Louise Goodman has had a long career in motorsport, from starting out as a Press Officer at Jordan Grand Prix to becoming a familiar face to Formula 1 fans in the UK as a pitlane reporter for ITV. She now presents ITV’s BTCC coverage and has her own media training company – Goodman Media.
In our interview, Louise shares her insights into how the sport has changed over the years and discusses some of her more unique experiences, including becoming the first wo man to take part in a Formula 1 pit stop and being a passenger in a crash between Fernando Alonso and Nigel Mansell!
Alison Finlay: You’ve had a long career in motorsports – generally regarded as a very male-dominated environment – what would you rank as some of your greatest achievements? Louise Goodman: I think having a long career in motorsport is probably up there on the list! I was lucky to fall into the sport. It wasn’t as if I set out to work in motorsport, or in broadcasting, which is what I’ve ended up doing. It’s a competitive business, and to have carried on working in it in various different guises; various different roles, I think it’s something to be… well, I applaud it anyway, even if nobody else does! It makes me happy, put it that way.
AF: What are some of your thoughts on how things have changed over the years in terms of participation of women and involvement of women in the sport?
LG: When I first walked into a Formula 1 paddock, back in the very late 1980s, you could probably count on not more than two hands the amount of women that were actually working in the paddock. It does have to be said that the number of people working in the paddock full stop was a lot smaller. Nowadays the teams have massive great big motorhomes that probably take 20-30 people to set them up. Back when I first started, it was two people, very often a husband-and-wife team, who drove the motorhome from A to B, set it all up, did the cooking and did a bit of everything.
When I first started out in Formula 1, some of the teams didn’t have a press officer. There was no facility for looking after the media, and a lot less media as well. And in marketing, there would be maybe two people in the commercial department, and that would be it. So marketing, media, those are areas where we’ve traditionally seen more women. I think more recently what’s been really good is the increase in numbers of women working on the technical side as well.
I think there is still work to be done to open people’s eyes to the fact that there are so many roles in the various different areas that motorsport encompasses, obviously the engineering side being one of those key areas. [Teams are] competitive across every level: they want the best engineers; they want the best candidates. They don’t really care whether they’re male or female, but the pool from which they are drawing has a lot more men in it, so inevitably, there’s going to be a lot more men coming through.
It has to start at the bottom. It starts in school, it starts in education, with encouraging a broader spectrum of people from different genders and different ethnicities to go into the subjects that will ultimately lead towards people having careers in motorsport.
AF: You were the first woman to take part in an F1 pitstop. Can you talk about how that came about and what that experience was like for you?
LG: When I was part of the ITV Formula 1 presentation team, we were always looking for different ideas for different features. I was standing in the pit lane at one of the Grands Prix watching – I think it was Honda at the time. They were doing their pitstop practice and Alastair Gibson, their chief mechanic said ‘you should have a go at this!’ and that sowed the seed for the idea.
I trained with the team. I had to take part, understandably, in a lot of pit stop practice to make sure that I was up to the job. The plan was that we would film two pieces that would go out as part of our coverage at the British Grand Prix. The week before the Grand Prix, I took a phone call from Gil de Ferran, who was the sporting director of the team at the time, who said ‘I’m really sorry Louise, but we’ve had a meeting and you’re not going to be able to do the pit stop’, which I was immensely frustrated about. So [we] were left with a hole in our feature material for the British Grand Prix.
I put in a phone call to Andy Stevenson who was at Midland at the time. We had known each other for a long time I said ‘I’ve got this problem, I’ve trained to do this’ and he said ‘fine, no problem’. And I said ‘well, do you need to check?’ and he said ‘no, there’s no point telling the engineers about it, is there? they always get too uptight about this kind of thing’. I obviously then had to go and do some pit stop practice with their team, which scared the bejesus out of me, because I then discovered my job was rear left wheel off, and there was a very particular movement that you had to do on the Honda car and it was slightly different on the Midland.
I was incredibly nervous about it.. I really was going to have to muck it up in a monumental style if I was going to have an impact on their pitstop. But my heart was still in my mouth when it happened, and I felt like I’d just won the Grand Prix when it all went successfully!
Ironically, Jenson Button’s car with the Honda team never made it to his first pit stop, so had I stuck with the original team, it would never have happened! So it was big thanks to Andy, who I discovered afterwards had literally told his engineers ten minutes before the start of the race that I was going to be on the crew doing the pit stops.
Equality in motorsport is something that every racing series is striving towards, especially on a day like International Women’s Day. From grassroots programmes like Dare to Be Different by Suzie Wolff to an entire Formula 1 support series for women, introducing women to a male-dominated sport is something that is making the headlines left, right and centre.
Extreme E is a sport that is promoting equality from the outset by having one male and one female driver in each team. The entire aim of the series is to have the best combination of people working on the car and behind the wheel and not having their gender dictate their opportunities.
Each driver will be behind the wheel of a Spark ODYSSEY 21 which is an electric SUV with a power output of 400kW, about 1.5 times more powerful than a World Rally car.
Claudia Huertgen
Credit: Extreme E | Photographer: Charly Lopez
Claudia Huertgen is most well known for being successful in touring cars and winning the ADAC Total 24 Hours of Nurburgring in the SP10 class, driving a BMW M4 GT4. She has also taken part in the ADAC GT Masters trophy. At 41, she is one of the older drivers in the field but her expertise will help her as she battles through the field for the Abt Cupra XE team.
Laia Sanz
Competing for the Spanish Acconia Sainz XE Team, Laia Sanz is a thirteen-time women’s time trial world champion in outdoor motorcycle trials but has recently taken part in the Dakar Rally finishing at a high of fifteenth place in 2016. She has also taken part in the 24H of Barcelona, winning her class in 2011. Her off-road experience only brings more knowledge to the team as she will race alongside the team owner and rally legend Carlos Sainz.
Catie Munnings
Catie Munnings is a British rally driver and former TV presenter. She has taken part in the European Rally Championship and contested both the Under 27 and Ladies categories. Previously, she presented a children’s television show showcasing fast and large vehicles and explaining their use in life. As a Red Bull sponsored athlete, she has been able to use this backing to encourage women to take part in rallying and she also plays a role, alongside Suzie Wolff, in the Dare To Be Different campaign.
Sara Price
Credit: Extreme E | Photographer: Charly Lopez
Hailing from Riverside, California, Sara Price began racing at age eight and now has medalled at the X Games multiple times in the motocross categories. Previously, she has completed in the Stadium Super Trucks series which races in America and Australia, with a highest finish if fourth. She is the first female driver racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in their history and we hope that she isn’t the last.
“When I put a helmet on you know I often get this question, ‘how is it being a female in a male dominated sport?’, and I say, ‘I’m not a female I’m not a male, I’m just a racer.’ “What Extreme E is doing right now is pretty incredible. It is going to be able to provide girls who have incredible talent that’s never been seen before, a chance to showcase it – that itself is huge for women as well as for motorsport.”
Christine Giampaoli Zona
Christine Giampaoli Zonca was a member of the first all-female rally team to take part in a WRC event and does more than just drive a car. She has a Bachelor’s degree in motorsport engineering technology from the University of Birmingham and regularly prepares her own car for events in which she takes part in. Her future plans include racing in the 2022 Dakar Rally along with Hispano-Suzia Xite Energy Team in Extreme E.
