Saving WRC (2006 - Present)

[Phoenix]

This is getting seriously interesting.

[Benetton]

2009 Neste Oil Rally Finland (30.07 - 02.08)

1. Mikko Hirvonen 2:50:40.9 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
2. Marcus Gronholm +7.1 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
3. Markko Martin +18.4 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
4. Sebastien Loeb +25.1 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
5. Jari-Matti Latvala +49.9 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
6. Dani Sordo +1:06.1 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
7. Petter Solberg +1:09.0 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
8. Chris Atkinson +2:13.5 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
9. Matti Rantanen +4:18.2 - Munchi's Ford - Focus RS WRC 08
10. Sebastien Ogier +4:18.5 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
11. Jari Ketomaa +5:07.5 - Lancer WRC 08
12. Matthew Wilson +6:33.6 - Stobart VK Ford RT - Focus RS WRC 08
13. Khalid Al Qassimi +12:57.3 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - Focus RS WRC 08
14. Juho Hanninen +14:13.7 - Skoda Motorsport - Fabia S2000 (N4)
15. Federico Villagra +14:16.9 - Munchi's Ford - Focus RS WRC 08
16. Anton Alen +16:55.2 - Abarth Grande Punto S2000 (N4)
17. Patrik Flodin +20:02.2 - Uspenskiy Rally Tecnica - Impreza WRX STi (N4)
18. Martin Prokop +26:22.2 - Czech National Team - C2 S1600 (A6)
19. Mattias Therman +26:48.0 - Munchi's Ford - Focus RS WRC 08
...
34. Henning Solberg +41:32.1 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08

RET. Conrad Rautenbach - Citroen Junior Team - Accident
RET. Evgeny Novikov - Citroen Junior Team - Accident
RET. Mads Ostberg - Adapta AS - Impreza WRC 08 - Retired
RET. Kimi Raikkonen - Abarth Grande Punto S2000 (N4) - Accident

2009 WRC DRIVERS STANDINGS Rd 9/13

1. Sebastien Loeb - 55 pts (4 wins - MON, NOR, POR, ARG)
2. Mikko Hirvonen - 53 pts (2 wins - GRC, FIN)
3. Markko Martin - 43 pts
4. Marcus Gronholm - 43 pts
5. Petter Solberg - 35 pts (1 win - CYP)
6. Chris Atkinson - 30 pts (1 win - CRO)
7. Jari-Matti Latvala - 24 pts (1 win - ITA)
8. Dani Sordo - 21 pts
9. Sebastien Ogier - 17 pts
10. Henning Solberg - 10 pts
11. Matthew Wilson - 6 pts
12. Federico Villagra - 5 pts
13. Conrad Rautenbach - 2 pts
14. Olivier Burri - 2 pts
15. Mads Ostberg - 2 pts
16. Evgeny Novikov - 1 pt
17. Khalid Al Qassimi - 1 pt
18. Per-Gunnar Andersson - 1 pt

2009 WRC MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS Rd 9/13

1. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 96 pts
2. Citroen Total WRT - 79 pts
3. Prodrive - 78 pts
4. Citroen Junior Team - 52 pts
5. Stobart VK Ford RT - 39 pts

[Benetton]

2009 Repco Rally Australia (03.09 - 06.09)

Loeb's win was short-lived as his Citroën along with those of his team-mate Dani Sordo, Chris Atkinson and Sébastien Ogier were given one-minute time penalties for irregularities with their cars' (C4 WRC) anti-rollbars.

1. Mikko Hirvonen 2:53:06.5 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
2. Marcus Gronholm +18.4 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
3. Markko Martin +47.4 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
4. Sebastien Loeb +47.5 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
5. Petter Solberg +51.3 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
6. Chris Atkinson +1:02.2 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
7. Dani Sordo +1:04.6 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
8. Jari-Matti Latvala +1:52.0 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
9. Sebastien Ogier +2:23.3 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
10. Matthew Wilson +5:26.3 - Stobart VK Ford RT - Focus RS WRC 08
11. Henning Solberg +7:17.8 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
12. Federico Villagra +7:39.4 - Munchi's Ford - Focus RS WRC 08
...
23. Khalid Al Qassimi +47:07.8 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - Focus RS WRC 08

