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Author: David Bodapati
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Dakar rider Edwin Straver succumbs to his injuries
Riyadh, 24 Jan 2020: The motorcycle rider Edwin Straver, who suffered a fall in pk 124 of the special of the 11th stage Shubaytah – Haradh on Thursday, January 16, 2020, has died as a result of these injuries, as reported by his family on Friday morning.
Edwin was revived on the track by the medical team that came by helicopter and attended the pilot in a state of cardiac arrest. Transferred to the Riyadh hospital, he was treated by the center’s resuscitation team before being repatriated to the Netherlands last Wednesday.
Former motocross rider, Edwin Straver – 48 years old – participated in his 3rd Dakar. He finished 30th in 2019, proclaiming himself winner of the Original by Motul category in which he enrolled again in 2020.
The whole of the Dakar caravan presents its deepest condolences and its most sincere condolences to Edwin’s family, friends and relatives.
File photo of Dakar rider Edwin Straver during Stage 10 in Saudi Arabia on Jan 10. May his soul rest in peace. DPPI image -
Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja safe after a big crash
Gap (France), 24 Jan 2020: Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja crashed during the fourth special stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo (SS4 Saint-Clément – Freissinières) on Friday morning.
The Estonians, driving the #8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, went off 9.2 kilometres into the 20.68km stage. The driver and co-driver were both able to exit the car on their own after the incident.
Tänak and Järveoja have been taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks, as is standard procedure following a crash of this nature.
Hyundai Motorsport will provide any further updates in its end-of-day rally report.
The crash video here. (courtesy Tomi T Twitter @T_Tuominen )
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Final MotoGP calendar for 2020
Following is the final MotoGP calendar for 2020
Date Grand Prix Circuit
8 March Qatar* Losail International Circuit
22 March Thailand Chang International Circuit
5 April USA Americas Circuit of the Americas
19 April Argentina Termas de Rio Hondo
3 May Spain Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto
17 May France Le Mans
31 May Italy Autodromo del Mugello
7 June Barcelona Catalunya
21 June Germany Sachsenring
28 June Netherlands TT Circuit Assen
12 July Finland** KymiRing
9 August Czech Republic Automotodrom Brno
16 August Austria Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
30 August Great Britain Silverstone
13 September San Marino Misano Circuit Marco Simoncelli
4 October Aragón MotorLand Aragón
18 October Japan Twin Ring Motegi
25 October Australia Philip Island
1 November Malaysia Sepang International Circuit
15 November Valenciana Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo
* Evening ** Subject to FIM Homologation
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Ogier leads his first shakedown in the Toyota Yaris WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo shakedown
Sebastien Ogier and J Ingrassia during shakedown in the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 01 / Rallye Monte Carlo on Jan 22, 2020. Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Monte Caarlo, 22 Jan 2020: Sébastien Ogier recorded the fastest time in shakedown for Rallye Monte-Carlo: his competitive debut behind the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC. Two-thirds of the team’s all-new line-up featured in the top three, with Elfyn Evans in third, while Kalle Rovanperä was seventh as he prepares for his first appearance at rallying’s highest level, a Toyota Yaris release says.
The shakedown was held on a 3.35-kilometre stage close to the service park in Gap, with dry conditions giving the drivers a chance to get a good feeling with their machinery.
Ogier recorded a time of 1m57.1s on his first run over the stage, with that time remaining unbeaten. Evans was just six tenths of a second slower with his best effort, set on his second run. Rovanperä also improved on his second pass, finishing less than three seconds behind his team-mates.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top 10 as he prepares for the first of eight events this season in an separately-run Toyota Yaris WRC.
