WRC: who signed?

Citroen DS3 WRC
Sébastien Loeb et Sébastien Ogier will be the brand's two official drivers and will score points for the Citroën Total World Rally Team.

Peter van Merksteijn Jr (Van Merksteijn Motorsport) will be competing in ten events including Sweden. His father Peter van Merksteijn will also participate in several rallies.

Petter Solberg and Kimi Räikkönen are still in negotiations with Citroën. Announcements could be made in the coming days.

Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Ford and M-Sport continues to trust a Finnish pair with Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala in the official team. Khalid Al Qassimi is expected to join them on numerous occasions.

M-Sport also continues its policy of renting and selling WRCs to numerous customers. Ken Block (Monster) will be present for a full program. Federico Villagra (Munchi?s) is announced for a nine-rally calendar which begins in Mexico.

Mads Ostberg (Adapta) will be at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta RS WRC with a program which remains to be defined but which should be quite complete starting from the Rally from Sweden. Dennis Kuipers, 25 years old, (FERM Power Tools) will be present at eleven rounds including Sweden. René Kuipers will abandon his Fiesta Super 2000 for a Fiesta RS WRC during the season.

As with Citroën, the usual “customers” have not yet formalized their program. Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson are nevertheless expected to take the wheel of Fiesta RS WRC in 2011.

Mini Countryman WRC
Kris Meeke was announced at the end of last year. Should Prodrive quickly formalize the presence of Dani Sordo? with a two-year contract? by his side. They will only debut in the World Championship in Sardinia in May.

Grifone has purchased a Mini Countryman WRC and plans to rent it as often as possible as soon as it is delivered. Luca Rossetti, double European Champion, would be in the running for a substantial program.

Brazilian Daniel Oliveira will also be at the wheel of a Mini Countryman WRC. With the Brazil World Rally Team, he will start his season at the Rally of Portugal with the Super-Production version (Mini Countryman without the WRC kit) before taking possession of the WRC.

To be continued…