Molly Taylor
Molly Taylor is an Australian Rally driver who won the Australian Rally Championship in 2016, both the youngest and only female to do so, and finished as runner up in the following year. Along with this, she was the first female accepted into the Australian Motor Sports Foundation and is the only non-Brit to win the British Ladies Rally Championship, doing so in both 2009 and 2010. She is no stranger to competing in off-road situations and her knowledge bodes well for Rosberg Xtreme Racing.
“One of the great things about motorsport is that when you put the helmet on it doesn’t matter what gender you are and that’s always been my philosophy. But what I have noticed through competing, is the number of young girls that when they see a female competing, they then want to be involved – so I think having that exposure at the highest level is really important to help improve the diversity and equality for the next generations coming up. If [Extreme E] can help change the amount of girls that are involved in racing at grassroots level and therefore what the future of our sport looks like, I think it’s really important for that reason.”
Jamie Chadwick
Credit: Extreme E | Photographer: Charly Lopez
Jamie Chadwick is arguably the most well-known female driver taking part in Extreme E so far, having won the inaugural W Series championship, being a member of the Williams Driver Academy and racing with Prema Powerteam in the 2020 Formula Regional European Championship, to name a few things. Coming from an original background in GT racing, she understands the skill needed to drive a powerful car and working with the Veloce team and is an exciting addition to the series.
“Extreme E is definitely a leap into the unknown for me, having only previously driven single-seaters and sportscars, but I’ve never shied away from a challenge. The first time I tested the car, I knew I wanted to race it – an electric SUV is a large vehicle, yet the stunning power it produces when you put your foot down makes it exhilarating to drive. The fact that Extreme E is also committed to gender equality is just the icing on the cake. Winning the W Series was fantastic – and huge for my career – but I want to prove that I can beat everybody at this kind of level, which means men and women alike. The prospect of going up against the likes of Jenson Button and Sébastien Loeb – I mean, these guys were heroes to me when I was growing up – is incredible. If you want to succeed in sport, as in life, you must be prepared to really push yourself. That is exactly what I am doing in Extreme E and I cannot wait to get started!”
Cristina Gutierrez
Cristina Gutierrez was the first-ever Spanish woman to finish the Dakar Rally in a car and in 2021 became the second woman to win a Dakar stage. Her expertise stems from competing in the Dakar rally and the Spanish Women’s Off-Road Champion since 2012. Racing for Team X44 is a great addition to her career thus far.
The first X Prix takes place in Saudi Arabia on the third and fourth of April and all of these women will be able to show their skill set on a level playing field with the men in the series.
I had the absolute privilege of speaking with Kirsten and was able to ask some questions which she very kindly took the time to answer.
Kirsten is South Africa’s top female enduro racer and has been riding since the age of 8 years old when she started riding dirt bikes for fun with her uncle and cousin round their garden and then her dad started to take her to the track on a Sunday which quickly progressed to both Saturdays and Sundays. Kirsten started riding professionally at the age of 22 and has now truly made a name for herself worldwide in the hard enduro racing scene.
Indeed Kirsten has been the first female rider to finish races such as Redbull Romaniacs silver class, Redbull Sea to Sky, Redbull Megawatt 111, Redbull Braveman & the Roof of Africa. Whilst competing at the top level of her sport all over the world, and most times being the only lady to do do, Kirsten has achieved her South African Springbok colours!
As a tomboy growing up and wanting to keep up with the boys, Kirsten loves the challenge of being a female rider competing against the boys on rough terrain and describes herself as very competitive even off the track – she will race to the front door and even race the dogs to the swimming pool! To say Kirsten excels in her sport is an understatement and the list of achievements is pretty impressive!
2018:
X-Race Namibia, Expert Class : 2nd overall, 1st lady
Redbull Romaniacs, Bronze Class : 15th overall, 1stlady
Sea to Sky, Turkey : 31st overall, only lady competitor in the Gold Class
WildWood Rock : 6th overall, 1st lady
Roof of Africa Gold class Finisher : 25th overall, 1st lady
Powasol Timberland Extreme Enduro : 14th overall in gold class, first lady finisher
Redbull Romaniacs Silver Class : 45th overall, first lady finisher
South African Overall Silver Class National Champion in a male dominated class
Roof of Africa Gold class : 33rd overall
2016:
King of the Hill : 28th overall in expert class; made history being the first lady to ever finish expert class
FIM Super Enduro World Series, Prague: 4th in world championship
Alfie Cox Redbull Invitational Extreme Enduro:Kirsten was the only female to compete, making it into the semi- final and ranked 15th amongst the best male extreme enduro riders in South Africa
Redbull Romaniacs : 48th overall; the first Female in history to finish the race in silver Class
Redbull Braveman : 2nd in Silver class; only female to finish
Redbull 111 Megawatt Poland : 30th overall out of over 1000 entries, only female to qualify and finish
Redbull Sea to Sky : 24th overall in Gold class, reaching the top of Mount Olympus, bettering her previous years position by over 30 positions
South African National Enduro Championship:Kirsten raced a consistent season finishing on the podium at all rounds, but finished 2nd overall. This is the best Kirsten has done in all her years racing the National Enduros.
Roof Of Africa : This was Kirsten’s first attempt at Gold class, going out on a whim & no expectations, Kirsten made history again and became the first ever woman in the 49 year history of the Roof Of Africa and finished the Gold class, completely unassisted
2015
Redbull Romaniacs : Kirsten attempted silver for the first time but due to complications, she didn’t manage to finish.
Redbull Sea to Sky : 56th overall, becoming the only woman in history to ever finish a gold class at any extreme hard enduro event
Redbull Braveman : 1st overall in silver class (only riding against men)
Roof of Africa : 32nd overall in the silver class, first lady finisher
National Enduro Series : 3rd overall in the mens silver class
2014
Redbull Romaniacs : 47th place in bronze class out of 160 bronze riders and first lady home
Roof of Africa : 23rd in silver class, first placed female finisher unassisted
National Enduro Championship : 4th place in silver class
Kirsten Landman
In 2020 Kirsten competed in the Dakar and finished 55th overall and was the 3rd female finisher. What is the Dakar, I hear you ask?
The Dakar Rally, or “The Dakar” was formerly known as the “Paris–Dakar Rally” and is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the race has been entirely in Saudi Arabia. The rally is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
The rally is an off-road endurance event and the terrain is much tougher than that used in conventional rallying. The vehicles used are typically true off-road vehicles and motorcycles, rather than modified on-road vehicles. Most of the competitive special sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass and rocks. The distances of each stage covered vary from short distances up to 800–900 kilometres per day.
In the Dakar 2021 there were 108 bike entries, only 63 of which finished the event. Just to finish the event is an achievement in its self.
Kirsten was considering taking part in Dakar 2021 but was unsure about doing the Dakar back to back and then due to the Covid pandemic the economy in South Africa took a downturn and Kirsten was unable to get the funding she needed to take part. As it turned out Kirsten may have been unable to take part had she got the funding as whilst training on the bike one session, Kirsten took a nasty fall and dislocated her shoulder which put her out of action for four months.
