MOTORSPORT: NZ ups ante on Rally Australia

Rally Australia has been confirmed as the last round of the World Rally Championship again next year, but New Zealand is stepping up its efforts to snatch back the Pacific round of the WRC beyond that.

A Legends of Speed dinner in Auckland, held to raise money for NZ’s Elite Academy of Motorsport and the campaign to regain a WRC round, was attended not only by the country’s motorsport stars (including Hayden Paddon, the Kiwi who won the WRC’s Rally Argentina this year) and powerbrokers but the prime minister, John Key.

The managing director of the company that promotes the WRC, Munich-based Oliver Ciesla, was also there and expressed his desire to have Rally NZ back in the WRC.

While in NZ, Ciesla took a look at the proposed base for an event at Tauranga on the east coast of the North Island.

“I’m optimistic, and would love to say yes sooner or later,” Ciesla told the 700 guests at the Auckland function.

“I understand there is a strong commitment from the prime minister and the people here. Most of the events today are funded to at least half of their budget by the public hand. So this is what we have to talk about.”

Key gave his support for Rally NZ returning to the WRC in 2018 for the first time since 2012, saying there was a “credible case” for organisers to apply for funding from NZ Major Events.

In front of Key, Ciesla presented Hyundai factory driver Paddon with the special award he was not at Rally Australia’s gala dinner in Sydney days earlier to receive for outpacing Volkswagen’s world champion of the past four seasons, Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, down the El Condor mountain in Rally Argentina’s power stage.

Paddon had not attended the Sydney function because he had stayed on at Coffs Harbour after Rally Oz to give team members rides in his New Generation i20.

Paddon has been a passionate advocate for Rally NZ returning to the WRC, writing an open letter in May just days after his maiden victory in Argentina.

Claiming to speak on behalf of four million Kiwis, Paddon said there was “100 per cent support from all the key personnel to run and host Rally NZ”.

NZ and Australia were fixtures in the WRC for a long time, but once Rally Oz moved east after two decades in Western Australia the events began rotating on the calendar. However, Australia has had the sole Pacific round each year since 2013, although its contract expires after next year’s event on November 16-19.

New Zealand hopes to get an indication from the WRC promoters early next year on whether its push to regain the Pacific round has been successful. Australia and NZ won’t rotate again.

“NZ wants the WRC, but the WRC needs NZ,” Paddon said.

“We ask a fair chance to apply and be considered to be back in the WRC in 2018.”

The Kiwis are emphasising that they have a full-time – and successful – driver in the WRC. Paddon finished fourth in the championship this year, with podiums in Sweden and Poland and fourth place at Rally Oz. Australia has not had a regular competitor since Chris Atkinson.

Australia will fight strongly to retain its place in the championship. Rally Australia chairman Ben Rainsford said that “moving to the last round on the calendar [this year] for the first time since 2005 [in WA] worked well”.

“The WRC visitors from Europe loved the warmer weather in November and especially enjoyed the inaugural end-of-season gala we hosted in Sydney,”Rainsford said.

“We’re already working on innovations to make Rally Australia one of the most exciting WRC events of the year for spectators and competitors.”

Confirmation of next year’s WRC calendar came at a meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in Vienna on Wednesday after the schedule for the second half of the season had been up in the air.

While Rally Poland has been retained after FIA unhappiness about its organisation, there won’t be rounds in China (to the disappointment of participating manufacturers) with this year attempt falling through.

There is now a gap through September in which Ciesla said the promoters would “observe potential candidate events” for the future.

There is speculation about the Safari Rally in Kenya returning to the championship in 2019. That would be Africa’s first WRC round since Kenyan government funding dried up in 2002.

Next year’s championship will begin as usual with the Monte Carlo Rally in mid-January.

Hyundai last night was the first of the four makes to reveal its new car under the regulations that introduce more power – and noise – with less weight and more aggressive body kits.

After VW’s withdrawal, the other makes competing for outright honours in the new era seen as returning to machinery similar to the ‘Group B’ monsters of the 1980s – will be Citroen (after a season in which it competed only part-time), Toyota (for its first season this century) and Ford with the M-Sport organisation.

Paddon said at Hyundai’s launch at Monza in Italy that he was excited that “the cars will be more tuneable to each driver and driving style”.

