Rally - Pike's Peugeot

Peugeot has released some new pics (but no technical details as yet) of the 208 T16 which Sebastien Loeb will drive on this year's Pikes Peak 'Race to the Clouds' International Hillclimb in Colorado at the end of June.

Now that would be a sight to see on the Mull Rally this year, eh?

Rally - Loudon in Portugal

There were no Blog updates over the weekend. That was down to a reported worldwide attack on sites using Wordpress software. Apparently a number of internet vandals with little better to do had insitituted some form of mass attack on such sites. They didn't appear to have any particular target in mind just hellbent on causing disruption and despair - because they can.

Anyway, Robert Barrable and Stuart Loudon did well on the fourth round of the World Rally Championship when they finished 11th overall on Rally Portugal. It's a pity we don't have any young Scottish drivers in the world series these days, but at least Irishman Robert Barrable's co-driver, Stuart Loudon, is keeping up the tradition for excellence in British co-driving and following in the wheel tracks of fellow-Scot and former World Champion Co-driver, Robert Reid.

The Ford Fiesta pair did very well finishing second in class behind the Skoda of Finland's Esapekki Lappi, while a certain Robert Kubica was 19th, Elfyn Evans was 23rd, Alistair Fisher 28th and Keith Cronin 31st.

This was Stuart's first podium finish on a WRC event, and afterwards, said: "There was no way we could catch Esapekka Lappi who has been fastest on every stage on this event but we weren’t giving up our second without a fight.  We ran wide on a corner and had a big impact on my side against a bank.  It was a hard enough impact that I thought I’d been hit by Mike Tyson. It pushed a tyre off the rim and we drove for 4 kilometres with the puncture when we had to stop to change it. In total we lost nearly 5 minutes.”

Rally - Big Granite Entry

That's the full entry list up on the website for the Coltel Granite City Rally next Saturday the 20th April. The organisers haven't released much in the way of spectator information, but if I get any more, I will let you know. The best plan is therefore to buy a programme, but at the moment it will only be available from two Aberdeen outlets.

http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2013/04/11-april-granite-entry-list/

Rally - Hyundai World Rally

It looks like the Hyundai WRC Rally Team is really taking shape now with the announcement of some more key appointments.

Following the appointment of Team Principal Michel Nandan in January and Chief Designer Bertrand Vallat (ex- Peugeot Sport / 207 S2000) comes the news that Stephane Girard has joined Hyundai Motorsport as Engine Manager.

And if the name is familiar to British rally fans, that's because he worked with Prodrive from 2001 to 2004 on their World Rally Team when Richard Burns and Robert Reid were doing the business, as well as Petter Solberg. Most recently he's been working with Citroen Sport, and prior to that was with Peugeot Sport and Maserati.

Alain Penasse (ex-Toyota Team Europe, Peugeot Sport and Michelin) will be appointed Team Manager later this month.

However, the biggest question remains. Who will actually be driving for the team when it hits the world stage next season?

Road - Another new Ford

There was no big launch on the Ford stand, but the new Transit Courier made its first public appearance, with a distinct lack of fanfare. This new 'compact van' is designed to fill the gap between the Fiesta car-derived van and the Transit Connect, just as the new Transit Custom is designed to fit between the Connect and the 'proper' Transit.

It's a good looking wee thing and will come with a choice of 1.5 and 1.6 litre diesel engines, and the 1 litre petrol engine. Load capacity is 660 kgs and with a load length of 2.59 metres, it will give those used to buying Vauxhall Astra vans an attractive and alternative option.

Road - Electrifying!

Citroen tried to get the van buying public excited about electrically powered vehicles in 1998 when they introduced the electrically powered Berlingo van. It was ahead of its time. The van was on sale for five years, but after an initial flurry of interest, the public appetite waned and the van was withdrawn from sale in 2005.

Now they're back, and this time they have the impetus of governments egging them on and conventional fuel prices going through the roof. The trouble is, as always, how do you get the buyers excited about working vehicles which have a range of 100 miles (on a good day) and are expensive to buy?

The politicians also need to 'electrify' the buyers to try and justify the huge expense of their landscape and seascape blighting windfarms!

Anyway, Citroen are back with a new shape Berlingo which has batteries stored under the floor and a 49 Kw electric motor under the bonnet, so there is no impact on the cab or storage box behind it. Price will be £21,300 plus VAT and it can be charged up overnight by a domestic three pin plug.

The new van was unveiled by some silver foil wrapped lovelies who bounced around to some loud music. And that was about as close as this year's CV Show got to glamour!

Rally - Show stopper

John MacCrone's new steed was spotted on the Palletforce stand at the CV Show in Birmingham although the Muileach was not there in person, but team manager/supporter/fan and all round rallynut Dave Holland was there resplendent in his orange and white uniform.

"We missed out on Wales when they had to cancel," said Dave referring to the snowstruck opening round of the British Rally Championship, "but we did take John and Peter Taylor testing at Walters Arena. So they've done 120 miles in their new Citroen DS3s."

Dave also had a video clip on his phone: "We walked into the stage while they were unloading the cars to watch them coming round," he said, "Remember, John had never sat in the car before, and there he was, first time out and he was going for sixth gear when he passed us! I thought, cheez, that's 120 grands worth of motor car! But he was fine. Next outing is the Pirelli."

When asked if we would see the Citroen on Mull, Dave said: "That decision hasn't been taken yet, although what he did with the Fiesta last year was sensational."

Speaking of rallying, Charlie Jarrett was spotted at the CV Show with the two boys. Charlie runs a timber haulage company in the Highlands. If you think rally cars get a hard time in the woods, think how trucks must suffer. Although timber trucks rarely reach double figure speeds, they still endure a hard time hauling tree trunks out of the forests so keeping them in good fettle is a tough job. Charlie's rig hauls 26 tonnes at a time so monitoring wear and tear on the drivetrain and suspension is a constant job.