The 2011 World Rally Championship was the 39th season of the FIAWorld Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies, beginning with Rally Sweden on 10 February and ended with Wales Rally GB on 13 November.
The new technical regulations for the World Rally Car became effective from 2011.[4] The cars were based on the previous Super 2000 cars, fitted with a supplementary kit, which included turbo and rear-wing additions.[4] The kit must be able to be fitted or removed within a defined time limit, to be determined.[4] They will be powered by a 1600cc turbo engine instead of the previous 2000cc turbo unit.[5]
The sporting regulations were amended to allow any tyre manufacturer to supply tyres. Regulations were implemented to control costs. The amended regulations were presented to the WMSC for a fax vote before 20 July 2010.[6]
Michelin and British tyre firm DMACK became the two tyre suppliers for the season, following Pirelli's contract coming to an end and their announcement as the official tyre supplier for Formula One.[7]
Additional championship points will be awarded to the top three crews on a televised stage on the final day of each rally, known as the "Power Stage". 3 points will be awarded to the stage winner, with 2 and 1 for second and third respectively.[8][9]
Calendar
The 2011 championship was contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Oceania.
Following a fax vote by the members of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), the following calendar had been agreed for the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship.[10][11]
After being promoted to the Citroën works team for the 2010 Rally Finland in place of Dani Sordo, Sébastien Ogier signed a contract to drive for the team for the entire 2011 season, despite an offer from Ford.
Mini returned to the World Rally Championship as a factory team for the first time since 1967. The manufacturer used the Mini John Cooper Works, to be run by Dave Richards' Prodrive team after Prodrive failed in their bid to join the 2010 and 2011Formula One grids. The John Cooper Works WRC will be run in a limited campaign of selected events for the 2011 season, with a view to taking part in the full World Championship from 2012.[16]
Citroën secured the manufacturers' championship in Catalunya.
† – ICE 1 Racing was excluded from the manufacturers' championship after they failed to take part in Rally Australia. As the team is considered to be a WRC entry (as opposed to a development entry, like the Mini WRC Team), it was obligated to take part in at least two rounds of the championship outside Europe. Driver Kimi Räikkönen had previously taken part in Rally Jordan, but had not competed in any further events outside Europe, and Rally Australia was the final flyaway round of the championship.[22]
Note: 1 refers to the number of stages won, where a bonus point is awarded per stage win.
† Deducted 25 points
References
^"Sebastien Loeb clinches eighth World Rally title as Mikko Hirvonen retires from Rally GB". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
^"Sébastien Loeb wins eighth world title to break Schumacher's record". Guardian. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
^"World rally champ Sebastien Loeb crashes with hire car". BBC News. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
^ abc"Stay of execution for WRC cars". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^"World Motor Sport Council: 23 June 2010". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^Evans, David (15 September 2010). "Chinese tyre firm DMACK joins WRC". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
^Beer, Matt (8 September 2010). "WRC adds bonus points for TV stages". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
^"World Motor Sport Council: 08 September 2010". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
^Evans, David (28 April 2010). "FIA announces 2011 WRC calendar". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^"2011 World Rally Championship begins 11th February on ESPN". ESPN UK. ESPN. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
^Evans, David (29 September 2010). "Rally Australia moves to new location". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
^"FIA World Rally Championship". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
^"IRC champion Kris Meeke set to drive Mini WRC in World Rally Championship". The Daily Telegraph. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
^English, Steven (5 January 2011). "Sordo finalises deal with Mini". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^Evans, David (27 July 2010). "Mini confirms 2011 WRC programme". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 30 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
^"FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
^"Skoda confirms tie up with Red Bull team". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
^"FIA Production Car World Rally Championship". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
^"Kimi Raikkonen's team excluded from World Rally Championship standings". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2011 in World Rally Championship.
Official website of the World Rally Championship
FIA World Rally Championship 2011 at ewrc-results.com