Kirsten Landman
Kirsten’s next challenge is to compete in the Dakar 2022 in the Malle Moto class. What is that, I hear you say!
Malle Moto, which is French for ‘Trunk Motorbike’, is a category in the Dakar which riders of motorcycles and quads are almost completely unassisted. There are very few riders who take on this added challenge and it is considered to be the toughest category you can possibly compete in.
Competitors are allowed to pack one Malle (trunk) (there are restrictions on the maximum dimensions) which the organisers will transport to each bivouac. The trunk should contain their spare parts, tools, equipment and any necessary personal belongings. The organisers will also transport one spare headlight, one set of wheels and tyres, a tent and a travel bag.
Every day, the riders must prep their bike for the next stage without any outside assistance which may take a few hours, depending on the condition of the bike. They must also prepare their own road books before every stage and there is a common canteen to eat from. This all has to be done by the rider after each stage, which can run for many gruelling hours. After the rider has done all this, they then need to get enough sleep to be ready for the next stage. It is not uncommon for competitors to survive on just two or three hours of sleep everyday, for two weeks!
Kirsten Landman
Although Kirsten can do a lot of her own bike maintenance already, she is unable to take apart an engine and fix it or work on anything electrical so preparation is already underway with Kirsten learning these new skills in preparation for Malle Moto.
Kirsten knows that time management will play an important role in this. I asked if she was worried about taking part in such an arduos event by herself with no assistance – Kirsten is not really worried about doing it by herself as knows the route having taken part in Dakar 2020 and she is really looking forward to the challenge of doing the event by herself. New challenges excite Kirsten, the harder the challenge is, the better it is.
I asked Kirsten who her inspiration was and she said it was Laia Sanz who is known as The Queen of the Desert. Laia is the best female motorcycle rally racer in history, has won the title of best Dakar racer five years in a row and was the only woman to finish the race at all in two separate years. She is also the three-time Women’s World Enduro Champion. WoW!
Surprisingly, well to me anyway, Kirsten does not ride her motorbike on the road, she finds road bikes uncomfortable and feels that riding on the roads local to her to be somewhat dangerous. Kirsten is far more at home on her dirt bike riding through the mud. Although Kirsten lives in a beautiful place, her two most favourite places to ride are Romania, where she has competed five times and went back again just for some casual riding and La Sutu, which is a country within her country with beautiful mountain ranges and extreme riding.
Kirsten’s best feeling about being on a motorbike is the feeling of accomplishment, knowing that she has achieved the end of the race and got to the finish line. It is the sense of adventure she loves, the fact that she is outdoors, loving the nature around her and being lucky to have such great roads to ride on and travelled the world in the process. Kirsten has made some very passionate lifelong friends through her love of riding with that unspoken rule that as you ride a motorbike, you just get along, the people are just so cool.
Kirsten Landman
So Kirsten, what is the one thing people would never know about you just by looking at you? Baking. Kirsten loves to bake cakes, muffins and cooking in general, she is a big foodie and finds that when she is baking she can switch off from her riding and relax. I, myself can totally relate to that but unfortunately I like to eat my baking too!
Kirsten’s most embarrassing moment on a motorbike came when she was competing in an event and was absolutely desperate for a wee so she pulled over, popped the bike on the stand and walked round to a bush. Just as she was mid flow, another competitor stopped to see if she was okay and walked round and caught her peeing! Ooops!!!
As a youngster Kirsten was a tomboy and used to live in a big smallholding which had a massive garden. When she was around 8 or 9 years she was running around the garden with a friend pretending they were characters from the Jungle Book, they got hold of some matches and decided to make a fire like their characters. When they finished playing they thought they had put the fire out but during the night the wind caught up and the whole garden ended up on fire nearly spreading to the next door property. The fire brigade came and put the fire out thankfully but that is probably the worst thing Kirsten’s mum caught her doing as a kid!
I asked Kirsten if she has a lucky thing/ritual before the start of a race as it seems a lot of racers do. Kirsten is no exception, she always puts her left knee brace on first and then her right one and then puts her right boot on first and then her left one. Kirsten will then sit on the bike, put her head on the handlebars and say a prayer.
Kirsten Landman
The first motorbike Kirsten owned was a Yamaha PW80 which was a limited edition bike. Unfortunately the bike was sold many years ago and has now become a collectors item. Kirsten has been looking for one for a while now with the idea of restoring it and then putting it in her house on display. I definitely like that idea, how cool would that be to have your bike on display in your house.
If Kirsten hadn’t been a racer, she would have liked to become a vet. Kirsten is an animal lover and has five rescue dogs that live with her and has re-homed so many more animals. Kirsten is part of the Saving Animals Movement (SAM) and raises money to help animals who are malnourished, overbred or in dire need of help and helps provide them with medical assistance and finding them new forever homes.
Would Kirsten ride pillion? Even if Valentino Rossi offered to take her out pillion on the road, she would say no! She is absolutely terrified of going out on the road! Now if you were to offer Kirsten a pillion ride on the track, she would happily go with you as long as you were an experienced rider on track.
I asked Kirsten what her friends and family would assume she had done if she got arrested and there was no hesitation in saying that it would be because she had got into an argument with someone over an animal. If Kirsten sees an animal being treated unfairly, she does get very emotional which may have led to one or two arguments in the past ……..
Kirsten Landman
You can check out Kirsten’s website at Kirsten Landman and follow her progress with her preparations for the Malle Moto 2021. You can also follow Kirsten on Facebook and Instagram at : Kirsten Landman.
Thank you Kirsten for taking the time to speak with me, I really appreciate it and wish you good luck for the Dakar next year.
Williams were the latest team to unveil their charger for the 2021 season – the FW43B. The car is something of a homage to the team’s former glories, with a focus on the new era under new ownership.
There was a change to the original plan as their innovative augmented reality app was hacked, meaning the team had to close down the app and unveil the car via rendered images instead.
The Grove outfit released a statement, saying: ‘We were very much looking forward to sharing this experience with our fans, particularly during this difficult time when being able to bring in-person experiences directly to our fans is sadly not possible. We can only apologise that this has not been possible.’
The Williams ‘W’ is still a prominent feature. (Image Credit: Williams Racing)
The car was revealed via images and sported some subtle throwbacks to previous Williams liveries. The car is largely blue in different shades of light and dark. There are some flashes of yellow with a white front. These are all historic colours synonymous with Williams’ glory days in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
The history was a large factor according to Jost Capito, Williams Racing CEO: “We looked and discussed what the theme should be. So we wanted the car to remember the good old times and the heritage of the team. But we also wanted to show that we’re doing a step forward. We don’t forget our history, our heritage, but we are moving on to a bright future.”
George Russell commented on the design too: “I like the new look. It’s exciting, it’s got a hint of heritage in there. There’s a hint of yellow, which is cool. Altogether think it’s exciting, I think that’s the team at the moment, new team, new look, new brand, and the start of a new beginning.”
Nicholas Latifi was glad to see some traditional aspects remain: “I think just looking at the side profile of the car, the stripes which go up the bodywork and the engine cover and the way the Williams ‘W’ is still there in the background and I think it’ll look quite nice.”
The same sponsors remain on the car, with Sofina, Lavazza and Acronis all present, and while the design is eye catching, it resembles a new dawn, with a nod to the past.
