Νομίζω είναι η δέκατη και όχι η πρώτη

Mentos MINIs set for WRC 2



The Ukraine-based Mentos Acania Racing Team has announced it will run two MINI John Cooper Works S2000 cars in this year's inaugural WRC 2 championship.

Drivers Valery Gorban and Oleksii Kikireshko will debut their cars at Rally Sweden in February and will compete in the championship with engineering and technical support from Prodrive.

The team is not new to the World Rally Championship, having competed in last year's PWRC, where Gorban, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, finished third in the series and secured class victory on the Acropolis.

“This is the first full customer programme for the MINI S2000 within the WRC,” Graham Prew, senior sales manager at Prodrive, said. "The team considered all the latest WRCs, but chose the MINI after driving the car and visiting the factory.

“It has already proved its competitiveness on the international stage, winning the Tour de Corse in 2012 in the IRC, and with further engine and chassis development already underway, the Mentos cars will have the best chance to run at the front of the WRC 2 field."

Both cars are being built to the latest specification and will leave Prodrive's workshops in Banbury at the end of January. As well as its WRC 2 challenge, the Mentos squad will also content the Ukrainian national championship in 2013.

Τους λόγους που τον οδήγησαν στην επιλογή των τεσσάρων αγώνων, στους οποίους θα συμμετάσχει φέτος, εξήγησε ο Σεμπάστιαν Λεμπ.




Ο εννέα φορές παγκόσμιος πρωταθλητής θα ξεκινήσει από το 2013 την σταδιακή αποχώρησή του από το άθλημα που του χάρισε πολλές και ανεπανάληπτες στιγμές όλα αυτά τα χρόνια.

Τα δύο ράλι που ο Γάλλος πολυνίκης οδηγός ήθελε σίγουρα ήταν στο Μόντε Κάρλο και στη Γαλλία. Το τελευταίο για συναισθηματικούς λόγους καθώς θα είναι η τελευταία φορά που θα αγωνιστεί μπροστά στους συμπατριώτες του. Η Σουηδία επελέγη διότι θέλει για μία φορά, όπως είπε, να μείνει εντός δρόμου και να κερδίσει καθώς έχει να ανέβει στην πρώτη θέση από το 2004. Σε ό,τι αφορά στην Αργεντινή, η επιλογή της έγινε και με γνώμονα το πόσο μεγάλη αγορά είναι για την Citroen.

«Η ιδέα (σ.σ. των τεσσάρων αγώνων) προήλθε μία ημέρα όταν συζητούσαμε το μέλλον με τη Citroen. Τα τέσσερα ράλι είναι αρκετά. Τα δύο που ήθελα ήταν το Μόντε Κάρλο και η Γαλλία, αλλά τα τέσσερα είναι ένας καλός τρόπος για την επόμενη χρονιά. Ηθελα να αγωνιστώ στη Σουηδία, για να δω αν θα μπορώ να μείνω στον δρόμο. Στη συνέχεια, έλειπε ένας χωμάτινος αγώνας κάπου.

Ηθελα να αγωνιστώ στην αρχή της σεζόν, δεν θέλω να τρέξω τον πρώτο μου αγώνα, ας πούμε, στη Φινλανδία, στα μέσα της χρονιάς, χωρίς να έχω δοκιμάσει το αυτοκίνητο για τέσσερις μήνες. Σε ό,τι αφορά στους πρώτους αγώνες, η Αργεντινή είναι ένα ενδιαφέρον ράλι και μία μεγάλη αγορά για την Citroen», δήλωσε χαρακτηριστικά ο Σεμπάστιαν Λεμπ.

O Γάλλος παγκόσμιος πρωταθλητής θα φέρει στο αυτοκίνητό του όσες φορές αγωνιστεί μαζί με τον Ντανιέλ Ελένα, το νούμερο 1, το οποίο δεν πρόκειται καθ’όλη την διάρκεια της χρονιάς να χρησιμοποιηθεί από κανένα άλλο πλήρωμα.

CITROËN RACING LAUNCHES “CITROËN TOP DRIVER”

Building on its young driver development and support programme, and in partnership with Abu Dhabi, Total and Pirelli, Citroën Racing is set to launch the “Citroën Top Driver” series.

Created to comply with the regulations for WRC 3, which will become part of the World Rally Championship in 2013, this series will be the final rung on the ladder leading to the upper echelons of rallying and a springboard towards the sport’s top flight category for the best drivers.

Since it first became involved in rallying, Citroën Racing has always attached great importance to finding and training the most promising young drivers. The likes of Sébastien Loeb, Dani Sordo, Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville all started out with Citroën before going on to compete at the highest level. In 2013, Citroën’s Customer Racing department will extend its involvement in rallying by creating two new formulas. Although the FFSA’s “Rallye Jeunes” (Young Rally Drivers) initiative remains the first level at which talented young drivers are identified, they can also make a name for themselves in a Citroën DS3 R1 in the Citroën Racing Trophy Junior, held in eight countries across Europe, before competing in the same formula in a more powerful car: the DS3 R3. The missing component, however, has been the chance for these drivers to show off their skills on the biggest stages in world rallying, at a reasonable cost. This is the idea behind the “Citroën Top Driver” series.