Quotes:
Tom Fowler (Technical Director)
“Going into our first rally with the new drivers, they were all pretty settled on their setups after our successful pre-event tests, so there wasn’t much to do from a setup point-of-view in shakedown. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather on the Monte, we have a few different settings for the car depending on the conditions, so we did change a few things during shakedown just to run the parts in anticipation of the different possibilities that can come up over the weekend. Everything went smoothly for everybody, and Ogier posted the fastest time with the first run. You can’t take too much from the shakedown results, but it’s always nice. The road was then getting muddy so it was difficult to take much from the later runs. But everyone is feeling confident, so it’s a good start.”Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“So far, everything is good and running like we were hoping. Shakedown doesn’t mean much and you don’t need to make any conclusions from the results, but it’s always a good sign if you are in the rhythm already. I’ve had the chance to have a good amount of testing already in the car before the start of the season. Of course, there are still some details to learn but the general feeling is there, and the sensations from the test came straight away here in shakedown. We can be confident heading into the rally, but this is probably the one rally of the season where you need to stay humble at the start as the conditions can make it so tricky.”Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It was a really nice feeling to get started with the Yaris here in shakedown. I found a good feeling pretty much straight away. The car was working really well and I’m looking forward to getting going now. The shakedown was very dry to begin with, so I doubt it will be representative of the whole rally, but that’s typical Rallye Monte-Carlo. It would be nice if we can start the first stage with a clear, dry road, but I’m sure it will get interesting after that.”Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It felt amazing to be in the car in shakedown. It was my first time back on asphalt after one month, and it was not so easy on the first run, but the second run was already better. The car was feeling really good and the setup also, and I think the small changes that we did in the test were now correct. There is still some work to do with myself for sure, but it feels good.”Shakedown times:
1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) 1m57.1s
2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +0.1s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +0.6s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1.2s
5 Teemu Suninen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.3s
6 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.6s
7 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2.9s
8 Gus Greensmith/Elliott Edmondson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3.1s
9 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +3.3s
10 Takamoto Katsuta/Daniel Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4.8sWhat’s next?
The rally starts from Monte Carlo’s famous harbour on Thursday evening before two night-time stages en-route back to Gap. The first test, Malijai-Puimichel, is being run for the first time since 1994. The darkness and falling temperatures can often combine to make a particularly tricky start to the season. -
Yash Aradhya honoured with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award
Yash Aradhya receiving the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award from Honorable President of India Shri. Ram Nath Kovind on 22 Jan 2020. A Rashtrapati Bhavan photo New Delhi, 22 Jan 2020: Bengaluru’s Yash Aradhya became the first Indian motorsports star to win the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award here on Wednesday. Yash received the award in a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from Honorable President of India Shri. Ram Nath Kovind.
The 17-year-old, who has been scorching race tracks ever since he turned 9, has 13 Championship wins, including over 65 podium finishes and 12 awards, to his credit.
The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puruskar is India’s highest civilian honor bestowed upon exceptional students from various fields under the age of 18. Yash, along with the 49 other talented kids who have been hand-picked by an elite panel set up by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, will also meet the Prime Minister before they take part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26.
“I thank the Government of India for considering me worthy of this award and humbly accept it. It is a great honour to receive the award from the Honorable President of India and to meet the Honorable Prime Minister of India. I have been working really hard and after attaining considerable success at both international and national circuit, it really is very gratifying to be bestowed with this recognition,” Yash said shortly after receiving the award.
“While I have had my share of success on the grid in the past few years this award will remain always special as this is not an achievement for me but for the whole fraternity. This award will inspire other young enthusiasts and they will push themselves more as they now would know that their achievement will be recognised,” he added.
Coming from a humble background and no family history in motorsports, it has been a long and tough ride for Yash. He started his career in the JK Tyre National Go-karting Championship eight years back, racing for Akbar Ebrahim’s Meco Motorsports, and has steadily moved up, eventually making it to Formula Racing.
He has taken part in international championships too, including the CIK FIA Academy Trophy in 2015 in Spain, Belgium and France. He was also nominated by FMSCI to represent India in the Rotax World Finals in 2017 to race in Portugal. In 2019, took part in the FIA Motorsport Games held at Rome.
Yash debuted in the Formula-4 South East Asia Championship in the 2019 season and claimed first 2 podium finishes to underline his talent.
“Indian motorsports is enjoying a great high. First, Gaurav Gill became the first from our field to receive the Arjuna Award; and now, Yash is being felicitated with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award. This is yet another great achievement for Indian motorsports and it is indeed a very proud moment for us. It feels really good to see that our hard work for over the years now is finally reaping rich dividends. Yash is a very talented driver and getting this award will definitely motivate him to reach greater heights in near future,” Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsports – JK Tyre, said.