While things are changing for Williams, there is some stability in their driver line-up, as George Russell and Nicholas Latifi remain for another season. While Jack Aitken and Jamie Chadwick remain as reserve and development drivers.
With most of the cars unveiled, there is a much needed splash of colour to this year’s grid, and when the lights go out in Bahrain at the end of the month, Formula One will be back.
Three-time BTCC champion Gordon Shedden is making a return to the series with Team Dynamics, replacing outgoing Dan Cammish.
The Scotsman, who won his three titles with the Honda backed team, returns to the sport after a three year absence, having last raced in 2017. In a somewhat poetic twist, it was Cammish who replaced Shedden three years ago, and now the roles are reversed.
Shedden, or ‘Flash’ as he is known, needs no introduction to BTCC fans. He made his debut at Knockhill in 2001 as an independent and secured a full time BTCC drive with Team Dynamics in 2006. He won his first race at round seven at Oulton Park.
Shedden last raced in the BTCC in 2017. (Image Credit: BTCC Media)
He stayed with the team until a small stint with Seat in the second half of 2009. Shedden returned in 2010 with the squad now a manufacturer backed Honda team. Incredibly between 2010 and 2016 he wasn’t out of the top three in the championship standings. He won his first title in 2012 before adding two more in 2015 and 2016.
His last BTCC season in 2017 secured three wins and fourth in the championship before he left for World Touring Cars, with Cammish replacing him.
This won’t be the first time he’s driven the Honda Civic FK8, as he had a demo run last year when Matt Neal was injured in a bike crash, but Shedden says he ‘can’t wait to get back in the car.’
Shedden has 48 wins to his name and will make his 350th appearance this season. (Image Credit: BTCC Media)
Shedden told the official BTCC website: “I’ve been keeping an eye on the Championship, and it looks mega competitive, but my fight and determination is as high as it’s ever been, so I’ll be giving it my all.”
This news comes after Cammish announced he was stepping away from the BTCC, with Shedden’s teammate to be announced in the coming weeks. The strong speculation is we will see Dan Rowbottom in the second seat but time will tell.
One of the most exciting things about pre-season is seeing the cars, seeing what colours we need to look out for on the grid. While most cars look great, there are some that just stand out for all the right reasons.
Whether that be an iconic livery, a moment you associate with your favourite team or driver, or simply you think it looks good and therefore becomes a favourite of yours.
We’ve delved into the archives and found five of our favourite liveries from the last five years of the British Touring Car Championship, with so many to choose from creating a list wasn’t easy.
5. 2016 Team Dynamics Honda Civic
Shedden attacks Knockhill in his Honda Civic FK2. (image credit: BTCC Media)
Honda and Halfords, it’s a combination we’ve become used to over the years watching the British Touring Car Championship. Gordon Shedden took the title for Team Dynamics in his orange Honda with some beautiful black accents to compliment the design. The FK2 Civic is one of the most successful BTCC cars of all time, and suited the colour scheme perfectly.
4. 2020 Excelr8 Hyundai i30N
The beautiful Hyundai i30N from 2020. (Image Credit: BTCC Media)
With the COVID-19 pandemic restricting fans to watching on TV, the Hyundai ran by Excelr8 often caught the eye. Driven by Senna Proctor and Chris Smiley, the vivid blue and black colour scheme really helped accentuate the i30N’s features. The red around the grille stood out and made the car easy to spot during races.
3. 2018 Motorbase Ford Focus Pink Edition
This one off livery definitely caught the eye. (Image Credit: BTCC Media)
As part of the BTCC’s 60th anniversary celebrations at Snetterton, Sam Tordoff revealed a pink liveried Ford Focus which definitely caught the eye. When asked about why he chose it, Tordoff stated: “We wanted to choose a colour that really made an impact on the track and also on TV. Bright pink has become my signature colour over recent years and we wanted something special for the car, so it was a no-brainer to run with it!”
2. 2019 WSR BMW 330i M Sport
Tom Oliphant at Thruxton in the stunning BMW 330i M Sport. (Image Credit: BTCC Media)
BMW’s M Sport brand is one of the most recognisable in motorsport, and while the iconic colours were used on the 1 Series in the few seasons prior, the colours really shone on the new-for-2019 330i. Colin Turkington drove to the title in the white BMW, with splashes of red, light blue and dark blue. Side note, the Pirtek livery used by Andrew Jordan also really suited the 330i, but the white machine used by Turkington and Tom Oliphant, was just a cut above.
1. 2017 WSR Pirtek BMW 1 Series
Andrew Jordan’s beautiful Pirtek livery. (Image Credit: BTCC Media)
Our favourite livery of the past five years is this stunning metallic Pirtek livery used by Andrew Jordan. It was used in 2016 on his Ford Focus but following his move to WSR, the livery followed. A shining blue with Pirtek’s signature yellow and red logos, this livery caught the eye and really shone. A move to a matte finish akin to Red Bull’s recent liveries followed in 2018, and while pleasant it wasn’t as striking as the metallic versions.
These were just five of our favourites, honourable mentions include Tom Oliphant’s metallic green Ciceley Mercedes Benz A Class from 2018, and BTC Racing’s matte grey Honda Civic FK8 with pink accents.
As we wait for the cars to hit the track, we will sit back and marvel at these beautiful machines a little longer.
Aston Martin have revealed the car they hope will take them up into the top three in the Constructors’ standings in 2021, as the famous motoring name returns to Formula One for the first time since 1960.
Formerly Racing Point, Aston Martin have incorporated classic British Racing Green Colours into this year’s challenger, throwing back to their earlier days in Grand Prix Racing under Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. It still sports the pink colour that has been synonymous with the team since 2017, but these tones are much more subtle at the front, rear and sides of the car.
Aerodynamically, the car looks much the same as last year, barring some small changes on the sidepods. It rocks the same front nose as last year, while the chassis remains the same, as per the regulations stipulating that this is not to be altered from last year.
The predominantly pink car of recent years has been replaced by a slick British Racing Green colour this year – Courtesy of Aston Martin Media
2021 sees Sebastian Vettel join the team following his Ferrari exit, and the four-time champion is excited for the new season, saying: “I go racing to win, and obviously it is a very exciting project, a new start, a new chapter for me and the team, so I am very much looking forward to it. Winning is maybe a bit ambitious straight away, but it is definitely everybody’s goal.”
Sebastian Vettel is hoping for an improved 2021 in his new colours – Courtesy of Aston Martin Media
Lance Stroll enters his third season with the outfit after his 2019 arrival, and partners Vettel this year. “We came so close [to third in the Constructors’ last year] and hopefully we can achieve that this year, if not more”, said the Canadian.
Lance Stroll enters his third year with the Silverstone-based team, and is aiming for at least third in the Constructors’ after last year’s near miss – Courtesy of Aston Martin Media
Lawrence Stroll, the owner of Racing Point, asserted that the Silverstone-based team has “always punched above its weight”, and that it will now punch “ever harder” in 2021.
Otmar Szaufnauer, Aston Martin’s team principal, is impressed by his new car this season. “Formula One is all about high-tech innovation and collaboration. And the result, which we call AMR21, is in fact a realisation of that high-tech innovation – conceived, designed, built and delivered by a comparatively small number of talented, expert and ambitious individuals”, he said.
