Four Skoda Fabia Super 2000s to race at Rally Islas Canarias |  |
- Four Skoda Fabia Super 2000s to race at Rally Islas Canarias
- Video: Learn about the historic Porsche 911 SC with Walter Rohrl & Christian Geistdoerfer
- Walter Rohrl, Christian Geistdorfer & 911 SC together again for the 2011 Targa Tasmania Rally
- VW’s SEAT will target young buyers in China
- Audi announces 24 hour R8 LMS race teams
| Four Skoda Fabia Super 2000s to race at Rally Islas Canarias Posted: 05 Apr 2011 11:19 AM PDT
Both Skoda Motorsport factory crews will appear at the second event of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge to take place in the Canary Islands from 14-16 April. Furthermore, the field will include two Fabia Super 2000s supported by importers – Skoda Belgium and Skoda UK. Skoda took the first three places in this race last year.
Both of the factory drivers, Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky, are optimistic about the rally. Kopecky says: “I am certainly looking forward to this rally, as we celebrated victory in the Canary Islands last year and this year our goal is ambitious as well. However, the competition is going to be even tougher than last year. The field will surely include a number of excellent drivers, but that is exactly what makes rallying and the IRC championship so exciting”. Juho Hanninen, the reigning IRC champion and the runner-up in the Canary Islands last year, adds: “My last year’s second place was fantastic. I have definitely made some progress on asphalt ever since; I feel increasingly comfortable on this surface and although I am mainly concentrating on S-WRC this year, I see this event as a pleasant extra and an excellent opportunity to continue improving. I have the best possible memories of IRC.” TheRally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles will also see two Fabia Super 2000s supported by Skoda importers – Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (Skoda UK Motorsport) and Freddy Loix/Frédéric Miclotte (BFO Skoda) and. The rally comprises 12 stages (190 kilometers) in hilly terrain that will test the drivers’ technical skills on asphalt renowned for its high levels of grip. Related posts:
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| Video: Learn about the historic Porsche 911 SC with Walter Rohrl & Christian Geistdoerfer Posted: 05 Apr 2011 09:45 AM PDT World Rally Champion Walter Rohrl and co-driver Christian Geistdoerfer , talk to us about the historic Porsche 911 SC rally car that they are entering into the 2011 ‘Targa Tasmania’. The grueling road rally is held over 2,000km of roads on the Australian island of Tasmania. Porsche will be tracking their progress so be sure to check back for further videos covering all of the action. Follow their progress on http://www.porsche.co.uk/origin Related posts:
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| Walter Rohrl, Christian Geistdorfer & 911 SC together again for the 2011 Targa Tasmania Rally Posted: 05 Apr 2011 09:39 AM PDT
Exactly 30 years after almost achieving what would have been one of the greatest World Rally Championship victories of all time, Walter Rohrl, his co-driver Christian Geistdorfer and their Porsche 911 SC will be reunited between April 5 – 10, for the 2011 Targa Tasmania, a grueling road rally held over 2,000 km of roads on the island of Tasmania, off the south-east coast of Australia. The famous Porsche 911 SC had not raced for 25 years before it was comprehensively restored by the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, and is one of three cars from the company’s ‘Museum on Wheels’ that will be participating in the Classic section of this year’s event: The other iconic sports cars are the famous 718 RS 60 Spyder (1960 Targa Florio winner) and the 908/2 Spyder (1969 Targa Florio winner). This year’s Targa Tasmania will be the 20th anniversary of the famous ‘lap of Tassie’ rally. It starts with a Prologue near Launceston April 5 and finishes in Hobart on April 10. It includes 38 competitive stages totaling over 500 kms. Fans can follow the progress of Rohrl and Geistdorfer and their fellow Targa Tasmania competitors online via www.youtube.com/porsche where there will be daily updates and films reporting all the action from the stages and also taking you behind the scenes. Related posts:
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| VW’s SEAT will target young buyers in China Posted: 05 Apr 2011 09:27 AM PDT Volkswagen AG’s Seat brand will target young, urban customers when it launches sales in China. The Spanish-based automaker will start selling sporty, more expensive versions of its Leon and Ibiza models in China in early 2012. Seat is presenting its sporty models at the Shanghai auto show in April to broaden awareness of the brand in the world’s largest auto market. Within the VW Group brand portfolio, Seat specializes in compact cars with a sporty performance. Seat hopes that selling cars in China will help restore the brand to profitability and boost capacity at its underused factory in in Martorell, near Barcelona. About 335,000 cars were built at the 500,000-capacity plant last year. Seat has not ruled out local production for the Chinese market in the long term. According to a report by IHS Global Insight, VW will initially import Seat models into China, then launch production at its new joint venture plant with FAW Group in Foshan in southeast China’s Guangdong province. The factory will be completed in 2013. Last year, Seat sold 339,500 cars worldwide, with 323,600 units sold in Europe. The subsidiary sold 13,400 units in Mexico, and 2,500 in South America. Seat sells its cars in more than 70 markets. The company has not pursued earlier plans to sell Seat models in Brazil and is not considering entry into the U.S. market. The brand has been hit hard by the economic slump in its home market and had a slight recovery last year, narrowing its operating loss by 28 million euros to 311 million euros. VW Group currently markets the VW, Audi, Lamborghini and Skoda brands in China. Related posts:
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| Audi announces 24 hour R8 LMS race teams Posted: 05 Apr 2011 06:41 AM PDT
Audi tackles the two 24-hour races at the Nurburgring (June 25/26) and at Spa-Francorchamps (July 30/31) with high-caliber driver teams. DTM stars Mattias Ekstrom, Mike Rockenfeller and Timo Scheider also join the grid for the two factory supported events with the Audi R8 LMS. ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing each field a brace of Audi R8 LMS at the legendary Nurburgring-Nordschleife. After gaining valuable experience over the last two years at the 24-hour race around the Nurburgring with the quattro GmbH GT3 sports car the two teams now receive full factory support from Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
All four cars have first rate driver teams: competing for ABT Sportsline are Mattias Ekstrom, Timo Scheider and Marco Werner as well as Christer Jons, Luca Ludwig and Christopher Mies. Christian Abt is nominated as support for both cars entered by the DTM championship winning team from the years 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Frank Stippler assumes the “dual role” for Phoenix Racing. He supports Marc Basseng, Marcel Fässler and Mike Rockenfeller and also Christopher Haase, Marc Hennerici and Markus Winkelhock. Like last year Phoenix Racing also contests the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium). Nominated to drive the two R8 LMS are Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase and Frank Stippler and also Marcel Fässler, Andrea Piccini and Mike Rockenfeller. The Belgian W Racing Team, which won the 2010 Belcar series championship title in its debut season, fields two more cars on behalf of Audi. Driving for WRT are Mattias Ekstrom, Greg Franchi and Timo Scheider and also Filipe Albuquerque, Bert Longin and Stéphane Ortelli. Phoenix Racing and WRT are regarded as having intimate knowledge of the Spa-Francorchamps race track and the Belgium 24-hour classic.
“The Audi R8 LMS was developed specifically for customer sport,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “With the two factory supported events at the Nurburgring and at Spa-Francorchamps we aim to underline the positive image that the R8 LMS has built up following its first two years of competition. I think we are well positioned for this from the driver and team side.” The quattro GmbH, under the direction of Werner Frowein and Romolo Liebchen, took over marketing and further development of the GT3 sports car from 2011. A further improved version of the Audi R8 LMS celebrated its debut at the beginning of February with a one-two finish in the 12-hour race at Bathurst (Australia). Among other features, the 2011 Audi R8 LMS is equipped with a modified engine control for the 5.2 liter V10 power unit, modified suspension and a light-weight motorsport clutch specifically developed for endurance races. “The 2011 season started perfectly for the Audi R8 LMS with the one-two finish at Bathurst,” says Werner Frowein, Managing Director of the quattro GmbH. “We want to continue this. In the shape of Phoenix Racing we send a team to compete that has accompanied the development of the R8 LMS for endurance races since the very beginning and which has gathered the most experience in this area. ABT Sportsline is the perfect choice for the Nurburgring, and WRT for Spa. As far as the drivers are concerned you could hardly wish for better.” ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing contest rounds of the VLN endurance championship in preparation for the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring. WRT contests the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2011 which also includes the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. The Audi teams contesting the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring Phoenix Racing Team ABT Sportsline The Audi teams contesting the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps Phoenix Racing W Racing Team Related posts:
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