“We are very thrilled with Yash’s achievement. It has taken us lot of time to get the recognition that we deserved. But now with Gaurav and Yash breaking the glass ceiling, we are hopeful that many laurels will be won by our stars and people will start taking our sport more seriously as well as garner more mainstream attention,” Mr. J Prithiviraj, President of the FMSCI said.
“Never judge a book by it’s cover Is an old saying. This certainly applies to young Yash Aradhaya. If one had to observe his mannerisms when he first stepped into a kids go kart, one may not have thought that he would raise up to the occasion to put himself In a position to be nominated for this prestigious award. But If one had a careful look at his eyes and the deep rooted passion conveyed through them, one would have certainly expected him to go a long way in his motor sporting career. Coupled with the support from his family and the never say die attitude of his doting father, Yash has had the opportunity to move up the tough ladder step by step and achieve remarkable results at every step. This Is just the beginning and with strong determination from him and everyone else around him, Yash could be well on his way to making a name for himself in the International arena of professional racing,” Akbar Ebrahim of Meco Motorsports and Yash’ mentor said.
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WRC 2020 Calendar
The FIA today announced a number of changes to the World Rally Championship calendar for the 2020 season, following an e-vote by the World Motor Sport Council last week.
Following a request by the organiser of Rally Chile, it has been approved to withdraw this event from the 2020 World Rally Championship calendar.
The date of the next event on the WRC calendar, Rally Argentina, initially scheduled from April 30 to May 3, has been brought forward by one week to allow additional time for the shipment of equipment from South America to Africa.
The World Motor Sport Council also approved Wales Rally GB as the fifth and final round of the 2020 Junior World Rally Championship.
The revised 2020 calendar, comprised of 13 rounds, is confirmed as follows:
1. 26 January Rally Monte-Carlo 2. 16 February Rally Sweden* 3. 15 March Rally Mexico 4. 26 April Rally Argentina 5. 24 May Rally Portugal 6. 7 June Rally Italy* 7. 19 July Rally Kenya 8. 9 August Rally Finland* 9. 6 September Rally New Zealand 10. 27 September Rally Turkey 11. 18 October Rally Germany* 12. 1 November Rally Great Britain* 13. 22 November Rally Japan *Rounds that count for the FIA Junior WRC Championship
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Ashish Raorane completes Africa Eco Race against all odds
Ashish Raorane after crossing the finish line on Sunday. Photo courtesy Ashish Raorane team Dakar, 20 Jan 2020: The daring adventure of 38-year old professional Indian rally-raid rider, Ashish Raorane, ended in a dream finish as he completed the tough Africa Eco Race on Sunday. After completing the ninth stage in 54th overall position, the Indian took the restart and managed to rejoin the last stage, the famous beach stage, as the Africa Eco race allows a restart.
The non-factory rider is self-funded for almost all of the events he has taken part and is attempting the Africa Eco Race for the first time. The Pune-based marine engineer has caught the attention of Luminox last year by his rally-raid exploits and is supported for the rally by the Swiss watch brand. Ashish was greeted by his wife and a few others as he celebrated with the Indian flag at the finish line in Dakar. Ashish was supported by Nomadas Adventure Racing Team of Switzerland.
The last stage offered a real driving treat but had no effect on the general classifications this year. There was, therefore, good humour and spirit on the finish line, situated at the edge of the Erg at the village of Teverit, around 30km from Nouakchott in Mauritania. For the record, there was no suspense in the motorcycle category, as the YAMAHA of Alessandro BOTTURI left two minutes behind the KTM of Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER and quickly caught the Norwegian. As a result, 1min 59sec was added to the Italian’s lead and BOTTURI therefore wins this 12th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE by 3min 59sec from ULLEVALSETER.
