2011 World Rally Championship season

The World Rally Championship 2011 was the 39th FIA World Rally Championship. She was discharged on 13 rallies in the period from 11 February to 13 November. The Citroën Total World Rally Team won earlier this season, the seventh title since 2003 in the Manufacturer World Championship. Sébastien Loeb won for the eighth time in a row the title of the Drivers' World Championship.

  • 5.1 Drivers' Championship WRC
  • 5.2 Manufacturers' Championship WRC

New Regulations

Rolling stock

For the 2011 season, many changes in the technical regulations have been made at the all-wheel drive, commonly called, WRC vehicles ( class A0). The vehicles of the art models in the series come close to much more than in the past. The engine capacity, equipped with the turbocharger and petrol direct injection, 16V petrol engines was limited to 1600 cc displacement. The speed of these engines was limited to 8500 rpm. Throttled by 33 - mm air restrictors, the engine power is 220 kW ( 299 hp). To save costs, is largely dispensed with ABS, ESP, center differential, electronic and pneumatic parts. The gear change is now back mechanically by means of stick shift. The minimum weight of, on the S2000 regulations ( SWRC class = A2) orienting, cars is 1200 kg. It tries to establish equal opportunities by, for example, engine, chasis, spare parts, testing boundaries.

After nine rallies of the 2011 season, it can be established that the average interval to the S2000 vehicles have reduced less than expected by many rally insiders.

Jari -Matti Latvala in the Ford Fiesta RS WRC in the Rally Portugal

Petter Solberg in the privately entered DS3 WRC at Rally Australia

Dani Sordo in the Mini Countryman WRC in the Rally of Germany

Peter van Merksteijn Jr. in the DS3 WRC at the same place

Tire Equipment

The official tire supplier, the Class A- 0 to A-2, since 2011 Michelin. As of 2011, there is a limitation to 48, inserted tires per rally and vehicle. The run-flat systems which virtually unlimited Continue at race pace enabled in tire damage, are prohibited in 2011. In gravel rallies of the 2011 season a tire type may only be used more, this will be fixed before the event for all teams. Except for asphalt rallies are tires of different hardness levels. The practiced earlier, individual trimming of the tire tread, which partly led to the peeling of gravel tires on slick level, was from 2011 also prohibited. In the Rally of Great Britain for the first time a World Rally Car will go with the Chinese DMACK tires at the start.

Scoring and Power Days

The link in 2010 for WRC force, analogous to the modified formula 1, points system for the first 10 riders with 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 points consisted continue. What was new was the introduction of a points allocation for the three fastest crews 3-2-1 with bonus points of the so-called Power Stage. The power stage is a shorter, if possible audience friendly discharged, usually occurring as a termination of the event, once a rally special stage performed, which is partly also broadcast live on TV.

Appearance of the class A1

Since the homologation of the Mini S2000, which are equipped with 1600 cc petrol engines with direct injection and turbocharging, the conventional 2-liter Super 2000 cars were designated as Class A2. The 1600 cm ³ with turbo engine equipped vehicles of the S2000 regulations as Class A1 and the WRC cars called class A0 or class WRC. This class A1 vehicles were only used in the Rally of Portugal, and in the Jordan Rally.

Starting order and team orders

2011 was the last season in which, as an "anti - Loeb - rule" has become known, control the boot order said that the leader of the championship, the first day of the rally, first to the ( still mostly verunreingte with loose material ) route needs. Then takes over the next few days the first place winner this position. Since repeated tactics were applied in order to start as possible just prosecuting, runner-up in the last day, this scheme will be abolished from 2012.

Team order is in the World Rally Championship, not prohibited, as in many other sports.

Course of the season

After the first run of the season, the Rally Sweden in 2011, a first place for the Ford works driver Mikko Hirvonen succeed, Ford expected last years of domination by the Citroën factory driver Sébastien Loeb, who from the 2004 season until the year 2010, seven world titles in result achieved to be able to break. From the Rally Mexico Rally Germany 2011 to 2011 but rose to the team-mate Loeb Sébastien Ogier as the toughest rival for the wins out. These next eight rallies Loeb and Ogier won four times each. The rivalry between the two teammates played in the media is more important than the performance of the Ford works driver. In Germany it was even the Mini WRC team, which is only in the development stage and participate only in six selected rallies without ride to brand championship points to deny with Dani Sordo Ford hoped for a podium finish. Thus, Citroën was the end of August with 91 points ahead of the Ford factory team. Loeb and Ogier in first and second place in the drivers' championship. Between the Rally Germany 2011 and the Rally Australia the Ford works team was given an ultimatum. Ford wanted victories or planned to phase out their involvement in the World Rally Championship.

Kimi Raikkonen renounced his team Ice 1 Racing organizational reasons for the start of the Rally Australia in 2011, though he had already signed up for the event. A like Ice 1 Racing in the WRC inscribed to manufacturer points team needs due to the regulations appear to all the reported events and complete at least two rallies outside Europe per season. Raikkonen had previously only competed with his team at a rally overseas, and after the Rally Australia was no further more in the calendar so that it no longer would be able to fulfill the requirement. As a result, Räikkönen had 16,200 euro penalty to the race stewards for his non-appearance to pay and also the Ice 1 Racing team was taken from the manufacturers' standings.

