WRC receives support from FIA and Ford as backer goes broke
fundamental sporting and safety elements will be in place for the start of the 2012 season.’ North One put out the
Ford received the assurances that it needed, and confirmed its commitment to the WRC to the end of the 2013 season
The FIA has said it is working on a plan to make sure the 2012 World Rally Championship goes ahead, in the wake of the news that the parent company of the WRC’s rights holder has gone into administration. Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI), which owns North One – the company that controls the WRC’s media rights – went into administration at the end of 2011 after its boss, Vladimir Antonov, was arrested and bailed in London following the collapse of Bankas Snoras in Lithuania. The news came as a body
blow to the WRC, as CSI recently announced a multi-million euro, three-year plan to boost the Championship. ‘The World Motor Sport Council discussed the recent developments involving the championship promoter… and its parent company… which has gone into administration,’ read a statement from the FIA. ‘The FIA is committed to ensuring the long-term commercial future of the championship and will make every endeavour to provide for its future stability. ‘The FIA is working on an immediate plan to ensure the
following clarification: ‘In response to today’s announcement… North One Sport would like to categorically confirm that the business is a stand-alone subsidiary and is not in administration. The priority is to ensure that North One Sport continues to successfully promote the WRC to fans, stakeholders and partners.’ Ford, meanwhile, confirmed
its commitment to the WRC until the end of 2013. The Ford World Rally Team will be run by M-Sport in the UK. ‘We feel that the timing for our announcement is right,’ said Gerad Quinn, Ford of Europe’s senior manager for motorsport. ‘We had to be confident about the stability of the championship and to ensure it continues to provide great value and increased exposure globally. We discussed it with our stakeholders and, after receiving assurances, we look forward to focussing on competition once again.’
FIA technical delegate, Gabriele Cadringher, switches to Grand-Am
Gabriele Cadringher, known in Europe for his work as technical delegate for the FIA in Formula 1, will move to the Grand-Am offices in Daytona, Florida, and will become the chief technical consultant to Grand-Am Road Racing in 2012.
Cadringher will work closely with managing director of racing operations, Mark Raffauf, and the Grand- Am competition department to support implementation of new engineering-based initiatives, including aerodynamics, engine and turbo technologies. ‘Throughout his career, Cadringher has been at the
Gabriele Cadringher
cutting edge of new technologies,’ said Grand-Am president, Tim Bledsoe. ‘He has enormous credibility worldwide and will be an excellent ambassador for Grand-Am as we continue to enhance our series on the world stage.’
After working as an aircraft
engineer, Cadringher joined the FIA in 1982 as director of the technical department and president of the Technical and Homologation Commission. He was also technical delegate for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship for 10 years.
He became president of the FIA Manufacturers’ Commission in 1993, representing car manufacturers on the World Council. This role included constant liaison with manufacturers looking to introduce new technologies into motorsports, a role that required high level negotiation skills to unite often disparate interests. ‘Grand-Am, together with
NASCAR, is one of the great organisations in American motorsports,’ Cadringher said. ‘I’m honoured and looking forward to the new challenge and opportunity. I’m happy to take my experience to Grand-Am, where I can learn and gain in my appreciation of the American way of motorsports.’
BRIEFLY
ASNU wins award UK-based company ASNU, the manufacturer of the ASNU Fuel Injector Testing and Servicing System, recently won two awards at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, including Best New Product – Racing and Performance. ASNU md, Phil Ellisdon, designed a new high performance injector and controller that uses one core injector that can be altered with more than 15 different purpose-built adapters enabling fuel quantity, spray pattern and atomisation to be precisely controlled by tuners.
Regulation issue The FIA’s World Council has made a number of amendments to the sporting and technical regulations for the 2012 F1 season. Among the changes is a requirement for a car to pass all the mandatory crash tests before it’s allowed to take part in winter testing, while there will also be a new upward push-off side impact test. There is also to be a maximum race time of four hours and a three-day test mid-season.
McLaren Honda? Respected German motorsport publication, Auto Motor und Sport, recently reported that Honda may be considering a move back into F1 as an engine supplier to the McLaren team. McLaren currently use Mercedes powerplants, but is thought to be looking for a more exclusive engine deal. Honda quit F1 as a manufacturer at the end of 2008, but it may well be lured back by the prospect of producing its favoured V6 turbo units, due to be brought into F1 in 2014.
Austin powers The 2012 Formula 1 calendar has been confirmed, with the 20-race schedule including both the US race in Austin, Texas, and the Bahrain GP. The 2012 season kicks off in Australia on 18 March.
February 2012 •
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