Coming back to the Indian’s rally, after doing a superb job in the first leg, Ashish caught up with the reality of his adventure with a bike that did not have enough capacity for fuel when compared to the advanced bikes, and paid the penalty after a navigation error in Stage 10. At the half-way mark, before the rest day Ashish rode to a stunning 17th Overall rank but the final week saw him nurture the fuel and reduce speeds. He was ranked 54th in the 9th stage before missing two stages as he ended taking almost 31 hours to reach the bivouac after he ran out of fuel. Ashish Raorane was classiefied 57th in bike category after the 12th and last stage, the Beach stage.
Ashish Raorane explained his tryst with the Africa Eco Race, that ran over 6,500 km, with 12 stages across Morocco, the Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal. The rally concluded on Sunday, Jan 19. Four days before the start of the rally, Ashish was in hospital after being down with dengue. But the rider in him took over and he started the rally against all medical advice but did a splendid job finishing with aplomb.
“It took me 31 hours to get back to the bivouac, and so I missed a couple of stages. The Africa Eco Race allows restarts and that’s a great thing. Of course I picked up a lot of penalties but at least I am not out of the race. So, eventually, I did get to the ride the famous Beach stage at the Lac Rose in Dakar and cross the finish line of the Africa Eco Race at P57,’’ said Ashish. The rally runs in the original route of Dakar when it was run in Africa.
“To say that the past weeks have been a roller coaster both physically and emotionally would be an understatement. I was in the hospital, four days before the race, wondering if I could make it to the start line and against all medical advice decided to go give it a shot,’’ he continued.
“Against all expectations, the race started out pretty well. Though, I was struggling physically after having spent 10 days in the hospital, going into the rest day, I had a good feeling on the bike,’’ he added. Ashish was ranked overall 17th before the rest day.
Mauritania, is where it started unraveling for the Indian rider. The Indian and his team realised that the fuel consumption on the bike in the soft Mauritanian sand was pretty high and that the rally-modified Enduro bike did not have the required fuel autonomy unlike a full-fledged cross-country rally-raid bike. He was astride a KTM 450 EXC, a 4-stroke enduro off-road bike, which has its limitations during long-distance riding on terrain full of piste unlike a KTM 450 Rally Replica which will cost a whopping Rs.23 lakh or so.
The first stage in Mauritania confirmed this weakness. From there on, Ashish did manage his speed admirably to save the fuel. “On Stage 8 of the race, I made a navigation mistake early on going the wrong way, which further reduced my fuel autonomy. The stage was tough and, I was struggling through the dunes. At km 175 of the stage, the bike was buried in the dune. I was out of water and food, clutch issues crept up and I did not have enough fuel to reach the refueling point. I had to make one of the most-difficult decisions to call the PC course. Little did I know at the time that I would be spending the night in the dunes all alone but that is another long story, for another day,’’ the brave rider concluded.
Ashish Raorane with his wife at the finish lane of Africa Eco Race in Dakar on Sunday. Photo AER -
Imran Pasha of TVS Racing wins National title in Class 4: INRC for 2-wheelers
File photo of Imran Pasha from a round in 2019. Imran Pasha who won the National title in the Super Sport 260 class in Bengaluru on Sunday. Photo by Keshava Murthy Bengaluru, 19 Jan 2020: Imran Pasha of TVS Racing astride an Apache RTR 200 hogged the limelight winning the honours in overall classification of the sixth and final round of the MRF Mogrip fmsci Indian National Rally Championship for two-wheelers held at Devanahalli, near here, on Sunday.
The 2w-rally National Championship was organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) and promoted by Godspeed Racing under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci). With this win Imran Pasha is crowned National champion in Class 4 for Super Sport 260 bikes, even as his title rival, a privateer from Mangaluru, Adnan Ahmed, could finish only one stage and logged a DNF (did not finish).
Another Bengaluru privateer Yuva Kumar was overall second followed by Sachin D, also of TVS Racing. Yuva Kumar, astride a Hero Impulse, also won Class 1. Ishan Chandra A of Mangaluru on a Hero Impulse clocked a commendable 56:25.5 to win Class 3 while another local lad Rakesh Kumar took Class 2.