RET. Conrad Rautenbach - Citroen Junior Team - Mechanical

2009 WRC DRIVERS STANDINGS Rd 10/13

1. Mikko Hirvonen - 63 pts (3 wins - GRC, FIN, AUS)
2. Sebastien Loeb - 60 pts (4 wins - MON, NOR, POR, ARG)
3. Marcus Gronholm - 51 pts
4. Markko Martin - 49 pts
5. Petter Solberg - 39 pts (1 win - CYP)
6. Chris Atkinson - 33 pts (1 win - CRO)
7. Jari-Matti Latvala - 25 pts (1 win - ITA)
8. Dani Sordo - 23 pts
9. Sebastien Ogier - 17 pts
10. Henning Solberg - 10 pts
11. Matthew Wilson - 6 pts
12. Federico Villagra - 5 pts
13. Conrad Rautenbach - 2 pts
14. Olivier Burri - 2 pts
15. Mads Ostberg - 2 pts
16. Evgeny Novikov - 1 pt
17. Khalid Al Qassimi - 1 pt
18. Per-Gunnar Andersson - 1 pt

2009 WRC MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS Rd 10/13

1. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 112 pts
2. Prodrive - 90 pts
3. Citroen Total WRT - 86 pts
4. Citroen Junior Team - 55 pts
5. Stobart VK Ford RT - 40 pts

[Aerospeed]

Loeb in second? Citroen in third? I like this.

[Shizuka]

One word describes this: Yes.
And Marcus still has a realistic shot at it, too!

[Phoenix]

Prodrive ahead of the official Citroën team

[Benetton]

2009 Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada (01.10 - 04.10)

1. Sebastien Loeb 3:22:14.7 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
2. Dani Sordo +12.0 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
3. Markko Martin +34.2 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
4. Mikko Hirvonen +54.1 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
5. Marcus Gronholm +59.7 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
6. Petter Solberg +1:12.4 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
7. Chris Atkinson +1:22.9 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
8. Sebastien Ogier +1:41.6 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
9. Jari-Matti Latvala +2:49.8 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
10. Matthew Wilson +7:15.5 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
11. Federico Villagra +8:28.1 - Munchi's Ford - Focus RS WRC 08
12. Henning Solberg +9:07.6 - Stobart VK Ford RT - Focus RS WRC 08
13. Dany Snobeck +10:56.0 - 307 WRC
14. Conrad Rautenbach +11:07.6 - Citroen Junior Team - C4 WRC
15. Hans Weijs, Jr. +18:10.8 - Knaf Talent First - C2 S1600 (A6)
16. Eyvind Brynildsen +19:08.0 - Fabia S2000 (N4)
17. Khalid Al Qassimi +19:11.3 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - Focus RS WRC 08

RET. Evgeny Novikov - Citroen Junior Team - C4 WRC - Accident

2009 WRC DRIVERS STANDINGS Rd 11/13

1. Sebastien Loeb - 70 pts (5 wins - MON, NOR, POR, ARG, ESP)
2. Mikko Hirvonen - 68 pts (3 wins - GRC, FIN, AUS)
3. Markko Martin - 55 pts
4. Marcus Gronholm - 55 pts
5. Petter Solberg - 42 pts (1 win - CYP)
6. Chris Atkinson - 35 pts (1 win - CRO)
7. Dani Sordo - 31 pts
8. Jari-Matti Latvala - 25 pts (1 win - ITA)
9. Sebastien Ogier - 18 pts
10. Henning Solberg - 10 pts
11. Matthew Wilson - 6 pts
12. Federico Villagra - 5 pts
13. Conrad Rautenbach - 2 pts
14. Olivier Burri - 2 pts
15. Mads Ostberg - 2 pts
16. Evgeny Novikov - 1 pt
17. Khalid Al Qassimi - 1 pt
18. Per-Gunnar Andersson - 1 pt

2009 WRC MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS Rd 11/13

1. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 123 pts
2. Citroen Total WRT - 104 pts
3. Prodrive - 97 pts
4. Citroen Junior Team - 58 pts
5. Stobart VK Ford RT - 40 pts

[Benetton]