Aston Martin narrowly missed out on third in the Constructors’ standings last season to McLaren, and will be hoping to leapfrog them by the end of 2021.
Aston Martin’s reveal comes after Mercedes and Alpine both launched their cars yesterday, while Haas and Williams will unveil their cars on Thursday and Friday respectively.
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 02 / Arctic Rally Finland / 26-28 February, 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
With two stages on Friday, the running order looked like this – Ogier, Evans, Neuville, Rovanperä, Katsuta, Greensmith, Tänak, Suninen, Breen, Solberg, Loubet, Tuohino, Bertelli.
Sarriojärvi 1, 31.05km run in the daylight and as expected Ogier was sweeping the road of loose snow. His Welsh teammate lost some time in the early splits in this, the longest stage of the rally, but as he came through the last split, he’d not only reduced the gap, he was now faster, and crossed the line six seconds quickest at this point. What happened after that was that their times were really tumbling with Thierry, then Ott going fastest. Craig came through with a very good time, but was not really happy, and it seemed that the Hyundai was just dealing with the road better than the Toyota’s, but the only flaw in that theory is the quick kid, Kalle who despite a spin in the stage was there in amongst the Hyundai’s in his Toyota. Oliver Solberg was right on the pace as well in first outing in the i20 WRC, losing ten seconds in the stage, but ahead of Gus Greensmith. It was a good drive from the nineteen-year-old.
As the sun set on this magical location in the arctic circle, the crews prepared for the night time run of SS2 Sarriojärvi 2 – 31.05 km, and what we saw was that Ott was right in the groove. Somehow, he was just maintaining the grip from these Pirelli’s and the studs, so with the right starting position and the right feel with his car on these tyres, it was just coming together for him and Martin and once again he was fastest from Kalle and Craig third. Oliver and Seb in their i20 were fourth in the stage, just 2.2 slower than Craig, a very good performance from them which brought them up to 8th overall! Overall top three were, Ott, Craig and Kalle.
Classification after Day One
1
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
31:50.7
2
C. Breen
P. Nagle
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+16.2
3
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota Yaris WRC
+20.4
4
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+29.8
5
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota Yaris WRC
+32.0
6
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Ford Fiesta WRC
+34.5
7
T. Katsuta
D. Barritt
Toyota Yaris WRC
+38.8
8
O. Solberg
S. Marshall
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+45.9
9
S. Ogier
J. Ingrassia
Toyota Yaris WRC
+49.8
10
G. Greensmith
E. Edmondson
Ford Fiesta WRC
+1:05.8
Let’s hear from the drivers at the end of Friday’s stages.
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak (1st)
“Let’s say that I’m happy, but it’s very early and there’s no reason to get carried away yet. This has been a rollercoaster kind of day, typical for Finland with very technical and up-and-down roads. It’s been a big job today, for sure, with road position and tyres playing their part. The car balance is OK but it can always be better so there are things we need to work on. At the moment, we are leading but the road position was different to our rivals so everything can change tomorrow. We need to keep focused and keep pushing.”
Craig Breen (2nd)
“It’s nice to be here with such unique conditions; it’s a special feeling to be in the woods, in the dark, doing 200kph – I definitely enjoyed it! I have had a good starting position, but I honestly don’t think I took the full benefit from that, particularly in the first stage. In the second run, I tried to push hard – perhaps a bit too much at the start because I suffered towards the end, losing studs in the last three to four kilometres. This is something that comes with time and experience. I know I can jump in the car after six months and be on the pace, but it takes time to refine the small things. Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder, and it’s nice to have the confidence and security from a full programme.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship Round 02, Arctic Rally Finland 26-28 February 2021 Craig Breen Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville (4th)
“We’ve had a pretty satisfying start to this brand-new WRC event. Compared to what we saw in the pre-event test, we went quickly through the snow onto the gravel; the grip was higher, as was the tyre wear. I lost the first studs on the shakedown and then a few more this afternoon. The car was working well in those conditions and we had a good afternoon, making our way to P4 which gives us a good road position for tomorrow. We need to benefit from that and fight with the cars in front of us – and behind. At the same time, I am also continuing to build on my new working relationship with Martijn.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä (3rd)
“The first stage started really well, but in one junction I made a mistake and I went wide into the snowbank. We almost got away with it but we had to reverse out. In the second stage I could already see in the beginning that the setup we had was not optimal for the conditions in the second pass with a lot of gravel coming through, and I was having a lot of understeer. That was hurting the front tyres, so the end of the stage was really tough. But I’m sure that we can find something with the setup for tomorrow and keep fighting.”
Elfyn Evans (5th)
“It has not been a bad start for me today. We were running early on the road which is perhaps not the best position to be in, but we had a clean run through the first stage and then I think we had a decent run through the second stage in the dark. The stage evolved a lot between the two passes with a mix of ruts and quite a lot of loose snow, so it was challenging. Today the main target was always to improve our road position for tomorrow, and we’ve managed to do that, so now we want to try and move up the order if we can.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 02 / Arctic Rally Finland / 26-28 February, 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier (9th)
“It was tough today; it was not an ideal start for us. I had hoped to be a little bit closer to the lead tonight. I was enjoying the driving but not the stage times. There wasn’t much we could do unfortunately. With colder temperatures it probably would have been better, but we had the first positive temperatures of the year here today and that didn’t help us running first on the road. It meant that the snow was very soft and the cleaning effect was huge, and it wasn’t any easier on the second pass. Tomorrow we have to keep trying and see what’s possible.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Teemu Suninen (6th)
“I’m really enjoying these conditions. It’s a proper winter rally with really nice stages and I’ve been happy with my driving and how things have been working with me and Mikko inside the car.
“We’re not quite where we want to be when compared to the fastest times, but it’s always been a bit like this on the faster rallies – and we’ll keep working to improve and move forward together.”
Gus Greensmith (10th)
“I’m really enjoying it out there and the conditions are just incredible! Having such a good feeling on Shakedown, it was disappointing to have lost so much on the first stage – but we got back into a rhythm for the second pass and it was a lot better. It was good to see that we were there or there abouts, and we just need to continue like that tomorrow.
“Of course, there is still a long to go, but I’m really looking forward to it. If SS4 is as good as I think it’s going to be then it’ll be one of the top-five stages I’ve ever driven – and I can’t wait to get back out there!”
Saturday
The start list for the seven stages on day two looked like this – Loubet, Tuohino, Bertelli, Greensmith, Ogier, Solberg, Katsuta, Suninen, Evans, Neuville, Rovanperä, Breen, Tänak.
First into SS3 Mustalampi 1 – 24.43 km was the young Frenchman in his i20 and he found the going tricky, sliding wide and taking a load of snow into the front of his car after clipping a snowbank on the outside of a tight left-hand corner. He limped to the end of the stage, losing over three minutes with Tuohino passing him in the stage as well. Top three in the stage was Ott followed by Thierry and Oliver Solberg, and there was a pattern emerging, as it seemed that the Hyundai was dealing with these fast stages better than the Toyota.
