The 2012 World Rally Championship returns this week with the return of the Rallye Monte Carlo to the calendar after an absence of three years. Citroën's superstar Sébastien Loeb retains the familiar no. 1 plate on his DS3 WRC and will be aiming for an incredible ninth successive title. Whether or not you'll be able to see any of it on TV or online, though, is hard to say...
Calendar
After three seasons running in the rival Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Monte returns to open the WRC calendar with an elongated five-day event. The Jordan Rally drops off the itinerary for 2012 as agreed, while attempts to run an event in Abu Dhabi foundered. The Italian event relocates from Sardinia to Sicily, while New Zealand replaces Rally Australia. Finally the British round moves earlier in the year to September - apparently because the Welsh tourist board are looking for better weather to promote their flagship event. Good luck with that...
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Major Teams and Drivers
The internal team dynamics at Citroën became increasingly acrimonious last season as Sébastiens Loeb and Ogier battled for control. Ultimately Loeb won both the fight for the team's focus, and for the championship, and Ogier left to join VW for their Polo WRC project, due to debut in 2013. Ogier therefore faces a potentially frustrating year in a Super 2000 Skoda this season as the VW mechanics learn the ropes on a proven vehicle.
Last year's runner-up, Mikko Hirvonen, moves to join Loeb at Citroën after seven years at Ford. The consistent Finn has been steady rather than spectacular in recent seasons, and it would be a surprise if he puts up a season-long challenge to his team-mate, despite the team insisting there are no team orders. The last man before Loeb to win the WRC, Petter Solberg, finally returns to a works drive, taking Hirvonen's seat at Ford. Hopes for the Blue Oval now rest on Jari-Matti Latvala, who will need to find consistency to match his undoubted speed.
Funding problems have been acute at Mini, forcing the team to take a succession of pay drivers in the second car alongside Dani Sordo. Last year's driver Kris Meeke therefore starts the season on the sidelines, albeit with assurances from David Richards that he remains in the team's long-term plans.
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Rule changes
The traditional pre-event shakedown has been increased in importance for this season, as drivers' third runs through the stage will be timed and used to determine the running order on the opening leg - effectively a form of qualifying session. The fastest driver will choose their starting position, then the second-fastest and so on, in an attempt to stop drivers tactically slowing or incurring time penalties to get the best road conditions that has spoiled many gravel events in recent years. The rules determining running order on subsequent days have also been tweaked for the same reasons.
Coverage
Over the close season, long-term global promoter North One Sport lost their contract after the company's overall boss Vladimir Antonov was arrested as part of investigations into the collapse of Snoras Bank. Eurosport have agreed a contract to produce TV coverage for the Monte, but agreements for remaining rounds of the championship - as well as the online footage - remain to be confirmed. As for the UK, there is no confirmation on whether the deal agreed by North One to move the WRC from ESPN to ITV4 will go ahead in addition to the anticipated Eurosport programming.
Calendar
After three seasons running in the rival Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Monte returns to open the WRC calendar with an elongated five-day event. The Jordan Rally drops off the itinerary for 2012 as agreed, while attempts to run an event in Abu Dhabi foundered. The Italian event relocates from Sardinia to Sicily, while New Zealand replaces Rally Australia. Finally the British round moves earlier in the year to September - apparently because the Welsh tourist board are looking for better weather to promote their flagship event. Good luck with that...
| Round | Rally | Dates | Surface | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Monte Carlo | Jan 18-22 | Ice/Asphalt | 2 | Sweden | Feb 9-12 | Snow | 3 | Mexico | Mar 8-11 | Gravel | 4 | Portugal | Mar 29-Apr 1 | Gravel | 5 | Argentina | Apr 27-29 | Gravel | 6 | Acropolis | May 25-27 | Gravel | 7 | New Zealand | Jun 22-24 | Gravel | 8 | Finland | Aug 2-5 | Gravel | 9 | Deutschland | Aug 24-26 | Asphalt | 10 | Great Britain | Sep 13-16 | Mud/Gravel | 11 | France | Oct 4-7 | Asphalt | 12 | Italia | Oct 18-21 | Gravel | 13 | Catalunya | Nov 8-11 | Asphalt |
Major Teams and Drivers
The internal team dynamics at Citroën became increasingly acrimonious last season as Sébastiens Loeb and Ogier battled for control. Ultimately Loeb won both the fight for the team's focus, and for the championship, and Ogier left to join VW for their Polo WRC project, due to debut in 2013. Ogier therefore faces a potentially frustrating year in a Super 2000 Skoda this season as the VW mechanics learn the ropes on a proven vehicle.
Last year's runner-up, Mikko Hirvonen, moves to join Loeb at Citroën after seven years at Ford. The consistent Finn has been steady rather than spectacular in recent seasons, and it would be a surprise if he puts up a season-long challenge to his team-mate, despite the team insisting there are no team orders. The last man before Loeb to win the WRC, Petter Solberg, finally returns to a works drive, taking Hirvonen's seat at Ford. Hopes for the Blue Oval now rest on Jari-Matti Latvala, who will need to find consistency to match his undoubted speed.
Funding problems have been acute at Mini, forcing the team to take a succession of pay drivers in the second car alongside Dani Sordo. Last year's driver Kris Meeke therefore starts the season on the sidelines, albeit with assurances from David Richards that he remains in the team's long-term plans.
| Team | Car | Drivers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citroën Total World Rally Team | Citroën DS3 WRC | Sébastien Loeb (FRA) | Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) | Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) | Ford World Rally Team | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) | Petter Solberg (NOR) | - | Mini World Rally Team | Mini John Cooper Works WRC | Dani Sordo (ESP) | TBC | - | Citroën Junior World Rally Team | Citroën DS3 WRC | Thierry Neuville (BEL) | - | - | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | Ott Tanak (EST) | Evgeny Novikov (RUS) | TBC | Matthew Wilson (M-Sport) | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | Matthew Wilson (GBR) | - | - | Henning Solberg (M-Sport) | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | Henning Solberg (NOR) | - | - | Volkswagen Motorsport | Škoda Fabia S2000 | Sébastien Ogier (FRA) | TBC | - |
Rule changes
The traditional pre-event shakedown has been increased in importance for this season, as drivers' third runs through the stage will be timed and used to determine the running order on the opening leg - effectively a form of qualifying session. The fastest driver will choose their starting position, then the second-fastest and so on, in an attempt to stop drivers tactically slowing or incurring time penalties to get the best road conditions that has spoiled many gravel events in recent years. The rules determining running order on subsequent days have also been tweaked for the same reasons.
Coverage
Over the close season, long-term global promoter North One Sport lost their contract after the company's overall boss Vladimir Antonov was arrested as part of investigations into the collapse of Snoras Bank. Eurosport have agreed a contract to produce TV coverage for the Monte, but agreements for remaining rounds of the championship - as well as the online footage - remain to be confirmed. As for the UK, there is no confirmation on whether the deal agreed by North One to move the WRC from ESPN to ITV4 will go ahead in addition to the anticipated Eurosport programming.
