World Rally News

The 9th round of the 2001 World Rally Championship will take place this weekend with the Rally Finland. It is the fastest special stage rally in the series, held on wide, hard packed, undulating sandy roads. Categorised by teams as a smooth gravel rally.

Stig Blomqvist and his co-driver Ana Goni will be lining up alongside Armin Schwarz/Manfred Hiemer and Bruno Thiry/Georges Biar in the Skoda Octavia WRC

After three extremely punishing rallies in a row(Cyprus, Acropolis, Safari), Finland marks the beginning of a fresh phase of the 2001 World Rally Championship.

The Lotteries Commission has made a $265,000 grant to assist with the staging of the 2001 Telstra Rally Australia. Kevin Campbell, Chairman of the Commission, announced the grant at the International Year of the Volunteer Vision Conference Dinner.

The organisers of November's Network Q Rally of Great Britain have announced a revised route, designed to benefit businesses in the Vale of Neath and spread the competitive mileage more evenly over all three legs of the 1,000-mile event.

Up to 80 cars will be permitted to compete in Australia's round of the 2001 FIA World Rally Championship - the Perth-based Telstra Rally Australia.

Natalie Barratt, the world's top female rally driver, will contest two of Austria's biggest motorsport events in three weeks, thanks to her new deal with Vienna-based Stohl rally team.

The Skoda Motorsport Rally team achieved its greatest success to date in the World Rally Championship coming home third in the Safari Rally Kenya.

Mitsubishi Motors has embarked on a new and exciting chapter in its motorsports history with the unveiling of its first World Rally Car.

The planned participation of the Jolly Club-prepared Ford Focus with the young Czech crew of Roman Kresta & Jan Tomanek on this year's famous Rally Vinho da Madeira (August 2 - 4) has been cancelled.

Less than two weeks before the start of the prestigious Madeira Rally, two-time European Rally Champion, Enrico Bertone, is ready to face this tarmac challenge.

Right after the centennial motorsport anniversary celebrations Skoda Motorsport has today proved its world class credentials clinching its biggest success since entering the Skoda Octavia WRC in a World Rally Championship, with Armin Schwarz/Manfred Hiemer finishing 3rd overall in the legendary S

Francois Delecour and Daniel Grataloup remain on course for a points-scoring finish on their Safari Rally debut after completing today's tough second leg in fifth position in their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.

SS6 - Mbaruk - Elmenteita (84.58 kms): Makinen fastest through SS6; Rovanpera second; Schwarz third; Delecour fourth; Solberg fifth; Loix had a 30 sec.

The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Tommi Makinen and Risto Mannisenmaki lead the Safari Rally at the end of the opening leg and 351 competitive kilometres.

Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya ended a destructive opening leg of Kenya's Safari Rally in second place at the wheel of their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.

SS1 - Oltepesi - Olepolos (117.46 kms): Schwarz fastest through SS1; Makinen second; Colin McRae third; Solberg fourth; Sainz fifth; Burns retired with a broken front left strut; Sainz stopped to change a puncture; Auriol had power steering problems; Makinen had a broken windscreen after a

SS3 - Orien - Isinya (112.52 kms): Sainz fastest through SS3; Makinen second; Auriol third; Delecour fourth; Rovanpera fifth; Loix broke a compression strut; Colin McRae has retired after going off the road; Solberg lost time with a damaged right rear suspension; Pozzo leads Group N by 2mi

Markku Alen, one of rallying's all-time greats, will return to top level competition next month when he drives a Ford Focus World Rally Car on the Rally Finland.

Along with the Monte Carlo Rally, the Safari is one of the World Rally Championship's true classics. And even though the African round has evolved in recent years in line with recent changes within the sport, it still boasts many of the ingredients that have long made it such a unique event.

The Safari Rally represents the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and is an open road event run under sporting and technical regulations that are in many ways unique.

The Hyundai Castrol World Rally Team will be running a three-car team for Rally Finland, the ninth round of the World Rally Championship, to include four-time World Champion Juha Kankkunen and co-driver Juha Repo.

The Subaru team will be entering three cars for the Safari Rally of Kenya, with nominated entries for last year's winner Richard Burns and Petter Solberg, while Toshihiro Arai will once again be behind the wheel of a third Impreza.

Taking teamwork to new heights, Subaru's Petter Solberg and his co-driver Phil Mills have announced that their girlfriends are both expecting babies on exactly the same date.