The following stage, SS4 Kaihuavaara 1 – 19.91 km saw Elfyn win, from Kalle and Seb. Kalle’s pace lifted him up into second overall as well at the expense of Craig who was fifth fastest in the stage. Erstwhile leader, Ott did not have a good run at all, setting the eighth best time, 6.1 second slower than his former M-Sport teammate, after putting his i20 a little into a snowbank. Kalle was not happy though despite his good time, saying “There are so many seconds I should be able to take away, but at this stage I cannot. I don’t have the feeling with the car and it’s not doing what I want, so in many places I just lose the car and the line. We have to see what we can do.”
The following stage, SS5 Siikakämä 1 – 27.68 km, saw Ott back at the top from Elfyn who was just a tenth slower and Seb third fastest who was a further second back. Moving up the leaderboard with the fourth fastest time was Oliver, who was just 8 tenths off Seb’s time. The young Swede was showing some great skill, with his temporary co-driver and the duo were now in sixth, moving ahead of Takamoto.
After the break, SS6 Mustalampi 2 – 24.43 km, Ott was fastest again from Thierry and Kalle. There was a swap in positions between the Belgian and Craig, with Thierry moving into third at the expense of his teammate. Going well in this one as well was Teemu who was fourth fastest, showing a big improvement compared to the earlier running of the stage. Takamoto was passed by Seb after the Japanese driver lost five seconds when he went into a snowbank.
Kalle won SS7 Kaihuavaara 2 – 19.91 km, breaking Ott’s run of fastest times, with Ott and Elfyn second and third. Unfortunately, Oliver clipped a snowbank, and dropped a place, with Seb gaining another position and was now sixth overall.
The final stage, SS8 Siikakämä 2 – 27.68 km started as the sun was setting and there were all sorts of things going on! Oliver lost his glasses, but this didn’t seem to slow him down, going fifth fastest. The big drama from this one was that Seb clipped a snowbank and he’d ended up buried in the snow, right off the road. The Yaris was stuck, and not coming out without digging it out, and the French crew was just metres from the end of the stage. A big shame indeed! Fastest and setting an amazing pace was Thierry, who won the stage by an incredible 12 seconds from Ott and Kalle. The Belgian was now just 1.8 seconds behind the young Finn in their battle over second overall.
Classification after Day Two
1
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
1:43:32.1
2
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota Yaris WRC
+24.1
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+25.9
4
C. Breen
P. Nagle
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+53.4
5
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota Yaris WRC
+1:03.5
6
O. Solberg
S. Marshall
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+1:26.8
7
T. Katsuta
D. Barritt
Toyota Yaris WRC
+1:34.4
8
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Ford Fiesta WRC
+1:49.3
9
G. Greensmith
E. Edmondson
Ford Fiesta WRC
+3:01.8
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak (1st)
“All in all, everything has gone to plan today. We had a good morning, but the stages were very demanding, incredibly fast and there are always places where the pace notes are not 100%. This afternoon, we took all the tyres we had, and we used them all; it was important just to get through and not make any mistakes. We were pushing on the first loop, but we wanted to come through the final stages of the day cleanly. The last one was still quite stressful on the tyres, but we completed it with no trouble and that was the target.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship Arctic Rally Finland 2021 26-28 February 2021 Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, Action during Day 3 of Arctic Rally Finland 2021 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville (3rd)
“I am happy at the end of the afternoon’s stages which went well; we had good tyre management and I think we were fastest over the loop. I was a bit surprised to see the gap was so big after that final stage to be honest. It was definitely better than this morning. I expected a better run on the opening loop because the car was working well but I couldn’t take all the risks due to some communications issues. Martijn and I have been making some improvements but there’s more to come. The main target tomorrow is to bring home a double podium for Hyundai Motorsport. The stage is a different profile to those we’ve done so far but the car has been working well, I have been feeling comfortable and if our communication is working well, then we’ll go for it.”
Craig Breen (4th)
“It’s been a frustrating day, but we are still in fourth so it’s not too bad. You need to be at the absolute top of your game in these conditions. I started the first stage this morning well, got into a rhythm but then made a few mistakes, got sucked into a few snowbanks and lost the momentum. That upset the loop, really. I haven’t driven on these conditions for a long time and the pace notes weren’t as fast as they needed to be. I’ve tried my best to manage things – including the tyres – but it’s tricky when I don’t have any reference points. On the final stage, Thierry set an incredible time but compared to those around us we weren’t too far away. I know we can do it. The raw speed is there; it’s just getting the other refinements in order. The plan now is to keep hold of fourth and assess the situation to see what we do in the Power Stage.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä (2nd)
“This morning I didn’t have such a good feeling in the car, but we made some small changes during the loop and it got better. Then in the midday service we made some bigger changes, and this really helped in the conditions that we faced in the second loop, so I could manage the tyres and everything quite well. The tyre choice was tricky and a bit of a gamble. Fitting the new tyres in the middle stage was the wrong decision, so we lost a bit too much in the last stage. The approach for tomorrow is quite clear: We just have to push and try to be as fast as possible.”
Elfyn Evans (5th)
“I had a slow start this morning on the first stage, I think I was too careful and was a bit frustrated to have given away so much time. After that we seemed to find something: I was maybe being a little bit more aggressive and that seemed to work better. But unfortunately, in the afternoon we lost a lot of time on the first one again, and struggled with tyre wear and the general feeling. I feel I should have managed it better and didn’t take enough chances. Tomorrow we have to keep at it. It’s not such a huge gap to fourth place so we’ll be out there to do our best.”
Sébastien Ogier (22nd)
“Up until the last corner of the last stage it had been a strong day for us honestly compared to our start position. This morning with the colder temperatures the grip was not too bad and we could set some good times. I think we were doing a good job but unfortunately in motorsport every corner counts and the day is never over until it’s over. It’s a shame: We had made a lot of effort to climb up the rankings and now all that effort is gone. But there will be better days ahead for us for sure.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 02 / Arctic Rally Finland / 26-28 February, 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
M-Sport Ford WRT
Teemu Suninen (8th)
“I have been enjoying the driving a lot today. The pace isn’t where we want it to be, but we can see that in the tricky, more technical sections we are capable of setting some top times. The conditions also became a lot trickier this afternoon and we were also able to show a bit more of what we can do there which was good.
“Tomorrow will be quite challenging as the stages will be very fast again. The goal is to make it to the finish, but if we have a perfect run through the Power Stage then there is chance to score a few points there as well. Let’s see how it goes.”
Gus Greensmith (9th)
“I’m still ruing yesterday’s opening stage as that hampered our road position today! But generally, the morning was pretty good and I was quite happy with the progress we made. It was a bit trickier in the afternoon as we had to take two spares to contend with the worsening conditions and didn’t really have the right setup to make that work.
“But overall, not a bad day and it’s amazing to drive these cars in these conditions. We know what we need to do as a team, and I’ve been able to identify some areas to improve my driving as well. So, it’s all going in the right direction – and we get to go enjoy these amazing stages again tomorrow!”
Sunday
With two runs of the same stage to round off this event, with what many of the crews were looking forward to as their favourite stage, there were two positions that four drivers were battling over. There were also the hopes of the reigning champions to score some points in the power stage. There was some news about Janne Tuohino, who would not start the final day after falling over in a sauna! This meant that the start list looked like this – Bertelli, Loubet, Ogier, Greensmith, Suninen, Katsuta, Solberg, Evans, Breen, Neuville, Rovanperä, Tänak.