Top TVS rider and National champion Aishwarya Pissay won the ladies class with Ryhana Bee in second while Vijay Prasad of Bengaluru claimed the Star of Karnataka title, also finishing a creditable 5th overall with two compatriots Ansar Mohamed and Sanjay Somashekar finishing in that order.
Imran Pasha with the Overall and Class 4 trophy on Sunday. Photo: AutoTrack Provisional final results (Round 6) (Privateer unless mentioned):
Overall: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 53min, 52.817seconds; 2. Yuva Kumar (privateer) 54:01.915; 3. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 54:25.149.
Class 1: 1. Yuva Kumar (Pvt.) 54:01.915; 2. Nikhil B (Pvt.) 57:41.844; 3. Santhosh Kour (Pvt.) 1:15:44.990.
Class 2: 1. Rakesh Kumar 1:00:01.575; 2. Ajin Abraham 1:01:55.919; 3. Azeeb Muhammed 1:03:35.736.
Class 3: 1. Ishan Chandra A 56:25.520; 2. Pavan BK 58:40.028; 3. Francis PU 58:52.540.
Class 4: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 53:52:817; 2. Sachin D 54:25.149; 3. Samuel Jacob (TVS Racing) 59:18.346.
Class 5: 1. T Vijay Kumar 1:05:23.335; 2. Uday Ganguli 1:13:45.510.
Class 6: 1. Devaraj V 58:01.677; 2. Arun Joy M 1: 00:36.275; 3. Arvind Kumar Singh 1:14:11.931.
Class 7: 1. Syed Asif Ali (TVS Racing) 1:01:41.731; 2. Pinkesh Thakkar 1:02:04.557; 3. Shamim Khan 1:02:26325.
Class 8: 1. Aishwarya PM (TVS Racing) 1:06:06.791; Ryhana Bee A 1:08:15.208.
Star of Karnataka: 1. Vinay Prasad 57:21.630; 2. Ansar Mohamed 58:19.685; 3. Sanjay Somashekar 59:05.447.
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Competitive field entered for 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship
Monte Carlo, 18 Jan 2020: The 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship has accepted 16 entries for the opening round on Rally Sweden, representing a diverse selection of rallying’s next generation of superstars.The 16 crews looking to be the next star of the FIA World Rally Championship represent 11 different countries across Europe and South America. Seven of 2019’s FIA Junior WRC crews return for 2020 including 2019 championship runner-up and Rookie Award winner, Tom Kristensson.
This year’s entrants will be vying for the biggest prize in rallying; the keys to an Ecoboost-powered M-Sport Fiesta R5 Mk II, 200 Pirelli tyres, free registration for WRC 3 in 2021 and five free WRC 3 entries in 2021. Should the 2020 champion go on to win the 2021 WRC 3 championship, they will then be awarded two drives with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in 2022.
The prize package underlines FIA Junior WRC as a firm part M-Sport’s ‘Ladder of Opportunity’ that provides young and budding rally drivers a clear path to succeed in rallying on the world stage. Four of the 2020 FIA Junior WRC drivers come by way of M-Sport’s FIA Junior WRC scholarship, which sees talented junior drivers from national championships awarded a significant scholarship package for the 2020 season. This year’s M-Sport FIA Junior WRC scholarship drivers are: Ruairi Bell (Britain), Sami Pajari (Finland), Marco Pollara (Italy) and Ken Torn (Estonia). To emphasise the importance of the ‘Ladder of Opportunity’ to M-Sport, this year’s FIA Junior WRC livery has taken inspiration from the official livery of the M-Sport World Rally Team.
Of the nine new crews joining FIA Junior WRC for the first time in 2020, three of which will be making their WRC event debuts in Sweden, five will be eligible for the highly competitive Rookie Award. The Rookie Award will see the highest placed rookie in the 2020 championship collect a €15,000 prize to go towards their 2021 FIA Junior WRC campaign.
