Armaan Ebrahim returns to Formula Two
19.2.2010 von Wolfgang.
Indian driver targeting championship glory in second season
20-year-old Indian driver Armaan Ebrahim has today (18/02) been unveiled as the first of 15 drivers to have signed up so far for the 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship. Further drivers will be revealed daily over the coming weeks.
Ebrahim returns to Formula Two after a promising 2009 campaign which saw him score several points paying finishes, including a standout weekend in Brno where he improved an incredible total of 24 places in the two races to claim sixth place in each. He also scored points in the first race at Donington Park, and recorded a number of top ten finishes during the season.
Such form confirmed Armaan’s growing reputation as one of India’s best young racing prospects - a standing first earned when he made history at the age of 16 by becoming the youngest ever driver to represent his nation in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. He has previously won races in Formula BMW Asia and Formula V6 Asia, where he finished as runner-up in 2007. He has also competed in the GP2 Asia series.
Armaan Ebrahim said: “I am really excited to be returning to Formula Two and I just cannot wait to get back into the car. Last year went quite well and we really started to get things together as the year went on. This season it is vital that I am on the pace from the word go – I feel much more comfortable and confident about my chances this year and my goal is to win the championship. Of course, it is difficult to make predictions but the title is possible – I just need to be more consistent and keep scoring points.”
Jonathan Palmer, Formula Two Series Director, said: “I’m delighted Armaan is back in F2 this year. He had some strong performances last season particularly at the Barcelona final event and I am quite sure he will build on his experience to be regularly in the top 6 and have a few podiums in 2010, maybe even a win.”
Interested drivers should contact the Championship Co-ordinator, James Gornall, at james.gornall@formulatwo.com or on 0044 1234 332439.
www.formulatwo.com
Al-Attiyah has high hopes for IRC wins
19.2.2010 von Wolfgang.
Nasser Al-Attiyah has said the opportunity to win rallies outright was one of the major influences behind his decision to enter the Intercontinental Rally Challenge this year.
Al-Attiyah, from Qatar, will drive a Rene Georges Rally Sport-run Skoda Felicia S2000 on at least six rounds of the IRC this season. His first event will be Rally Argentina in March, where he won the Group N division in eighth overall when the event counted as a round of the world championship in 2009.
He said: "In the IRC if you win, you win the race and it’s not always like that in some other rallies I do. This is very important for the concentration and makes it so interesting to be doing the IRC. I am doing so much to win this championship and I know it can be a good fight because the rallies are always open with many good drivers."
Basso and Rossetti get factory Abarths for Sanremo
Abarth has put itself in a strong position to add to its tally of wins in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge by confirming that it will enter a pair of factory-supported Abarth Grande Punto Super 2000s on Rallye Sanremo in September for two former event winners.
The Turin manufacturer, which has claimed six overall wins since the IRC began in 2007, has signed star drivers Giandomenico Basso and Luca Rossetti to lead its assault on the Italian Rally Championship, which runs alongside the IRC on the Sanremo-based Tarmac rally from September 23-25.
Basso and Rossetti have both claimed four victories apiece in the IRC (Rossetti was driving a Peugeot 207 when he landed his quartet of wins), and both have won in Sanremo before, with Rossetti triumphing in 2007 and Basso taking the laurels the following season.
Team Trico Motor Sport will run the factory Abarths this season.
Basso (seen winning Sanremo in 2008) will return in a factory Abarth
M-Sport Fiesta ranks set to grow
The number of M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000s competing in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge is set to rise after Martin Prokop and Bernardo Sousa confirmed that they will contest selected events in the car.
Prokop, from Czech Republic, and Sousa, from Portugal, are both highly-rated. Prokop is planning to enter the rounds in Sardinia, Zlin and Sanremo. Sousa will be in action on the IRC events in Acores and Madeira.
With Andreas Mikkelsen already confirming his seven-event campaign in a Fiesta, news that more examples of the car will take part in the IRC is a further boost to the series.
Mikko Hirvonen took a Fiesta S2000 to a debut victory on Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo last month. Although there won’t be any Fiestas in action on Rally Internacional de Curitiba in Brazil next month, Federico Villagra is due to drive one of the cars on Rally Argentina.
Wittmann excited by IRC schedule
Franz Wittmann has spoken of his delight after finalising his Intercontinental Rally Challenge schedule in his Interwetten Racing Peugeot 207 S2000.
The Austrian had contemplated contesting the South American rounds in Brazil and Argentina next month but will instead focus on a programme of European-based events, starting with the fourth round of the series in Sardinia. He will also compete in Ypres, Acores, Zlin, Asturias, Sanremo and Cyprus.
"I’m so happy to get everything sorted out and to know I am going back to some events I know from last year," said Wittmann, 26. "We have a good mixture of Tarmac and gravel events and I can’t wait to experience these rallies and get more knowledge of driving my Peugeot 207."
Wittmann, who began his 2010 IRC campaign on Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo last month, wants to contest a handful of practice rallies and also test his Romo Motorsporttechnik-run car prior to Rally d’Italia-Sardegna, which runs from 4-6 June.
Wittmann will tackle seven more European-based IRC events
www.rally-irc.com