“The new regulations will help to make the sport even more appealing to a new generation of motorsport fans. We will be able to attract a younger fan base,” he said.

Paddon’s Belgian teammate Thierry Neuville, runner-up to Sebastien Ogier in this year’s championship, said the increase in power – to almost 290kW in Hyundai’s case – was “incredible” while “the additional grip and driveability gives us more confidence to push”.

A separate WRC Trophy has been introduced next year for the cars just superseded.

The WMSC also changed the running order rules for the top competitors. They will only run in championship order on Fridays next year after controversially starting in that order for the first two of the three legs of events this year.

2017 World Rally Championship calendar
January 19-22 – Monte-Carlo
February 9-12 – Sweden
March 9-12 – Mexico
April 6-9 – France
April 27-30 – Argentina
May 18-21 – Portugal
June 8-11 – Italy
June 29-July2 – Poland
July 27-30 – Finland
August 17-20 – Germany
October 5-8 – Spain
October 26-29 – Great Britain
November 16-19 – Australia

Top drivers, best cars, but Germany has no GP
German drivers have won 12 of the past 23 Formula 1 word titles (Michael Schumacher seven, Sebastian Vettel four and now Nico Rosberg one) and Mercedes has dominated the three years of the era of hybrid cars, yet Germany won’t have an F1 grand prix next year.

The financially-stricken Nurburgring circuit has been dropped from the world championship calendar because it can’t afford to stage a GP.

Under the rotation policy for the country’s round of the championship, Hockenheim is due to host the 2018 German GP – but it wasn’t willing to fill the void left by the Nurburgring next year.

New champion Rosberg said the absence of a GP in Germany was “really sad”.

“The F1 world championship without a German GP is somehow not a real world championship,” he said.

The loss of Nurburgring has left the championship with 20 rounds next season after the record 21 this year.

F1 execs and Italian Automobile Club officials reached agreement for Monza to remain in the championship for the next three years, while the Azerbaijan race introduced this year has been moved back a week next June to avoid another clash with the Le Mans 24-hour sports car classic in France.

The championship will begin, as usual, in Melbourne but a little later in March than normal, while an asterisk remains against the Brazilian race until organisers can guarantee they can finance that traditional race at Interlagos in Sao Paulo.

2017 Formula 1 World Championship calendar
March 26 – Australia (Melbourne)
April 9 – China (Shanghai)
April 16 – Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 30 – Russia (Sochi)
May 14 – Spain (Barcelona)
May 28 – Monaco
June 11 – Canada (Montreal)
June 25 – Azerbaijan (Baku)
July 9 – Austria (Spielberg)
July 16 – Great Britain (Silverstone)
July 30 – Hungary (Budapest)
August 27 – Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
September 3 – Italy (Monza)
September 17 – Singapore (Marina Bay)
October 1 – Malaysia (Sepang)
October 8 – Japan (Suzuka)
October 22 – United States (Austin, Texas)
October 29 – Mexico (Mexico City)
November 12 – Brazil (Sao Paulo) *
November 26 – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
* To be confirmed

Brabham chases sports car career
US-based Matthew Brabham, driving a Toyota 86 at the last Sydney 500 this weekend, is looking to sports car racing in future.

Brabham, 22, who made his Indianapolis 500 debut in May, told Racer.com “there aren’t a lot of options in open-wheel [in America], so I’ve been concentrating more of my efforts on IMSA (the International Motor Sports Association in the US) than in the past”.

“The door to IndyCar isn’t closed for me – not at all. But I also want to make a name for myself in sports cars.”

Brabham’s father, Geoff, and uncle, David, had great success in sports car racing, including victories at Le Mans.

The grandson of late triple F1 world champion Sir Jack Brabham has raced an array of machinery, including Stadium Super Trucks, and said his pursuit of a sports car drive had been aided by his FIA licence being downgraded from gold to silver.

“I’ve been a ‘gold’ for a few years. But it was like I was on the wrong side of the driver rating system [for sports car pro-am combinations]. I’m not sure why I was downgraded, but it’s fantastic.

“If could have a full-time short in IndyCar I’d take it immediately, but if I can make something happen in IMSA, because I’m now a ‘silver’, I’d be overjoyed.

“Racing in both series would be my ultimate scenario,” he stated.