CarRocker
Dec 20, 2005, 10:30 AM
FIA: 2006 entry list 'positive'.
Jacques Régis, the president of the FIA World Rally Championship commission has said that the entry list for the new WRC season is 'very positive' despite the loss of a number of leading teams for 2006.
Citroen, Peugeot, Skoda and Mitsubishi all withdrew from competition at the end of the 2005 season although Citroen will still be represented in 2006 with the Kronos Racing team while the manufacturer takes a year long sabbatical before returning in 2007 with the new C4 model.
While Kronos has been registered as the official M1 Citroen manufacturer team, Peugeot and Skoda will only be represented by M2 privateer teams - Peugeot through OMV-Peugeot Norway and Skoda through the Red Bull Skoda team - leading many to question the quality of the championship for the new season with regulations related to M1 and M2 teams leaving a number of leading drivers sitting on the sidelines and unable to find a seat for 2006.
However Régis said that the newly released entry list wasn't that much different for 2006, with five different manufacturers represented in the championship entry list and as many teams as there were in 2005.
"When you understand how the term 'manufacturer' is defined in the FIA World Rally Championship regulations, you will find that six manufacturers have entered a team in the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship," he said. "This demonstrates that there are as many teams entering for 2006 as in last season. From this perspective the entry list is therefore very positive.
"Five automobile companies - Citroen, Ford, Subaru, Peugeot and Skoda - will be represented in 2006 entering two factory cars via a competition structure that represents their company throughout the season. We would have preferred Mitsubishi not to have decided at such a late hour to take a temporary break from the Championship but save this exception, the line up is almost the same as in 2005.
"Another important factor is that even though the drivers' line up is not yet complete, you find Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg on the list, the same three drivers who shared all of the 2005 victories between them. This elite group of three will be joined by others at the start of the 2006 season in Monte-Carlo. This upcoming 2006 FIA World Rally Championship promises to be as exciting and passionate as last season."
With Kronos, Subaru and Ford as the M1 entries, the rest of the entry list is made up of the M2 outfits, with OMV and Red Bull joined by the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team but Régis said it was important for people to realise that the different categories didn't affect the way the teams would fight for the title.
"What is important to understand is what unites the two," he said. "Whether they be categorised M1 or M2, the teams are fighting for the same title and defend the manufacturer colours for which they compete. In Formula One it does not surprise anyone that a mark like Ferrari or Toyota for example supply several teams entered in the same championship who are all vying to achieve the same objective: the Manufacturers' title.
"Why in rallying can't companies like Ford or Subaru represent several teams with the same objective?"
Aside from the six named on the official WRC entry list, a number of other teams will appear in the championship during 2006, with the Astra Racing team set to field a Peugeot 307 WRC for Toni Gardemeister in the opening round of the year in Monte Carlo and Czech driver Jan Kopecky due to run his own Skoda team during the year.
Gigi Galli is also reported in the Italian press to be trying to put together a privateer Mitsubishi team after the late withdrawal of the Japanese manufacturer left him without a drive for 2006.
2006 World Rally Championship entry list:
M1:
1. Kronos Total Citroen WRT Sebastien Loeb
2. Kronos Total Citroen WRT
3. BP-Ford World Rally Team Marcus Gronholm
4. BP-Ford World Rally Team
5. Subaru World Rally Team Petter Solberg
6. Subaru World Rally Team
M2:
7. OMV-Peugeot Norway
8. OMV-Peugeot Norway
9. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
10. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
11. Red Bull Skoda Team
12. Red Bull Skoda Team
The numbers for each team will remain the same throughout the season although the driver of the car may change – for example Chris Atkinson and Stephane Sarrazin will share the #6 Subaru depending on which driver is nominated as the seconds points scorer alongside Petter Solberg
Jacques Régis, the president of the FIA World Rally Championship commission has said that the entry list for the new WRC season is 'very positive' despite the loss of a number of leading teams for 2006.
Citroen, Peugeot, Skoda and Mitsubishi all withdrew from competition at the end of the 2005 season although Citroen will still be represented in 2006 with the Kronos Racing team while the manufacturer takes a year long sabbatical before returning in 2007 with the new C4 model.
While Kronos has been registered as the official M1 Citroen manufacturer team, Peugeot and Skoda will only be represented by M2 privateer teams - Peugeot through OMV-Peugeot Norway and Skoda through the Red Bull Skoda team - leading many to question the quality of the championship for the new season with regulations related to M1 and M2 teams leaving a number of leading drivers sitting on the sidelines and unable to find a seat for 2006.
However Régis said that the newly released entry list wasn't that much different for 2006, with five different manufacturers represented in the championship entry list and as many teams as there were in 2005.
"When you understand how the term 'manufacturer' is defined in the FIA World Rally Championship regulations, you will find that six manufacturers have entered a team in the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship," he said. "This demonstrates that there are as many teams entering for 2006 as in last season. From this perspective the entry list is therefore very positive.
"Five automobile companies - Citroen, Ford, Subaru, Peugeot and Skoda - will be represented in 2006 entering two factory cars via a competition structure that represents their company throughout the season. We would have preferred Mitsubishi not to have decided at such a late hour to take a temporary break from the Championship but save this exception, the line up is almost the same as in 2005.
"Another important factor is that even though the drivers' line up is not yet complete, you find Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg on the list, the same three drivers who shared all of the 2005 victories between them. This elite group of three will be joined by others at the start of the 2006 season in Monte-Carlo. This upcoming 2006 FIA World Rally Championship promises to be as exciting and passionate as last season."
With Kronos, Subaru and Ford as the M1 entries, the rest of the entry list is made up of the M2 outfits, with OMV and Red Bull joined by the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team but Régis said it was important for people to realise that the different categories didn't affect the way the teams would fight for the title.
"What is important to understand is what unites the two," he said. "Whether they be categorised M1 or M2, the teams are fighting for the same title and defend the manufacturer colours for which they compete. In Formula One it does not surprise anyone that a mark like Ferrari or Toyota for example supply several teams entered in the same championship who are all vying to achieve the same objective: the Manufacturers' title.
"Why in rallying can't companies like Ford or Subaru represent several teams with the same objective?"
Aside from the six named on the official WRC entry list, a number of other teams will appear in the championship during 2006, with the Astra Racing team set to field a Peugeot 307 WRC for Toni Gardemeister in the opening round of the year in Monte Carlo and Czech driver Jan Kopecky due to run his own Skoda team during the year.
Gigi Galli is also reported in the Italian press to be trying to put together a privateer Mitsubishi team after the late withdrawal of the Japanese manufacturer left him without a drive for 2006.
2006 World Rally Championship entry list:
M1:
1. Kronos Total Citroen WRT Sebastien Loeb
2. Kronos Total Citroen WRT
3. BP-Ford World Rally Team Marcus Gronholm
4. BP-Ford World Rally Team
5. Subaru World Rally Team Petter Solberg
6. Subaru World Rally Team
M2:
7. OMV-Peugeot Norway
8. OMV-Peugeot Norway
9. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
10. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
11. Red Bull Skoda Team
12. Red Bull Skoda Team
The numbers for each team will remain the same throughout the season although the driver of the car may change – for example Chris Atkinson and Stephane Sarrazin will share the #6 Subaru depending on which driver is nominated as the seconds points scorer alongside Petter Solberg