Elfyn came out on top at the end of SS9 Aittajärvi 1 – 22.47 km, with a great run through which meant that he closed the gap on Craig in their battle for fourth to just 3.6 seconds. Craig was just not comfortable in this one, and was just taking it very carefully. Kalle did really well, as he’d taken two spare Pirelli’s, to everyone else taking just one. He was targeting maximum power stage points. Thierry was third, just not quite doing enough to pass Kalle.
The final stage then, SS10 Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] – 22.47 km, and Pierre-Loubet was coming to the end of the stage. His car had a misfire, but there was even more drama in store. As he came round the final corner to the flying finish the rear of his car stepped out and he went into the snowbank. He was still fastest though, setting a time 3.9 faster than Bertelli. There was snow all over the bonnet as he crossed the line. Next up was Seb, and he was hugely quicker than his younger compatriot. Gus who was next was matching Pierre-Louis on the splits and made it to the finish without any drama. Teemu was next and was quicker than Gus as expected.
Following the Finn was Takamoto, and he was faster early in the stage and maintained that gap, completing just 4 seconds slower than Seb who remained fastest as this point in the power stage. Oliver was next, and how would the youngster finish? Well, he was up on the world champions after four splits despite hitting the snowbanks a few times. He was not happy as he came to the last part of the stage, hitting his steering wheel in annoyance, and there was more drama to come! He went wide and the car spun in the snowbank on the exit of a right-hander. He got the car turned round and finished the stage, but dropped a place behind Takamoto by just 1.3 seconds.
Elfyn was next and was losing time in each split and was slower than Seb in the end. It seemed his bid for fourth was over. Well, Craig was going very well and setting a great pace, faster than Seb and he clinched the fastest time at this point with three cars remaining to complete. Thierry went well, but was slower than Craig by just one tenth! It was down to Kalle to knock Craig off the top. Just one car remained then, Ott and Martin. The former world champions were looking to just finish but still setting a good time out there. They came in fourth quickest and took a couple of power stage points. Top three in the stage were Kalle, Craig and Thierry.
Final Overall Classification – Arctic Rally Finland
1
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
2:03:49.6
2
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota Yaris WRC
+17.5
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+19.8
4
C. Breen
P. Nagle
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+52.6
5
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota Yaris WRC
+1:01.5
6
T. Katsuta
D. Barritt
Toyota Yaris WRC
+1:37.8
7
O. Solberg
S. Marshall
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
+1:39.0
8
T. Suninen
M. Markkula
Ford Fiesta WRC
+2:09.0
9
G. Greensmith
E. Edmondson
Ford Fiesta WRC
+3:39.4
10
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Volkswagen Polo R5
+6:07.0
Let’s hear from the drivers!
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak (1st)
“This victory is very important and allows us to take away good points for the championship. We came to Finland – the home country of one of our closest rivals – so the pressure was on for sure. We knew it would be complicated to take on the fight but, in the end, we did a very good weekend. The pre-event test was held in very different conditions, so we didn’t really know what to expect. I was pushing the engineers quite a lot, but their hard work really paid off. We tried some new things in shakedown, and it all worked out nicely. This has been an amazing place to come for a rally, definitely one of the best for a winter event; there’s no place where you can have more snow and the characteristics of the road have been very special. Big praise to the organisers – it’s more than a worthy addition to the world championship.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship Arctic Rally Finland 2021 26-28 February 2021 Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak, Martijn Wydaeghe, Martin Jarveoja, Scott Noh, Podium during Day 3 of Arctic Rally Finland 2021 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville (3rd)
“I am very satisfied with our weekend and third position, even if second was so close. We kept believing right up to the end, but everyone was pushing hard on the Power Stage, so it wasn’t possible to grab P2. Still, we have taken some good points for both championships, which were really needed after Monte-Carlo. The partnership with Martijn, too, was better. We still have some communication issues to resolve, to get the wording clearer and for me to understand better, but I’m sure we’ll be more competitive with that. I felt that the car was really great in these conditions, I didn’t really have any complaints; I felt comfortable, we could find a good rhythm and I was able to push immediately. A great all-round team result.”
Craig Breen (4th)
“I am happy to finish this rally with fourth place. In all honesty, it’s been a tough weekend. I’ve felt mentally – after delivering so much in Estonia last season – that the goalposts had moved, so I wanted to win but I also have to remember my experience is still a bit on the low side. It definitely gives me motivation to have made progress today. We spent some time in the regroup to analyse where I was losing time compared to the others. Thanks to the engineers, we were able to identify a few things that, maybe due to my driving style, were upsetting the car – erasing some traits that I’ve carried for a few years. I knew the speed was there, so it was nice to score some points for the team in the Power Stage and to end the weekend on a positive note.”
Oliver Solberg (7th)
“I don’t think I actually have the words to tell you how this feels,” said Oliver. “It’s really unbelievable and the biggest thing I did in my career. To Andrea, to everybody in Hyundai Motorsport and to the 2C [Compétition] team I just want to say thank you. We are in the home town of Santa Claus – I think he gave me a fantastic present!
“I knew it would be complicated to understand the aero,” said Oliver. “But I was quite confident I would be happy at this speed. I didn’t expect to make these sorts of times quite so early in the rally. It was just so much fun. Before the rally Andrea was telling me there was no pressure and I had to make sure I was smiling. I am smiling more than I ever did before now.
“There were a couple of times when I was a little bit frustrated, like in the last stage. I made a spin near the finish and that cost me sixth place. Sixth would have been nice, but I will take this result – in the top five on six stages out of 10. This is so much more than I could have dreamed of. It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä (2nd)
“I’m really pleased with the second place. It was quite a difficult weekend, I was pushing really hard and we couldn’t always be on the optimal pace, but we were fighting back all the time. In the Power Stage I gave everything that I had and it was enough, so we got really good points from here. It’s really nice to be in this position now, leading the championship for the first time. It’s going to be a new situation for me going to the next event, and we just have to keep up the pace and be consistent like we have been here.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 02 / Arctic Rally Finland / 26-28 February, 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans (5th)
“I had a good start to the final day. The grip was higher than I expected but after the first few corners we seemed to find a better rhythm and it was a good time. But then it was not the best run for us in the Power Stage. It felt OK but the time was quite a bit off where we would have liked to be. It has not been the best event for us to be honest, I’m quite disappointed with the overall result. There were some flashes of good speed but nowhere near consistent enough to challenge for the top positions.”
Takamoto Katsuta (6th)
“I’m happy with this weekend, but I wanted to show something more and I was hoping for a better position before the rally. I enjoyed the stages a lot and, in some splits, I was fastest, while in some splits I was a bit too careful and losing too much time. When the conditions were consistent. I felt very confident, but when there was loose snow or big ruts I needed to improve my driving. I really need to focus on this and improve if I want to get on the podium or win rallies. I still have a lot to learn and I’m even more motivated than before.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 02 / Arctic Rally Finland / 26-28 February, 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier (20th)
“Overall, it’s been a tough weekend. We tried everything we can but we knew coming here as leaders of the championship it would be a tough rally. Still, we fought hard but this small mistake yesterday in the final stage of the day was obviously very costly too and took us out of the fight. With our starting position we had not so much hope for the Power Stage. I couldn’t do more, I was on the limit and there was still too much snow, but it was good to score one point at least.”