The concept came about when the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) decided to introduce regulations for a new category in the world championship, entitled WRC 3. This series will be open to two-wheel drive cars. The “Citroën Top Driver” series will feature a mixed calendar, with rallies contested in a DS3 R3. The crews and teams that score the most points will win the championship. The stakes are high, as the winner will be offered the chance to take part in six rallies in the WRC 2 championship (open to all four-wheel drive cars other than world rally cars) in 2014, whilst this vehicle will be prepared by the best team. The “Citroën Top Driver” series will therefore feature two lots of standings. First and foremost, a drivers’ championship, where the top ten at each rally will be awarded points (25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1) depending on where they finish in the group R standings (all classes). And a teams’ championship, in which the final results of one or two cars entered by teams at each rally will be added up, bearing in mind that teams may not designate more than two DS3 R3s per race as eligible to score points.

“Our aim is to make it easier for drivers to compete in the World Rally Championship by creating a racing formula that is accessible and affordable, and which rewards the best drivers and teams”, explained Marek Nawarecki, Customer Racing Manager for Citroën Racing. “The very essence of this challenge is to create a stepping stone between the national championships and the world championship by putting in place a major programme which is within the reach of the crews. This involves sharing the cost. With this in mind, each team must enter at least two DS3 R3s in the ‘Citroën Top Driver’ series. We would also like the teams to compete with each other in a transparent and fair manner, so each of them must publish their season costs so that potential customers are able to compare the various options available to them.”

The series, which will feature four rounds on gravel and two on tarmac, is due to kick off at the Rally de Portugal on 13-14 April of next year.

CITROËN TOP DRIVERS 2013 CALENDAR

13-14 April: Portugal
22-13 June: Italy
3-4 August: Finland
23-25 August: Deutschland
5-6 October: France
16-17 November: GB

CITROËN AND ABU DHABI RACING SELECT THE TALENTED DRIVERS OF THE FUTURE

Mohammed Al Mutawaa and Mohammed Al Ali topped a pool of thirteen candidates from across the United Arab Emirates, after a series of specific tests held at the Yas Marina Circuit.

The stakes were high for the thirteen candidates chosen to take part in the young driver selection event organised by Citroën Racing, Abu Dhabi Racing and the Yas Marina Circuit. Starting at 9am on Friday, the instructors, drivers and judges met up at the circuit for preparations and a briefing session. The drivers then headed out onto the tarmac for their first opportunity to get a feel for the Citroën DS3 Racing on a mixed surface, combining dry and wet sections. On Saturday, the day began with a physical training session before the start of the first few warm-up laps. The selection procedure started for real in the afternoon with a timed lap on a difficulty one circuit with a rolling start. The judges were thus able to select the six drivers who would continue to the next stage of the tests. After a final session made up of a series of general knowledge tests on motorsport, physical tests and two timed laps of the circuit with difficulty ratings of two and three from a standing start, Mohammed Al Mutawaa and Mohammed Al Ali were chosen as the two winners. Each of the two winners will drive a Citroën DS3 R3 to compete in the six rounds of the 2013 Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

“The young driver selection event has proven to be a very rewarding and interesting experience” commented a delighted Marek Nawarecki, Customer Racing Manager for Citroën Racing. “We were pleasantly surprised by the friendly atmosphere and strong team spirit that developed between the competitors during the event. They all wanted to help each other out and share experiences. Although they all have different backgrounds, varying from karting and track racing to cross country rallying, whilst some were just beginners, everyone listened attentively to the advice given throughout the three days and were very willing to share their experiences with the others. There is no doubt that next season will be a very useful learning experience for the two winners taking part in the championship.”

THE WINNERS



Mohammed Al Mutawaa
20 years old (DOB:2 December 1992)
Nationality: Emirati


Currently studying finance at the Zayed University in Dubai, Mohammed already has quite a bit of experience in track racing. In 2007, he was selected from among 700 young drivers to represent the United Arab Emirates in Europe by joining the Autosport Academy, with which he competed for one season in Formula Renault 1.6 L. Initially entered in the Touring Car Championship in 2009/2010, he finished as runner-up in the United Arab Emirates GT Championship (2010/2011) and also claimed second place in the Formula Gulf 1000 series. He has also achieved some strong results in karting and is part of the prestigious “FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy”.

“I feel both honoured and very happy to have been selected. It is a great opportunity to start rally driving for such a professional team. Over the three days, I have learned a lot and have developed some new skills which will be very useful for me, going forward. I have also had the opportunity to work with the Citroën team, who have given some excellent advice. Although I have five years’ experience of competing in motorsport, particularly in track racing series, I am now heading for a new challenge and I’m going to be doing my utmost to produce some good performances next season!”, revealed the young winner. “And I really can’t wait to drive the Citroën DS3 R3!”



Mohammed Al Ali
23 years old (DOB:23 January 1989)
Nationality: Emirati


Holder of a degree in accounting (ρε λέτε να βαφτώ μαύρος και να πάω? Και πτυχίο λογιστικής έχω, και citroen γουστάρω και ανερχόμενο ταλέντο είμαι ) , Mohammed is a beginner in motorsport but he stood out during the selection procedure thanks to his fighting spirit and determination. He also demonstrated an impressive ability to improve rapidly. In the background during the preparations on Friday, he proved to be one of fastest when the drivers completed their first timed laps.

“I never thought I would be one of the winners at this event. Of course, I was very determined to do well and I gave it my all to try and win. Above all, I have learned a lot during the selection procedure. The advice given to us by the instructors was invaluable, and it helped me to improve quickly when driving the DS3 Racing. I can’t wait to start the season!”