Autosport International’s “The Racing Car Show” kicked off the 2011 motorsport season in its usual fine fashion over four days at the NEC in Bimringham last weekend with team and car launches, celebrities and the hottest technology on the market available to trade and public, writes David Benson of RallySport Media who covered the event for HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS.
True to form, the event started with a bang as Ford used the opportunity to reveal their new-for-2011 car, the Ford Fiesta WRC, plus their new livery that will adorn the car in their bid for glory in the new-look World Rally Championship (WRC) this season. The team also announced their change of name to the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
Skoda UK launched their new-look team for 2011 – a factory-backed effort that will campaign the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (WRC) in 2011 with rapid young Norwegian driver Andreas Mikklesen. The Skoda UK team rose to prominence last year with Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh taking a respectable sixth overall in the IRC. Wilks and Pugh have subsequently moved over to the Peugeot UK team to replace Kris Meeke who has stepped up to a factory World Rally Championship drive in the MINI Countryman WRC.
Skoda UK have come in for some criticism recently with their choice of driver, being a UK-backed team, but Mikkelsen reflected on this in an interview with Autosport Magazine: “It’s very important for [the team] this year to compete at the top in IRC and the problem there with the British driver is that no one has experience. There are some drivers that have done a few rounds, but none of them can be up there fighting for the title.”
Soon after the launch of the new Skoda Fabia S2000 car Mikkelsen will campaign in the IRC, the Norwegian ace flew off to Valence for the start of Monte Carlo Rally, celebrating it’s 100 year anniversary. “I’m really looking forward to my first Rallye Monte Carlo, but it will be very difficult,” said Mikkelsen. “The rally begins with the longest two stages of the event, so that will be a challenge for everyone.”
There were a few obvious omissions from the event: Citroen and their new DS3 World Rally Car were not on display and Prodrive and MINI’s Countryman WRC has yet to be seen in public. The first round of the World Rally Championship for both the Ford and Citroen teams will be Rally Sweden on 10 – 13 February. MINI and Prodrive will continue development of the Countryman WRC and will only compete on six of 13 rounds this year.