HANDBRAKES &HAIRPINS 313 YOUR insight “into the world of RALLY!” ISSUE 313/CONTENTS EDITORIAL INFORMATION 01/ Cover Editor/ Evan Rothman 02/ ATS Photojournalist/ Eva Kovkova 03/ Editorial Information Contributors/ Liga Stirna, Kris Karnitiss 04/ Opening Shot CONTACT INFORMATION 05/ Dakar and the Lion 07/ BRC Media E-mail us/ [email protected] 09/ H&H Social Media Service Call us/ +27 83 452 6892 10/ Ekaterina Stratieva: Bulgarian Rally Rose Surf us/ http://wp.me/pkXc 11/ ERC Acropolis Rally of Greece All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 13/ 1st Race 2007-13. This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing 14/ Closing Shot may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the editor. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information from sources and given to readers, the editor cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom. #OPENINGSHOT The countdown to the start 2014 British Rally Championship has begun: 6 weeks to the start! Picture: BRC/Jakob Ebrey Photography. 04 H&H • #DAKARANDLIONS The Dakar returns to the concept of a looped route, with the start and fi nish in Buenos Aires. The tracks and dunes of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia will also witness the return of Peugeot. Words: H&H / Pictures: Newspress. 05 H&H • There will be a familiar tone at the opening ceremony on 03 know-how is something we have.” January 2015, just before the start of the 37th edition of the Carlos Sainz: “I have often competed against Dakar. It was in Buenos Aires that the rally underwent a re- Peugeot Sport in the past and I have known for years just birth in 2009, with the start of a Latino era in its development. how passionate it is about motorsport. I also know that when On this fi rst journey to South America, the Dakar competitors they decide on a programme, they put everything into it. I’m were won over by the charm of the Argentinean landscapes, the same. Given how much I love the Dakar, it was too good the Andes Mountains and the Atacama Desert in Chile. In 2015, a proposal to resist when Peugeot asked me to be part of its a looped route with the start and fi nish in the Argentinean line-up for its comeback to this unique adventure.” capital will again be on the programme to pay homage to this moment in the race’s history. Since 2009, the Dakar has been enhanced by the encounter with its hosts (with three times more vehicles ridden/driven by South Americans in 2014) as well as the discovery of new lands and countries. In addition to Argentina and Chile, which will see Iquique host the rest day for the fi rst time, the route again includes an excursion into Bolivia. The country that enthralled the bike and quad riders last January will also enchant the car drivers during the next edition. The continent’s specifi c geographical features have won over the competitors and have also encouraged the organisers to try out new sporting challenges. After their extraordinary adventure in 2013, which saw them smash the record for the celebrated Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Peugeot Sport, Red Bull and Total have again joined forces for another exacting yet equally exciting challenge: the Dakar. To take on the 10,000km of the world’s longest and toughest cross-country rally 25 years after the French car manufacturer last contested the event, the team has recruited Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres. Inevitably, the decision recalls a particularly successful period in the history of the French team which made an indelible mark on the Dakar by winning the legendary competition four years running from 1987 until 1990, fi rst with the 205 T16 Grand Raid, then with the equally iconic 405 T16 Grand Raid. The Dakar will naturally be the chief focus of Peugeot’s new, multi-year programme which will also include a certain number of other events in order to help it to prepare for the annual South American marathon. The team’s driver line- up stars the 2010 Dakar victor Carlos Sainz, who brings his extensive experience and car-development skills to the table, as well as the event’s fi ve-time winner on two wheels, Cyril Despres, who has chosen Peugeot to kick off a new career on four wheels. Bruno Famin, Director of Peugeot Sport, said: “The Dakar has changed a great deal in the past 25 years but you still design cars in the same way. We still have a certain amount of data from the late 1980s which we will be able to use. Above all, though, we have built up considerable experience of designing rally cars. Cross-country rallies and conventional rallies are effectively slightly different, but the approach and know-how are exactly the same. And that 06 H&H •• #BRCMEDIADAY Mud, mud, glorious mud, there’s nothing quite like it for making a cracking MSA British Rally Championship Media Launch. Well, sunshine would have been nice, but after last year’s overnight snow cancelled the event – we’ll take the cold, wind and mud any day. Words: H&H / Picture: BRC/Jakob Ebrey Photography. 07 H&H • With the Championship and Road to Wales contenders due to cross the start line in a little over six weeks, sponsors, competition winners and media from far and wide, local TV, radio, newsprint and photographers all grabbing the opportunity to meet some of the crews ahead of the 2014 season. A great mix of seasoned drivers and newcomers had a 1.9km forest stage to show off their skills in a great range of cars across the BRC classes. Arguably the highest profi le of the drivers was former double British Rally Champion Jonny Milner, putting his development Abarth 500 through its paces between the trees whilst entertaining ITV Yorkshire. M-Sport showed off their stunning Fiesta R200, Pirelli Star Driver Daniel McKenna fl ew in from Ireland and expected front-runner Osian Pryce unveiled the new colourful livery on his rally-winning Citroën DS3. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ford’s WRC driver Elfyn Evans by winning the British Junior Championship, rising stars Georgia Shiels driving an Abarth 500 and Gus Greensmith’s Fiesta Zetec took the opportunity to entertain the media and dust off some cobwebs, providing a media day visitor and current Champion Ben McKay with some food for thought! The 2014 BRC calendar has been revised following the last-minute cancellation of the Rally North Wales (5 April) due to insuffi cient entries and the consequential potential loss of more than £10,000. “We needed 106 entries just to break-even this year. With less than 80 entries the Club was facing a potential loss of in excess of £10k, which we simply cannot afford. Cancelling last year’s rally cost the Club a similar amount and wiped out any contingency funding for this year.” said Guy Weaver, Chairman of W&SSCC Ltd. The event would have been the fi rst of seven rounds in the 2014 MSA British Rally Championship and a qualifying round of the MSA Mintex British Historic and the MSA Pirelli Welsh Stage Championships. BRC Manager Mark Taylor said: “I feel for the organising team who have done all they can under the circumstances, committing many months of tireless work to run what was shaping up to be a fi rst class rally. The forests are apparently in fi rst class condition; arguably the best in Europe and it is a real shame that the rally has a signifi cant gap in the fi nances to make it viable. It would seem that alongside current uncertainties and lack of available sponsorship, motorsport seems to be lagging behind in the economic recovery, taking its toll on stage rallying.” The fi rst round of the Championship will now be the Pirelli Carlisle RB Foundation Rally on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May. The Championship regulations provide for the loss of a qualifying round, which now means that the BRC will be decided over six qualifying events and seven rounds, with competitors discounting their two single worst scores. 08 H&H •• HANDBRAKES &HAIRPINS MOTORSPORT AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Social Media Marketing is a science. Applying strategies, forecasting and CUSTOM 469 mathematics, reaching the widest audience possible for your team and event SERVICE FOR PUBLICATIONS news takes dedicated specialists to achieve. 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