MOTORSPORT: Ford, Citroen show WRC support

Ford has brought a superstar back into the Blue Oval fold and Citroen will field an extra factory car for a Dakar Rally winner in a show of strength for the troubled World Rally Championship

Solberg in a Ford, Al-Attiyah gets factory Citroen
The future of the World Rally Championship remains unclear, but stalwart participant Ford has re-committed to it for the next two years -- and recruited flamboyant 2003 world champion Petter Solberg.

The Norwegian 13-time WRC rally winner will return to his original top-level manufacturer to partner Finn Jari-Matti Latvala in the factory team's Fiestas next season. And the championship's other mainstay manufacturer, Citroen, will field a third DS3 for Qatar's Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah from the second round -- in Sweden in February. He will get a Citroen identical to that to be driven by France's eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb and Finn Mikko Hirvonen, the winner of this year's Rally Australia who was snatched from Ford by the French manufacturer at the end of the season.

The Ford and Citroen news comes ahead of the extended deadline of next Monday (December 19) for manufacturers to enter the championship starting at the Monte Carlo Rally on January 17-22.

The WRC's commercial rights holder, British TV enterprise North One Sport, is still fighting for its survival after its parent, Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI), went into administration.

CSI is owned by Russian businessman Vladmir Antonov, who was arrested and bailed in Britain recently on suspicion of fraud and embezzlement. Antonov was the major shareholder in failed Lithuanian bank Snoras, a former sponsor of the Renault F1 team and owner of English soccer club Portsmouth.

North One is trying to find a new investor to replace CSI -- and motorsport's world governing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), is believed to have set a deadline on that.

The FIA earlier this month pledged its commitment to "ensuring the long-term commercial future" of the WRC. It said it would "make every endeavour to provide for" the WRC's "future stability".

Announcing the Blue Oval's two-year commitment, Ford of Europe chairman and chief executive Stephen Odell said: "Ford has a rich history in world rallying and we're excited to continue fighting for titles on the world stage with our great partners at M-Sport [the British outfit of Malcolm Wilson that has run Ford's WRC program since 1997].

"WRC is a great fit with the Ford brand DNA of precise handling, fun-to-drive cars with leading technology and we'll continue to leverage rallying to inspire innovation in future vehicles and reach new audiences."

Ford of Europe's senior manager for motorsport Gerard Quinn said: "The WRC is motorsport's toughest competition for production-based cars. Through WRC, we can convey the attributes of our road vehicles and send a clear message to our customers and fans about Ford's passion and expertise... We feel that the timing for our announcement is right.

"We had to be confident about the stability of the championship and to ensure it continues to provide great value and increased exposure globally. We discussed it with our stakeholders and after receiving such assurances we look forward to focusing on competition once again.

"We have a great team with M-Sport and its leader, Malcolm Wilson, and in Jari-Matti Latvala we have one of motorsport's rising stars. Already regarded by many as the fastest driver in WRC, this year he showed consistency and expertise on all surfaces. We believe he will flourish in his new role as Ford's team leader, and look forward to seeing his pace light up the special stages around the world.

"The addition of Petter Solberg to the team brings one of the sport's most experienced and flamboyant drivers back to the team where he started his top-level career. A drivers' world title and 13 world rally victories are testament to his abilities and his vast experience will be a great asset to our line-up."

Newey in total rethink on next Red Bull F1 car
Formula One's top designer Adrian Newey says he has had to go back "literally to the drawing board" in creating the next Red Bull model for dual world champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber after the banning of the exhaust-blown diffuser he invented.

When 52-year-old Newey talks of drawing board he means it in the old-fashioned sense, as he still starts his designs using a pencil and paper. The blown diffuser concept -- which made use of exhaust gases while a driver was off the throttle to increase a car's grip -- was acknowledged, especially by Newey, as fundamental in Red Bull's recent success.

"We haven't got any big [rule] differences next year except for the exhaust position, which we've kind of pioneered over the past couple of years -- of putting the exhaust out beside the diffuser. That's all taken away next year," Newey told Britain's Sky Sports News. "Because the car was designed around that, then we've got to go back literally to the drawing board and think, ‘OK, with that taken away, how do we try to re-optimise the car?' "

Newey said he was unsure whether banning blown diffusers would lead to a closer season next year. "It's difficult to know. Everyone else did a depressingly good job of copying it -- McLaren, in particular, actually managed to get it on its car for the first race," he said. "Our car was designed around it, so I'd hope we'd get more out of it than people who retrospectively fitted it.

"Really now it's about who can do the best job in terms of recovering from that loss, in terms of perhaps trying to find other ways around it or just re-optimise the car... It's the usual thing for F1: everyone works through the [northern] winter and you know what you've done yourself, but you've got no idea what everyone else has been up to until we get to the early tests and particularly the first grand prix [which in 2012 is again in Melbourne on March 18]."

