Well it is finally that time of year when everything is starting to pick up some momentum for those of us that like to follow motorsports. Formula One is ready to start, the WRC is proceeding nicely and the North American Drift season is about to kick into high gear. Not to mention the ‘next big thing’ is about to make a huge splash in the motorsport landscape on this side of the world. With that being said this week’s Monday Morning Rundown is going to be an all motorsports affair.
Let’s begin…………
This past Friday Formula Drift held their second event in the Middle east in the last month. The Qatar invitational event seemed to pop up out of nowhere even though the powers that be say it has been discussed for quite some time. Tanner Foust got one last crack with his Scion before jumping ship to the ‘next big thing’ and ended up on the top step of the podium. Malaysian Tengku Djan finished second and Fredric Aasbo took third. Next up is the official start of the 2011 Championship season on the Streets of Long Beach on April 8th and 9th.
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After several different versions it appears that the 2011 DMCC West schedule has finally been set in stone and looks like this:
Round 1 – RACE CITY, CALGARY — JUNE 11th-12th
Round 2 – STRATOTECH, FORT SASK, AB — JULY 31st
Round 3 – RACE CITY, CALGARY — AUGUST 20th-21st
Round 4 – PENTICTON, BC — SEPTEMBER 3rd-4th
I am guessing that the two day events will also be Pro-am dates.
If the schedule changes again, don’t worry, I will let you know.
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The Drift Union Invitational is still scheduled to happen on June 11th in Pentiction. It is unfortunate that the date conflicts with Round 1 of the DMCC schedule but I am sure it will still be well attended. DODOlogic will be there and will bring you coverage of the event.
For all the info visit : http://driftunion.com/blog/?page_id=1820
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The Formula One schedule finally starts this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. It will be our first chance to see all the new cars and how they perform running on Pirelli tires after Bridgestone left the series. Red Bull Racing is the reigning constructor’s champion while Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel is the defending driver’s champion.
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It seems that the canceled Bahrain F1 date won’t be rescheduled after more violence has forced the Bahrainian government to impose a 3-month state of emergency. So then there was 19 rounds.
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The WRC schedule continues this upcoming weekend with the series stopping in Portugal for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen of the Abu Dhabi Ford Team leads the series points going into the third round of this year’s championship.
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And now for the ‘next big thing’. I know you have heard me make reference to ‘the next big thing’ for weeks now and you are probably wondering if ‘the next big thing’ is actually going to become ‘the next big thing’.
The inaugural Global RallyCross Championship starts this weekend with round one at the House of Drift also known as Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The inaugural season will consist of three rounds with the best being invited to compete in the Summer X-Games where they will be competing on the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
The event starts Friday when the drivers learn the track and get some much needed practice on the 50/50 asphalt/dirt track with a 70 foot gap jump! The heat races and finals will be held on Saturday.
So far the list of Competitor includes names like Tanner Foust (more on him later), Rhys Millen and Stephan Verdier. The name on the list that I am most excited to see though is that of Marcus Grönholm. Marcus was the WRC champion in 2000 and 2002 when he was driving Peugot 206’s. He will be competing in a Best Buy sponsored Ford Fiesta that Kenny Brack won the 2009 X-Games Rally with.
It is pretty clear to see why Tanner has ditched the world of Formula D for rally-cross. It is rumoured that he is now receiving sponsorship money from both Rockstar Energy and now Ford. The amount being thrown around is $500,000.
A factor why all that money is being thrown around may be that ESPN is going to be showing each event right after their Saturday NASCAR Nationwide series race or NHRA coverage. That is a huge audience that will probably be bombarded with program promos throughout the preceding race. Hopefully TSN picks up coverage for us Canucks.
So what do you think? Is European style Rally-Cross going to be the next big thing?
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dave(a)dodo-logic.ca
Rally is the shit! Most complicated racing besides F1, I think so!!!