2009 Rally of Great Britain (22.10 - 25.10)

1. Sebastien Loeb 3:16:25.4 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
2. Mikko Hirvonen +1:06.1 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
3. Dani Sordo +1:07.1 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
4. Markko Martin +1:12.4 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
5. Petter Solberg +1:28.1 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
6. Marcus Gronholm +1:49.5 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
7. Chris Atkinson +3:05.8 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
8. Henning Solberg +6:28.0 - Stobart VK Ford RT - Focus RS WRC 08
9. Matthew Wilson +7:46.0 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
10. Jari-Matti Latvala +12:11.9 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
11. Conrad Rautenbach +14:27.8 - Citroen Junior Team - C4 WRC
12. Armindo Araujo +24:18.8 - Ralliart Italia - Lancer Evo X (N4)
13. Martin Prokop +24:31.6 - Lancer Evo IX (N4)
14. Steve Perez +24:39.3 - Stobart VK Ford RT - Focus RS WRC 07
15. Aaron Burkart +24:56.5 - Citroen Junior Team - C4 WRC
16. Toshihiro Arai +26:10.6 - Subaru Team Arai - Impreza STi N14 (N4)
17. Martin Semerad +27:14.9 - Pirelli Star Driver - Lancer Evo X (N4)
18. Bernardo Sousa +27:39.6 - Grande Punto S2000 (N4)
19. Dennis Kuipers +28:17.6 - Ipatec Racing - Focus RS WRC 06
…
22. Khalid Al Qassimi +37:30.2 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - Focus RS WRC 08

RET. Sebastien Ogier - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC - Mechanical
RET. Mads Ostberg - Adapta AS - Impreza WRC 08 - Mechanical

2009 WRC DRIVERS STANDINGS Rd 12/13

1. Sebastien Loeb - 80 pts (6 wins - MON, NOR, POR, ARG, ESP, GBR)
2. Mikko Hirvonen - 76 pts (3 wins - GRC, FIN, AUS)
3. Markko Martin - 60 pts
4. Marcus Gronholm - 58 pts
5. Petter Solberg - 46 pts (1 win - CYP)
6. Chris Atkinson - 37 pts (1 win - CRO)
7. Dani Sordo - 37 pts
8. Jari-Matti Latvala - 25 pts (1 win - ITA)
9. Sebastien Ogier - 18 pts
10. Henning Solberg - 11 pts
11. Matthew Wilson - 6 pts
12. Federico Villagra - 5 pts
13. Conrad Rautenbach - 2 pts
14. Olivier Burri - 2 pts
15. Mads Ostberg - 2 pts
16. Evgeny Novikov - 1 pt
17. Khalid Al Qassimi - 1 pt
18. Per-Gunnar Andersson - 1 pt

2009 WRC MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS Rd 12/13

1. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 136 pts
2. Citroen Total WRT - 120 pts
3. Prodrive - 104 pts
4. Citroen Junior Team - 60 pts
5. Stobart VK Ford RT - 41 pts

[Benetton]

2009 Rallye du Var - Rallye de France (12.11 - 15.11)

1. Dani Sordo 3:28:17.6 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
2. Jari-Matti Latvala +1:56.5 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08
3. Sebastien Ogier +2:17.1 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
4. Sebastien Loeb +2:38.6 - Citroen Total WRT M - C4 WRC
5. Markko Martin +3:03.4 - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09
6. Chris Atkinson +3:53.7 - Citroen Junior Team M - C4 WRC
7. Petter Solberg +4:19.6 - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08
8. Pieter Tsjoen +6:47.2 - Duindisteel - Focus RS WRC 08
9. Dany Snobeck +9:06.5 - 307 WRC
10. Matthew Wilson +9:07.2 - Stobart VK Ford RT M - Focus RS WRC 08

RET. Mikko Hirvonen - BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT M - Focus RS WRC 09 - Accident
RET. Marcus Gronholm - Prodrive M - Impreza WRC 08 - Accident
RET. Henning Solberg - Stobart VK Ford RT - Focus RS WRC 08 - Mechanical
RET. Conrad Rautenbach - Citroen Junior Team - C4 WRC - Mechanical

2009 WRC DRIVERS STANDINGS Rd 13/13



2009 WRC MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS Rd 13/13

1. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT - 140 pts
2. Citroen Total WRT - 135 pts
3. Prodrive - 106 pts
4. Citroen Junior Team - 69 pts
5. Stobart VK Ford RT - 50 pts

[Benetton]

With 2011's new regulations on the horizon I thought I wanted to hear what kind of manufacturers and cars you would like to see in the WRC category. Keep it realistic.

