sharp. I know that Citroen, among others, appreciate that.
• WRC cars open for a larger start field, where privateers with WRC cars as well as current WRC teams can enter their current cars. If not, very short entrylists in the beginning could be a possibility – which would have been boring to fans and expensive for organisers.
• The two car classes can be compared to each other side by side, and put some extra edge to both competition and development.

Cons:

• 2010 can become yet another transitional season, where Super2000-teams don’t register because they’ve got no real chances of winning – and where WRC teams start to fall off as their car wont be allowed in the coming years.
• Understanding of the sport for newcomers can become harder, where two types of cars with very different specifications compete side by side.
• The two car classes can be compared to each other side by side, and put some extra edge to development – in other words; the same point as in pro’s above. So, why would this also be negative? Because the escalation of development could be speeded up by the teams wanting their Super2000 to get closer to WRCs, which would mean also an escalation of costs.

No matter if good or bad wins above, I think the decision is mainly good to the sport in longer terms. Let’s hope that manufacturers and teams take the chance to use 2010 for testing, so we can have really sharp competition starting immediately in 2011. Super2000 – here we come!

Read more (in Swedish) in todays VF.

It’s a long shot – but knowing about Valentino Rossi’s interest in rallying (he has driven a few rallies in the WRC) combined with his good connections to Fiat you can’t avoid to dream about a Fiat superstar team with Petter Solberg and Valentino Rossi.

Will it be true? Probably not, but it’s a sweet dream.