As fans of MINI brand all over the world are celebrating their return to world rallying, which resulted in a remarkable sixth place in the debut event in Sardinia, Italy, the team brings the car back home to the UK by attending at the Cornbury Park Rally Show. The MINI WRC Team driver will put the car through its paces on 14 and 15 May, only a week after Rally Italy in Sardinia, its first outing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). The 1.1 mile stage at Cornbury Park will be the first event British rally fans get to see the MINI in action on home soil and will provide a thrilling opportunity for VIPs to accompany Dani Sordo [...]

Volkswagen’s return to the world rally championship will happen in 2013 with this, the Polo R WRC. With the huge success of VW in Rally Dakar, the company’s motorsport division decided to try their luck in WRC as well. And they came up with this, a car that is a perfect machine for current rules of 1.6 liter, turbocharged, direct injection rally cars. The Polo R also has a distinctive look which is racy, but clearly shows the roots of the car. Volkswagen will prepare and enter the Polo R WRC as a factory commitment. In doing so, the Wolfsburg-based squad can build on structures which have been established over the past few years. The World Rally Championship is a [...]

During an even at the MINI Plant in Oxford, the WRC team officially launched its 2011 program which includes six rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Mini’s comeback to world rally championship will begin for real from next year. The 2011 Season is more of a warm up for the car and the drivers. The car will be tested against its rivals for the first time at the Rally d’Italia Sardegna from 5th to 8th May 2011. The goal in the debut season is to gain valuable experience to be perfectly prepared to take on the entire 2012 World Rally Championship. Speaking of the car, the MINI John Cooper Works WRC [...]

This is the new World Rally Car weapon of Ford for the new season. The Ford Fiesta RS WRC is the replacement for the Focus WRC and based on the new rules it is powered by a 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine. The car was recently revealed at the Autosport International show with the full racing livery, confirming Abu Dhabi and Castrol as main sponsors. “The preview version of the car we unveiled in September at the 2010 Paris Motor Show was dramatic in its blue and grey livery, developed specifically for the show by Ford of Europe’s design team, said Quinn. But now we have a fully finished car in a really eye-catching new livery plus a new team name, [...]

After years and years of absence MINI is finally in a position to make a big comeback to World Rally Championship and they will be doing so starting from 2011 season. The car charged with the job is the new Countryman crossover which is currently getting the WRC treatment by Prodrive. The cat will be made under new Super2000 regulations, which means it will be powered by 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine. Next year Mini will compete in just a number of the events, but from 2012 they will be participating full time! Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing, says: “I am delighted MINI will be represented on one of the [...]