M-Sport team principal Malcolm Wilson was impressed with World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier's performance as he tested the 2017 Ford Fiesta RS WRC for the first time on Friday.

Having been freed from his Volkswagen contract in order to test alternative World Rally Cars for next season, Ogier has driven Toyota's Yaris WRC and the Fiesta in the last three days.
Ogier flew into south Wales on Friday morning and spent much of the day driving the Ford in the Walter's Arena section of the Rheola stage.

Wilson told Autosport: "The test went well. The car performed very well all day.
"I have to say it looked very impressive from where I was watching from, it was great to see Seb in the car."

Four-time champion Ogier's attitude and approach stood out to Wilson.
"People had told me before how straightforward and easy he was to work with and that's just how I found him," he said.
"I was really pleased with the respect shown from him and Julien [Ingrassia, co-driver] and our guys.
"The car started the test in the same set-up it had been when Ott [Tanak] was driving it yesterday.
"Seb drove it like that, then came back and made some changes - he was keen to see how the car felt when he'd made some specific changes. And the good news was that the sun was shining!"

Wilson has made no secret of his determination to sign Ogier for 2017 and hopes the test moved a deal closer.
"He got a good kick of the ball," Wilson said.
"Now it's back to the discussions which will continue next week."

Following the test, Ogier and Ingrassia flew to Hannover to attend Volkswagen Motorsport's end of season party.
Toyota team principal Tommi Makinen had been unwilling to go into detail about Ogier's time in the Yaris
Though Ogier ideally wanted to test all four available 2017 WRC machines before making a decision, Hyundai has no space for him and Citroen has struggled to source the budget for a deal - and will not let him test without an agreement in place.

https://www.autosport.com/news/report.p ... 7-wrc-test

Green light for 2017 calendar


The 2017 FIA World Rally Championship calendar has been announced today (Wednesday) by WRC Promoter.

The exciting new-era championship, which will feature greater manufacturer interest with the return of automotive giants Toyota and Citroën, comprises the same 13 rounds as the successful 2016 season.

It begins with the traditional season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo in January and will feature a mix of gravel, asphalt snow and ice action on four continents before concluding in Australia in November.

The major changes are an earlier April date for France’s asphalt Tour de Corse, breaking up a series of seven consecutive loose surface fixtures, and a less crowded final quarter.

Each round will welcome for the first time a new generation of World Rally Cars. Dramatic new-look challengers boasting extra power, less weight, bigger rear wings and more noise will improve the roadside action for fans.

The calendar was approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council meeting in Vienna and WRC Promoter managing director Oliver Ciesla said 2017 promised ‘excitement in abundance’.
French fixture in Corsica moves forward to April from September

“The 2016 season brought great unpredictability, with six different winners during the year,” he said. “Returning former world champion manufacturers will make 2017 bigger and better, and the sense of anticipation generated by the new cars means there is plenty for fans to look forward to.”

Ciesla said the season’s final months would be less hectic than the over-crowded period in the 2016 calendar.

“Despite strong efforts from all sides it wasn’t possible to include Turkey and China in the calendar next year, but all parties are eager to help that come to fruition in the future.

“As a result there are no rounds in September. Rather than restructure the calendar to close that gap, we decided to keep the entire month free to observe potential candidate events,” he added.

The 2017 calendar is:
Round Rally Date
1. Monte-Carlo 19 - 22 January
2. Sweden 9 - 12 February
3. Mexico 9 - 12 March
4. France 6 - 9 April
5. Argentina 27 - 30 April
6. Portugal 18 - 21 May
7. Italy 8 - 11 June
8. Poland 29 June - 2 July
9. Finland 27 - 30 July
10. Germany 17 - 20 August
11. Spain 5 - 8 October
12. Great Britain 26 - 29 October
13. Australia 16 - 19 November
http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/november ... 2-12-.html