Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro announces that it has reached an agreement with the driver Fernando Alonso. The agreement covers three racing seasons, starting in 2010.
The Scuderia’s driver line-up next season will therefore be made up of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, with Giancarlo Fisichella in the role of reserve driver.

Kimi Raikkonen will leave the team at the end of this current season, after what has been a rewarding and fruitful partnership, which saw him win the Drivers’ title in 2007. He also played a key role in Ferrari’s taking of the Constructor’s title that same year and in 2008.

“We are very proud to welcome to our team another winning driver, who has demonstrated his amazing talent by winning two World Championships in his career to date,” said Stefano Domenicali. “Of course, we wish to thank Kimi for everything he has done during his time with Ferrari: in his first year with us, he managed to win the Drivers’ title, thus making his contribution to Ferrari’s history and he played a vital role in our taking of the Constructors’ title in 2007 and 2008. Even during a difficult season like this one, he has demonstrated his great talent, with several good results, including a great win in Spa and we are sure that we can share more good times together in the final three races of this season.”

“With common consent, we have agreed to terminate the contract binding me to Ferrari to the end of 2010, one year ahead of schedule,” said Kimi Raikkonen. “I am very sad to be leaving a team with which I have spent three fantastic years, during which time I won plenty of races. Together, we have won 50% of the world titles in that period and I managed to take the Drivers’ title in 2007, thus achieving the target I had set myself at the start of my career. I have always felt at home with everyone here and I will have many happy memories of my time with the team.”

Κάτι λιγότερο από ένα εικοσιτετράωρο μας χωρίζει από την εκκίνηση του 45ου Rally Catalunya και οι Λάμπρος Αθανασούλας και Νίκος Ζακχαίος ολοκλήρωσαν την δεύτερη και τελευταία μέρα αναγνωρίσεων των ειδικών διαδρομών. Ταυτόχρονα είχαν την ευκαιρία να γνωρίσουν και το νέο τους αυτοκίνητο το Ford Fiesta R2.

Ο Έλληνας οδηγός, παρότι ταλαιπωρείται όλο το διήμερο από ένα κρυολόγημα με πυρετό, δήλωσε απόλυτα ικανοποιημένος τόσο από την πορεία των αναγνωρίσεων, όσο και από την σύντομη δοκιμή με το Fiesta R2.

Οι ειδικές είναι σε πολύ διαφορετικές σε σχέση με το 2006 που τις είχαμε ξανατρέξει. Έχουν καινούργιο οδόστρωμα και έχουν τοποθετηθεί μπανιέρες σε όλα τα επικίνδυνα σημεία. Οι αλλαγές αυτές έχουν αλλάξει σημαντικά τον χαρακτήρα του αγώνα μια που οι περισσότερες ειδικές είναι περισσότερο σαν πίστα αγώνων παρά σαν ειδικές διαδρομές ράλι. Ο καιρός ίσως προβληματίσει τα πληρώματα με την επιλογή ελαστικών, ειδικά την Παρασκευή όπου η πρόγνωση δίνει κάποιες αραιές βροχοπτώσεις. Είχαμε την ευκαιρία να οδηγήσουμε το αυτοκίνητο χθες στο απόγευμα σε ανοιχτό δρόμο και με νορμάλ ελαστικά ώστε να πάρουμε μια μικρή γεύση πριν το επίσημο shakedown της Πέμπτης. Πραγματικά με εξέπληξε ευχάριστα η απόκριση του κινητήρα αλλά και το κιβώτιο. Είναι πάρα πολύ βελτιωμένο σε σχέση με το Fiesta N3 που οδηγούσαμε και ελπίζω όλα να πάνε καλά και να ευχαριστηθούμε τον αγώνα!

Το ελληνικό πλήρωμα, που έχει την στήριξη της ΕΛΠΑ (Team Greece), θα βρεθει αντιμέτωπο με 11 πληρώματα από 7 διαφορετικές χώρες (Ιρλανδία, Γερμανία, Βέλγιο, Ηνωμένα Αραβικά Εμιράτα, Τουρκία, Φινλανδία και Ισπανία) στο πλαίσιο του Fiesta Sporting Trophy, υποστηρικτικού θεσμού του Παγκοσμίου Πρωταθλήματος  Ραλι.

Χορηγοί της προσπάθειας του ελληνικού πληρώματος είναι η JETOIL, το CLUB HOTEL CASINO LOUTRAKI, το περιοδικό 4ΤΡΟΧΟΙ, και η PUMA.

Less than six months after announcing the news that it would be producing a Fiesta S2000 rally car, M-Sport has completed the build of the first car absolutely on schedule and has begun an extensive testing programme. It is a remarkable achievement for the design team at M-Sport to have completed this totally new car on time, in what has been an incredibly tight build schedule. The Fiesta S2000 has today been given its initial system checks close to M-Sport’s Cumbrian base and will continue testing in the UK before heading to mainland Europe for asphalt and gravel tests in the coming months.

The team of designers and engineers, led by M-Sport’s award-winning Technical Director Christian Loriaux, have been able to stick closely to the tight schedule laid out for the them at the start of the project allowing the maximum amount of time for testing the reliability and competitiveness of the new car between now and the end of the year.

Work has progressed so well on the first car that a second body shell is already complete and work to build a second test car should be concluded by the end of October. This will speed up the development process by allowing an intensive course of car and component testing to take place over the coming months using both vehicles and will provide potential customers with a greater opportunity to drive the new car.

Matthew Wilson was at the wheel for the first shakedown and he will be among a number of drivers who will be tasked with testing the vehicle during the condensed development programme scheduled for the rest of 2009. The team at M-Sport has continued to work closely with Ford of Europe’s small car design and development team during the final build process to ensure that Ford’s kinetic design elements were incorporated into the dynamic and aggressive looking car.

M-Sport’s award-winning design team used the experience gained from the development of the record-breaking Ford Focus RS WRC to produce the Fiesta S2000 rally car, which will be aimed at competitors in the WRC World Cup, IRC and national rally championships around the globe. Its homologation is planned for January 2010 and so will not appear in competition this year.

M-Sport Technical Director Christian Loriaux:

“I have been delighted with how the build of the new Fiesta S2000 rally car has progressed according to the schedule that we laid out at the start of this project. This is a totally new car and the entire design and engineering team here have been very focused on providing both a reliable and very competitive car for our customers. A brand new rally car involves thousands of parts and making sure that they are all designed, manufactured and delivered on time is an incredible achievement and takes a lot of team work. Our production and purchasing departments have done a great job in supporting the design team and ensuring the car was completed on time.”

M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson:

“The production of a new rally car is always an exciting period for everyone at M-Sport and I’m pleased to see that Christian and his team have finished the build on schedule as planned. The important thing now is that we undertake a strong test and development campaign in order to provide our customers with the best possible S2000 package. I’m sure that this car will also provide a very strong base for Ford’s next generation WRC car.”

By RB

Proton has announced that Alister McRae will debut on the Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally car in the next round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, the Rally of Indonesia on October 3-4. McRae will replace Malaysian rally star Karamjit Singh behind the wheel of the Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally car. Alister McRae, brother of 1995 World Rally Champion, the late Colin McRae, will have Australian co-driver Bill Hayes.

“I have had the opportunity to test the Proton Satria Neo S2000 in England recently and am very pleased with the performance of the car,” said McRae. “I will certainly be looking forward to competing in the Proton at the Rally of Indonesia against some of the best drivers in the region.”

By ZerCustoms