MINI‘s hopes for capturing the 2012 World Championship Rally title took a big blow before the effort even started. Mini has missed the deadline for signing up for next years championship, which expired at midnight, last night.

The Mini rally car, which is based on the Countryman model is prepared by Prodrive in Banbury, U.K. Now Prodrive, Mini and its parent company BMW are in talks with the FIA to seek an extension to the deadline.

The driver’s for the Mini WRC; Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo made no comment on this situation, but sources say that the team has a strong desire to compete in the WRC 2012 season.

Despite the setback, Mini is expected to make a return to the Monte Carlo Rally next year, an event that made the Mini a legend back in the 1960′s.

Will the FIA grant Mini the extension it needs? We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

[Source: Autosport]

After years of Citroen dominating the World Rally Championship, Fiat is getting ready to challenge the French automaker’s dominance with their own entry, based on the Punto Abarth.

The Abarth has been racing in the International Rally Challenge and national rally championships with the Punto S200. The S2000 has done considerably well in a number of lower-tier motorsports campaigns, and a WRC campaign would mark the first time the Punto Abarth has competed in a high level race series.

If the Punto Abarth does compete, it  will likely be adapted to WRC specifications, which now closely mirrors the S2000 spec used in the IRC.

[Source: Autoblog]

Known for pulling wild stunts behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta rally car, Ken Block had zero intention of rolling the high-powered machine five times. But that’s just what happened during a shakedown of the car ahead of the Rally of Portugal event this weekend.

Block, and co-pilot Alex Gelsomino were both admitted to hospital, after he lost control of the car in a ‘fourth-gear incident’ (read: going stupid fast). Both have since been released without injuries – although early reports indicated Block’s flatbill cap may never be the same.

The car, unfortunately, was damaged too severely for Block to compete in this weekend’s third-round of the World Rally Championship.

[Source: AutoSport]

See video of the crash after the jump:

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One obvious sign of economies returning to full steam is increased involvement by automakers in the incredibly expensive field of motorsports. A valuable R&D experience regardless of the outcome, the marketing aspect depends solely on if you win.

With a Charlie Sheen obsession for “winning”, Volkswagen aims to get involved directly with the prestigious World Rally Championship, pursuing dominance in motorsports as well as in the global sales race. An announcement is  expected by the end of the month, with a special event to celebrate VW’s three consecutive wins at the Dakar rally taking place on March 22nd.

The vehicle that will form the basis of the VW WRC entry was originally thought to be the Scirocco coupe, but now it appears as though Volkswagen will campaign race-prepped versions of its Polo sub-compact.

VW is working with Darak driver and WRC veteran Carlos Sainz and is tipped to sign Petter Solberg as a driver after talks to hire Sebastien Loeb away from Citroen failed.

Volkswagen will join MINI as new entrants into the 2011 WRC season.

[Source: AutoCar]

Last week we reported that MINI’s new Countryman WRC had completed its initial shakedown, and now we’ve got a trio of videos to prove it. The Prodrive-developed WRC car has been testing out in Portugal with Markko Märtin behind the wheel.

As we mentioned before, the aerodynamics seen on the MINI Countryman WRC currently won’t be the final components used as the final WRC bodywork is under construction. We’ll see limited competition out of MINI for 2011 as they’ll only be participating in select WRC rounds. But their plans is to be full on competition for 2012 and beyond.

As for our initial impressions of the MINI Countryman WRC in these videos, it looks to be a very formidable opponent and it sounds just awesome.

Check out all three videos after the break.

[Source: German Car Scene]

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MINI‘s new Countryman WRC car has just completed its initial “shakedown” by Prodrive, the incredibly successful motorsports company that is building the rally car.

More importantly, however, we’ve been provided with the first glimpse at the rally version of the MINI crossover, with a massive rear spoiler, big off-road tires and a significantly lowered suspension. MINI has confirmed, however, that the aerodynamics on the car are not the ones that will be used when it makes its WRC debut.

Prodrive ran the car for four days at its facility in Warwickshire, driving mostly on tarmac, but also on dirt. The car is now scheduled to travel to Portugal where it will undergo a week of gravel testing.

“As with any totally new car, it is vital to take time to ensure all the systems are working as intended before embarking on a week long gravel test,” said David Lapworth, Prodrive technical director.

MINI intends to run some of the 2011 WRC before preparing for a full season of racing in 2012.

Saab is reportedly considering a return to the World Rally Championship. News of this exciting development comes after executives at Saab’s new parent company (Dutch sports car maker Spyker) recently met with WRC bosses in private.

Not having competed in the world’s premiere rally car series since 1979, the Swedish automaker is believed to be planning to compete in the 2012 season, possibly with the new 9-2 or 9-1 mini car (rendered above) – which is believed to be based on the current MINI Cooper platform.

Powering the MINI-based Saab would be a BMW-sourced 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, meeting with the series new standards. That same engine will also power MINI’s upcoming Countryman entry.

With an important history in rally car racing, the return would make sense for the Swedish brand, possibly following in Audi’s tire treads, promoting its AWD system through motorsports.

New rules for the 2012 season are bringing a lot of interest to WRC, with VW expected to be the next manufacturer to announce participation in the sport.

[Source: AutoSport]

MINI has officially announced that it will enter the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year, teaming up with Prodrive and running a Countryman crossover. The MINI Countryman WRC is being developed by the legendary Prodrive race team (which helped Subaru win six championships) to run part of the 2011 season as it prepares for a full 2012 season of competition.

The modified Countryman model will meet new FIA Super2000 regulations, using a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder BMW Motorsport engine, mated to MINI’s new All4 all-wheel drive system.

In the future, MINI will offer the Countryman WRC model to customer teams, so expand the number of MINIs competing in rally racing internationally.

Rumors suggest several well-known drivers may compete for the official MINI team, including Mads Ostberg and Marcus Gronholm.

Official release after the jump:

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Toyota appears set to return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year after an absence from the sport of over a decade. Last week we reported on Toyota’s fact-finding missions at several WRC races, and now the Japanese automaker has been linked to Prodrive – a motorsports company that helped Subaru rise to fame in the sport. Prodrive is also part owner of Aston Martin – which Toyota has a good working relationship with, donating the iQ Chassis for Aston’s Cygnet mini-car.

An unnamed Toyota Motorsport representative was recently quoted as saying that, “We want to be prepared if and when we get a call from Japan to go and compete.”

The news comes as Prodrive boss David Richards announced he would not risk the company’s financial stability on a Formula 1 gamble. Toyota recently pulled from F1, suggesting it may look to other motorsports activities.

Prodrive has also been linked to a MINI entry in WRC, although rumors suggest the holdup on that side is BMW’s unwillingness to fun the entire project.

Either way, a Prodrive spokesman has confirmed that, “we will be back in the championship next year with a manufacturer.”

Toyota has won 43 rallies and 3 world championships in the WRC series, with famous drivers like Carlos Sainz behind the wheel, often using vehicles running the now famous white, red and green Castrol livery.

[Source: AutoCar]