Fabio Andolfi IT / Savoia Stefano IT
Andolfi is by far the most experienced driver in the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship, with 33 WRC event starts. His career highlights include a WRC 2 victory on Tour de Corse and a podium spot on Rally Turkey in 2019 which led to him finishing fifth in the 2019 FIA WRC 2 Championship.Jon Armstrong GB / Noel O’Sullivan IE
With an impressive rally esports career, 2018 WRC eSports champion Armstrong is no stranger to the real world of rallying with a strong resume heading into the 2020 season. He has experience on WRC events, proving himself as a competitive driver in two-wheel and four-wheel drive machinery thanks to a top ten finish in WRC 2 on Rally Spain in 2017 and two Drive D-Mack Fiesta Trophy victories in 2016.Raul Badiu RO / Gabriel Lazar RO
Badiu enters his second full season of FIA Junior WRC in 2020, after a cameo appearance on Rally Turkey for the finale of the 2018 championship and competing in four rounds of the 2019 championship. The Romanian demonstrated raw speed on all three surfaces FIA Junior WRC competed on throughout 2019, posting top-three stage times and earning a career best of fourth on Rally d’Italia Sardegna.Ruairi Bell GB / Darren Garrod GB
Bell might be used to the stop-start traffic of Central London, which is where he currently calls home, but that somehow worked to his benefit in 2019 after contesting a double championship campaign. He won the M-Sport Fiesta FIA Junior WRC scholarship in the British Rally Championship and also finished top RC4 driver on Rally de Portugal.Tommaso Ciuffi IT / Nicolo Gonella IT
2019 saw Ciuffi produce an impressive set of results in the Italian national championship, finishing top two-wheel drive car on six occasions including Rally di Roma Capitale where he was first in the RC4 class. Ciuffi has three WRC event starts to his name, all on Rally d’Italia Sardegna between 2017 and 2019.Lauri Joona FI / Ari Koponen FI*
Joona made his WRC debut in 2019 on Rally Finland and was able to demonstrate a competitive pace against the FIA Junior WRC field, classifying third among all RC4 class cars entered. In addition to having his first taste of a WRC event, Joona finished second in the 2019 Finnish Junior Rally Championship. Prior to his rallying career, Joona was a keen photographer on Finnish rallies.Tom Kristensson SE / Joakim Sjöberg SE
Kristensson was a consistent FIA Junior WRC title contender in 2019 and led the championship for the majority of the season but ultimately finished second, winning the 2019 Rookie Award. He seized a total of 14 stage wins and proved his pace on all three surfaces that the championship competes on. His largest strength was consistency, taking two victories (Sweden and Finland) and was the only FIA Junior WRC driver to finish on the podium at every stop on the calendar.Catie Munnings GB / TBC*
Munnings will make her WRC event debut on Rally Sweden after a total of 18 starts in the European Rally Championship between 2016 and 2019. She has a total of seven ERC Ladies victories as well as the 2016 ERC Ladies Championship.Pontus Lönnström SE / Stefan Gustavsson SE*
Lonnstrom will make his FIA Junior WRC debut in 2020 after winning back to back Swedish Junior Rally Championships in 2018 and 2019. He already has two WRC events under his belt, most recently on Rally Spain in 2019 to help him gain WRC tarmac experience in preparation for his 2020 FIA Junior WRC campaign.Marco Pollara IT /Maurizio Messina IT*
Pollara enters the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship as the 2019 Italian Junior Champion, taking four victories and a total of five podiums out of six rounds in 2019. His one and only WRC event start was on Rally d’Italia Sardegna in 2019 which was part of the 2019 Italian Junior championship in which he won his category.Sami Pajari FI / Antti Haapala FI*
At just 18 years old Pajari is entering his first full season of FIA Junior WRC in 2020 after winning both parts of the 2019 AKK Flying Finn Future Star Award. Despite his young age, Pajari won back to back Finnish Rally Championships; U18 Champion in 2018 and Finnish Junior Champion in 2019. Pajari has one FIA Junior WRC start to his name already after entering Rally Finland in 2019 where he took two stage wins.Enrico Oldrati IT / Elia de Guio IT
Oldrati will embark upon his third season in FIA Junior WRC in 2020, but it is also only his third season of rallying to date. His FIA Junior WRC highlight so far came on 2018 Rally de Portugal where he scored an impressive second place demonstrating extraordinary progress in such a short space of time. This season, Oldrati is focussed on improving his pace and securing top-five results.Oscar Solberg NO / Jim Hjerpe SE