Obviously included will be

Citroen DS3 WRC
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Mini John Cooper Works WRC
Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Plus I heard Toyota and Hyundai (with the KIA brand) are/where interested in entering WRC. But with that cars?

Here is my suggestion though.

Renault Megane RS WRC

[pasta_maldonado]

I'd like to see saloon cars back in WRC, I feel that's something the sport desperately needs.

So here's afew of the cars I';d like to see (not all saloons):

Ford Mondeo RS
Lancia Stratos
Audi A4 Quattro
Skoda Octavia
Suzuki Swift
Vauxhall Insignia

[Aerospeed]

So the WRC basically takes road cars, tunes them to the extreme and puts them in races?

[pasta_maldonado]

So the WRC basically takes road cars, tunes them to the extreme and puts them in races?

Except these days they're all tiny hatchbacks.

[Nuppiz]

So the WRC basically takes road cars, tunes them to the extreme and puts them in races?

Not quite, as modern WRC cars are purpose-built and only share little more than their looks with the actual production cars.

But what you just said could be an effective cost-cutting measure, and I feel they should return to that (like it was many many years ago).

[Shizuka]

How about this:
VolksWagen Scirocco WRC

[DemocalypseNow]

Scirocco WRC
GT86 WRC

And one that actually already exists...

Veloster X WRC

[Benetton]

This will be the last season with these WRC cars as 2011 brings in a major regulation change to the sport. New manufacturers target a debut for 2011.

2010 CALENDAR
-------------------
20.01 - 23.01 Rallye Monte Carlo (Tarmac, Snow)
11.02 - 14.02 Swedish Rally (Snow, Ice)
04.03 - 07.03 Corona Rally Mexico (Gravel)
22.04 - 25.04 Rally Japan (Gravel)
06.05 - 09.05 Rally of New Zealand (Gravel)
27.05 - 30.05 Vodafone Rally de Portugal (Gravel)
15.07 - 18.07 Rally Croatia (Tarmac)
28.07 - 31.07 Neste Oil Rally Finland (Gravel)
19.08 - 22.08 ADAC Rallye Deutschland (Tarmac)
23.09 - 26.09 Rallye Sanremo - Rallye d'Italia (Tarmac)
07.10 - 10.10 Rallye de France - Alsace (Tarmac)
21.10 - 24.10 Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada (Tarmac)
10.11 - 14.11 Rally of Great Britain (Gravel)

2010 MAIN ENTRIES
-----------------------
CITROEN TOTAL WRT - C4 WRC
Sebastien Loeb - French b. 1974 - 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 World Champion - 47 WRC victories
Dani Sordo - Spanish b. 1983 - 1 WRC victory

BP FORD ABU DHABI WRT - FOCUS RS WRC 09
Mikko Hirvonen - Finnish b. 1980 - 5 WRC victories
Markko Martin - Estonian b. 1975 - 2007 World Champion - 13 WRC victories
Khalid Al Qassimi - United Arab Emirates b. 1972

GRONHOLM SOLBERG WRT - C4 WRC
Marcus Gronholm - Finnish b. 1968 - 2000, 2002, 2006 World Champion - 28 WRC victories
Petter Solberg - Norwegian b. 1974 - 2003 World Champion - 16 WRC victories
Kimi Raikkonen - Finnish b. 1979 - 2007 Formula One World Champion

CITROEN JUNIOR TEAM - C4 WRC
Chris Atkinson - Australian b. 1979 - 1 WRC victory
Sebastien Ogier - French b. 1983

STOBART M-SPORT FORD RT - FOCUS RS WRC 08
Jari-Matti Latvala - Finnish b. 1985 - 2 WRC victories
Henning Solberg - Norwegian b. 1973
Matthew Wilson - British b. 1987