At the Rally Australia, the Loeb lying in leadership overturned on the fourth special stage five times. The guide went over to his team mate Ogier. Ogier crashed on the sixth special stage on a tree. Both driver and passenger were unhurt. The overall lead went over to the Ford factory drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari -Matti Latvala. In the prescribed 3 -hour time frame could the two DS3 WRCs, in the night, repaired and made ​​ready to start. Under SupeRally Regulations Loeb started with 30 penalty minutes and Ogier 20 minute penalty in the next day. Latvala took over on the first special stage of the day the lead from his team-mates. Due to their penalty, Ogier started from the sixteenth and Loeb from the twenty-first place to catch up to world championship points. Until the penultimate special stage of the next day, the positions of the first three riders did not change. The Citroen privateer Petter Solberg was not able to unlock the Ford factory drivers. Ogier had meanwhile been working until the ninth place overall and the chance was to take the eighth place from the slower vehicle in front of him PWRC large. Loeb was now driven up to the twelfth grade. In this special stage team order was both Ford and Citroën one allowed in rallying issued. Latvala, who was 86 championship points behind Loeb at this time, held to give 28 seconds and victory to Hirvonen just before the destination. Ogier conceded aware of a 50- second time penalty when he started 5 minutes late at this special stage and then parked next to the track and lost deliberately additionally over nine minutes to Loeb to allow a championship point. After this double victory Ford reduced the gap in the manufacturers' world championship on 62 points. Mikko Hirvonen was now 15 points behind Loeb in the drivers' championship. The fact that the Citroën factory team Ogier exchanged possible eighth against a tenth of Loeb, suggests that Ogier was taken out of the fight for the Drivers' World Championship.

Before the Rally France said both Latvala and Ogier, that they would support their respective team-mates in a duel for the championship. In his home rally championship leader Loeb, in the lead, due to loss of oil pressure, now in its third special stage was eliminated. Thus, his team-mate Ogier was at the top. Since the Ford factory drivers were able to match neither the pace of the Mini WRC drivers Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke, nor the Citroen privateer Petter Solberg, an interesting three-way battle ensued in the course of the first day for the lead between Ogier, Sordo and Solberg. At the end of this day was Sordo, the fourth use of mini - the second on asphalt - with a second ahead of Solberg in the lead. In the next stage the leadership of the three peaks pilots constantly moved back and forth. On the special stage 15 Meeke crashed and retired and one, caused by a puncture, 40 Seconds - time loss at Solberg made ​​from the three- one duel. By the end of the day Ogier increased his lead to 9.5 seconds. On the last day of the event nothing changed in the Topplatzierten in order. It was only the last special stage there was another Ford team orders and Latvala cashed intentionally a two-minute time penalty, leaving his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen, already at the second rally in a row, his better placement. Ogier took his fifth win of the season again the second place in the championship standings and increased his lead by Citroen to Ford, single-handedly by a further three points from. Sordo was second and Solberg finished third. With the help of his teammates and more than three minutes behind Hirvonen was fourth. Both Ogier and Hirvonen were after this event with three points behind Sébastien Loeb in the championship standings. A few hours after the rally of the third-placed Petter Solberg was disqualified. Reason was that his vehicle was found during subsequent weighing as four kilogram to light. Therefore, all drivers moved from fourth place to a position forward.

In Spain, a duel of the hunt for the drivers' championship title. Loeb won this year for the seventh consecutive year, the Rally of Catalonia, with over two minutes ahead, in front of his rivals for the Drivers' World Championship, Hirvonen. Hirvonen was already allows the third time in a row, the better place by team orders of the Ford works team. His team-mate Latvala had this time a two- minute penalty provoke Hirvonen to be over and finished third. Ogier dropped out and lay with unaufholbaren 29 points behind, in third place in the championship standings. Nevertheless, the Citroën Total World Rally Team won prematurely at this rally, the seventh title since 2003 in the Manufacturer World Championship.

When organized as a season ending Rally of Great Britain Hirvonen dropped out due to an overheated engine on the second day. He had hit a tree after a mistake and thereby damaged his radiator. Loeb won thus before the end of the event his eighth drivers' world championship titles. On a road section Loeb was involved by a Spanish wrong-way driver in an accident. With a damaged radiator he had to give up the rally. But this did not alter the WM- placements of the top riders. Latvala won in Wales its first rally of the year.

Teams and Drivers

Competitions

The registered kilometer correspond to the distance of the special stages. The distance of the links between the different WPs is not included.

Appreciation

WRC Drivers' Championship

In the World Rally Championship, there are no striking results. Points are now awarded in this season, the winner ten drivers according to the following FIA standard. For the Power Stage, the three fastest drivers will each receive 3-2-1 bonus points for the drivers' world championship.

WRC Manufacturers' Championship

Accompanying series

  • Super 2000 World Rally Championship 2011
  • Production World Rally Championship 2011
  • WRC Academy 2011
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