Škoda UK
A lot has been made in the press recently about Škoda UK’s driver announcement and having read/heard all the negative comments I wanted to add my voice to the mix.
I personally rate Andreas Mikkelsen highly as a driver. I like his attitude and as Carlton Kirby said, ‘he’s a PR’s dream.’
Yes, he may have used ‘Daddy’s money’ to get him to the World stage and where he is now but so what? Look at the Cyprus Golden Stage Rally – he blew everyone out of the water.
Alright, many will argue that the competition just wasn’t there (the likes of Hanninen, Meeke etc.) but how do you explain Wales Rally GB? I was stage side watching and for me he was the most exciting driver out there.
When Guy Wilks announced he was leaving Škoda UK for Peugeot there was always a question as to who was going to replace him. Everybody guessed a Brit would rise up to the plate – maybe someone from the BRC? So when the shout came many fans were left reeling and full of questions.
In the UK we have a brilliant array of drivers however what we are lacking is the support system and structure to nurture and develop them. Other countries in Europe are prepared to put time, money and effort into their young driver programmes – we don’t have this sorted to perfection yet.
When we do suss it out, we will have every right to complain if a British driver is snubbed by a ‘British’ team. For the time being if a driver wants a seat and is prepared to pay (therefore putting money into a sport largely ignored by the masses) then let them and wait the popularity and choice to come around again.
*Preparing for the backlash*
The Fiesta’s WRC Debut
M-sport will be showing off th
eir S2000 Ford Fiesta in it’s WRC debut this weekend. The car was driven to an incredible victory in the IRC Monte Carlo last month by Mikko Hirvonen and later won the Qatar rally with Nasser Al-Attiyah at the wheel.
Four drivers in total will use Fiesta’s in Sweden – Bernardo Sousa and Andreas Mikkelsen, in cars prepared by M-Sport, while Martin Prokop and Janne Tuohino will be competing for private teams.
The experience of double world champion Marcus Grönholm has been used to the full in the lead up, with him completing 230km of testing in the snow to help find a good set-up for the Fiesta drivers (Grönholm, of course, is competing in the Focus this weekend). Portuguese pilot Sousa in particular will find this information helpful, as he doesn’t have masses of experience in these conditions.
Now I’m probably a little bit biased towards this car for the simple reason that I was lucky enough to have a tour of M-Sports factory in Cumbria and saw these cars being built. And I was so impressed that it has only taken 9 months to design, engineer and get out to the races. The pride that everyone was showing towards this car was also quite infectious so yes, I do have a soft spot for this Fiesta!
M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson said:
“After two incredible victories in Monte Carlo and Qatar, we are now going to another extreme of conditions at Rally Sweden. We are confident that the car can maintain its performance and we’ve been boosted by the fact that Marcus Grönholm has been helping out with the testing; he’s come up with a really good base setting for Sweden. The M-Sport drivers will all have access to the information and it’s all part of the service to try and give our customers the best possible support. We’ve had a great season launch in Paris this week and the S-WRC has certainly got the potential to be a very exciting championship; there’s lots of young drivers signed up and it will really spice things up.”
The Fiesta in numbers…
-Ford 1998cc Pipo built I4 Duratec S2000 engine. Four cylinders, 16 valves.
-280 bhp at 8000 rpm.
-Length: 3958mm. Width: 1820mm. Wheelbase: 2489mm. Weight: 1200kg minimum
Through Shakedown And Stage 