|
|
. . 
|
||||||||
|
July 12, 2006
This Week:
© 1998 - 2006 Copyright & |
Co-drivers have special hand-written pace notes that relay hazardous areas to the driver in advance. Each rally car is fitted with a GPS tracking system so teams can monitor the location of the car at all times from the 'base' camp -- the service park -- in a local town or city. Competition is fierce with both full manufacturer and independent teams vying for the driver and manufacturer championships. And, unlike some racing series, the public has the opportunity to watch the rally cars being serviced after the stages and see the drivers up close. Rally popularity has been growing around the world. In 2005, a global TV audience of 800 million people watched the World Rally Championship. Finns Grönholm and Hirvonen drive the Ford Focus RS WRC 06 in the Rally series. The Focus was conceived, designed, built and developed in a staggeringly short space of time. Less than 12 months after Ford reconfirmed its long-term commitment to world rallying, the Focus RS WRC 06 made its debut and set fastest stage times on Rally Australia, the final round of the 2005 series. Ford launched its assault on the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship with the new Focus RS WRC and the new driver lineup of Grönholm and Hirvonen. Ford hasn't won a world title in rallying since 1981, but that could all change in 2006 following a highly promising start to the current campaign. New signing Marcus Grönholm made a dream debut with the BP-Ford World Rally Team, winning the first two rounds of the championship in Monte Carlo and Sweden. Only a combination of bad luck and minor technical problems prevented him from racking up more wins in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Sardinia, but Grönholm bounced back to the top of the podium with a thumping victory in the Acropolis Rally of Greece, his 21st world rally championship success. That victory marked the half-way stage in the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship and although the driver's table shows Grönholm is 29 points behind leader Sebastien Loeb, it's not a fair reflection of the Ford man's performance. With the exception of the Rallye de France -- Tour de Corse, Grönholm has led every event so far this season. He's recorded 48 fastest stage times out of a possible 140 and only Loeb can beat that figure with 52. The BP-Ford Team has every reason to be optimistic looking at the remaining events on the calendar. Of the eight rounds left, seven are on gravel, and Grönholm is a gravel expert. This year there is an eight-week summer break in the calendar, but the team will spend that time testing aggressively and looking at ways to lighten the Focus. Technical director Christian Loriaux said, "We've done a lot of work on the car since the start of the season, strengthening components and in Greece the Focus was 30kg heavier than it was at the beginning of the year. We need to lose some weight. BP-Ford principal Malcolm Wilson insists the team is ahead of schedule and has predicted more wins when the championship resumes in August. Hirvonen will sacrifice personal glory to help secure silverware for the team this season. The 25-year-old is concentrating on finishing events rather than taking risks in pursuit of his first ever WRC victory. If Hirvonen does help steer Ford to a world title this year it will be an incredible achievement. The 2006 season was always earmarked as a development year for the team. The plan was and is to make a concerted title push in 2007 and 2008. (July 11, 2006)
|
|||||||
