Weekend Rally News – January 22

Following continued delays in the publication of the official Sheriff’s findings into the sad fatal spectator accidents on the Snowman Rally in 2013 and the Jim Clark Rally in 2014, the British federation MSA say it would “not be appropriate” to issue a permit for the proposed 2017 event to run.  

The start of 1974 Jim Clark Rally outside Jim Clark museum at Duns. (Photo: Holmes)These events were run independently of each other, one on respectively gravel and asphalt roads.  

The initiatives of the popular Jim Clark Rally organisers were instrumental in expanding closed public road rallying in Britain in the seventies.

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Jourdan Serderidis’ DS3 WRC, which was competing in the WRC Trophy category on the Monte Carlo Rally, attracted curiosity.  

It was chassis 1 and had never been used on a major rally before.  It was prepared in Citroen Racing’s 2014 specification.

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M-Sport had a delightful surprise when a Ford dealer offered the team the use of cherished registration plates, WRT1 and WRT2.  

The company, W. R. Tullock, is the oldest Ford dealer in Scotland and the family company originates from the Orkney Islands.  

Unfortunately the French federation do not allow the display of registration plates on rally cars on rallies in their territory.  

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Robert Kubica went to Gap to see the new rally cars and their aero attachments, commenting   “these new cars will not stay long in perfect condition!”

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Hyundai is reported to have rejected Volkswagen’s request to be given an homologation for the 2017 Polo without registering a WRC team.  

A waiver from FIA regulations would require unanimous support from registered teams, at least.   

This was the second bold waiver request from VW.  They requested permission to run their pre-homologation 2011 World Rally Car prototype as a zero car on Rally Catalunya, which was similarly rejected.

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Sheikh Khalid al Qassimi arrived in Gap straight from the end of the Dakar, enthused by cross country rallying.  He declared the first half of his personal 2017 competition season will be based in cross country rallying, starting with the Abu Dhabi Cross Country.  

“My buggy is good on the rough terrain, it’s not the perfect car for the dunes all the time.  I expect to start my WRC season in Portugal,” he said.  

“The Citroen Racing team will have a third car ready for Corsica and my car will be ready in time for Portugal.  I will just stop in Ramadam, then continue from Portugal then Germany, then Spain and then GB.”  

When asked how cross country competition compares with the WRC, Sheikh Khalid tactfully said that the “organisation in cross country is more flexible than the WRC I am used to”!

- Martin Holmes

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