M-Sport WRT
Teemu Suninen (8th)
“Our rally was pretty good with no issues or mistakes, and I was enjoying the stages a lot. The car felt really nice to drive, and I would say that this is one of the rallies I have enjoyed the most in my career with really nice winter conditions.
“Of course, it was a bit disappointing to see that the stage times weren’t where we wanted them to be, but we have struggled in the fast rallies before. In the slower sections the pace was good and we were amongst some of the fastest drivers – so this is where we can aim to make a difference in the next events.”
Gus Greensmith (9th)
“Overall, I would say that it has been a pretty good weekend for us. The stages have been incredible, and I was happy with my driving – especially on Saturday morning. But of course, there’s still work to do and there will always be more to learn.
“It was also a bit disappointing to have given so much time away in the first stage because that hampered us for the rest of the event. I think that’s one of the main things I will take away from this weekend – knowing that I can’t be giving road position away as it doesn’t help me show my potential.”
Warren’s Thoughts
Well, it’s fair to say that Hyundai and in particular Ott rally hit back in this event after their disappointing result last time out. It was a masterclass in tyre management from the Estonian crew and they just made their strategy work, along with the good road position on Friday. He didn’t win every stage, but no-one else came close to his consistency and sheer speed. Thierry also went well, but there was a bit of a blame game going on with his new co-driver and not hearing the notes always or clearly. Craig drove a good rally, but lacked a bit of consistency in places. To be fair though, he’d not sat in the car competitively since Estonia last year, so to confirm fourth on the final stage after a nail-biting battle with Elfyn was a very good result. Finally, Oliver, with Seb alongside him, took a massive result for a rookie. It was a brilliant result for the young Swede, and he showed great pace out there. Fourth quickest on his second stage showed the incredible talent he has.
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 02 / Arctic Rally Finland / 26-28 February, 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
At Toyota, Kalle was the one that really showed his pace again, and his battle over second place with Thierry saw the young Finn produce a drive that had its moments, but delivered him second place and the lead for the first time of the World Championship. His Welsh teammate had his moments of speed, but its fair to say that running second on the road throughout Friday held him back and meant that he didn’t have the best position on the road afterwards. He still took two stage wins though, and holds a good position in the championship. Takamoto also showed great speed out there and of course picked up sixth place right at the end. It was a shame what happened with Seb at the end of Saturday, but it certainly spices up the championship.
Finally, at M-Sport Ford WRT, Teemu made the finish after a consistent run through. The Finn showed moments of pace out there and its probably fair to say that M-Sport are just lacking a bit of development with their car. For Gus, taking a points finish on a surface that he has never driven on in one of these cars is a good result. Perhaps at the next event on tarmac they will show some better pace.
Round Three will take place in Croatia from the 25th to the 28th of April. Pop back then for our preview!
2021 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After Round Two
1
K. Rovanperä
39
2
T. Neuville
35
3
S. Ogier
31
4
E. Evans
31
5
O. Tänak
27
6
T. Katsuta
16
7
C. Breen
16
8
D. Sordo
11
2021 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After Round Two
Alpine has unveiled its new contender for the 2021 season, the A521. The first car built by the newly rebranded team at Enstone.
Although a new name to F1, Alpine have been a part of motorsport since the 1950’s. After being bought out by Renault in 1973 they have developed a reputation as Renault’s ‘high performance’ brand. The Alpine name was used for Renault’s rallying and endurance endeavours, resulting in an Alpine-Renault World Rally Championship in 1973, and the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Alpine ceased production in 1995 but was revived in 2017, before the decision last year to elevate their long-forgotten brand to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Courtesy of Alpine F1
During a virtual launch, the car was unveiled in a striking blue, white and red livery.
On the new livery, Laurent Rossi, Alpine CEO stressed the symbolism of French and British collaboration:
“This car identifies the Alpine identity. It’s livery conveys it’s values. The blue, white and red is a reference to both the French flag and Union Jack. Representing the soul of this multicultural team that merges flamboyant skills under one banner.”
At first glance, the A521 looks to have the trademark 2021 shrunken sidepods and more complex outboard vanes to the bargeboards – all because of the new floor and diffuser setup created by changes in the aerodynamic rules. The rear wing looks subtly different too with more complex endplates.
“We had to adapt, we had to innovate, but that’s what we do best.” said Marcin Budkowski, speaking on the new technical changes.
“This year’s car is an evolution of last years contender. […] we’ve worked and tried to improve every area that was left free to develop.”
“But also the FIA, to spice things up a bit, have changed the aerodynamic regulations that means we have lost a lot of performance which we’ve tried to recover.”
“Interestingly, they are in an area that normally doesn’t behave in the same way on track than our tool and simulations tell us. So it’s going to be very important to get the best collaboration between people at the factory and on track to develop the car aerodynamically and allow us to realise our ambitious development programme for the first few races.”
Courtesy of Alpine F1
In addition, Renault will have a new and improved power unit, looking to maintain and improve it’s impressive position as one of F1’s most powerful units in terms of straight line speed.
On the team’s power unit, Laurent Rossi stated: “The delay in the technical (engine) regulations means we will be using an evolutions of our RE20A unit. There are a few developments with the power train and we have worked specifically for optimum performance and reliability.”
The team finished fifth in the constructors championship in 2021, with three podiums to there name, their first in almost a decade of racing.
With returning two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, they will be hoping to have similar success with what will be a formidable line-up with a mix of youth and proven championship winning pedigree.
“The team at Enstone are highly experienced and motivated” said Racing Director, Davide Brivio. “I’m very lucky to have two very excellent drivers.”
“The dynamic between Fernando and Esteban is going to be an interesting one, they can definitely benefit from each other. “
The Alpine A521 will make its first extended on-track appearance at the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain, which takes place from 12-14 March.
Mercedes has unveiled its new W12, the car with which it hopes to win an eighth consecutive pair of F1 titles in the hands of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Courtesy of Mercedes AMG F1
The Mercedes AMG F1 W12 keeps the black base livery introduced last year as part of the team’s anti-racism commitments, fading to silver on the engine cover. It also features much more prominent AMG branding across the car as per Mercedes’ plans to foreground its high-performance division within its F1 marketing.
The most visible changes to the design that’s carried over from 2020 are towards the rear, which is more tightly packaged around the engine. The front of the car is largely the same, which bucks the trend of the front-end development seen in the launches so far, but that could still change before testing next week.
Mercedes technical director James Allison called the W12 “an old friend in many ways”. However, he admitted that the launch spec of the car was missing some aero developments to the floor, which the team wanted to keep hidden from its rivals before testing.
Allison also said that AMG High Performance Powertrains have added more power to the engine for 2021. Beneath the chassis, the W12 features further improvements to the suspension and cooling systems.
Although the W12 is the clear title favourite for 2021, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff greeted the new challenger with his trademark scepticism. “Every year we reset our focus,” he said. “The scoreboard goes to zero and there’s always more performance to be found.
“It’s very natural to get used to success, and therefore not fight as hard for it. But this team has not shown any of that. I see the same fire, hunger and passion now as I did the first time I walked through the doors in 2013.”