The son of Henning Solberg and nephew to Petter Solberg, 2003 World Rally Champion, rallying is certainly a way of life for Oscar Solberg. He has seven previous WRC event starts, all in a Fiesta R2, and he finished third in the 2017 British Junior Rally Championship, picking up one victory and nine stage wins along the way.Martins Sesks LV / Renars Francis LV
Sesks had a difficult rookie season in the 2019 FIA Junior WRC Championship, despite setting fastest stage times on two out of the four rounds he contested. He established himself as an early championship contender during Rally Sweden, taking the fight to hometown hero Dennis Radstrom, but his best result of the season came by way of fifth on Rally d’Italia Sardegna.Ken Torn EE / Kauri Pannas EE
With a rallying career that began in the 2008 Estonian Youth Rally championship, Torn had an impressive debut FIA Junior WRC season in 2018, finishing fifth in the championship. 2018 saw him take victory on Rally Finland with stage wins on four out of five rallies. Torn’s 2019 campaign was short-lived, taking two stage wins on his way to tenth place on Rally Sweden and retiring from Tour de Corse before calling time on his 2019 FIA Junior WRC campaign.Fabrizio Zaldivar PY / Fernando Mussano AR
2019 Rally Sweden was an event of many firsts for Zaldivar, he celebrated his eighteenth birthday just days before the start of the event and it was his first time driving on snow and ice. The Paraguayan improved his pace on every rally and by the last round of the season was able to secure fifth on Wales Rally GB, the best result of his FIA Junior WRC career to date.*eligible for Rookie Award
Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Team Director, said: “This amount of entries for the start of the season in Junior WRC speaks volumes about the success of the championship. With the biggest prize package in rallying for the 2020 champion, FIA Junior WRC is the perfect stepping stone for any driver wishing to establish themselves in the FIA World Rally Championship. With our key partners Ford, Pirelli and Wolf Lubricants all heavily engaged in rally activities throughout every level of the sport, FIA Junior WRC is the most accessible championship that gives a great introduction to all aspects of the WRC. We have a very impressive lineup of entries for the opening round of the season in Sweden that is also balanced in terms of returning and fresh faces. I am really excited about the championship fight ahead having followed all of the this year’s crews closely in previous years. I know what each driver is capable of which should make the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship fight the most competitive yet.”
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Final round of INRC for two-wheelers on Sunday
File photo of INRC action from a 2019 round. Photo courtesy KMSC release Bengaluru, 19 Jan 2020: Imran Pasha from TVS Racing and privateer Adnaan Ahmed from Mangaluru will be fighting for honours in the Upto 260cc class in the Rally de Bengaluru, the 6th and final round of the MRF Mogrip Indian National Rally Championship for 2-wheelers 2019, here on Sunday.
Organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club and promoted by Promoted by God Speed Racing, Pune, the event has attracted 46 riders, including two ladies, from across India. The INRC for 2-wheelers will be flagged off at the Tribal Adventure Café, situated near Kundana in Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city. Two stages of 8-km each will be run thrice in forward direction cumulating to 168 kms including Liaison distance.
Aishwarya Pissay, also from TVS Racing, who has already sealed the championship, will have National Racing champion in the ladies class, Ryhana Bee to fight in the last rally of the season. Suhail Ahmed, who has also sealed the championship in the Bullet class, will have a final go in the last round.
A total on nine classes will be part of the event. For the first time in Indian Motorsports, three 2-wheeler `Trauma Ambulances’ will be part of the medical team, popularly known as BEAST, which is provided by Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Brookefield, Bengaluru.
Shivu Shivappa, President, KMSC and Vice-President FMSCI, said that all arrangements are made for running the rally in a safe manner. “Safety measures are in place with adequate ambulances and highly-professional medical team and we look forward for good performances and crowning of the National champions,’’ he concluded.
KMSC file photo 2019 action during INRC for 2w