Ex-GP driver drank heavily before fatal boat crash
A Formula One driver who raced in five Australian GPs in Adelaide, Finn J.J. Lehto, has admitted drinking "for several days" before a boating accident in which a friend died -- and for which he has been jailed.

Lehto was convicted of causing the death of the friend in June last year when the boat he was steering hit a bridge in a canal at Raasepori in southern Finland. He was found to have been traveling about 80km/h in a narrow channel where the speed limit was 5km/h.

Lehto also was injured in the accident, in which he said he almost drowned. He claimed to remember little of the incident and denied he was in charge of the boat. Now 45, Lehto drove for the Sauber and Benetton teams in F1 between 1989 and 1994 and raced in Adelaide in each of those years except 1990. His best finish in 62 starts was third in the 1991 San Marino GP.

Percat sticks with Walkinshaw Racing
As the year draws to a close there's still plenty happening on the driver signing and movement front. Nick Percat, the 23-year-old from Adelaide who won the Bathurst 1000 on debut with Garth Tander in October, has re-signed with Walkinshaw Racing for another two years.

While Percat is set to continue as an endurance driver with Holden Racing Team under that deal, his full-time drive will remain in the V8 Supercar development series.

"Jumping straight up into the main series after the Bathurst success obviously had some appeal, but ensuring I work through a thorough apprenticeship and by being patient at this stage of my development should reap benefits when I do make the next step," Percat said. "I look forward to working extremely hard and focusing on clinching the 2012 development series title."

Percat could have had a full-time "main game" drive after his Bathurst success but one other team looking to fill a seat was surprised he did not front at an interview appointment. Obviously he fancies that his best prospect is if Russell Ingall calls it a day after a season in the Walkinshaw fold next year.

Victorian Mark Pedder will drive the second Honda Jazz in the new-look Australian Rally Championship next year, with South Australian Claire Ryan as his co-driver. Eli Evans and Glen Weston had already been named as the line-up for the first Honda.

Matthew Brabham, son of Geoff and grandson of Sir Jack, will pursue his openwheeler aspirations in America next year. The teenager, a race winner during a part-time campaign in the Australian Formula Ford Championship this year, will race in the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda.

The series gets underway at the 60th Sebring 12-Hour sports car event in Florida on the same weekend as the Australian GP.

Marcos Ambrose could have a new NASCAR teammate at Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) next year -- firebrand Kurt Busch, recently dumped by Roger Penske. Busch has won 24 Sprint Cup races and was the 2004 champion but he had one too many outbursts for Penske's liking.

There is speculation that A.J. Allmendinger, who finished 15th in the Cup standings -- ahead of Ambrose -- in the season just finished, may go to Penske in what would amount to a swap with Busch.

RPM's Robbie Loomis has said he is happy with Allmendinger but interested in Busch.

IndyCar reports on Dan Wheldon tragedy
IndyCar has completed its two-month investigation into the death of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon in the season-ending Las Vegas race and it is no surprise that it found he died from a head injury sustained through contact with a catch-fencing pole.

Its report said Wheldon suffered two significant blows to his head but that it was the second that caused "a non-survivable blunt force injury trauma".

Wheldon had been clocked at 224mph -- or 360kmh -- just before the crash but had slowed to 165mph immediately before impact with the car of Charlie Kimball. The impact was measured at G forces of 24 longitudinal and negative 23 vertical.

Much of the discussion in the wake of Wheldon's death has been -- and will continue to be -- on the high banking at the Las Vegas speedway. IndyCar -- which already was introducing new, safer cars for next season -- has formed a technical committee comprising its officials, team engineers and representatives from chassis manufacturer Dallara to focus on the aerodynamic and mechanical considerations relating to racing on such 1.5-mile (2.4km) high-banked ovals.

The American motorsport media is awash with commentary on the Wheldon report today.

Sports Illustrated writer Bruce Martin's column here contains the views of Australia's IndyCar drivers Ryan Briscoe, who wants IndyCars to be more challenging to drive, and Will Power, who counts himself lucky to have survived the 15-car Las Vegas pile-up but wants the luck factor to be reduced.

The transcript of IndyCar's press conference with chief executive Randy Bernard and operations boss Brian Barnhart is here while SpeedTV's Marshall Pruett's assessment is here.


VALE: Jason Richards
V8 Supercar driver, Jason Richards, last night lost his battle with cancer and passed away. Richards' family today issued a brief statement, reproduced in full below. motoring.com.au extends its condolences to Jason's family and friends.

Champion V8 Supercar driver Jason Richards passed away peacefully at home with his wife, Charlotte by his side at 8.00pm last night (Thursday, 15 December 2011). He was just 35 years old.

Jason's family is appreciative of the many thousands of people who have offered their love and support during his battle with illness over the past 14 months.

A memorial service to honour Jason and his career will be held at Sandown in the coming weeks. The family requests that their privacy be respected during their time of grief.