Fight on for 2nd place, as champ Bogie opts for Mk2

With an historic fourth consecutive title safely secured, David Bogie has set himself a new challenge by contesting next weekend’s Colin McRae Stages in a Mk2 Ford Escort, while the battle for second in the MSA Scottish Rally Championship reaches its conclusion.

Euan Thorburn and Mike Faulkner will slug it out on the Aberfeldy-based rally – just as they did last year in appalling weather, when Thorburn won both the event, and the SRC runners-up spot, in his Mitsubishi EVO 9.

The pair finished tied in the points, but with the best six rounds from eight deciding the final points tally, the Borderer clinched it under “tie-break” rules.

Cronin takes third title as Cave and Pryce tie for Yorkshire win

A dramatic end to a landmark season culminated in Keith Cronin becoming MSA British Rally Champion for the third time this weekend, at the end of the sixth and final round, the International Rally Yorkshire. By finishing in third place, he and Marshall Clarke had achieved their goal of claiming the 2012 Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ titles.

Ahead of them on the event, a rally-long battle between the two Welsh crews of Tom Cave/Craig Parry and Osian Pryce/Iestyn Williams could not have been closer, when the final results revealed that after 66.31 competitive miles and six stages in the forests over the North Yorkshire Moors, their times were exactly the same.

Best result of season for Korhonen on Rally Yorkshire

Finland’s Jukka Korhonen saved the best until last when he scored his season’s best result of fifth place in the final round of the 2012 MSA British Rally Championship which took place with the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire this weekend.

Driving the Pirelli TEG Sport Skoda Fabia R2, the 27-year-old from Siikajarvi, who won last year’s Pirelli UK Star Driver award, gradually climbed the leader board from holding seventh place overall after Friday night’s stage in Dalby.

Vive la France (et MINI)!

‘Salut everyone, my name is Céline Grasland the Hospitality Manager at WRC Team MINI Portugal, and I’m proud to be your guide through the team’s adventures at Rallye de France, the upcoming round of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship.

‘Being French – I’m from Bretagne the north-western part of the country – Rallye de France is quite special to me so I’m really happy to be updating you on our progress during the event and seeing what we can achieve on French soil. I’m sure Rallye de France will represent a completely new challenge for the team. It is only the second full-Tarmac event of the season and the third event with Atko but everyone seems positive and I’m confident we’ll do a great job.

The London-Sydney Marathon Rally is back. . . with a twist – it will be run in the opposite direction

Trans World Events (TWE) ran the last London-Sydney Marathon Rally in 2004 and now the Rally is back. . . with a twist – it will be run in the opposite direction!

Taking over from TWE is Mark Solloway’s Transworld Historic Rallying, with TWE’s Ron Jackson (Rally Manager), Mike Summerfield (Route Coordinator) and other TWE officials forming the organising team, ably assisted by Steve Weston, who takes on the role of Secretary of the Meeting and Entries Secretary.

The event is a special stage gravel and asphalt rally for pre-1981 classic cars, with certain modifications allowed for the long distances. Most days there will be up to six special stages.

Citroën pursues its involvement in the WRC in partnership with Abu Dhabi

– Citroën Racing to run three Citroen DS3 WRCs in partnership with Abu Dhabi in 2013
– Hirvonen and Lehtinen to spearhead 2013 WRC campaign with Loeb and Elena contesting a partial year
– Citroën Racing considering entering WTCC in 2014/2015

Citroën Racing has outlined plans for its future involvement in motorsport in an announcement at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Thanks to the partnership agreed with Abu Dhabi, the seven-time World Championship winning team will continue to compete in rallying, entering three Citroën DS3 WRCs in 2013.

Entries still open for Mini Britannia

As the final build up to Mini Britannia (Saturday 13 October) commences, a few places are still left on the entry list for the one-day classic race and rally tour.

Hyundai ready for WRC return

– Hyundai is poised to return to the World Rally Championship (WRC)
– Rally-ready model, based on New i20, unveiled at Paris Motor Show
– Realisation of long-term strategy to set-up in-house WRC team in Europe

Hyundai is poised to return to the FIA World Rally Championship (better known as the WRC) and has today unveiled a rally-ready version based on the New i20 at the Paris Motor Show.

Yorkshire provides arena for BRC class battles

This weekend’s International Rally Yorkshire hosts the sixth and final round of the 2012 MSA British Rally Championship. Based in Scarborough, the event features one stage on Friday five stages on Saturday in the forests over the North Yorkshire Moors and, although some of the BRC titles have already been decided, it’s here that the overall champions together with the winners of all the supporting categories and classes will be revealed.

MSA BRITISH MANUFACTURERS RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Citroën UK, Ford Motor Company and Renault UK have all registered as manufacturers for this year’s BRC, which means the fight for the coveted MSA British Manufacturers’ title is a three-way battle between the brands. Scores towards the title are calculated from the highest-placed two cars representing each of these manufacturers.

Sykes guns for Challenge hat-trick in Yorkshire

The NGK Spark Plugs BRC Challenge crews return to action again this weekend as the final round of the Championship takes place in the forests of North Yorkshire. The Scarborough based event with its fast gravel stages that have begun to define the rally, has thrown up some spectacular end of season action over the years. And this year promises to be no different with plenty of overall and class positions to be decided.

The drivers and co-drivers championship titles have been secured but there is still plenty to play for. A tense ending to round six in Ulster saw the Citroën pairing of Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor crowned NGK Spark Plugs BRC Challenge Champions for 2012. Having secured the drivers and co-drivers title alongside the RC5 class honours for the year, the pair are looking toward for a third successive rally victory on round seven.